adolescents - mo (monroe) harris

8

From the moment Anna rounded the corner at the bottom of the basement stairs she felt a sense of elevation. Parties at her old school didn't feel this way. Everyone knew her there. She never felt a sense of anonymity there, and she surely never felt like as much of a spectacle there as she did in this moment. She knew she stood out in the outfit she chose, that was her intention whether she realized it or not, but she had yet become self aware of why she suddenly wanted to stand out and be seen. She'd rejected the idea of being "fresh meat" before the first day. She had been content believing her arrival at the new school didn't shift any tides, but it only took her drunken lack of inhibition to entice her into believing everyone at that party wanted to know what she was about.

It was a nice, furnished basement full of teenagers dressed provocatively. Music played from a speaker in the corner and there was a beer pong table set up. Girls huddled together in groups while the guys tried to weed out the ones they hoped they'd get lucky with. It was a run of the mill teen party.

Lisa pulled Anna around, introducing her to a few people, most of them seniors that she'd never seen before. She was offered a drink by Paul, the host of the party, and she took it without question. She was pleased to find it wasn't beer. She was also pleased to find that Paul had a heavy pour. Paul stuck by her as Lisa caught up with her friends. Anna could feel him eyeing her when she looked away and he kept trying to make small talk every time she let the conversation die. She let the attention boost her drunk ego, but didn't lead Paul on.

Eventually, Anna spotted a familiar face turn the corner and enter the party. Mo had arrived wearing what seemed to be a dressing robe and carried a duffel bag. She caught his eye and waved and Mo smiled at her, waving back. Anna watched him unload the liquor from his duffel onto the table of drinks and remembered what Zeke told her earlier that day. Mo then pulled the marijuana out of the bag and showed the younger boy, who Anna deducted was Stacy, and they both disappeared back into the hallway. Anna thought she should make sure he was okay, but the thought quickly passed when Paul handed her another drink to replace her now empty one.

Anna was sufficiently drunk and listening to Paul complain about a chemistry quiz when a song came on that made Lisa squeal. She grabbed Anna and pulled her towards where the other girls were dancing. Anna smiled and waved at Paul as she was being dragged away, half because she didn't want to say anything to him that would make him follow her, half because she probably couldn't get anything coherent out fast enough anyway. Anna was happy to leave the situation, nonetheless, she didn't want to be a wallflower long enough to lose the sudden confidence she was feeling.

Lisa let go of Anna and threw her arms up, dancing to the beat of the rap song that was blaring next to them. Anna laughed, realizing Lisa was not a good dancer, at least not drunk. Anna joined in, beginning to understand why Lisa liked the song. She grabbed Lisa by the hand and jumped with her, both of them laughing with the other. As the music changed pace, Lisa spun Anna around so that she was now dancing on her. Lisa whistled at Anna and as she bent over and got low before coming back up. She laughed at Lisa as she turned back around and Lisa took her turn to grind on Anna. She hyped up her friend the same way she did for her, one hand on Lisa's waist and the other holding her drink up in the air.

Paul hadn't taken a moment to even blink since Anna left his side, plus a handful of the girls acting like they were too cool to dance kept a watchful and judgmental eye. Anna didn't notice this, but she noticed Mo, no longer selling drugs in the back room. Mo stood awkwardly by the beer pong table looking in Anna's direction. Anna pretended not to realize and kept dancing with Lisa. She beckoned Paul to get her another drink, and like a little waiter, he scurried to the drink table to serve her. Anna smirked at this, knowing after she purposefully made herself seem unavailable, she still had him under her finger.