Puppets on a string

PARTY IN THE USA

Finally it was the day of the party. All of my friends are now close to me. I am also very close to both Samuel and Vincent eventhough I like Vincent more. All of the girls decided to get ready for the party in my home as it was nearer to the college. Party was organised in college gym. All of my female friends came to my home at 6 in the evening as party was about to start at 8. We all gathered in my room and started changing clothes and doing makeup. My mom also arranged some snacks for all of us when we were getting ready. My brother Andrew offered to drop us to the college in our car and promised to pick us up too.

IN COLLEGE

We just reached the college and there we saw Vincent and Ralph waiting for us on the college gate.

'Hey girls, you all look really pretty' Vincent complimented us with a smile on his face. He was wearing a blue tuxedo while Ralph was wearing blue jeans with a black blazer with a white t- shirt inside. Both boys were looking handsome.

I was wearing a cream colored knee length dress which was fitted upto my waist and was frock style below the waist. I had my hairs straight open. I guess I was looking fine. Vinnie was wearing a little red dress which reached her mid thigh. Her black hairs were also kept open straight. Vicky was wearing a white floor length gown. Jennie was wearing a pretty red blouse with black jeans. Sophie was wearing a little black dress which also reached her mid thigh. All the girls were looking pretty. When we reached the gym, it was beautifully decorated with red and white balloons. I was hanging out with the girls when I heard a voice from behind.

'You look really gorgeous Ash'

I recognized his voice and turned around with a smile on my face. There stood Mr. Arrogant in a white shirt and black trousers looking dashing. How can someone wear something simple but still look like a Greek God.

'You don't look so bad yourself Sam' I replied composing myself from all the handsomeness around me but still with a polite smile.

'Sam? Did you just give me a nickname?' he asked with a hint of mischievous look in his eyes. I knew he liked it when I called him Sam.

'Forget it Samuel' I sighed trying my best to hide the smile

'No No. I liked it when you called me Sam. Please stick to that'

'Did he just say Please' I thought to myself but gave him a genuine smile and left the talk there.

Then the DJ started playing songs and we all started dancing to the rhythm. We all were enjoying the dancing then suddenly the DJ played a romantic song. We all started slow dancing finding a partner for ourselves. I looked at my right and saw Vincent dancing with Vicky. That moment I realized that Vincent has been avoiding me since the beginning of the night and has been close to Vicky. I ignored it for now but I felt a tug on my heart. I felt a little left out when I saw everyone was dancing with someone and I was standing alone in the corner. I guess this is how my night is going to end. Suddenly I felt someone hold my hand. When I looked up I saw Samuel looking at me holding my hand. I looked at him with a questioning look. He gave me nudge and took me to the dance floor. He put his hand on my waist and took my hand to put it on his shoulder. He grabbed my other hand in his other and slowly started moving to the rhythm. After some seconds I realized what was happening. I was dancing with Mr. Arrogant. But I still felt leftout when my friends all ignored me as if I don't exist. Vincent who texted me regularly at night and would call me everyday and sit with me in the canteen ignored me today for my friend Vicky. He has been dancing with her all night and has been avoiding me. Now that I notice, he has barely talked to me all night. If I think of whole last week, he has always been around me whenever I was with Vicky. But Vicky never really noticed him too much. But tonight seems a little different. She has been with Vincent since the beginning of the party. I think he only talked to me because he wanted to be close to Vicky. I am habitual of this kind of situations. Boys only talk to me when they want me to introduce them to my friends. I guess I will never be someone's first choice. I tried to shake off all the negativity from my mind and focused on Samuel who was actually interested in dancing with me. Atleast someone cared for me. Yes, Samuel was a rude arrogant person but he actually cared for his friends. Later on, Ms. freshers and Mr. freshers were announced.

The student union president went on the stage and announced the King and Queen of the night.

'Ms. Freshers is Vinnie Singh' he announced. I cheered loudly for my friend. She immediately hugged me and went to stage. In past week I have become very close to Vinnie. She is like my best friend. We both go shopping together and eat together always. He put a beautiful golden crown on Vinnie's head and gave her a bouquet of fresh red roses.

'Mr. Freshers is Eddy Holmes' he announced.

I have talked to Eddy a couple of times. He is in my Phyiscs class too but we are not in same friend circle. Soon, we had the dance for stars of the night and everyone busied themselves in taking pictures with Mr. and Mrs. freshers. Vinnie came to me and gave me her bouquet to hold and went to take photos with others. Again, I was standing alone in the corner. I was really happy for my friend but I again felt leftout too. Vinnie saw me and ran to me. She grabbed my hand and asked Ralph to take a picture of both of us together. She is such a sweetheart. She tries her best to never leave me alone but I understand that she cannot be with me all the time. Soon, Samuel came to me and asked my permission to take a selfish with him. Maybe he saw that everyone was busy and I was alone. I don't want anyone's pity but I still felt like someone actually cared for me. I gave him a smile and agreed to take a selfie. He gave me a smile back, took a selfie with me, and left when Vinnie approached me again. When we were going to the car, everyone was congratulating Vinnie. I was really happy for her. Then we all left for our homes. The night was not as pleasant for me as I expected it to be. Firstly, Vincent who was my very close friend ignored me. Secondly, I felt leftout as I was someone unwanted there. But I still kept a smile on my face. Maybe I was overthinking everything. Thank God Samuel was there to give me company. Maybe he is not such a bad person which I thought he was. He always cheered me up whenever I was feeling lonely and sad. He always gave me compliments. He also flirted with me a little bit. But maybe he also gave me attention because he wanted to be with one of my friends. As I said, it happens to me on regular basis. Whenever a boy approaches me, after sometime they always ask me if Vinnie or Vicky is single or If I can give them their contact numbers. Vincent didn't send me a good night message today like he has been doing since last week. Maybe he got what he wanted. I am tired of playing cupid. I am tired of being used. I want someone to notice me too. I may not be the most beautiful girl out there. I may not have hour glass figure like other girls. But I know that I am a person with good heart. I have a little fat in my body which makes me look cute rather than sexy. I hope someday I will find someone who will love me with all my flaws. Shrugging all the negative thoughts out of my mind, I went to a dreamless sleep.

NEXT MORNING

Today was Saturday. I finally have a good weekend when I can sleep after having a tiring week in college. I decided to spend some time with my cousin sister Adrianna. She is just an year older than me and is pursuing software engineering in another college in San Diego. Due to our busy schedules, we only hangout on weekends. Adrianna and I are closest we can ever be. Adrianna's father is my father's older brother and both of them are business partners. We are also neighbours. Our parents are very close so they decided to buy homes in the same neighborhood. Adrianna also has two older brothers. We all grew up together. We all are very close to each other and behave as if we are real siblings. She and I always share everything with each other. Whenever I am feeling down, I give her a call and she lights up my mood in an instant. She understands me like noone else can. She says that she feels the same way with me. I badly wanted to spend some time with Adrianna as I was feeling down last night.

' Hey Ana, Are you free today?' I texted her

'Yes, I am free. What happened? Wanna come over and share it with me? I will order pizza' She replied instantly.

I smiled seeing that. She knows me too well. She understood me just after seeing my message.

'I will quickly take a shower and be there in an hour' I texted back.

After 2 hours I was eating pizza and had already narrated the whole freshers party story to Ana. (Ana is Adrianna's nick name).

She listened to my bullsh*t without interrupting me. When I was done, she sighed.

'Why do you think so much about these kind of people? Do you think that they will become your best of friends in a week? Have any of your friends texted you since yesterday? And you know that boys are always jerks. They never think that their actions will hurt the girl's feelings. How many times do I have to tell you that you need to ignore these kind of people? Just focus on your studies and love yourself. The right man will find his way to you on the right time' She said politely to me.

I realized that what she said was right. If someone like me then they will find their way to my heart. It's not like I was in love with Vincent. He is just a stupid crush which will go away. And yes nobody has texted or called me since yesterday. Today morning, I saw my so called friend's social media update. Jennie, Sophie and Vicky were hanging out together in a cafe and nobody even asked me to join. I didn't even know that they were meeting. Ana is right. I cannot be someone's best friend in a week. Everyone cannot be our close friend. I have Pamela, Victoria, Adrianna and now Vinnie. I don't need anyone else. Pamela and Victoria have been my classmates since kindergarten but we became best friends in middle school and we have been inseparable since then. Yes we hangout together but I don't share my every life story with them. Pamela loves to gossip and judge people. Sometimes she judges me too which messes up my self confidence. And Victoria is struggling with her personal problems currently. I cannot blame her. She just broke up with her high school boyfriend who was also her first love. She is drowning in sorrow and has been avoiding us. She dropped out for an year and is focusing on herself right now. That's a story for another time. Right now I need to complete my worksheet which I need to submit on Monday.