Memories | Conrad Fisher

04. Hello Debutants!

Angelica woke up feeling nice and refreshed. She thought to herself how fortunate she was never to experience hangovers, and considered it a kind of superpower. However, she couldn't ignore the fact that her increased drinking had become a problem over the past month. While she used to drink only when partying, since her mom passed away, it had become almost a daily habit.

Reflecting on her behavior from the previous night, Angelica realized that what she had said wasn't fair. She acknowledged that she wasn't the only one who lost her mom and recognized that her excessive drinking had significantly changed her attitude. It struck her like a slap in the face that she needed to address this issue before it became more serious.

After brushing her teeth, Angelica returned to her room and noticed the debutante invitation on her desk. Initially, she didn't feel inclined to accept, but then she thought about Susannah's excitement and reconsidered. With a long sigh, she picked up a pen and marked that she would be accepting the invitation.

Attending the debutante ball had always been Angelica's dream. Two summers ago, she couldn't go due to a leg fracture caused by Steven's accident. The following summer, her dad arranged meetings with record labels, keeping her busy and away from the ball. But this year was supposed to be different. She had imagined going dress shopping with her mom and Susannah, and she had hoped Conrad would agree to be her date, knowing he would be a patient dance partner. Now, with her mom gone, she would only have Susannah for dress shopping and would need to find someone who would tolerate her poor dancing skills to be her date.

Descending the stairs into the kitchen, Angelica encountered Steven, who was being extremely intolerable, "Those old country club boomers are gonna tip me so hard man, they won't know what hit 'em!"

"Gross," She told him.

"Steven, I swear," Laurel looked disgusted.

"C'mon Laurel," Jeremiah started. "My boy's gotta get that bread."

"Thank you!"

"You guys make me want to kill myself," Angelica said, walking into the living room. "Where's your mom?"

"Sleeping, I think," Conrad looked surprised that she had spoke to him. "Why?"

She waved the debutante invitation in her hand, "I want to tell her I'm going to do it."

"You are?" Conrad furrows his eyebrows. "Are you gonna take Nick?"

This caused me to tilt my head to the side and glare at him, "Don't start."

"Sorry."

"Oh my god!" Susannah said as she walked behind Angelica into the kitchen. "Belly is going to be a debutante!"

"Should I tell her now or should I wait?" She asked the boy sitting in front of her on the couch.

"Tell her now," Conrad shrugged.

"Okay I'm going to wait," She turned around and attempt to go back to my room.

"Honey, wait!" She could hear Susannah call after her. "Have you decided? Today's the first deb tea."

She turned back around, flipped Conrad off who had a smug smile on his lips, and walked back into the kitchen, "Yes I'm going to do it."

"This is so exciting!" Susannah clapped her hands together much to Laurel's dismay. "C'mon girls we have to go shopping, it's all on me."

Susannah expressed her excitement, while Laurel seemed less thrilled. The shopping trip felt tiring for Angelica, and what was supposed to be a dream come true felt more like a chore. Trying on numerous outfits, she felt overwhelmed and dreaded the tea that would follow, anticipating excessive social interaction.