Notice Me

4

WestBridge parties were different than Hawkings parties.

Parties at Hawkings were usually in someone's backyards, or in someone's house when their parents weren't home. The living rooms cleared out of furniture, the couches pressed flat against the walls so there was enough room to dance. There was off brand alcohol that mostly consisted of cheap vodka, and the music was coming from someone's phone that was plugged into a speaker.

Parties at WestBridge were the opposite. This one was in someone's mansion. Whoever the owner was, I guess they weren't concerned about scuffs on the white marble floors. There were bottles of champagne displayed over every counter, bottles of Grey Goose too. Cain had his DJ equipment set up, and someone had brought flashing lights that turned the large room into a makeshift night club.

It was a different world than the one I was used to, and while I certainly wasn't thrilled to be in it, I could see the benefits. These kids were wilder than the ones at Hawkings. The girls were dressed in clothes that were so revealing, there wasn't much left to the imagination. The smell of expensive perfume filled the room, along with the smell of alcohol. These rich kids knew how to party. There was drugs floating around the room, being passed through subtle handshakes. The smell of weed being burnt however, was not trying to be hidden at all. Everywhere I looked, there were lit joints hanging out of someone's mouth.

I guess these kids weren't concerned about their parents finding out what they were doing, or even more surprising, the threat of a police officer knocking on the door. I guess that's what happens when you live in a gated estate.

I was standing against the wall, a red plastic cup in my hands. Benji had thrust it in my face almost instantly after we walked through the doors. It's been almost a month since I started at WestBridge. It turns out, Cain's friends weren't as bad as I was expecting. Tyler and Benji were actually pretty funny, if you looked passed their slightly misogynistic behaviour. They were players, there was no way to look around it. It's not like I can talk, I did the same thing at Hawkings.

It's not like I was going to become best friends with them. That was definitely not going to happen, but even I can't pretend hanging out with Cain's friends didn't have it's benefits. They were definitely considered the popular group at WestBridge. So I decided to camouflage myself within them, since I was stuck there anyways. I'd never form the bond I had with O and Gavin with any of them.

There might be another reason I wasn't objecting to being in their group. It's not like it was going to go anywhere, but something about being close to that girl was enough for me. She was almost hypnotizing to be around. Not only because she looked so good on the outside, but because she was so hard to figure out. The first week or so that I ate lunch with them, I thought maybe Seren had a fight with Olivia and Trinity. Finally, I asked Cain if that was the truth. He didn't know what I was talking about. He told me that Seren was acting how she usually acted.

I wondered why that wasn't concerning to him. She was obviously sad. She was obviously checked out. She was obviously not enjoying her time with any of the others. She seemed to only tolerate them. Not that I could blame her. I don't think five minutes went by without one of the guys hitting on her. I don't think ten minutes went by without one of the girls saying something rude to her.

I wondered why she put up with it. I wondered why she didn't find new friends. She could, easily. Girls like her, they don't have trouble fitting in. Yet she stayed. Every day, she stayed at that table until she went to have a cigarette. Every weekend, she showed up to where the others were hanging out.

I wanted to know why.

"Zane, bro." I heard someone slur into my ear, their arm falling across my shoulders. I smelt the whisky on their breath before I saw who it was. "Enjoying the night?"