“Let’s put your backpack down in the coat closet,” Alex suggested.
“Oh, it’s fine. I can leave it on.”
“It’s no big deal. I want you to be comfortable. It’s pretty crowded in here.”
“Okay, sure,” I said, not wanting to argue the point. Alex led me down a hallway to a coat closet, and we set my backpack up on a shelf.
“Let me introduce you to some friends,” Alex said, and I followed him into the kitchen. “Fellas, this is Briar.”
They took turns introducing themselves, usually adding their major. I wondered if it was an inside joke.
“Colin. Engineering.”
“Aron. Chemistry.”
“River. Political Science.”
“How about you, Briar?” Colin asked. “What’s your major?”
“Art,” I said brightly.
“For now,” Alex said with a grin as he cracked open a bottle of beer.
I turned toward him. “What do you mean?”
“No one actually majors in art, right?”
“I plan to,” I said firmly, suddenly indignant. He’d known Iwas majoring in art. It had come up during our lunches together. So why was he changing his tune now, in front of his friends? He was ranging awfully closely to echoing the thoughts Maci had put more delicately over the last few months.
I could hear her voice in my head.All I’m saying is don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Art isn’t that reliable of a career, is it? Maybe you should at least choose a high-demand minor.
Alex put his hands up. “Sorry, Poison Ivy. No offense meant.”
I nodded, and the conversation changed directions to talk of baseball, but an unsettled feeling remained in my gut.
The next hour was a swirl of unfamiliar faces, people laughing loudly, and turning down offers of beer. Finally, I’d wised up and filled a red Solo cup with soda so people would stop offering.
As the party progressed and the voices grew louder, I couldn’t help but feel out of place. This was nothing like the garden party I’d attended with my friends at Evergreen Academy. After doing my best to socialize in the hot, crowded room, I decided I needed some air.
“I’m gonna look for Maci,” I leaned over and said loudly in Alex’s ear. It was hard to hear anything clearly over the pounding music. He nodded, and I began to search the house.
When I didn’t find Maci inside, I went to the backyard, where a large portion of the party had gathered. Almost immediately, I spotted a familiar pirate’s hat. That was when I realized that Maci was shouting. I moved toward her to see that she was arguing with Jace.
Oh boy. Trouble in paradise—again. As I took a step forward to join them and support my friend, a familiar voicespoke near my ear. “I see you decided to go on the nose with your costume.”
I jumped and swiveled in shock to see Callan. I recovered, ready to assess his costume. But… he wasn’t wearing one. He was in jeans and a T-shirt, looking like a model from a magazine, as always. “At least I have a costume! Didn’t you get the memo that this was a Halloween party?”
He put his hands up. “I wasn’t criticizing. You look… delightful.”
I eyed him skeptically. So far that night, I’d been called adorable, precious, and delightful, and it all felt condescending. Couldn’t one wear a cute, clever costume that wasn’t sexy?
“Okay, why do you look pissed?”
I tried to relax my scowl. Callan had no way of knowing the odd feeling I’d been fighting that whole night. I’d always fit in in social situations in high school, but for some reason, I didn’t feel like I fit in here at all.
I assumed that it might have just been because I’d been so put off by Alex’s words about my major. But then, one of Alex’s friends had been openly flirting with me and Alex hadn’t seemed to mind.
In fact, he’d left me alone a few times, even though I’d come to the party to hang out with him. And throughout the night, I couldn’t stop comparing my interactions here with those at the garden parties at Evergreen. The warm and fuzzy feelings I had at those gatherings weren’t presenting themselves here.
