Tiana finished lacing up her fresh white sneakers and grabbed her bag. She was hesitant about missing a work shift to go to a party, but she knew Lottie was right- she did need a break. Tiana finished up and looked in the mirror hanging on her wall. "You're going to have fun", Tiana said sarcastically. She let out a sigh and began to make her way down the hall to her mothers room. Tiana peeked in the door to find her mom sitting near the window sill holding another picture frame. "Hey Ma," she said softly. Her mother continued to look out the window with a firm grip on the frame. Tiana looked down at her watch. "Um, i'm heading out to Lottie's party. Do you need anything?" Eudora's gaze continued out the window and her hands grasped the frame even tighter. Tiana let out a sigh, closed her mothers' door, and made her way out the house.
Tiana made her way up the crystal stairs of Lottie's house. Music was pouring through the windows and she saw people she didn't even know everywhere. Before she could open the door, it flung open to reveal a very energetic Lottie dressed in a sparkly pink romper.
"Oh Tia, Tia, Tia !", Lottie exclaimed while embracing her best friend.
Tiana smiled but deep down she knew tonight was going to be a mess. She looked around to see people all over the gigantic house- but she saw no one she knew. As if Lottie could read her mind, she said " Oh don't worry, I can introduce you to people. I'm just so glad you came!" Lottie embraced her again and pulled her further into the house bustling with music. Lottie made her way to the kitchen with Tiana being dragged behind her. "Oh Louis, Louis, Louis!", Lottie exclaimed heading towards a boy sitting alone at the table controlling the music. Tiana looked at the boy. He was tall and a bit chubby, but his style was unique and cool to Tiana. "Hey lovely Lottie and who is your pretty friend ?" Louis asked. "Tiana. And thanks'', Tiana answered. "Well introductions are done so I'll leave you two here," Lottie said quickly and raced to go dance with Naveen who had just walked in. Tiana and Louis sat and continued to talk about clothes, music, and working. They were so caught up in conversation that they almost missed hearing little Ray walked up. "Oh hey Ray! I didn't expect to see you here", Tiana said walking up to hug her friend. Ray was a small boy with a big personality, and always made sure to stop by Duke's cafe to entertain Tiana during her boring shifts. " I would never miss a good party, especially with two of my best friends." The three talked and laughed away from the commotion and loudness of the big party they were a part of.
"It was really good to see you", Ray said, giving Tiana a hug. "Yeah. Nice to meet you Tiana," Louis said, also giving Tiana a hug. "Likewise to both of you. Wouldn't know what I would do without you two hanging with me tonight. See you guys at school," Tiana replied as the two guys were leaving. Tiana looked down at her phone to see it was past 12. People were still hanging out, and every time Tiana tried to get Lottie's attention she was pulled away. Tiana got a cup of fruit juice and went to head upstairs in an attempt to find Lottie again. As she was walking, a tall dude bumped into her causing the red fruit juice to spill all over her fresh white shoes. "Oops," a deep voice let out sarcastically. Tiana looked up angrily to see it was her ex- Naveen. Tiana let out a heavy sigh in an attempt to not let Naveen see her angry. How's the family Tiana? Daddy is still dea-", Naveen started. Before Naveen could even finish his sentence, Tiana swung her fist and knocked Naveen in his mouth. Everyone turned to see the commotion and Lottie raced down the stairs to see Tiana's balled up fist and Naveen's mouth dripping with blood. Tiana looked at the surprised faces around the room and decided now would be the best time to leave. She grabbed her bag and stormed out the door, not even looking back.
Tiana couldn't believe Naveen would mention her dead father. She looked down at her buzzing phone to see plethora messages from Lottie and notifications coming in from her Instagram dm's all referring to the incident. Tiana sat down at the trolley stop to calm down. She looked down at her once white shoes, now covered in deep red fruit juice and crimson red from dripping blood on her hand. "UGH!", Tiana let out a huge sigh and put her hand in her hands. "I think I can help you with something," a deep voice said from next to her. Tiana let out a little scream and jumped up from the seat. She knew it was late and she wasn't taking any chances. "Wait, wait. I'm sorry. I mean no harm," the boy said revealing himself in the light. Tiana looked at him. He was tall, looked around 17 years old, and had on a purple, black, and green hoodie. He seemed harmless, but she was still hesitant. The boy could obviously sense this, and backed up a little and held up his hands. Tiana let up. "Help with what ?" Tiana asked, still keeping all eyes on him and her surroundings. "Your shoes, and your hand." "Oh yeah." The boy moved slowly and waved his hands in a sort of magician way. Tiana looked at him as if he were crazy. "Look down," the boy insisted with a smile. Tiana looked down to see her shoes back to new, and her hand clean. She let out a gasp and looked back up. The boy smiled and began to walk away back into the darkness. Tiana was so stuck she couldn't even say anything. The trolley pulled up and she hesitated getting on, but she knew the mysterious boy was already gone by then.