Grace Under Pressure (Grace Walker Series Book 1)

Chapter 9:

Just as I thought, Mr. And Mrs. Ward left for the King about 9 o'clock, after reminding Reni that they trusted her and to have a good time like a million times before they walked out the door. She reassured them that things will be fine and she knows, she would never do anything to question their trust in her.

Like clockwork, everyone started trickling in around 10. There were so many different costumes, and every one did an awesome job with what they picked out. Gretchen and her brother dressed like Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion. The rest of the Fearsome Foursome came in with vampire costumes on. And I'm not talking the type with Count as their first name and capes. I'm talking the ones with the great hair, smoldering look, the ones that look like they could break your heart more than they could kill you. I laughed and shook my head, because just like on those movies, they had admirers as soon as they walked in the door. The usual suspects, aka the cheerleaders flocked to them like they were magnets. Gretchen, however didn't need to cause a scene to get their attention. She and Ashton always made awkward eye contact but never really had the nerve to talk to each other. Not about anything more than school or football. And that was going on right now. I wish they would just talk about going out and get it over with.

The party was underway. The music was so loud, so everyone pretty much had to scream over it, but everyone seemed to be having a good time, which made Reni beam from head to toe. We went to the area she has designated for dancing and danced for what seemed like hours.

"Reni, I'm pooped, I'm going to get me some water and check out some of the food." I said.

"Cool, I'm so glad you are having a good time. Don't be long, I wanna dance some more." She smiled and said.

I went over to the coolers where the bottled water was, grabbed one out and you'd think it was the first thing I drank all day. I drank it so fast, so fast I needed another. So I grabbed another out and walked over to the food. Mrs. Ward really outdid herself. I grabbed a plate and smiled. It had a big smiling ghost on it that said Reni's Halloween Bash, Stay Boo-tiful. I couldn't decide between the buffalo chicken dip or spinach-artichoke dip, so I grabbed a little of both with some crackers and stood and people-watched while I ate. A couple of the girls at school waved as they passed and told me how good it was to see me back at school. I was just about to throw my trash away when I noticed there were quite a few guys missing from the party. Maybe they went outside. Reni has an area on the back patio that's enclosed that has a couple of pool tables and pinball machines. That's probably where they went. I walked back to the dance area and didn't see Reni.

"Hey, Gretchen, have you seen Reni?" I asked. She was actually dancing with Ashton!

"No, not for a while, maybe she went to the patio. I know her parents okayed her to let kids use the pool tables and stuff." She said.
I gave her a hug, told her I was glad she took the initiative to finally speak to Ashton. They looked good together.

I walked up the basement stairs, dodging kids sitting down talking on the steps, and went to see if I could find Reni.  I heard a lot of commotion so I quickened my pace. I walked out to the patio. Around the patio was glass windows from floor to ceiling, so you could see into her backyard. There were a bunch of kids, including Reni staring up at the roof outside the pool house. I walked out of the patio doors and seen what they were staring at. Mason James and another guy from the football team were on the roof laughing and cutting up, acting like they were gonna jump. All I heard was Reni begging and pleading for them to get down. To no avail it wasn't working.