A Toast and a Drink

Act 2; Pt. 2: The Devil Child

I wake up and realize I've been sleeping for a long time because now it's 4:00. I'm surprised I haven't been found and kicked out yet. Well, I better get up and help Mr. Lee decorate the rest of the house for the party.

I get back up and head to the main room again. In the middle I see a girl standing there and looking around the room. She's about 5'2 and she has golden blonde hair that fades into pink. She must be Parfait. She's already dressed up, she must be really excited for the party. I'm honestly kind of glad she hired me, not only because of the money but also because since I was never that popular I never got to go to any parties, so now I just kind of get to relive my childhood and go to more parties for free. It's not like I ever really do anything in them but bartend, but hey I find it better than not ever going to parties at all.

Parfait turns and she must see me because she waves me over. I walk over, suddenly because self conscious of my stride. This is the girl that decides the fate of my pay. I must impress her so that I don't get in absolute trouble by Mr. Lee.

"Hi! You must be Sparkling!" she says with a wide smile. "I'm doing good, how bout you?" I reply. "I'm doing great especially since I have a party tonight and I'm going to see my crush!!!" she squeals, and then she does a little dorky dance. Okay, she's a weirdo. Why did I have to deal with a rich weirdo out of all people? Why does God do this to me!? I give an awkward smile. "Wow, that's nice. What's their name?" I say, trying to sound as polite as possible. "His name is Herby, he has brown hair with streaks of green in his hair, he's 5'6 and he's really shy, but I can tell he likes me!" she says, smiling and blushing. Oh wow, Herby? That's a weird name, but I can't judge. "That's nice, do you know anything about his likes and dislikes?" I ask. "No, not really. He doesn't really like to talk to me, but that's only because he's playing hard to get. Anyways, how the bar looking? Does it look good!? It better look good or else I'm not going to be paying you!" she said speedily. Damn, now I really feel bad for this Herby dude. And did I just get threatened by this girl? I sigh to myself. People can switch up their mood so quickly, what a freakin weirdo. "Of course, I tried to make it look as good as I possibly could!" I say gritting my teeth. She nods, and then runs towards the bar. I walk after her, not feeling like running.

"Woah, this place looks cool! I haven't been in here in a while, I guess you've changed it up a lot! I like what you did with it," Parfait says while admiring the room. "Thank you, I tried my best," I say, feeling happy that she likes the room. Parfait looks at me for a bit, then asks, "Can I have a drink?" I look at her with shock. "Aren't you a bit young to be drinking?" I ask. "I'm 19 and a half, isn't the legal drinking age 18?" she said, looking confused. "No, the legal drinking age is 21," I say, shaking my head. "Well I've been drinking illegally then, oopsies!" she says, and then she lets out an evil giggle. "Well, I don't know if-" I start. "My dad lets me drink, so shouldn't you let me drink too?" she says while staring at me. I sigh. I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I need the money. "What do you want?" I say reluctantly. She smiles deviously. "Can I have a Bacardi?" she asks.

I pour the Bacardi into the shaker, shake it up in my beer shaker thing, and then I shave some ice. "What shape do you want your ice to be in?" I ask. "I want a heart!" she says. I shave a heart, making sure to make it as smooth as possible. I put the ice into the glass and then I pour the Bacardi. I get a straw and then I slide the glass over to her. She claps for my "excellent performance." She takes small sips, and I can tell she's being careful not to make it obvious that she's been drinking. In between sips, she takes a few sips of water to balance the alcohol out. I must admit that she's very smart when it comes to real world situations, however not very academically proficient. When she reaches the bottom of the glass, she sips the rest of the Bacardi out the bottom, making the annoying sipping noise. I stare at her until she's finished sipping. She notices me staring at her and then she teases, "What, you can't help but stare?" I politely shake my head, trying to make my point clear that I do not like her. I guess she doesn't get it because she says, "Sorry, I only have eyes for Herby~!" and then she winks at me. I sigh at the sight of this. I don't like dealing with this girl.

She hops off of her barrel and then she rushes back into the main room. I stare at the clock. 4:45. I've spent 45 minutes with this girl, and I'm already going insane. I follow her, and then she claps her hands like I'm her servant, signaling me to come over. I walk over hesitantly. She sits down and pats next to her, and I sit down with her. We lay down and I can't help but lose myself in how beautiful the sky is looking today. I swear Parfait is talking but I can't bother listening to her; all I can focus on is how beautiful outside is. Just looking at the sky makes me wanna go outside and take a deep breath of fresh air. I can feel myself drifting off... loosing myself in the blue of the sky... I yawn and I curl up into a ball.I lay on my side and Parfait's voice eventually drowns out. This position is so comfortable, I really just wanna fall asleep right now... I can feel myself yawn. I know I'm loosing my consciousness unwillingly. I'm so tired...

-

"Hello, Sparkling?"

I open my eyes and the light blinds me. It's Parfait. I sit up quickly and instantly scan the room for a clock. The clock reads 6. "Parfait, why didn't you wake me up earlier!? I need to go fix my clothes and hair before the party, be right back!" I say, standing up quickly. I rush in the direction of the bathroom. I splash myself with cold water, which fully wakes me up. I style my hair with the water on my hands, swooping my hair back to the side. I straighten my bowtie, adjust my suspenders, and pull my gloves back up. I quickly snap a pic for Instagram, and then I go back to my bar. I run behind the counter and slide into my seat. I then remember Mr. Lee's words: Do not, and I mean do not, go into any other rooms besides that one. The rest of this party sure is going to be a snooze.

Soon, I can hear people filing into the house. I yawn. I check the clock on the wall: 6:45. I think I overheard from some of the other staff that Parfait was planning of doing spin the bottle at 7:15. I suddenly hear a squeal from the main room, and Parfait yelling, "Anyways, follow me! The party's just begun, and we still have much to do!" I wonder why she's so excited? I mean, the people she just met are the same as every other regular person, right?

People start coming in and out of the bar, asking for drinks, blah blah blah. All the usual stuff, nothing interesting has happened yet. I start posting the pictures of myself on Instagram. I'm not that popular on there, but I'm fine with that. I have some close friends and family following me. I have a total of 36 followers, and I earned some of them myself. I was so proud when I got my first real follower. It honestly made me smile. You never realize how much social media affects the way you see yourself and others until it's too late.

Suddenly, I get a text from my mom.

Mama: How are you doing Sparkling?

Sparky: im doing good mom

Mama: Good, I hope that your job is doing good

Sparky: well nothing has really happened

Mama: Well maybe that's for the better

Sparky: ya maybe

Sparky: alright mama im gonna go now goodbye

Mama: Alright, bye Sparkling! Stay safe

My mom is the sweetest.

Suddenly, I hear someone from outside say, "Hey guys! Everyone get in a circle because we are going to play spin the bottle!" I can hear a bunch of people moving around and rearranging themselves. If there's something I know how to play, it's spin the bottle. I've been to way too many parties to not know what spin the bottle it. I really want to see it, but I can't leave my room. Mr. Lee's words ring in my head, and I know what I'm about to do is wrong and is a stupid decision and could possibly get all my money taken away, but hey I'm a curious lad.

I snuck out of the bar and snuck a peek around the doorway too watch the spin the bottle game.