Eons Until I Reach You

DOUCHE-BAG GUY

Now he lets out a little laugh. “Oh, is that right, darling?”

“Yeah.” I emphasize, refusing to lose my nerve.

“Not my fault you don’t watch your surroundings. In fact, I think you owe me a little thank you for that brilliant catch.”

“Huh?!” I can’t believe this guy! Does he seriously believe that or is he playing with me?  “You are the one who sent me falling in the first place, you moron.”

“Who are you calling a moron, you dumb little brat.” He raises his eyebrows at me. Like ‘Top that’.

“Who are you calling a brat, you douche bag?”

He laughs out loud. “Is that your best shot? I’m disappointed.”

“Scumbag!” I can’t stop. I’m on a rant because suddenly, I want to wipe that annoying smirk off his face. “Rodent! Asswipe!”

“Skank. Dyke. Fugly tramp.” He takes up the challenge.

“Trash. Freak. Prick.” I groan inwardly. So lame. Why can’t I throw out something hideous and jaw-dropping.

“Twat.” he utters.

Oh my gosh. I’m so angry I’m nearing hysteria mode and all the while; he assumes a calm pose and a freaking smirk. He makes me so mad. If Principal Smith could hear us now, we would both be in detention. Or I would be, considering I seriously doubt this guy goes to our school.

I spin on my heels and walk off, my hands like sticks at my side. Click-clack, my heels stomp on the asphalt. I have no idea where I’m going. I just know if I stay one more moment, I’ll smack my fist right into that smug face of his.

Am I over-reacting? Maybe. But he is still out of line. To make things worse, I feel hot and clammy. Am I coming down with something? Maybe the flu? Poppy pops out of nowhere and I skid to a halt.

“Bree. I have been looking all over for you.”

“You were looking for me? I was looking for you! I met a complete narcissist douche-bag! Where did you go off to?”

She shifts her eyes elsewhere. “I was around.”

I don’t even want to know what that means. “Now what?” I ask. I almost forgot the actual reason for coming here.

“Now we crash the party,” she says simply.

She drags me behind as we flit through drunken people. A few couples are having full-on make out sessions by the fountain and two girls are actually topless. Eww.

Inside, we go straight for the punch. Two guys from AP Chem class say hi to me but I don’t stick around to talk. I see Maria from history class, who waves. She is with some sophomore whats-his-name. We see Katie and Crystal, Aria’s entourage chatting up some jock, who is completely wasted by the looks of it. I gather that they are convincing him that his Audi needs to be taken for a ride right about now. Aria is nowhere to be seen.

“Persephone!”

The voice belongs to an emo goth chick who is now braving the crowd to get to us. Her name is Beth or Becky or something. Poppy blanches beside me. For some reason, this girl is totally hung up on Poppy, claiming she is her role model and all that. I have some class with her but I’m not really sure which one. She is a freshman like us and the only girl I know who calls Poppy by her real name. Nobody else even knows that there’s someone named Persephone in our school.

“You really should let her down easy.” I nudge Poppy. “Come find me later.”

Poppy gives a save-me expression and I wink at her, before climbing the stairs with the punch in my hand. After a short while, I start to wonder why I even dressed up for tonight, because suddenly the party seems lame. At one point, a guy tries to feel me up against the wall, but I pour punch on his face, my hands so ninja-fast he doesn’t know what hit him. Nobody is even worth my while. Not one decent guy in this whole building.

With nothing better to do, I decide to find Sean, the senior guy who invited us, someone I have been meaning to seek for days now. I remember him specifically saying the rooftop hot tub is to die for, so I assume that’s where he is.

As expected, I find Sean half wasted in the hot tub. A girl in a skanky bikini is passed out beside him.

“Hey,” I call, flapping my arm like a bird trying to get his attention. He looks up blankly. “It’s Bree. Don’t you remember me?”

“Oh. Sure.” He smiles goofily. “My brother’s ex-girlfriend’s sister. You are pretty. Pretty hot. Hottie. Hot pretty!!”

I wrinkle my nose as I realize he is wasted. “Look, I need your help finding her. She is not answering her phone and we have a family issue.”

Anna is not really my sister. She is my cousin. She went totally bonkers on her parents after they refused to let her move out and Aunt Patricia wants me to check that she hasn’t gone off all rebel, getting a body tattoo or joining a rock band and stuff. Sean’s brother goes to college with her in New York and they are majoring in the same subject and, I don’t know anyone else in New York.

“Mm-hmm. I’m coming.” Sean tries to get up from the tub, splashing water everywhere.

His friends giggle, watching the show. I contemplate whether it’s in my best interest to help or stay away, because with his coordination at this point, he might drag me right into the tub with him. But I wonder… what if he falls and gets a brain aneurysm or something like that?

He sways dangerously near the edge. At the last minute, I hold my hand out, and voila, he drapes his body on me. I let out a yelp and try to disentangle myself, about to slip.

Suddenly strong hands pull away the dead weight slumped on me, and my jaw hits the floor when I realize it is douche bag guy.