Chapter 12. Out and About
1746 Words
"Congratulations, girl!"
Claire shrieked upon seeing her enter their classroom.
Amelia laughed at her friend's overreaction.
"I should say the same thing to you, girly."
She replied, undeniably ecstatic when she saw their names posted on the bulletin board, among others who passed the screening process.
She was now part of the school orchestra, and Claire, of the choir.
"I know!"
Her friend hugged her as soon as she came to her seat.
"I'm so excited!"
Amelia smiled.
She was too, her heart leaped in happiness when she saw her name there.
"You know what, we should celebrate."
Claire continued.
"Hmm, we can."
She replied, honestly glad to go out for a bit.
"What do you have in mind?"
She asked.
Claire probably had more ideas in mind than she.
"Anything!"
Her friend thought for a second.
"Eat out? Shopping? or Clubbing?"
Claire giggled excitedly Milly couldn't help but join in her friend's antics.
"Clubbing? You serious?"
Laughing out loud, Amelia shook her head.
She didn't know Claire went clubbing, but she wouldn't put it past her. Her friend was always eager to socialize, unlike her. She didn't even know why the both of them clicked right away, having completely different personalities.
"Why, of course!"
Claire declared, obviously unconcerned about it at all.
"It's time we go out, girl."
She tapped Milly's arm in a flirtatious way.
"The past week had been...wow, stressful, to say the least."
Amelia laughed, but she was right though.
The past week had been both grueling, and stressful for both of them, going through the rehearsal and all.
And then Laurence had to bother her too, what with his confession and everything.
Milly blew her breath out, she hadn't resolved that one yet.
But maybe Claire was right, they needed to go out and celebrate.
"Fine."
Amelia agreed, earning a wide grin from her friend.
"If you know where we're going, then let's go!"
Claire hooted in agreement.
"That's my girl!"
Grinning giddily, her friend hugged her one more time, before standing up and calling someone on her phone.
"Hey, where are you?"
Claire's voice cut through the noise in the background.
Amelia could hear loud music and chatter over the phone. They agreed to just meet at the bar Claire mentioned after their class in the afternoon ended.
"I'm almost there...maybe."
Milly answered, glancing at the cab driver for confirmation. He simply nodded at her inquiry.
It was almost eight in the evening and Milly was on the way to the address Claire sent her.
"Alright, I'll wait for you at the entrance."
Her friend confirmed.
"Okay..."
Milly hung up and turned her attention to the night view they were passing through.
The bar Claire mentioned was about forty minutes away from her aunt's house, maybe longer depending on traffic. Or so what the virtual map indicated on her phone.
She almost changed her mind and stayed home, except Claire didn't give her a chance to. Threatening her with bodily harm if she ever stood her up. Milly smiled. She probably needed to have someone like Claire by her side, otherwise, she would be as boring as a snail.
The cab driver signaled as they entered the bay side district in the city. It was lined with shops and restaurants and was considered the center of nightlife, especially during the weekends. Milly spotted the resto-bar right away when the taxi stopped on the sidewalk. After handing in her fare, she got out and walked up the steps.
"I really thought you'd be so brave to stand me up, girly."
Claire blurted out as a greeting upon seeing her at the entrance.
Apparently, no minors were allowed, and Milly had to produce her ID to show that she was over eighteen years old.
"As if..."
Milly responded when they were out of earshot from the guards at the front.
"Wow, this is packed."
Suddenly hit by loud music and dancing lights inside, Amelia squinted a little to adjust to the noise.
"It's the weekend... everybody's here."
Claire reminded her, almost shouting to her ear just so they could hear each other.
"Come on, my friends are over there!"
Milly didn't know they had company.
"You brought friends?"
She asked, carefully inserting her way against bodies of people milling on the side, beer or whiskey in hand.
"But of course!"
Claire answered excitedly.
"What were we gonna do, stare at each other?"
Milly had to laugh.
She had a point there. The reason she agreed to go was to have fun, which she rarely ever did. So having other people might not be a bad idea, Milly reasoned. She just had to exert extra effort to be sociable tonight. Just a little bit.
"Hi guys, this is Milly."
Claire introduced her right away when they reached their table.
There were two girls and two guys already sitting there, glasses of beer in front of them.
"Hi."
Milly extended her hand to each of them.
"Okay, this is Jill..."
The blonde girl in denim skirt and white halter top.
"Kirsty..."
Pretty in black tube blouse and tight jeans.
"Jace..."
Black long-sleeved cotton shirt.
"And Theo..."
Another in black T-shirt and jeans.
"Hi, nice to meet you."
Milly offered a smile as Claire's friends welcomed her.
"Hi, how are you?"
Jace greeted her as he shook her hand.
"I'm good, thanks."
She nodded in appreciation just as Claire gently guided her to be seated.
"We're in the same school, in case you wondered."
Her friend clarified, much to her surprise.
"Oh, I did wonder."
Milly chuckled softly.
She didn't have a chance to make a lot of friends at school yet, but admittedly introverted as she was, that wasn't a surprise at all.
"We've known each other since high school."
Claire explained further.
Amelia nodded, that was why she was comfortable in inviting them tonight.
"You're the pianist, right?"
It was Theo.
He was there during the audition day.
"Um, kind of."
Amelia quipped demurely.
"Oh yes, that was you?"
Kirsty exclaimed in surprise.
She looked pretty in long black hair, secured in a tight ponytail to accentuate her small face.
"One of them, yes, I was there."
Milly replied with a small smile.
Claire's friends seemed good-natured, like her. She could usually spot people she wanted to avoid right away, but she surprisingly felt okay with their company tonight.
Theo handed her a bottle of beer and motioned the waiter to order some more.
The bar was filled with mostly college students and young professionals from the looks of it, Milly observed. Claire was right, this spot was known to people of their ages so they wouldn't feel out of place. Milly leaned back in her seat and slowly sipped on her beer.
In a place with this much noise, conversations were often done at a minimum, otherwise, you either constantly shout, or lean in really close for a whisper, to get anything across to another person. Amelia was contented in people-watching instead.
"All good?"
It was Theo.
Milly didn't notice that he switched places with Claire and moved next to her.
"Yes, thank you."
Milly replied, slightly adjusting her posture so she could see his face.
He was a good-looking guy, she wondered if one of the other girls was his girlfriend. But it was too early to ask such a personal question. If one of them was, she would most likely find out very soon.
"We've been out with Claire a few times since school started..."
Theo continued, his body angled towards her so she could hear him.
"But this is the first time she brought you along."
Milly nodded.
"I guess we didn't have a chance before..."
She explained, honestly astonished to know that Claire still had the time to go out with her friends after school.
"Good thing you did."
Theo smiled.
Milly inadvertently studied his profile; black hair, a sleek fade haircut that made him look clean and smart, lean athletic build, and a kind of a bad-boy aura about him.
"Well, we've only known each other pretty recently, so..."
Milly reasoned, gulping her beer before setting the glass down on the table.
The other girls looked relaxed and were just enjoying the night just as she was.
"Can I add you on i-chat?"
Theo asked, bringing her attention back to him.
"Sure, no problem."
Milly answered and showed him her user profile.
Theo mumbled his thanks and leaned back on the seat, casually extending his arm behind her.
Almost midnight, Laurence checked his watch one more time as he entered the city center, driving directly from his grandma's home. He had to go home earlier when her doctor called him that she needed to be checked in the clinic. Said she had been suffering from mild hypertension the past week and needed to be monitored as soon as possible. Knowing his grandmother was no more than a stubborn old lady, he had to make the two-hour drive back and forth just to make sure she did what the doctor told her to do. Without him there, she would probably just ignore the majority of his instructions.
Laurence sighed and massaged his temples.
His headache began to throb as he headed back to his apartment. Traffic was still heavy in the city because of the weekend crowd. He mustered all the patience he had not to honk at the cars ahead, knowing they were all stuck in the same situation.
As he signaled at the next intersection, the traffic light turned red and he had to wait before he could make a right. Waiting for what felt like the longest thirty seconds by far, he casually glanced to the side of the road.
Laurence's brows furrowed. He couldn't be mistaken. A guy in black jeans was holding her waist and was too close for comfort. Was she drunk? He opened the passenger window to see clearly.
She was. She was drunk and some guy was holding her steady on the sidewalk.
What the f**k?
The throbbing in his head felt immensely intensified by what he was seeing.
Impatiently tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he waited for the last ten seconds on the clock before stepping on the gas to turn right.
Laurence hit the brake hard on the curb and purposefully got out of the car.
"What the f**k are you doing, man?"
Laurence grabbed the guy by his shoulders and pushed him to the ground.
- Writer
