Play By The Book

Nicole settled on her bed, scrolling through her phone, searching for a text. She had a face mask on, which was part of her daily routine. She checked the table clock which was by her bed and saw what the time was.

'5:30pm' she made a mental note and got back to scrolling. She had a party to attend at exactly 9:00pm, meaning she still had time. Her main concern at that point was the message she hadn't received from Des, someone she met at the party she attended a week ago. He had asked for her number, which she gladly gave him, and they had texted until their recent date, which was just two days after the party.

There was no reason for him to ignore her because of what had happened between them the night of the date.

Feeling frustrated, Nicole pulled her black silky hair until it felt like they were about to fall out. It was something she did anytime she felt stressed. 'Wasn't she pretty enough, or fun enough? Why on earth would Des ghost her?' she thought. Though, her thoughts were cut short by a phone call from her friend, Nancy.

Nancy and Nicole attended the same high school. Although Nicole was obviously popular in high school, Nancy didn't like the attention, so she kept a low profile. She only hung out with Nicole's other friends anytime Nicole threw a party. Being her closest friend, Nancy was the only one who knew about Des.

"You still being ghosted?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah." Nicole responded with a sigh. "I just don't get it. We obviously had a connection, why on earth would he ghost me for almost a whole week?" She said in a perplexed tone.

"Girl, look on the bright side, at least it wasn't for a month." Nancy said. Although she was trying to cheer Nicole up a bit, she was failing dreadfully.

"You're not helping Nancy."

"Okay look, you can't keep being hung up on this guy, you're better than this. Besides, he's a college bro, that's what they do. They hook up with some random senior and leave them hanging." Nancy explained, and how did Nancy know this? She had an elder brother who was in college. In fact, her brother and Des knew each other, although she couldn't ask him what Des was like, so he wouldn't get the wrong idea, which he was so good at.

This still couldn't make her friend feel better. Instead, it made her feel 'random'. There was a brief silence and Nancy sighed.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, but, I know you and I know you're more than this. So cheer up and take off those comfort PJs."

Just like Nancy had said, Nicole actually had her comfort PJs on alongside a pair of matching red socks.

She glanced at her table clock, 7:30pm already. She had no idea an hour had already passed. She didn't expect the conversation she was having with Nancy to take so much time. She had an hour and thirty minutes left, but she usually took more than that to get ready.

She peeled off her face mask and sat by her dressing table, set to do her makeup.

"Let me guess, you just realized you had an hour left?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you were so cut up with this Des problem. You probably forgot he'd be at the party today." How could she have forgotten Des would be at the party that evening? "Instead of wallowing in self-pity, why don't you just confront him at the party tonight?" Nancy said.

"Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Nicole asked aloud, slapping her forehead with the back of her palm. "Thanks, Nancy, you're the best."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Is there any way I could convince you to come with me to the party?" Nicole asked, hoping get friend would change her mind.

"Nope. I've made my decision, and you know I can't change my mind, so don't even try," she said.

Nicole pouted, wishing Nancy could see her face, even though she knew that wasn't possible. Once Nancy decides, there's no going back.

After about an hour, Nicole managed to finish preparing. She had been in her room all day, so she had no idea when her Dad left the house until she entered his room. Nicole had a habit of drinking a little alcohol before she headed to any party because she believed it would help boost her confidence.

"You found the tequila?" Nancy asked Nicole over the phone.

"Yeah."

"Take a whole bottle while you're at it," Nancy advised.

"Are you crazy? How can I take an entire bottle of tequila before going to a party? You want me to go fully mental?"

"You were never mental, and that's not what I meant. Take the drink to the party, so everyone could have a taste of expensive tequila," Nancy said, and Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not, it one of the expensive ones and if my dad finds out, I'd be in big trouble," Nicole said, "What has gotten you?"

Nancy had no idea what had gotten into her. She'd never in her wildest dreams ask Nicole to carry an entire bottle of tequila to a party. In fact, she'd have been the first to stop her from doing something like that.

Nicole took a shot of the tequila, rubbed her eye gently so as not to smear the mascara, then stood up to leave.

"I'm ready," she announced, checking herself one more time to see if she was actually ready.

'All set,' she said mentally. She was ready for the party in both ways, emotionally and physically.

"Let's go get your guy," Nancy said over the phone.

"Yeah," Nicole said, checking to see if she was truly ready once again.

Almost immediately, the doorbell rang. Nicole wasn't expecting anyone, and she was sure it wasn't her dad because he was away for a business trip.

"Is that your doorbell?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah," Nicole muttered and walked towards the door to open it.

Nicole stood there shocked as soon as she saw who was at the door. She was too distracted to check who it was before she opened the door, leading her to be face to face with the person.

"Nicole? Who is it?" Nancy asked but got no response. Nicole's face turned white and the phone in her hand dropped.

Nicole! Nicole!!

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