The party (Part 1)

Jen bangs on the door, impatiently urging me to come out and show her the blouse she lent me.

—Come on, Kate, get out of there! —she says loudly, repeatedly twisting the doorknob.

—I look like a slut in this blouse —I observe my reflection in the mirror; my breasts stand out too much in the neckline.

—Hey! It's my blouse —Jen protests, visibly offended.

—It looks great on you —I comment with a nervous laugh, trying to fix it— I look like a cheap prostitute in it.

—Don't exaggerate, get out of there or I'll break down the door —she warns in a firm and serious tone.

—Try it —I challenge her.

Loud thumps are heard, Jen is probably trying, uselessly, to break down the door.

—Stop messing with my door, I'm coming out, okay? —I give in before she ends up hurting her arm over something silly.

—Hurry up, we don't have all night —she says impatiently—. I still have to do your makeup and hair, Marie and I have been ready for an hour.

—I hate you for making me wear this —I unlock the door.

Jen opens the door wide as soon as she hears the click of the lock.

—It's just a little cleavage, like I've always told you, if you've got it, flaunt it, honey! —she winks at me, smiling smugly.

—Are you sure it doesn't look vulgar? —I ask, glancing at the mirror again as I try to adjust the blouse. I don't know when I became so insecure about myself, I wouldn't have hesitated to wear a blouse like this before.

—You don't look vulgar at all, you look sexy —Marie says, trying to reassure me.

—You guys look great too —I try to divert the attention from myself.

—Come on, Marie will do your hair while I do your makeup, and don't say just eyeliner and lipstick. —she says with a firm look.

Half an hour later, I'm finally ready. I put on some comfortable shoes, since I don't want to get tired too soon. When we arrive at the party, we realize that the address is an abandoned warehouse. There are many cars and motorcycles parked around, we see colored lights inside and hear the music at full volume, which makes the windows vibrate. We step into the warehouse without hesitation. Inside, there are a few tables stacked with beer and various liquors, even a tequila fountain.

—Let's get something to drink —Jen suggests.

—Slow down, I don't want a repeat of what happened at the New Year's Eve party.

—What happened? —Marie asks, intrigued.

—She got so drunk that, when I was taking her home, she called the police because she thought she was being kidnapped. I had to talk to the police for an hour before they escorted us to her house to make sure she got home safe. She was lucky I wasn't drinking that night, because they could have arrested me for drunk driving.

Marie starts to laugh discreetly, then can't hold back her laughter anymore.

—This time it's your turn. Drink as much as you want, I'll drive back.

—That's the least you can do —I joke—. Just make sure I don't do anything stupid.

—I promise I'll keep an eye on you. Well, what are we waiting for? I want a beer.

—I'll start slow, maybe I'll have something light like a vodka with orange juice first —I sigh and pause for dramatic effect—. Then I'll have a couple of tequila shots to get in the mood.

—That's the spirit! —Marie says, her voice filled with excitement.

They both join me for the first drink, then they have a beer. Jen drinks it slower than usual to make it last longer. I take three tequila shots before drinking a beer. A guy invites Marie to dance, while Jen and I dance in the middle of the dance floor. After a while, we see some guys having beer-drinking competitions. As we approach, I see Denver standing on his hands, drinking beer from a tube. His brothers are also there. Kane passionately kisses a girl, while Shawn and Caleb cheer Denver on to drink all the beer. When he finishes, everyone starts clapping. Next is Caleb, who stands on his hands just after Denver finishes.

— Hey. — Denver smiles, his breath smelling of beer. I'm pretty sure mine does too. — You guys made it! — He looks genuinely happy to see us.

—How could we miss this? —Jen replies.

Denver turns to tap Shawn on the shoulder to get his attention. Oh no, the moment has arrived—he's going to introduce me to him. Is my hair okay? Do I have something in my teeth? I won't smile too much; I don't want to seem too eager, especially since these guys are known womanizers.

—Shawn, this is my friend Kate and this is her friend Jeaninne.

—Hi —I say a little nervous, tucking my hair behind my ear.

—Call me Jen —she says, smiling.

—Do you want to dance, Jen? —Denver asks.

—Sure —she says enthusiastically, taking his hand to lead him to the middle of the dance floor.

As they leave, there's an awkward silence between Shawn and me.

—So... you study systems engineering, right? —Shawn makes an effort to break the ice.

—Yes, what do you study?

—Psychology, I'm in my third year.

—That was my other career choice, but I finally leaned more towards systems engineering.

—You must be good at math, right? I was never good at that.

—I guess I am —I try not to give myself too much credit so I don't seem like a know-it-all nerd, even though I'm very good with numbers.

—Denver mentioned that you like video games, what console do you have?

—A PS5.

—Me too, what are your favorite video games? —he seems a little more interested in our conversation now.

—Mainly all the Uncharted, Resident Evil, GTA, Mortal Kombat and Need for Speed games.

—Have you played Call of Duty?

—How could I forget to mention that one? Modern Warfare is the best, without a doubt.

—Yeah, that's right —his eyes light up.

I think he was just testing me, he thought I was one of those girls who say they play video games just to get guys' attention, but the truth is I played them with my brothers... all the time.

—You'll think I'm crazy, but I think Fortnite is overrated.

—I agree, it's extremely repetitive and gets boring if you play it constantly.

—Come on, Shawn, it's your turn —Kane interrupts, putting his arm around Shawn's shoulders.

—Excuse me for a minute. —he says, flashing me a smile.

—Sure.

—What's your name? —Kane asks, lighting a cigarette with his elegant golden lighter with the "ST DUPONT" logo engraved on the front.

—Katrina, but everyone calls me Kate —I try to hide the cough that the cigarette smoke causes.

—I'm Kane —he says, never breaking his intense gaze. He looks at me seriously, as if trying to intimidate me.

—Are you going to participate too? —I say the first thing that comes to mind to keep the conversation going.

—I was the first to do it. Do you want to try? —a small smile appears on his face.

Just then Shawn returns, quite animated after finishing drinking the beer in record time.

—Did you see that? —he says triumphantly—. I did better than all of you.

I just nod and smile, the truth is I didn't see anything because I was talking to Kane.

—Do you want to try? —Kane insists, completely ignoring Shawn.

—I don't want to outshine you.

I've done this since I was sixteen at some parties my brothers took me to, now, at almost twenty, I can do it without a problem, although I don't think I'll beat them, it seems they've been doing this a lot longer than me.

—Is the little girl afraid to try? —Kane asks, raising an eyebrow. I know he's just challenging me to provoke me, but I still want to shut this fool up and erase that smug smile he has on his face.

Without saying a word, I take off my heels. I'm not the least bit afraid to try, not at all. The crowd around us starts cheering. I stand on my hands, Shawn holds my feet to keep me from losing my balance, another guy takes care of bringing the tube to my mouth.

—Start —shouts the guy pouring the beer into the funnel.

I start chugging the beer as fast as I can, careful not to let too much build up in my mouth and choke. I finish the funnel quickly, though not as fast as they did.

When I get up, I see that Shawn and Kane are talking. They both look somewhat annoyed.

—What do you think of this little girl now? I say, trying to provoke Kane.

—Not bad —he says seriously, before walking away. He takes a girl's hand, leads her to a corner, and starts kissing her.

—That was incredible, I didn't think you'd make it. Girls hardly ever dare to do that. —Shawn says, who I bet didn't have faith that I would finish the beer without choking or falling.

—I don't blame them, it's hard to keep your balance while drinking beer upside down —I shrug.

—Would you like to dance? —he asks me suddenly.

That question takes me by surprise, I freeze for a moment processing what I just heard.

"Yes, I would like to," I say, trying to sound relaxed and confident. I'm relieved it's pretty dark, or else he would definitely notice how flushed I am. I wouldn't want him to think he makes me nervous. Guys like him are very self-centered and conceited, if he thinks I like him he might start to think he's a big deal and think I'll fall at his feet, but that's not the case.

Some girls who were waiting for him now look annoyed, whispering to each other and eyeing me suspiciously, but I don't care. The alcohol is starting to kick in, and I feel a little lighter, freer, and more confident.