by Sophia Sharp
“Oh, so you guys aren’t all hanging out then?”
Madison shook her head. “Probably not for much longer. Otherwise, I’d ask you to come along.”
“That’s fine. I actually wanted to take a look around the island for a bit, and I don’t think you guys would be interested in that anyway.”
Madison made a face. “Nah, we’ve all seen pretty much all there is to see here. But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh? Why then?”
“Actually, Liz asked me to tell you about a party going on tonight. Sort of a welcome back thing to kick off the new year. You in?”
“Uh, maybe,” I answered. The way Madison emphasized the word ‘party’ made it seem like it was going to be the highlight of the year. There was also something… sinister… about the way she said it.
“Maybe?” Madison looked scandalized. “That’s not good enough. You have to come. Otherwise, you’re totally going to miss everything that goes on here! Anyone who’s anyone is going to be there. Trust me. That’s where you need to be to fit in on campus.”
“Sure, alright,” I agreed.
“Great! The party starts at ten. But, we’ll come by your room at eight to make sure you’re ready. Give me your phone number, just in case plans change.”
I did. Madison punched it into her phone and skipped off. I turned and continued toward my intended destination. The party tonight was just another thing I’d need to mull over.
Chapter Eight – An Invitation
I was in my room, and the feeling of anxiety in the pit of my stomach grew as the minutes ticked closer and closer to 8:00 p.m. I still hadn’t heard anything from Madison, or anybody else, about the party tonight. What Madison said earlier about the party being important started to weigh on me. I didn’t want to start the year off behind in the social scene. Apparently that would be the inevitable outcome if I missed tonight.
I flipped open my phone for what seemed like the hundredth time, only to find exactly the same thing as before: nothing.
Although I knew all the girls – and everyone in my grade – lived in this building, I didn’t know which particular rooms any of them were in. So, it wasn’t like I could walk down the hall and meet all of them just like that.
I leaned back on my bed, my anxiety and uncertainty increasing. What was taking Madison so long? Maybe she’d forgotten about inviting me? I hoped that wasn’t the case. And what would the party be like, anyway? Who would be there? Would Rob?
The only solace was that the party apparently wasn’t supposed to start until 10:00 p.m.. But at the same time, if none of the girls I met earlier today showed up to take me there, it wouldn’t matter at all when it began.
The minutes stretched by slowly. What made it worse was that I had nothing to do but sit and wait. I had already showered and dressed in a fresh outfit: a pair of new jeans with a bit of glitter down the sides and a bluish-black, matching blouse. I didn’t know what people wore to parties over here, so I elected to choose something relatively conservative, but sufficiently dressy for the night.
Where was everyone? Outside my window, I could hear kids walking along the courtyard. Every once in a while, I caught a whoop or a shout. That only served to increase my anxiety. People out there were having fun. Why wasn’t I?
Of course, the answer to that was that I was waiting to go somewhere that would apparently be fun. Or, it might not be at all, but it still seemed like something I shouldn’t miss. Least of all after Madison’s warning.
I flipped over, and looked at the time on my phone. It blinked 8:02 p.m. Madison was late and not responding to my texts. I had nothing to do but lie back and wait.
A part of me wished I was still at that little private beach. The sun would be going down shortly, and its rays on the horizon would be quite a sight. I had stayed there for nearly the entire day today, feeling completely at ease in the tranquility of the space. It was one of the most relaxing, most therapeutic, extended moments of my life. Chris wasn’t there, and didn’t show up at any point. I had been hoping he might, but I would have still gone there again in a heartbeat knowing that. Staying there gave me time to think, about Chris, about Rob, about Liz and the other girls, about my feelings regarding this new school, and a whole bunch of other things that needed to be figured out.
One of the most important revelations I made had to do with Liz and her friends. I had decided, pretty unequivocally, that I wanted to do my best to be accepted as one of them. Not least of all because if I wasn’t, as they made clear, my life had the potential to become a living hell. I didn’t want to find out what that would be like.
Of course, it wasn’t like I was being pressured into friendship. The threat had only come up after I had seemingly infringed on some type of girl code. Before that, they were all pretty much ready to become fast friends. So really, the choice was obvious: stay clear of Rob and become good friends with the popular girls in my grade, or, mess that up and make six powerful enemies for the rest of high school. It was an easy choice for me.
No matter how callous and unexpected that threat from Liz had been, the girls were all people I wanted to get to know. Besides, they seemed to like me, aside from that strange occurrence with Rob. And I liked them. The one thing I had to do, then, to ensure there wouldn’t be any more unfortunate incidences, was talk to Rob and clear things up with him. I wanted to make sure he didn’t get the wrong impression about me. To do so, I thought I had to tell him straight up that I wasn’t interested in him.
Except that it wasn’t true. I wanted to get to know Rob, to figure out just why he looked at me like that. But if I wanted to maintain the friendship with the girls, that was out of the question. It was a great predicament to be in.
A knock on my door jolted me out of my musing. My mind had drifted, and it took a few seconds for me to process what had happened. As soon as I did, though, I sprang out of my bed and made a beeline for the door. I had my hand on the knob when I stopped, realizing I probably looked a mess after lying on the bed. I took a few seconds to smooth the front of my blouse, and then, feeling more composed, opened the door.
I was expecting Madison, or Liz, or maybe the whole group of girls. Instead, outside my door, I found… nobody. I poked my head into the hall, and looked both ways. It was empty. There was nobody there! I frowned. Had I imagined hearing the knock? I didn’t think I was that jumpy. No, somebody had definitely been there. But now they were gone. Who was it?
Slowly, a sinking realization started to invade the pit of my stomach. Maybe Madison’s invitation had just been a ruse, a way to get my hopes up and then dashing them. Maybe it was some sort of cruel justice those girls thought was appropriate after what had happened in the cafeteria. I felt betrayed and alone. I didn’t like being taken advantage of that way.
I began to close the door, but then a small piece of white caught my eye. I looked down, and to my surprise found a sealed envelope on the floor. I picked it up. On one side, in a flowing, elegant hand, was my name. Tracy Bachman.
I closed the door with my hip, and held the small envelope carefully. I didn’t know what it contained. Something about it felt both ominous and exciting at the same time. The paper was thick and heavy. I sat down on my bed, and opened it.
Inside was a folded piece of paper. I pulled it out and read:
Dear Ms. Bachman,
Your presence is cordially requested at 86 Brattle Street at 10:30 p.m., tonight. Please adhere to a formal-casual dress code.
The message was written in the same hand as my name had been outside the envelope. At the bottom, instead of a name or any indicator of who it was from, was a small wax emblem. I brought it close to get a better look. It was some sort of sigil, although nothing I could distinguish. A single triangular shape was overlaid by a series of three wavy lines. I had no idea what it represented, or what it meant. But, I did know one thing: This was my invitation to the party.
At least, that’s what I thought it was. The timin
g coincided with what Madison had told me, and I could see no other explanation. But, why the mysterious delivery? What was up with the dress code? Formal-casual? What did that even mean?
I looked at my phone. 8:22 p.m. That was good, at least. It meant I had enough time to change into something more suitable, and figure out exactly where it was I had to go. I hadn’t heard of Brattle Street before, but assumed it was somewhere in the main yard. That was the only area on the island that actually had labeled streets.
I wondered curiously about the location. When Madison told me about the party – assuming it was the same party – I thought it would be in somebody’s dorm. But there were no dorms in the main yard, only that arrangement of assorted buildings. And what was up with that wax emblem? Was it something I should recognize? Perhaps it represented some sort of club or secret society? But this was just a random boarding school. From what I knew, those types of places were limited to the elite universities of the country.
Well, I’d find out soon. The first thing to do, then, was figure out exactly where it was I needed to go. I pulled out the little map that had come with my welcome package. Unfortunately, the lack of detail meant that none of the streets were labeled. Blah. Well, the main yard wasn’t that large anyway, and only had a few main streets. I would just have to leave early to find the place.
The next thing proved slightly more difficult. I hadn’t the slightest clue what ‘formal-casual’ meant. Besides, I had had to leave most of my clothes behind when I was forced to take that tiny ferry over. After agonizing for at least half an hour, pulling out what few clothes I had here and comparing them to each other, then trying them on in turn, the final outfit I settled on was unfortunately familiar. It was the same thing I had on when I first got the invitation.
I saw on my phone that it was already 9:40 p.m. That gave me less than an hour to find the place. It was an uncomfortably short amount of time. So, grabbing my phone and the invitation, I ran hastily out of the room.
I could hear people in the foyer below. As I passed them on my way out, I thought I caught a glimpse of Chris, but when I turned my head to double check, he was gone. He still hadn’t gotten in touch with me. I absently hoped that he wasn’t still mad. But that wasn’t the priority right now.
The courtyard outside the dorms was surprisingly busy. There were groups of people walking about, or hanging out under the trees, or even throwing a Frisbee around. That surprised me. The Frisbee was glow-in-the-dark, something I hadn’t seen before. I hurried past, angling toward the main yard.
There were no streetlamps along the path. The only source of luminance came from the courtyard behind me. Less than halfway there, the light had faded enough to make it difficult to see where I was going. The moon above provided precious little light since it was mostly hidden by a thick crop of clouds. I shivered, and not from the cold. There was nobody else on the path, in front or behind me. I felt acutely vulnerable. Who knew what wildlife populated the island at night? I doubted there was any crime within such a small community. But still, a girl walking by herself in the dark would be an attractive target. I quickened my step.
Coming over the hill just before the main yard, I was relieved to see that some of the lights in the buildings were on. It wasn’t a lot, but enough to eliminate the feeling of gloom and danger that crept up in the dark. I looked at my phone. It was 10:01 p.m. Hopefully, there was time to find Brattle Street yet.
I wandered down to the first row of buildings, and was struck by the sheer quiet of the place. Even once the lights had faded from the dorms, I could still hear some of the sounds of the courtyard most of the way along the path. Here, everything was absolutely silent. My steps on the cobblestone were the only sounds that broke the night. The lack of any noise – no wind rustling, no animals chirping, and no hum of people anywhere – created an unnerving atmosphere dripping with dread and anxiety. I became very aware of just how loud my steps sounded against the ground, and made a conscious effort to suppress the clatter. I didn’t want to draw undue attention to myself in the dark.
At the first intersection, I looked up to read the street names. Neither was Brattle. I looked around, unsure of where to go. I could continue down the main street, checking each intersection in turn, or I could take my chances and veer off to the side, toward the smaller streets. Would the party, or whatever it was, be held in a building on the main street? I had no idea.
I looked to the side, and realized that the back streets were completely unlit. Only the streetlamps on the main street emitted any light. That sealed my decision. I continued forward.
The next street I passed wasn’t Brattle, and neither was the one after it. I started checking the clock on my phone more and more often, becoming conscious of the minutes creeping by. The last thing I wanted was to show up late.
I kept going forward, reading the street names in the dim light, until I got to the circular town square. The fountain in the middle wasn’t flowing, which only amplified the eerie silence. There were five different streets leading away from the square. I had no idea which one to take. I started walking around in a counter clockwise direction, checking the names of the streets in turn. The first was Auburn, then Longwood, then Merger, and then… Brattle! A wave of relief flooded over me. Not only would I actually be able to find the place now, but I would also get out of the uncanny quiet.
I started down Brattle Street, reading the building numbers on either side of me. They started in the low teens, and went up by two. Looking at my phone, I saw it blink 10:23 p.m. I walked faster.
I realized quickly that Brattle Street wasn’t straight. It curved sharply a quarter of the way down. The view past the curve was restricted. I hurried toward it. None of the buildings close by would be number 86.
As soon as I crossed the bend, I saw it. Down near the very end of the street, just before the transition from the main yard to the wilderness beyond, stood a brightly lit house. It was large and extravagant. Sparkling, white columns towered in front. The building stood three stories high. A low, long staircase prefaced the front, where two massive doors were tightly shut. The windows on the first two levels were dark, but the ones on the top flashed with strobing, multi-colored lights. As I came closer, I could hear the music playing from that level, as well as the familiar sounds of a busy house party. It meant I was already late.
I rushed forward, taking the stairs two at a time. I thought everybody was already inside, but at the top I nearly banged heads with a tall, burly looking girl dressed in pure black. I had no idea where she had come from. I hadn’t noticed her on the way up.
She looked me up and down disapprovingly. “Just where do you think you’re going?” she asked in a deep, rasping voice.
“Um, inside?” I countered. “I got an invitation to an event here tonight.”
“Is that so?” the girl asked in a disbelieving tone. “Well, how come I’ve never seen you before?”
“I’m new,” I said. “I transferred to the school this year.”
“Sure you did,” the girl answered, crossing her thick arms. She was the image of intimidation. “That’s what everybody says when they want to get in.”
“Well, it’s true!” I said, trying to peer around her. “Just who are you, anyway?”
“I’m the one that makes sure only the right people are allowed to come in. Get it? And you, I’ve never seen before. Besides,” she scoffed, “I doubt you’d make the cut.”
I blinked. ‘Make the cut?’ Was this really such an exclusive event, where they would let only certain people in? Luckily, I had the invitation still in my pocket. I pulled it out, and handed it to her.
“See?” I said triumphantly. “There’s my invitation. Now move aside and let me in.”
“Hmm…” the girl said thoughtfully, considering the piece of paper in her hands. “That is what it says, but…” I saw a mischievous glimmer in her eye, and suddenly the invitation was being crumpled up between her hands.
“No!” I yelp
ed. But, it was too late. She had crushed the piece of paper into a tight ball, and tossed it to the ground.
“Looks fake,” she told me with a malevolent glare. And she pushed me roughly back. “Get out of here, before you stir up any more trouble.”
“But—” I changed what I was going to say. Just who did this girl think she was? The invitation was real, and just because she didn’t see it didn’t mean she could bar me from entry. I felt anger bubbling up inside, and stepped up to her.
“Now listen to me,” I began, matching the burly girl glare for glare. “That invitation was real, and I don’t care what you say. Ask whoever you want inside. I was invited here. And I am new, not someone pretending to be just to get into some party. I don’t know who you are, but clearly, since you’re out here, you haven’t been invited in either.” I could see from the look on her face that I had struck a nerve, so I pressed on. “Maybe you think this is some way for you to prove yourself to the people inside, by minding the door. But, once they hear what you did to my invitation, they’ll dismiss you faster than you would think possible. I’m friends with the girls who invited me here, which is more than you can say, I’d bet. So either you let me in, or I’ll come in by myself. But once I do, I’ll be sure to tell everybody of the way you treated me.”
The girl stared at me for a second, dumbstruck by my outburst. But then she took a single step forward, and towered over me. The resolve I had felt just seconds ago evaporated.
“Is that so?” she growled menacingly. In my head, I quickly sized her up again. She must have been a good four inches taller and easily fifty pounds heavier. If the dispute became physical any time soon, I would be quickly outmatched. Still, I couldn’t just back down after what I had said – even if most of it had been a bluff. I was sure she was used to intimidating others around her, but I wouldn’t cower that easily.
Thankfully, just at that moment, the doors behind the girl opened, and a familiar head peaked out. For a second, I thought that it was Liz, but then saw it was actually Madison.
