Chapter 2: The Party

I was late to the graduation party because I had something to take care of.

My phone was blowing up with texts—where are you, are you even coming?—but I ignored them as I finished up my last shift at the car wash, scrubbing bug guts from headlights and wondering if the tips would be worth the blisters. My hands stung from the soap, and the radio in the garage kept cutting in and out between country and static. When I finally got there, the party was already in full swing. The whole senior class was packed into Melissa’s dad’s backyard, music thumping, Christmas lights strung from the fence, the pool shimmering under the stars. Somebody was shotgunning a beer by the pool. The snack table was littered with half-eaten pizza rolls and a half-empty tub of ranch.

When I arrived, I happened to see the school heartthrob, Jason, confessing to Rachel Lin.

He stood there with a bouquet, looking both confident and shy. “Rachel, I’m not good at making the first move, but I don’t want to have any regrets.

“I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?”

Our classmates started cheering and egging them on.

“Do it, Rachel! Say yes!”

“Come on, you two—make it official already!”

I felt my chest go tight, but I forced myself to join the chorus. “Do it, Rachel! Say yes!” My voice sounded thin, but nobody noticed; everyone was caught up in the moment.

Rachel suddenly glanced at me, her face clouding over.

I didn’t know what that look meant—was she searching for an escape, or just reading the crowd?

In the end, she turned him down.

The music stumbled, then blared too loud—like it was trying to cover up the silence. Somebody coughed. A couple of girls whispered behind their hands. Everyone let out a collective sigh of disappointment, the kind that says the fairy tale just hit a pothole.

Jason paused, then forced a smile. “It’s okay, let’s just be friends then.”

He shrugged it off, rolling his shoulders like it was nothing, and called out, “Come on, don’t let it ruin the party. Eat, drink, have fun!”

As if he hadn’t just been rejected in front of everyone.

I couldn’t help but admire his guts and composure. The guy could’ve been an actor, honestly, or maybe just really good at pretending.