The Party

"This is gonna be the best party so far this semester," Cindy told her girl friends. They were gathered around a flyer hanging up in the girls' dormitory lounge.
"Matt's parties go on all night," said Katelyn, dancing a few steps to no music.
"What time does it start?" said a small voice from a comfy chair in the corner. All the girls turned their heads and a few of them giggled.
"Why do you care, Bailey?" Cindy asked. "It's not like you ever go to parties."
 Bailey shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She was wearing faded baby blue sweatpants and an old grey hoodie she had had since highschool. Her hair was in a messy bun and she had washed off all her make-up. Now she was being stared at and analyzed by a group of human Barbie dolls.
 "Matt's parties sound fun. I'd like to go to one," she said in a quiet mousy voice.
 "Well you know," said Samantha, walking across the room and perching on the arm of Bailey's chair, "there's going to be alcohol there."
 "I've had alcohol before," Bailey told her, recalling a few times her mom and dad let her have a sip of their wine.
"But what will you wear?" Cindy wanted to know, looking Bailey up and down.
"I will find something. These are just my hangout clothes." The Barbie dolls looked at each other and whispered things under their breath.
"Well I look forward to seeing you there," Cindy told her. She gathered her friends together and they left the lounge chatting about the party.
 
  Bailey stood in front of her mirror looking herself up and down. Her outfit was cute and she was sure Cindy would approve. A light pink blouse with a pencil skirt and black pumps. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had on little pearl earrings.
  Feeling confident in her choice, she grabbed a little clutch purse that matched her clothes and left her room. Matt's house was just a short walk off campus and she was there in ten minutes. The door was wide open so she stepped right in and was instantly engulfed in darkness only broken by strobe lights coming from each corner of the room. All the furniture had been pushed against the walls and a bunch of students were in the center of the room dancing wildly to the loud pulsing music. Bailey watched them fascinated. She had never danced before except a little bit at her high school prom and those had all been slow dances.
  She watched the girls sway their hips back and forth as the guys attempted to get closer and closer and try to put their hands on them without being smacked away. She blushed at the thought of any guy doing that with her.
  "Hey Bailey, you actually made it," said a voice behind her. Bailey whirled around to see Cindy and and Samantha standing there.
  "What on earth are you wearing?" Samantha asked, frowning. "Are you going to a college party or a board meeting?"
  "This was the fanciest thing I had," Bailey said pathetically. Cindy shook her head.
  "You look too uptight. Loosen up a little bit."
 She reached around and pulled the hair tie out of Bailey's blonde ponytail. Her hair cascaded down around her shoulders.
  "And this is just...a tragedy," Cindy said, motioning to her skirt and blouse. "Let's at least do this."
  She reached up and unbuttoned the top two buttons of Bailey's top. Bailey blushed and looked down at the top of her breasts which were now peeking out.
 "Trust me, the boys will like that," Samantha winked. "And here's a nice little touch."
  She grabbed a tube of light pink lip gloss and smeared some across Bailey's lips.
 "Now you're ready to dance," Cindy said. Bailey blanched.
 "I can't dance like that," she told them.
 "Nonsense," Samantha said, waving away her fears. "You just shake your hips around to the beat. That's all you have to do. Go try it." She shoved Bailey out into the makeshift dance floor.
  Bailey looked up at them as if she might cry.
 "Go on, dance," Cindy called. She looked at Samantha who said something that made them both giggle.
 Bailey looked around awkwardly. A girl bumped against her and giggled mumbling a half drunken apology. Bailey watched her go still frozen to her spot unsure of how to even begin dancing.
"Are you ok?" asked a voice. Bailey turned around to a see a handsome young man with wavy black hair and blue eyes giving her a look of concern.
 She glanced at Cindy and Samantha who were smiling and whispering to each other. They both gave her a thumbs up and Cindy nodded.
"Uh...yes. I'm fine."
"I haven't seen you here before. Is this your first time at one of these parties?"
"Yes," Bailey told him.
"Well you look very pretty," he said with a smile. "Would you like a drink?"
"Uh....I don't really drink much," Bailey said.
"Well here. Have a sip of this," he said, offering her a red cup half full of an unfamiliar drink.
"Is there alcohol in this?" Bailey asked, taking it in her hand and looking down at it.
"Of course," the guy said. "Drink up."
  Bailey looked over at the girls who were still watching her. They both nodded encouragement and Cindy held an invisible cup and made the motion of gulping a drink down.
  Bailey looked back at her real cup. She took a deep breath, raised it to her mouth and gulped it down. In one second she regretted it. Her entire chest burned and her throat felt like someone had set it on fire. She dropped the cup on the floor and collapsed to her knees coughing and gagging. A few people around her stopped dancing to watch her. Above her head she could hear laughter and some voices asking what had happened.
 "She never had a drink before so Matt gave her his special mix," said Cindy who was now standing next to Bailey.
 "Her reaction could not have been more perfect" said the handsome young man Bailey now knew was Matt.
 "And what is with her outfit?" said a girl Bailey didn't know. "Is she trying to be a sexy secretary?"
 "Who even let her in? She shouldn't be here, she should be at a bank cashing peoples' checks," said another voice.
  Bailey rose to her feet but kept her head down and looked at the floor. Everyone had stopped dancing now and gathered around to see the plight of the secretary who had never tasted liquor before.
"Is she gonna dance now?" said a girl.
"How does she even move in that skirt?" a guy asked.
  Bailey held back tears that threatened to flow down her cheeks.
"I think I want to go home now," she muttered, and moved toward the door.
"Aaaww she's leaving," Samantha said in mock sadness. "It won't be any fun without her."
There was a loud chorus of "aaawww" and everyone in the room put on a pouty face.
"I hope you'll come to my next party," Matt called after her as she walked out the door. "It's always nice to have some extra entertainment."
  The whole room erupted into laughter and Bailey hurried down the stairs to the sidewalk and walked quickly back toward campus. A couple on their way to the party stared at her oddly and whispered some things to each other. Bailey figured it was nothing good.
  When she finally got back to her dorm she rushed down the hallway to her room and slammed the door. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror as she'd done only thirty minutes ago. All the confidence she had felt was now shattered.
  Angrily she ripped off her pink blouse without bothering to unbutton the rest of it. She unzipped her skirt and threw it on the floor on top of the blouse and finished off the stack with her black pumps. Grabbing a tissue, she wiped Samantha's lip gloss from her lips and threw the tissue on the floor. The tears she held back were now streaming down her face.
 Walking across the room to her bed she threw herself down on it and cried until there were no more tears left. Why did she think she was ready for a grown-up party? And how could she ever show her face outside this room again?
  With these questions running through her head, she curled up in a ball under her blankets and fell asleep.