The Precise Art Of Staying Alive

Chapter 11 - The Precise Art Of Parties And Impressions

Nadia ran up to Asher and I, interpreting whatever Asher was about to say.

"Asher, send the word out about a party on the mountain. I've already gotten some people to agree to come, but there's got to be more people in this town."

"Yeah, but what about the other one?" Asher asked. Nadia raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms.

"The other one?"

"Y'know, the fancy one with all the whole town." Asher began, and when neither Nadia or I reacted, he continued.

"Everyone's invited, dumb outfits, lots of people pretending they're richer than they are."

"Sounds...interesting." I said, unsure of what was going on. Catching our confused looks, Catrin swung around on Asher's arm.

"What he means is the Winter Ball. The people who own the house typically hold it. Everyone has to get dressed up and go dance and gossip. It's mainly a chance for the people who own the house to show off, whoever they are, and for everyone else to snoop around." She explained.

"Also, it's boring as hell, so excuse me if I don't exactly remember it." Asher interrupted, earning a scowl from Catrin.

"But we don't own the house." I said, confused. I was all for parties, but we didn't even know about the party, and suddenly we were expected to prepare it in a few days? Asher shrugged.

"Too bad. I'm pretty sure for most of the people in this town it's their highlight of the year, so, good luck." Asher said, winking at me, before turning away, Catrin following him. I turned to Nadia, gnawing on the inside of my cheek.

"He's got to be kidding."

"He's not. It'll be fine; we already have a bunch of food, and if you need to, you can go clothes shopping. Besides, wouldn't it be kind of fun to hold a ball?"

"I didn't know you were into...balls." I said, scrunching my nose. Nadia had never really seemed the type of person to go to balls and dress up in elaborate gowns, but I supposed there were hidden depths to everyone. Nadia sighed, staring at the bonfire.

"Not masks and waltzes, and definitely not old people, but there's got to be something kind of fun about a dance, where all of the people in the town come together, get drunk and spill their secrets." Nadia said lightly, the side of her mouth pulling up in a teasing smile. I looked back towards the main street, before laughing slightly.

"So that's what this is about: gossip." Nadia looked at me, an amused expression on her face.

"Of course."

"But - you don't even know them." There was no point in knowing secrets about someone I didn't know, didn't care about, and would probably never meet again, and even though I could hear the Nicole in my voice as I thought it, I couldn't help but protest slightly.

"But you see, I will." Nadia joked, tapping the side of her noise. We both started laughing, easier than we would've before, but there was something about the warmth of the wrecking yard and the closeness of Nadia and I that made me feel euphoric.

"I'm sure knowing that Annaleigh's cheating on her husband will make all the difference." I said, smiling as I turned away from the fire, looking towards where River was painting.

"I'm going to go and see how everyone's going, and then we can meet back here?" I suggested. Nadia nodded assent, already walking away, and I walked over to the old, rusted car where River was painting, their hair tucked behind their ears, face locked in an expression of concentration. I tapped River on the shoulder, and they turned around, smiling. I sat cross-legged in the dirt next to them, looking at the artwork.

The entire side of the car was painted with the beginning of a sunset, soft streaks of colour standing out from the pale blue car. River was adding a soft, orangey-yellow near the top of the sunset, where a warm red changed into a deep orange, before fading into dusty pink. River added the colour at the bottom of the orange, and a boy with a cross-earring and heavy, black glasses painted beneath the orangey-yellow with a soft, candle-light yellow. The method was unusual, and different to what I would've done, had I been painting, but it clearly worked. The side of the car was beautiful, the colours almost an exact replica of the sunset we'd seen the evening before.

"That's amazing!" I exclaimed, turning to the boy next to River.

"How long have you all been working on this?" I asked.

"A few days, but we've been planning for a fair bit longer." The boy explained, before smiling, slightly awkwardly at me and sticking out a hand.

"I'm Reid." He said.

"Rhea. I paint sometimes, but nothing like this" I replied, shaking his hand. Reid raised his eyebrows slightly, something that must've been picked up from a lot of time spent around Asher, who seemed to be the leader, and handed me a paintbrush, pointing to a piece of cardboard with a rainbow of pastel colours settled on it.

"Blend them." He said briefly, and I began to mix the colours that he and River were using, trying to get just the right shade.

"So, what do you think of Asher?" I asked River. River made a face, their hazel eyes flaring slightly.

"You mean besides from annoying, loud and arrogant?" River asked, dabbing their paintbrush into the paint at each adjective with a little more force than necessary. River saw my slightly shocked expression and let out a small breath.

"I'm sorry, I just don't like him. He's like Theo, but worse. At least Theo's quiet most of the time."

"What do you mean like Theo?" I asked, beginning to paint.

"They have similar - god, I can't find any word to describe it but vibes." River said with a little snort, and I smiled.

"They both seem rich, privileged, intelligent, but thinks they're too smart to try and they don't care about consequences, even when those consequences include other people." River explained. I understood them, and the kind of people they were talking about, but rich? I didn't know about Asher, but Theo sure wasn't rich, or else who wouldn't go to our school.

"Maybe you'll warm to him." I suggested half-heartedly, and River gave me a small smile.

"Maybe."