MANAL

24. Manal

When we arrived at the party, the place was already rowdy. Booming music welcomed us. My gaze trailed to the fleet of cars parked outside the hall. I gulped. I was really nervous about the whole thing, but since I was already there, I saw no point in turning back. I inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Are you okay?" Hala's high-pitched voice pierced my eardrum.

"I feel nervous." I admitted, fiddling with the hem of the red dress I was putting on. It reached my ankle, but I still felt uncomfortable, because the dress was a tight fit. I felt—uncovered.

"Is this your first time of attending of attending a party?" She sneered. "Come on, loosen up, babe."

The first was a terrible experience. I just hope this goes well.

I rolled my eyes and heaved another sigh. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Hala. Shouldn't we go back to the hostel?"

"We're already here." She pointed. "Let's just go in and see what they are doing, then we can leave afterwards. Let's go in."

Just as we began to advance towards the hall, I thought I heard my name being called from behind, but when I turned around, I saw no one. I spurned the thought. It was probably a figment of my imagination.

"Come on, Amiga." Hala grabbed my hand and practically dragged me into the hall.

My eyes broadened at the sight of a girl and boy dancing so closely to each other, on the stage. I craned my neck around and realized all eyes were on them. What surprised me the most was that they were doing it so comfortably. There wasn't even a glint of shame in their eyes. If anything, they were even proud of gaining so much attention from the audience. The hall was filled with hundreds of people. For a reason inexplicable to me, I felt someone was keeping an eye on me. My gut feeling told me so.

"Hey!" Hala nudged me by her shoulder. "Stop thinking so much and enjoy the party. Your father isn't just going to pop up and drag you out of here. You're safe, so enjoy! Let's go and sit over there and enjoy the show." She pointed to a sit in the second row.

"How can—"

"I asked my friends to reserve seats for us." Hala was quick to cut me off.

I quirked my brows. "You have other friends?" It was surprising to me, because I had never seen or heard her talk about having other friends. In fact, I thought I was the only friend she had and hence, the reason for her protectiveness.

"Of course. You're not the only friend I have." She huffed. "What do you take me for? I'm not a local person, you know. I'm outgoing. I make friends easily." She shrugged. "Actually, people want to be friends with a classy babe like me."

I only hummed in response.

"Let's go, I will introduce you to them." She slid her hand in mine and dragged me towards two guys seated in the second row.

I stared at Hala in incomprehension. "Where are your friends?"

"Why are you looking at me? Look at your front and you will see them. They are not invisible." She scoffed.

"These are your friends?" I gulped and my palms all of a sudden became sweaty. When she mentioned friends, I thought she was referring to female friends. I never imagined they were male friends—bad looking ones at that. One look at them and anyone would label them as irresponsible. The first guy had dreadlocks and dangling earrings on. I couldn't properly see the outfit he was putting on, because he was seated and the hall was not so light anymore. The illumination had been dimmed, due to reasons unknown to me.