The First Party

Keisha wrapped a towel around herself as she waited for Shalini to bring her a fresh change of clothes.

She was currently sat on a chair in her friend's dorm room, fuming about the day's turn of events.

What started off as a bad day with the idiot campus security officers which turned into a great day when she stood up that asshole suddenly turned into a nightmare as she was currently homeless.

She grimaced as she remembered the look on Steph's face when she returned to their room. She was livid, swearing to smash in the face of the perpetuator. Luckily, Steph was able to turn off the tap from the valve hidden within its complex plumbing and stopped the room from becoming the Indian Ocean.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done and both girls had to find emergency accommodation, with only Steph succeeding so far as her boyfriend agreed to take her in.

Keisha on the other hand was not so lucky.

Not only was all her stuff ruined, she didn't know how she would face the school administration. They would probably make her pay for the damaged room even though she wasn't at fault. She didn't have any real evidence to prove the asshole did it and she couldn't possibly let Steph foot the bill for something that she wasn't a part of.

She was so dead.

"Here," Shalini disrupted her friend's thoughts, handing her a couple of clean clothes. "You can wear these."

Keisha quickly changed out of her soaked clothes, grateful for her friend's similar body size as the new clothes fit her perfectly. Sitting down on Shalini's bed, Keisha explains the entire situation to her friend.

"So, this crazy stalker flooded your room?"

Keisha nodded sadly, tears welling up at the thought of the impending debt hanging over her head. Hugging her friend, Shalini tried to console her.

"I'm so sorry, Keisha. This must be so hard for you."

"I don't know what to do," she sobbed into the other girl's shoulder, hiding her face. "I don't have any proof, Lin! The school will never believe me!"

Rubbing circles on Keisha's back, Shalini sighed in thought. Her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea, and she nudged her friend gently.

"What about Mr. Samuel? You're close to him so I'm sure he'd believe you!"

Keisha slowly looked up at her friend, holding back a sniffle. She hadn't thought of getting the dean involved. Now that Lin had mentioned it, she realized it was actually a plausible solution.

Why hadn't she thought of this before?

"You're right, Lin. Mr. Samuel would believe me. I should go to him!"

"Yeah!" Lin said excitedly, before her face suddenly dropped. "Oh wait, no."

Confused, Keisha furrowed her brows. "What do you mean no?"

"Remember you were supposed to get back to him on the whole campout thing? It seemed he really wanted you to go but you rejected his offer. You're not exactly in a place to ask him for favours."

Keisha knew her friend had a point, and she worriedly glanced at her bedside clock. It was still 5: 57 pm, and from what she heard the campouts usually start around seven. She still had enough time to contact Mr. Samuel.

"Not yet," Keisha grinned slyly, to which her friend raised a quizzical brow. "Where's my phone?"

Snatching her phone off her friend's desk, Keisha dialed the Admin Office's hotline. University staff got off work by 6pm, so she still had a few minutes to get through to Mr. Samuel.

"Henderickson Administration. How may I help you?"

Keisha fist pumped the air, glad that someone picked up. "My name is Keisha Brown. I'd like to speak with Mr. Samuel, please. It's an emergency."

"Hold on."

After what felt like an eternity but was actually just thirty seconds, a familiar voice spoke through the line. "Mr. Samuel speaking."

"Good evening, Sir. It's Keisha."

"Oh, Keisha. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Sir. I just wanted to let you know that Shalini and I would like to attend the campout if it's not too late."

"That's wonderful!" Mr. Samuel's voice suddenly sounded excited and Keisha wondered why he was so pleased they were coming. "I'll have the student council add you in the list right now."

"Thank you, Sir!"

"No need to thank me, Keisha. I'm just doing my job. This is your number, right?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm going to text you the address as soon as I wrap up here at the office. See you at seven!"

"Bye, Sir!" Keisha sighed in relief as the dean hung up. Looking at her friend who was expectantly waiting, she smiled. "We're in!"

Both girls burst into a round of animated squeals, wriggling their fingers in excitement. Standing up excitedly, Shalini gasped.

"Keisha, what do we wear?"

"Clothes?"

Lin shot her friend a deadpan expression, to which the latter shrugged. "Were you planning on going butt-naked?"

"Don't be silly," Lin narrowed her eyes playfully at her friend. "We're going to our first official college party, Keisha! And it's literally the party of the semester! We need to look gorgeous!"

"I see your point, Lin. But there's just one minor problem; all my clothes are ruined."

A knowing grin spread across Shalini's face as she wriggled her brows at Keisha. "Leave that to me"

-

It was 7:30 pm when Keisha and Shalini arrived at the campout.

They had actually been dropped off by a cab ten minutes earlier, but it took them a while to locate the exact location as the sky was dark and this party took place in the middle of a forest.

Luckily, the girls followed a trail through the rough forest terrain and made it to the clearing where the campfire was in one piece. Taking in the scene before them, the girls looked around in awe.

There were many people here -probably about a hundred- and they were scattered all around the place. Many of them held bottles of beer, chatting and playing games in different groups. Some boys were playing hip-hop music from a beatbox, freestyle rapping over the music as some students danced rather provocatively near them. Couples hid in the darker outskirts of the clearing, committing sinful acts with each other under the privacy of the cool night.

"This is so cool," Shalini mused, her eyes glistening with elation. Keisha nodded in agreement, thrilled to be at her first ever college party.

She'd been to a few parties in high school but they always ended horribly for her as her bullies never let her catch a break. Back then, she desperately longed for the day when she could go off to college and party with cute college boys who wouldn't call her names or play nasty pranks on her.

To think that day had finally arrived.

Feeling brave, Keisha pulled Shalini's hand and lead her into the noisy gathering. Perhaps it was the fact that most people here were already drunk or the faint smell of weed in the air that was spurring her on, but Keisha didn't feel even an atom of nervousness. On the contrary, she actually felt pretty confident as she strutted through the crowd, her friend in tow.

Heads turned in their direction and a few wolf whistles could be heard, as people began to whisper. Keisha wasn't surprised by this, as she knew most people here were either juniors or seniors and must've been wondering who the hell they were. She didn't really care though, as she was here to fulfill Mr. Samuel's wish so that he could help her out in return.

Noticing a familiar black bob in the distance, Keisha grinned. "Steph!"

Hearing her name, the brunette girl turned and found Keisha's gaze in the crowd. A look of confusion crossed her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced instead by a pleasant smile.

"Hey, Keish," Steph hugged her roommate as the girls reached her. "Wasn't expecting to see you here. You look amazing!"

Keisha blushed at the compliment, fiddling with the hem of her blouse. She was wearing a black cut-out top that showed off just the right amount of cleavage and tummy, along with flared leather pants that clung tightly to her curves and black ankle boots.

Overall, her outfit was chic and sexy, and she couldn't be more grateful to Lin who had spent the last hour putting together their outfits and makeup.

"Thanks, Steph. Although all the praise should go to Shalini," Keisha motioned toward her friend who smiled at Steph. "She picked out the outfits and did my makeup for me."

"Not bad, Shalini. You've got great taste. Keisha's told me a lot about you"

Shalini blushed at the compliment, nodding in appreciation. "Thanks, Steph. I've heard a lot about you too."

"Good things I hope?"

"Mostly."

All three girls chuckle at that and Steph leads them over to where her friends are staying. Keisha smiles happily as she reunites with Steph's friends; Mark, Jessica and Jake.

"Long time no see, pretty lady," Mark flirtatiously winked at Keisha. "I see you brought another angel with you."

He winked at Shalini who made a gagging face, earning a round of laughter from the group. Undeterred, Mark smirked at her.

"My apologies, madame. I mistook such a sexy devil as yourself for a plain angel."

While Mark continued shooting (and missing) his shot at Lin, Steph offered Keisha a bottle of beer. The latter refused, explaining that she was a light drinker and didn't want to constitute a nuisance.

"Are you sure, Keish? It'll help you loosen up. Today's been pretty shitty"

"I'll pass," Keisha assured, and Steph handed the bottle to Lin who took it with a small "thanks".

The group chatted noisily, getting more and more drunk as the hours passed. All the while, Keisha could feel eyes on her but chose to ignore it. However, like an unrelenting itch, her curiosity got the best of her and she finally turned to catch a glimpse of this observer.

Flitting her eyes around the dark clearance, they came to a stop when they found a pair of familiar brown orbs locked on her. Keisha felt her heart momentarily stop in her chest as they locked gazes.

Sitting across the clearing with a blonde girl passionately kissing his neck and a smug grin on his face, was the one person she didn't want to see;

The stupid asshole who had flooded her room.