The Ring of Fire & Serpents

Chapter Eight - Party Time

Sophia's POV.

I pull down the rearview mirror to check my makeup. Dang! Savannah did a good job! I reach into my purse and fish out my phone, so I can take a picture, "Anybody you were hoping to see at the party Savannah?" I ask curiously as I pucker my lips and snap the shot.

She runs her fingers through her long curly blonde mane, "Oh my gosh, yes! Duke Evans. God help me; he is so fine!"

I roll my eyes at her, "Does he know you exist?" I ask jokingly.

She sneers at me, "Yes! He asked today if he could borrow a pencil in Calculus!"

I snicker, "Good, well, at least someone does."

The two of us howling with laughter as she reaches up and playfully smacks my arm, "How about you?" she asks.

I lower my gaze to my lap. Even though Savannah knows my secret, I still get embarrassed when she asks questions. She reaches out and gently pats my hand to comfort me, "Soph, it's okay. You can tell me. I won't say a word to anyone, I promise. Remember when you told me about it last year, and I swore to you that I wouldn't tell? My lips are sealed. I love you, remember that.

I shake my head, "It's still hard for me to discuss. I don't want word to get out at this school. I can't deal with any nasty rumors going around like at our old school. Nobody knows me here; it's nice."

She reaches out to pat my leg, "Soph, don't be ashamed to be who you are. I know Momma and Daddy will love you regardless. Besides, if anyone starts any s**t with you here, they are going to get a serious beat down by me!" She snickers.

I keep my head down to avoid her gaze. Deep down, I know she's right, but it's tough to come out to the people you love. Savannah senses my discomfort with the subject, so she directs her attention to the road. Maybe one day, I'll be able to live freely as I'm meant to.

Savannah slows the car and turns down a gravel road. It's still light out, but I bet it's pitch black out here in the middle of nowhere the later it gets. Up ahead on the left, there are several cars parked along the grass. This must be where the party is, "I bet that's it," Savannah whispers.

My heart begins to beat out of my chest. I anxiously tap my hands on my lap as we drive up to the house. There are people everywhere, but nobody I recognize. I'm so anxious to see Casey tonight. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She's petite, like me, but with beautiful brown eyes and long brown hair that falls past her shoulders. We sit together in class, but I doubt she thinks about me in that way like I do her. I'm praying for a miracle at this point. She's the only girl that I've ever met that flusters me. That's got to mean something because I'm not easily flustered.

Savannah parks the car on the street and turns to me, "You ready?"

I nod as I can hear the sound of the music booming from the house up ahead, "As ready as I'll ever be." I respond.

She chuckles, "Girl, you look beautiful. I promise you will be fine." she says reassuringly.

I reach down to grab my purse and inhale, "Okay, let's go."

The two of us climb out of the car and walk towards the house, "Oh s**t. Savannah, you gotta text Momma Casey's address." I remind her.

She reaches down to fish through her purse for her phone, "Oh gosh! I almost forgot. Okay."

She pulls out her phone and quickly texts the address to Momma as we walk up to the front porch, weaving through the herd of other people out in the front yard. Savannah opens the screen door and walks inside. I follow close behind her.

As we enter, the kitchen is off to the right. I catch a glimpse of Casey sitting at the kitchen table with a couple of people from our school and one guy I haven't seen before. I hope he's not her boyfriend. She catches me looking at her as I begin to walk in her direction, and she flashes a warm smile. I can feel my cheeks begin to flush, and my stomach flips. She motions for me to come into the kitchen. I turn to Savannah and find she is already talking to a group of girls. She turns to me, "Hey Soph, I'll catch up with you in a little bit. Have fun, pretty girl!"

I nod and wave her on before I turn and walk into the kitchen where Casey is. As I approach her, she smiles, "Hey Sophia! I'm so glad you came! You want to hang out with us?" she asks.

I glance at the others seated at the table with her. It's hard to concentrate right now as Iggy Azalea blares over the speakers, "Hey guys, let's make some room for Sophia." Casey says as she hops up and pulls a stool from the bar next to her. The others scoot over so I can squeeze in and sit down with them.

I hang my purse on the back of the stool and sit down, noticing four sets of eyes boring a hole through me as I do, none of them I recognize. I swallow hard, "Hey guys." I manage to choke out.

Another girl sits directly across from me. She appears annoyed since I've sat down, so I do my best to ignore her. I get this a lot. She is probably annoyed at the thought of some competition at the table. The two guys next to her flash a cheeky grin at me, "Sup." one of them says to me.

Another guy at the table with black eyeliner reaches into his pocket and discreetly pulls something out. As he unwraps it, I discover what it is. He looks up at me, "Hey, you wanna smoke with us?" He asks as he lights the joint with a lighter.

I hesitate for a moment before turning to Casey. She smiles at me, "Come on, Sophia. Smoke with us. It will be a lot of fun." she says.

I hesitate, "Where are your parents? Are they here?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "Nope, they are out of town visiting my Grandma. Come on, loosen up, girl!" she says as she reaches up to squeeze my shoulder.

Oh geez! Here we go with peer pressure. All eyes are on me as they wait for me to respond. I shrug my shoulders, "Sure, why not." I blurt out.

The eyeliner guy coughs as he exhales the smoke, "I'm Clayton, nice to meet you. Here ya go." he says as he passes the joint to me.

I take it and slowly bring it up to my mouth. As I put it in my mouth, I notice its tip is wet from his saliva. Gross!

I can feel Casey watching me as I puff the joint. She begins to giggle, "Okay, my turn." she says impatiently.

I immediately pass it to her and watch as she takes a puff. My ears begin to ring as I finally exhale the smoke. Hopefully, this will help me relax a little bit. This isn't the first time I've done it, but it's the first time since I've moved here.

A few passes around the table, and my ears were still ringing; I felt very foggy, but I was relaxed. As the others at the table get up and walk away, Casey gently elbows my arm, "Hey, come outside with me." she says.

The two of us jump up, and I follow close behind her as she leads me towards the back of the house. As I walk towards the backdoor, I pass Savannah on the sofa talking with a guy. She's leaned into him, and they seem very friendly towards each other. Hmmm...it's definitely not Duke, so I will have to get the scoop from her afterward.

Casey opens the patio door and leads me to the deck, where she plops down on one of the loungers. She reaches out and pats the lounger next to her, "Come and sit down with me. Let's talk." she says.

I plop down on the lounger awkwardly, nearly missing it entirely. Thankfully, I caught myself. She begins to giggle, "Oh Sophia, Sophia, Sophia..." she says playfully.

I turn to her, noticing her eyes are very glossy, and her cheeks are a nice pink color, "Oh Casey, Casey, Casey."

She leans back in the lounger and turns her head, so her eyes meet mine, "You know... we should hang out more."

I nod in agreement, clearing my throat before I respond," Oh...Ummm...yes! Definitely!"

Wow! Could this be really happening for me? A girl that I am attracted to may actually feel the same for me? God, I hope I'm not misreading the signs.

"I feel like I can talk to you." She says.

I turn to her, eyes wide, "That's good. I'm all ears." I tell her as I anxiously fiddle with the hem of my skirt.

She leans in closer to whisper something in my ear. As I c**k my head to listen, I can feel her warm breath on my ear lobe, "I have a secret. Promise you won't say anything?" she asks.

I can't help but giggle, "I promise, what is it?" I ask curiously.

She covers her face to hide her embarrassment. I reach out and gently pull her hands from her face and brush her hair back. She leans in to whisper in my ear, "I have this crush on someone, and they have no idea."

The hair on my arms stands to attention. It takes every bit of willpower I have left not to throw myself at her right now, "Okay... who is it?" I ask; my voice is raspy.

She bites her bottom lip, "It's...umm...it's...Duke Evans!"

Suddenly, a wave of nausea sweeps over me, and my eyes begin to well with tears. I lower my gaze to my lap so she doesn't notice how heartbroken I am. I force myself to giggle, "Oh yeah. I know him. He's okay, I guess. Did you invite him? I didn't see him here."

She snorts, "He's more than okay. There's no other guy at this school that comes close to being in the same ballpark as him. I did invite him but he's going out of town with his parents. Is there anyone that you have a crush on? I promise I won't tell anyone." she reaches out and brushes my arm with her fingers to get my attention.

I hesitantly look up to meet her gaze. Even as it begins to get dark, I can see her eyes are bloodshot, "I umm...no...I don't have a crush on anyone." Lies! I lower my gaze once more, praying that she won't catch on.

She throws her hands up over her head and closes her eyes. I can't help but catch a glimpse at how absolutely perfect she is. She's wearing a cute floral tank and distressed jean shorts paired with brown strappy sandals. My eyes linger on her body longer than they should have. She clears her throat, "Sophia, are you alright? You seem a bit off?"

I can feel a tightness in my chest as my cheeks begin to flush. Oh, God! She's on to me! I clear my throat, "Umm...Suddenly, I don't feel very good. I think I'm going to go home now." I tell her as I quickly hop up from the lounger.

I scan the area around the lounger for my purse but soon realize I didn't bring it out with me, "Oh s**t! My purse is inside." I tell her.

I turn to run towards the house, and I can hear her jump up from the lounger, "Wait, Sophia!"

I raise my hand over my head without turning around as I run up the porch steps, "Sorry, Casey, I can't. I left my purse inside."

She calls out to me, "You left it hanging on the chair!"

I barge through the patio door and make a beeline for the kitchen, busting through a group of girls in my path hanging out in the hallway, "Hey! Watch where you are going!" One of them blurts out.

As I approach the kitchen, I notice a different group of kids sitting around the table where I was sitting, but I don't see my purse hanging on the chair, "Has anyone seen a small black purse hanging on one of the chairs?"

They look up at me, puzzled, "Nope, sorry."One of them responds. The others nod their heads in agreement.

I immediately turn and bolt out of the kitchen and scan the living room for Savannah. I catch a glimpse of her long blonde hair and pinstripe shorts on the front porch. I dash outside to find her making conversation with the guy she was with earlier. I approach them, and the guy stops mid-sentence and smiles at me, and waves, "Hey, is this little sis? I'm Wyatt...Wyatt Vance."

He seems very friendly; I wave back, "Hi, nice to meet you."

Savannah turns around, "What's up, Soph?"

"I'm ready to go home now," I blurt out.

She turns to me, curling her lip in disgust, "No! Why!? We still have two hours until we have to be home."

"Because Savannah, I don't feel well," I tell her.

She rolls her eyes and turns to the guy she's talking to, "Hey Wyatt, let's exchange numbers. I need to take my sister home."

He smiles at me, "Can you drive?" He asks.

I nod my head, "Yeah, why?"

He turns to Savannah, "Why don't you let your sister drive herself home, and I'll take you home later?" he suggests.

Savannah turns to me, "Is that okay?"

I nod, "Yeah, it's fine. Give me your keys." I reply.

She reaches into her purse and rummages through to fish out her keys before handing them to me, "Are you okay to drive?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at me.

I snort, "Yes! I'm fine. I'll see you at home."

She places the keys in my hand, "Okay, see you later."

I turn and rush down the porch steps and head straight for Savannah's car so I can get the hell out of here! I feel sick to my stomach, losing my purse; I had my birthday money in my wallet from my Dad. I'm sure someone stole it. My phone was in my purse as well. God! What a disaster!

Once I get to the car, I open up the driver's side door and hop in before turning the ignition and speeding off down the road, leaving a trail of dust behind me.