"Oh, I LOOOOVE that dress!" It was practically shrieked right in my ear as the girl with bubblegum pink hair unwrapped her arms from around me and saw Edie's wild outfit. Of course she loved the shining green dress. Everyone through the night had and I guess I loved it too, only because it fit her perfectly. It was loud, loud, loud. Just like everything Edie did.
Mena grabbed Edie by the wrist and twirled her about, letting out a cacklelaugh. She was loud, just like Edie. But, Edie could only stand her so much because everyone knows two loud people can't really get along for a long time. That's why when Mena hugged her tightly, Edie gave me one of her looks. Her looks mean a lot of things, and this one meant something like: "If we have to spend the whole night with this rank-sucker, I'm jumping off the nearest party tower". At least, that's what I think it meant anyway.
When Mena finally let her go, Edie zipped right back over to stand by me. I don't know why she spends so much time with me. I guess it's because we balance each other out. She is the biggest Party Pretty I know. I'm probably the quietest. Maybe she just likes being best friends with a Natural. It keeps her interesting; keeps her name on everyone's lips.
We were saved then, at the arrival of some other Party Pretties, ones who didn't like to clique-hop, as some Pretties were fond of doing.
One of them, Aden, barreled into me and lifted me up high above his head. "Well if it isn't little Natural Jeffy-Effy! And sexy Edieee!" My head spun, and he finally set me down. He gave Edie the same treatment, and she giggled like a Littlie. Then, his arm slid around my waist as he pleaded with me. "Please tell me that you'll at least scream or take your clothes off tonight, Jeffy. You're my favorite Party Pretty, but you never actually party when we go places!"
I laughed. "I do party! And you know I always find you the best party spots around." He let go of me and shrugged, only because he knew I was right.
I looked him up and down. His dark skin was a natural part of him, but the gold eyes definitely were not. They reminded me of the gold that all the rich Rusties used to put on everything back in the old days. A bracelet throbbed quietly on his wrist, the tiny light blinking every thirty seconds or so. Every time it lit up, I knew someone, somewhere was talking about Aden Clairing and probably word-babbling about how he was a Party Pretty or how cool he was. He'd come up with the bracelet himself, and Edie had one, too. He'd figured out a way to hook up the bracelet to his interface ring and to the giant Network of Pretties and Uglies everywhere so that it would track whenever someone said his name. I think it made him feel special. Sort of like that Narcissus guy I talked about before.
He was awesome though. His face rank was up somewhere in the fifties, and it only went higher as the night grew on. I imagined mine was probably going to grow too, after the night was over. It always did. Edie liked to joke that one day she and I would be at the very top, minus the ever-famous Tally of course. That girl would probably hold the number one spot forever, I figured.
The rest of the night shifted into a whirlwind of bubbly drinks and loud hyper-pop after I led them to a particularly Bubbly party that was sure to be the latest on all the city feeds. When we got there, the lights of Aden's and Edie's bracelets kicked into overdrive. I watched them flash away like pings on my wallscreen after a good night of partying.
We lost track of time after awhile as our partying grew more wild and insane. At one point, Edie threw herself off a party tower and giggled as the bungee suit shot her down a hill and into a group of Extras mingling outside a Pleasure Garden. We all got a kick out of that and rushed down to meet her, using the same method of course. I did a backflip off the wall; you can't be a Party Pretty without doing things with style.
The suit tugged on my body, and it didn't hurt as I bounced down the hill. But my tiny body sent me flying even further down the hill and straight into the Pleasure Gardens. Definitely a laugh-making moment.
Only, I didn't expect that I'd bounce right into someone, but that's exactly what I did. When I'd finally stop giggling as if I'd lost my head, just like Edie would have done, I found myself face to face with none other than the golden-haired boy, Terence. Edie had been right. He was so Pretty.