The Other Girl

Chapter XX

 I tapped my pen on my notebook absentmindedly as I thumbed through the textbook. Page three sixty-four, three sixty... four!

Right on cue, my phone burst into my childlike ringtone—still haven't gotten around to changing it—causing me to flinch in surprise.

"Stacey?" I asked, putting the phone up to my ear. "What's up?"

"Stella!" Stacey sang, voice muffled over the phone. "Pete's having a party—you in?"

"Sure, why not," I said, thumbing through the pages of my textbook one last time. "Give me half an hour."

"Hurry up!" Stacey called, the music in the background getting louder. "It's already well past eleven, and I don't think the wasted crowd's going to hold up for long."

"It is?" I asked, turning to check the clock. The hands were splayed at quarter past the large bold eleven. How fast time seemed to pass these days. "Fine—keep them awake for me!"

"Will do. I'll send Chad to pick you up," Stacey yelled over the beats that now thumped into my ear. "He just work up."

"Oh Chad," I smiled. "That sounds good." Hearing the click, I put down my phone and made my way to my closet. Dark or light—how about a bright color tonight? I feel like having fun. A distraction would be nice. Maybe I'd even find someone new...

---

"What about him?" Stacey grinned, gesturing vaguely towards a muscular blonde—wrestling team, most like. "Bet that shirt's doing more harm than good."

"Buff," Karen agreed, before grinning and tipping her head towards a dark-haired boy in a fitting polo, "but that one's more of my type. Dark, cute, and a nice sense of style."

"Preppy," I added, sipping my drink from an iconic red solo cup. "I think the guy by the door's pretty cute too—taken though, by the looks of that redhead."

"Just a fling," Stacey sniffed, glancing over the girl clinging onto the boy's arm. "I'm sure she has nothing on you though—just walk over and snag him. You'd be doing him a favor."

"Alright, who wants who?" Karen asked, grinning. "I think I'm going to have to pass though."

"If you're passing, then Stella's the only single one here," Stacey frowned. "That's no fun."

"I'm not feeling it today," Karen explained, tipping her cup over to inhale the rest of the contents. "Need more beer though. Either of you want any?"

"Get me some," I called, waving my empty cup at her. Karen made an 'okay' sign with her fingers before weaving through the crowd.

"You know, " Stacey started, frowning as she swirled the remaining alcohol around the red cup absentmindedly, "you're the only one who's completely single right now."

"Really? What about Karen?" I asked, confused.

"She's seeing someone," Stacey asserted, giving me a wry smile. "Although 'seeing' might not be the correct term—maybe 'chatting.' Online, I mean, since she's been on her laptop all the time recently—couldn't you tell?"

"Oh," I breathed, quiet. It was strange—all of a sudden my friends were all off in relationships. Was it time to pair up and settle down? Already?

"Now I'm not saying that you should go hook up with someone seriously," Stacey said, meeting my eyes with a calm gaze. "I'm just saying... Maybe it's time to start thinking about it. College doesn't last forever, you know?"

"I have time then," I concluded, half-joking and half-hoping that Stacey would just agree and allow me to go on believing in what I did. Stacey granted me a sad smile.