Test The Waters

Chapter Seven: This Is Not The 1920s

The house was nothing close to beautiful.

It was small and brick, hunched over like it was hiding, though from what Coralia couldn't imagine. Music twisted its way out of the open windows; grainy, swinging music. A man crooned about dancing the Charleston. Coralia looked through the windows, and saw girls in knee-length flapper dresses like the one Kira had been wearing.

Maybe the house was hiding from the 21st century.

"Coralia!" Kira poked her head out the door. Her bob was curled, and she wore a jeweled headpiece that dripped pearls onto her forehead and glittered like the ocean on a sunny day. Coralia suddenly felt underdressed in her jeans and grey hoodie. Her hair was in Bantu knots, and she wore white lipstick, but she didn't look as radiant as the rest of the party. She wasn't supposed to be here.

"Um. Hi," Coralia said.

"You came? I kind of wasn't expecting that," Kira confessed. "I mean, that's great that you did, it just seems...out of character."

What Coralia didn't say: You've only known me for like a week. How do you know so much about me, anyway?

"I guess," Coralia said. She shifted her weight to her left foot. "I could go."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kira said. Coralia had thought being ridiculous was the entire point of the party. "I brought Shakespeare. You two can converse or something."

So that was it. Coralia was Kira's party trick. Let's all gawk at the fish lady!

Coralia stepped through the rotting threshold. "How does Aria live in this house? It's practically falling apart."

"Ask her yourself," Kira said, gesturing toward the short white girl with the pink hair and mint swing dress. Aria was dancing with a boy whose back was to Coralia. Once she caught a glimpse of Coralia over the boy's shoulder, she waved. "I've told her about you," Kira continued.

Coralia walked over, maneuvering her way around a boy in a paperboy outfit who was chatting up another girl dressed as a flapper. The house was filled with girls dressed like flappers, actually.

"Hi! Coralia, right?" Aria grinned up at Coralia. "Love your hairstyle."

Coralia was supposed to compliment Aria now, wasn't she? Wasn't this how social gatherings worked?

"Haha, thanks, I like your..." She searched for something to compliment Aria on. Hair worked, right? Aria's hair blushed a pale rose, and she clearly prided herself on it. But Aria had already complimented Coralia's hair. Complimenting Aria's hair now would be a faux pas. But she had to say something soon, or it would be awkward.

"...shoulder," Coralia blurted. She looked down at her feet. That seemed like a safe place to look right now. Except Aria was wearing mint Mary Jane heels with white polka-dots and a satin rose. Why hadn't Coralia complimented her shoes instead?

Aria's smile flickered a bit. "Thanks," she replied. "I do have a nice shoulder." She laughed. How had Kira ever convinced Coralia to come here? There was a reason she avoided social situations.

"This is Dorian," Aria said, gesturing toward the boy she had been dancing with. He was tall and blonde and in a hideous ruffled powder-blue tuxedo.

"Nice to meet you," Dorian said. He looked bored. Coralia thought she recognized him from somewhere.

"Are you in my Biology I course?" Coralia tried. Dorian shrugged. He checked his vintage watch that probably cost more than he did. "Okay," Coralia continued. "Are you in--"

"Dorian here recently joined the fraternity Beta Gamma Delta," Aria said, pride seeping into her voice. Coralia swallowed hard.

"Were you one of those boys who threw a water balloon at me?" She demanded, her voice rising slightly. If Dorian felt anything close to remorse, he didn't show it.

"Yeah," he said. "It was funny." It occured to Coralia that this blank slate of a boy wouldn't know funny if it tapped him on the shoulder and introduced itself. "Are you Aria's girlfriend?" He asked.

"Um." Coralia bit the skin around her thumbnail. "No."

Aria didn't answer. She looked almost disappointed.

"Oh," Dorian droned on, apparently lacking the tact to stop. "But, Aria, I thought you said that's the one who liked you."

"Excuse me," Coralia said, her voice clipped and polished, hiding her anger. "I would like to try some of the punch. I understand it is 'the best punch you ever tasted'." She marched to Kira, who was standing against the wall, talking to Shakespeare the goldfish.

"Oh, Coralia," Kira said. She squeezed out a smile. "Shakespeare and I were just talking about you. How was Aria? I've told her so much about--"

Coralia squinted. "Exactly how much have you told her?" She felt her heart jump slightly. The irrational part of her brain questioned if she was having a heart aneurysm. "Does she think I...am in love with her?"

Kira's eyes darted to her feet and then back up at Coralia. "No," she said after a moment's hesitation.

"I'm not interested in that kind of thing, you know," Coralia mumbled. "I don't want to date anyone today. I'd like to leave now. I've been social enough today."

"You're not going to stay for the comet?"

Coralia walked away without answering. Once she was out of the house, she poked her head in the doorway. "For your information, it's not the 1920's anymore," she shouted over the din.

She marched into her dormitory, not looking up once. When she passed the girl with the blue undercut, who was standing in her usual spot, instead of singing Under The Sea like she usually did, the girl asked what was eating Coralia.

"Is there a refund policy for guardian angels?" Coralia asked, not expecting an answer.