Chapter three:  Disastrous Party

It’s funny how quick something comes up when you dread it.  Last time I remembered, Saturday was a whole five days away.  Now it’s a mere one.

I sighed and rummaged around in my closet. “No, no,” I cringed at the stained blue blouse I picked up. “Definitely not.” I threw the ruined object back on the floor and continued my hunt for a wearable shirt. Deciding to just go the usual “I don’t care” look, I paired up a simple loose white shirt with a pair of denim shorts. I inspected the shirt and shorts one last time before deciding it was good enough. “Glad that’s over.” I muttered to myself.

Today was thankfully the last day of finals, which meant that school was completely done with. My ears still hurt from all the cheering once the students were let out from school. It was barely a whole day and I already missed school.  Unlike most teens, I actually enjoyed school.  Or maybe I just enjoyed it because it gave me something to do. I wasn’t involved in any extracurricular activities, unless you counted the drawing lessons I gave little kids over in the elementary beside my high school.  My usual definition of summer was sitting in front of my TV with a tub of ice cream on my lap. On rare occasions I would get a call from my friends. The two of them usually went on vacation with their families, so I was left alone snoring lazily through my “eventful” summer.

“Charlotte! Dinner is ready!”  My mother bellowed from downstairs.

Sighing, I stuffed all the discarded clothes on the floor back into my closet before going downstairs.

“Hey sweetie.” My dad greeted me once I sat down on my usual seat for dinner. “Excited for tomorrow?”

I scoffed at him.  “Overjoyed.”

He had an amused glint in his dark brown eyes.  “It won’t be so bad.”

I gave him a blank stare.  “You know I’m not good with big parties.”

“Charlotte, this isn’t a big party.  It’ll only be a few of your mother and I’s high school friends.”

“Mom said there’ll be kids there my age.”

Dad shrugged.  “I think Denise and Logan are the only ones there with  a kid your age. I believe the rest are a lot younger than you.”

“Perfect.”  I muttered.

*****_*****

“Hurry up Charlotte!” Mom shrieked.  “We’re ten minutes late!”

I sighed and threw on the white shirt and shorts I had paired up the other day. “Coming!” I didn’t bother to check if my hair was a mess.  I couldn’t care less what anyone thought of me in the stupid party.  After a brief exchange of anger from my mom, we were on our way to Ella’s house.

*****_*****

“What’s her house number again?” Dad asked.

“2331.” Mom looked anxiously at her watch.  “Hurry up Dan.  We’re already late.”

I tapped my fingers on the car window watching as we pulled up a house’s driveway.  “Is this the right house?” I asked as I unbuckled my seat belt.

“I’m think so.  There’s a few cars parked around here.”  My dad answered me.

I glanced at the herd of cars that was parked outside the two story house.  I hopped out the car and trailed after my parents.  The only up-side to this was the weather.  It was absolutely gorgeous outside.  The wind was blowing a lukewarm breeze that ruffled my hair softly to the side.  The sun was a peachy yellow, but it was thankfully diluted by some large clouds.

“Maggie! I haven’t seen you in forever!” a woman who I assumed was Ella hugged my mother.

“Oh I know! We really need to catch up El!” My mother looked over at me and beckoned me over with her hand.

“Charlotte!  Oh my gosh!”  Ella came over to me and squeezed me impossibly hard.  I struggled to find a polite way to push her off, so I just stayed put with my arms awkwardly hung on my sides.  “You’re so beautiful now!”  She squealed.

So she’s technically saying I wasn’t pretty when I was little…I stopped my pointless thought.

“Thank you.”  I responded shyly.

She then turned around to my mother, almost whipping me in the face with her blonde hair.  “Denise is inside too! Let’s all catch up together, yeah?”

I’ve never seen my mom nod as much before. 

“Definitely!” Her grin stretched out widely, causing her to look like an overjoyed chipmunk.  She dragged dad and I along with her as we went inside Ella’s house.

“Dan!” My dad looked at me with an apologetic smile and ran off to be with some of his old buddies.

I sighed and slumped down on the couch.  Everyone around me wore radiant smiles and their eyes were full of excitement and wonder.

It made me sick.

I felt so out of place here.  The fact that everyone her was an adult also didn’t help my case.  So while my mom wasn’t looking, I sneaked out of her line of vision and scurried into the back yard.  I sighed in sweet relief once I swung open the glass sliding door that led to the back yard.  I don’t think I’ve ever valued silence as much as I have now.  The clashing sounds of laughter and talking did not bode well for my ears at all. 

I smiled at the sight of a picnic table.  I haven’t seen one in ages.  There was always something about picnic tables that made me smile.  I really don’t know why, but it made me think of my family every time.  Little bursts of images would come up in my mind whenever I looked at one.  I guess I just missed being a little kid and going out to family picnics with my mom and dad.  I frowned remembering when the picnics stopped.  It was about the time when my dad got colon cancer.  I never really understood why we never went on one again when he seemed perfectly healthy now.

“Hello.”  A timid voice greeted.

A horrid shriek escaped my mouth as I recoiled to the left. I held a hand over my beating heart as I stared at a cute little girl.  Her blonde hair was tied into two uneven pigtails; each a different size.  Her cheeks were full, as expected from a little girl like her.  She was sporting a bright pink tutu, matched with a My Little Pony shirt and some rainbow knee high socks.  She was adorable, to say the least.

Once I had managed to regain a normal heartbeat, I faced her.  “Hi.”  I said as gentle as possible.  I always had a soft spot for little kids.

“My name’s Sadie.”  She stuck her chubby hand out, initiating for a handshake.

I giggled and crouched down to shake her miniscule had.  “Hi, Sadie.  I’m Charlotte, but you can call me Char.”

“Ch-ar.”  She pronounced the name carefully, as if it was the hardest thing she’d ever said.

I nodded in encouragement.  “Yep.  Ch-ar.”  I mimicked how she said my name. “So Sadie, why are you here all alone?”

She shrugged.  “My mom won’t stop talking.”

I laughed.  “I like you already.”

Her emerald eyes brightened.  “Really?”

I nodded. 

“Do you wanna play a game?”  She didn’t even wait for an answer as she tugged me back inside.  “I have to ask my big brother first though.”  In a hushed whisper she added, “He hates it when I play hide-and-seek.  He says I cheat when I count, but he also cheats!  He peeks when he counts!”  She continued to babble on about her many adventures with her brother.  She finally stopped tugging me around and I came face to face with a chest.

I cursed under my breath and I rubbed my nose.  “Sorry about that si-hey!  You’re that um…guy who ran into me!”  I exclaimed finally remembering.

He rolled his golden brown eyes.  “What are you doing here?” He sighed.

 I arched an eyebrow at him.

What a sourpuss.

“Sadie, where were you!” He snapped.  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Sadie stuck out her tongue at Cody.  “I was just outside!”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Once he was done with his weird calming method, he opened his eyes and glanced at Sadie.  “What did you want?”

Sadie looked at me and tugged on my shirt.  I knew from experience that this a way kids asked for something.  She wanted me to ask Cody to play hide and seek with her…well this ought to be interesting.

I brushed my hair to the side and cleared my throat.  “Could…Sadie and I play hide and seek?”

There it was. 

His lips lifted up for a fraction of a second, before going into an obnoxious smirk.  “You’re asking me if you can play hide and seek with my four year old sister?”

I coughed and fiddled with my hair.  “I…I guess I am.”

“That’s pathetic.”  He added another laugh.  “Go knock yourself out.”

“Play with us Coco!”  Sadie pleaded.

I choked on my spit as I struggled to breath.  My laughter was muffled by my choking, but I’m sure I still looked ridiculous.

“I’m sorry.”  I chuckled.  “But did she just call you Coco?”

Cody’s cheeks were tinged with a light pink as he nodded grimly.  “She never grew out of the name.”  He defended himself.

Quicker than I could blink, the whole room rippled into gasps. Curious, I ran to the entrance where everyone was gathered. 

“Excuse me….I’m sorry….Oh did I hit you?”  I continued to wiggle my way through the moderately sized crowd.

What I saw was definitely a sight to see.  In front of the door, stood a woman who was completely naked.  No once could care less though, seeing that she was covered in blood.  Her wild brown curls were wet with sweat and blood, and they stuck annoyingly to her bare back and face.

“Linda?  Is that you?”  My mom came up to her with a towel.

Linda was unmoving as she nodded slowly.  Mom made it her duty to drag her to the bathroom and clean her up.

I frantically searched for dad. 

“Charlotte!”  I turned around, finding my dad.

“Dad.” I started.  “What happened?”

Dad shook his head.  “Everyone is as confused as you are.”

“Is she alright?”

He shrugged.  “She looked like she was cut up really bad around the hands and legs.”

For the first time in forever, I looked down at my hands and wondered what would happen if I tried to help her.

Heal her, to be more exact.

“Don’t think about it.”  My dad warned.

And for the millionth time, I wished that I didn’t have my abilities.