Labyrinth of Life

Chapter 3

Just as I reach, what feels like, the fifth bathroom door of this mansion-like house, my phone begins to ring. In hopes that it could be either one of my two best friends, I take the phone out of my back pocket. I'm not surprised when I see the caller ID read, Amma. If I answer her phone call, she'll probably hear the background noise of the many people, which means she'll definitely know I'm not where I said I would be. So instead, I wait for my phone to stop ringing before I send my mom a text. My phone battery is going to die, remember? Will be home soon.

It only takes a few seconds before I receive a text from her that reads, What time is it now? You are already supposed to be home. Hurry up or I am not allowing you to go out next time.

Even though I'm pretty sure my dad's already spoken with my mom about letting me stay out longer, I'm not, at all, surprised that she is still demanding that I come home before midnight, which is only about ten minutes away. Annoyance fills my body when I read her response. I roll my eyes at her text and put my phone back into my back pocket. The last thing I want to do is argue with her through text and spoil my mood further than she already has. After the electrifying moment I just had with the amber-eyed man, I do not want to spend the rest of my night being anxious because of her.

I'm already agitated from searching through multiple closed doors for the bathroom where my two best friends are currently in. So, when I call out my two best friends' names for, what feels like, the umpteenth time, I don't blame myself for practically sounding like a zombie. "Mina, Rosi?" I call out as I lightly tap on the next door that comes into view.

"Finally," I heard Rosi say from the other side of the door. Touché. I hear the sound of the door unlocking before Rosi swings it open to a brightly lit bathroom that looks to be made entirely of marble. Behind her, I see Mina with her head laid on the closed toilet seat and her eyes on me with amusement. "Spill it," she said the moment the bathroom door closed.

"Spill what?" I asked as I walked over to the towel rack. I grab the black towel from the rack and scrunch it up into a ball. I walk over to Mina, lift her head off the toilet seat, and slide the balled-up towel under her head. That way, at least she'll be comfortable on the toilet seat that I assume many people have already sat on. "Also, where were you guys? I felt like I was looking for the two of you forever."

"We went to look for Dylan, but we couldn't find him. But I swear you were right behind us when we walked into the party," Rosi said.

"My mom called me right before I walked in, so I got a little preoccupied with that."

"So I assume you went looking for us and found yourself a guy, eh" Mina slurred with both amusement and approval in her voice.

"How'd you catch her up so quickly if she was in here throwing up?" I said as I playfully shook my head.

"There's always time for girls to talk, no matter what's going on. Now sit your ass down and spill. It's time for girl talk," Rosi said as she sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But first, let's get out of this bathroom." Although this place is humongous, and the chances of me seeing the same person twice are highly unlikely, I don't want to risk running into the handsome Amber-eyed man. Truthfully, I don't know how I'd act if I did see him again. To my surprise, Mina asks, "Do you guys want to head out?" I'm mostly shocked about the fact that usually, neither one of my best friends ever wants to leave a party this early, but because Mina's been throwing up the alcohol she had consumed earlier, I get why she'd want to go home early. Regardless, I'm not complaining about leaving home early because the introvert in me hates being out in crowded places. "Yes, I'd rather be in my bed right now than in this bathtub," Rosi groaned.