Josh's POV again.
"Hey Josh! Lea's here!"
"Coming!" I yelled from my room. After much convincing from Dad, Lea and Aunty Maureen, I decided to go to this party to catch a glimpse of the kind of people I'd be in acquaintance with for the rest of my school life. I looked in the mirror at my outfit; blue jeans with a chain hanging at the waist, a green Placebo t-shirt and a rock-star jacket with metal studs in them that Dad gave me for my last birthday, so I could look like the rock star that he was. I hope it looked okay and not too dorky. I exited my bedroom and entered the living room, where Lea sat at the kitchen table with my parents, waiting for me.
"Hey" she said with a smile once she noticed me.
I barely managed to whisper out a "Hey" when I saw her. She wore a knee-length deep blue skirt, a silver tank top, blue kitten-heeled shoes, a little white handbag and matching earrings and necklace. She wore silvery, fairy-makeup on her face and her hair was in loose sausage curls. I blushed slightly. I never noticed how beautiful she could really be until I saw her at that moment.
"Helloo! Earth to Planet Josh!" giggled my Dad. I shook my head and laughed with embarrassment. "Ready to go?"
"Yep Dad," I said as Lea got off her seat and stood near the door, waiting for me.
"You look pretty good for a geek," said Lea, grinning and winking at me. I blushed again. "C'mon let's go. Mom's waiting for us outside."
Before I could open my mouth to say anything, Aba suddenly came from the bathroom, right on cue. I braced myself, knowing exactly what he was gonna say.
"Ok Yeshula remember, do not drink any alcohol if there is any, and don't eat or drink anything you can't identify. Don't talk to anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable. Don't go to any unknown or dark, quiet places on your own. Make sure you are with people, preferably those who are sober and in their senses. If there is anything wrong, anything at all, of if you're too scared to stay any longer, just call home and we'll be there immediately to pick you up, ok?"
"Yes, Aba. I know," I said, giggling at his extra-motherly behaviour. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I can look after myself and Lea."
"Ok fine, then," said Aba as he paused to take a breath. "Be careful, ok? I love you." he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight.
"I love you too, Aba" I said as I hugged him back. After he pulled away to hug Lea, I gave Dad a big hug too.
"You too better look after each other," said Dad into my ear.
"Yes Dad, I will," I mumbled into his shoulder. "Love you."
"Love you too," he whispered and let me go. Lea slipped her arm into mine, and we all said our goodbyes to each other before slipping out the door. We got into the Lea's mom's car which was parked just outside the building.
"Hey, honey," she said as we strapped our seat belts into place. "Hi Josh, how are you?"
"I'm great, Aunty Maureen," I said, amazed at how much Lea had in common with her mom. Both were drama queens who loved clothes, makeup and being the centre of attention.
We made small talk as Aunty Maureen drove us to Heather's house. When we finally reached, we got out of the car and I said, "Bye Aunt Maureen! Thanks for the ride?"
"Bye Joshy! Remember to call if you need one back!" she yelled.
"Sure, we will. Bye Mom! Thanks!" said Lea as she blew air kisses to her mom, who made a U-turn and drove herself home.
"You know," said Lea and we walked towards the front door. "Mama didn't want me coming to this party because of the drugs, sex and booze that might be there. Lucky for me, Mom has an almost hypnotic power over her."
We both giggled as I rang the doorbell. "Same here. Dad was happy for me to come so I could meet new people, but Aba was just as scared as your Mama for all the above reasons. But, I guess Dad managed to convince him otherwise."
Just then, the door opened, and there stood Heather. Man, she looked like a psychotic Barbie doll. Her hair was in two poofy ponytails tied in pink ribbons, she had on a pink miniskirt and pink and white tank top and pale pink makeup on her face. She and Lea squealed like pigs when they hugged and greeted each other. She mumbled out a "Hey Josh. Make yourself comfy" while her face was buried in Lea's curls. I walked into the living room and there they were: the cool, popular, beautiful people. The elite of the American school. I felt out of place as soon as I looked at them. But to my delight, there was Sean sitting in the corner, sipping a can of Coke. His face broke into a smile as soon as he saw me.
"Hey Sean!" I said as I shook his hand in greeting. "What are you doing here? I didn't think this was your kinda group."
"Well it's not," he said, an embarrassed smile crossing his face. "I kinda heard that you were gonna be here so I came."
I was glad to hear that. "Well now that I'm here, you ain't gonna be alone."
Sean got me a can of Coke and we just sat there talking to one another. Just then, I heard someone yelled "Fag Boy!" across the room. I turned my head and saw a boy with spiked blond hair, a football jacket and a mean smirk on his face. Clearly this had to be the captain of the school football team. He was surrounded by a group of boys wearing the same jacket and the same smirk on their faces.
"How's Daddy and Daddy been?" he taunted. "Busy fucking each other's brains out on the kitchen table?" the boys around him laughed and snorted as he said this.
I turned my head to face Sean, our faces full of anger and dread. Wow, this was going to be a long night……