Ethan's party

It’s the first day of summer vacation and it’s so beautiful and hot outside, my friend Nina asked me to join her for a party, the boy she likes organizes this party at his house and she really wants to go, but what about me? 

The last two months I’ve been in bed because I’ve broken my leg while climbing a tree in my backyard, so I can look into my neighbour’s yard, he has a very cute dog, a female husky called “See”. Looking at the dog I lost my balance and fell, it wasn’t easy to explain to my parents what I was doing there but, It was too late for explanations anyway, my leg was already broken.                                                                                 

During this period of two months no one came to see me, not even Nina, she said she was always too busy to come so I just stayed in bed and watched Netflix. The problem with the party it’s not just that I haven’t left the house in months, it’s also that I have never been to a party with teenagers, I want to go, but every time I think of all those teens in one house, talking and dancing, my anxiety suffocates me.                                                          

Nina is been calling me for the 3rd time, I don’t want to answer before I decide if I will or not go to the party. I want to take my mind off of it for one second so I open my Instagram and I see the picture of a girl that hates me with the caption “Outfit for the party tonight”. I call Nina and tell her right away:

-I’m not going. Don’t even try…

-You have to come, please you’re the only one I have.

-You were the only one I had when I broke my leg Nina, and guess what? You didn’t come.

-Don’t act like a baby Sasha, I told you I was busy.

-I am busy now.

I end the phone call, I don’t usually talk like that because I’m very sensitive and I’m afraid of what the other could say.                                                                                                        

Nina hasn’t called or messaged me, she’s probably getting ready because she’s going for sure so I’m thinking I should go too. I want to prove to her that I can handle people, that I’m not how she says, I want to go and maybe get some new friends.                                         I don’t know how to dress, I haven’t been to a party in three years and that was the party my mother organized for my 13 years old birthday, I dressed like a homeless man then but I didn’t care, now I do.                                                                                                  

After I finally chose the most casual outfit I leave the house, it feels like I haven’t left the house in years, it’s somewhere around 7 o’clock, it’s still pretty hot and I’m walking fast so nobody on the road has time to judge me.                                                                        

I’m in the front of the house and I feel like I’m going to faint if I go one step closer to the door, but I do. The moment I want to knock to the boy, Ethan, opens the door:

-Hi, I saw you coming, I cannot remember if I invited you?!

Oh hell no, he didn’t, he invited Nina and I’m not with her.

-I’m with Nina, she told me she’s already here.

-No, she called me like one hour ago telling me she can’t come.

I’m waiting for him to say something else, to invite me in or anything but, he doesn’t so I have to talk:

-Sorry, she maybe wanted to prank me or something, she told me she was here.

-No problem, actually you are the only one that came. Do you want to come in?

-Yes, sure.

This is worse than I expected, I go in and sit on a chair, he starts telling me about how many drinks he bought and everything:

-None of my friends came.

-I see, I’m sorry.

We hear a knock on the door and when he goes open it I hear a crowd screaming:

-Happy Birthday Ethan!

They all come in, 20, 40, 60 and I lost count, so many people and I know only one of them, Nina. She comes close to me and says:

-Hi stranger, what are you doing here?

-I came to the party, as you can see.

-Hi guys, come here…

Some people answer Nina’s calling and come sit on the nearest chairs:

-This girl right here broke her leg by falling from a tree.

People gasped and whispered “sorry”, but Nina continues:

-But she was in that tree because she was stalking her neighbour.

-I wasn’t, she is lying!

I feel like can’t breathe how can she do this to me? I want to be swallowed by the floor and never see these people ever again. Tears start falling from my eyes as I hear everyone laughing somewhere in the background. I get up from the chair and try to run to the door but my legs are like jelly and I feel like I can't control them. Everything around me starts spinning and I keep hearing them laughing and asking me a lot of questions so I let myself fall and speak my mind:

-I wasn’t stalking, I was watching his dog, he has a very beautiful dog, and no, I’m not a freak and I don’t care what you are saying about me.

They stopped talking, stopped laughing and came to sit on the floor with me, and hugged me, and I was so confused. I don’t know how to act and I feel like I don’t own my body. I just want to get up and leave, I don’t want to listen to them, they were so mean to me. I should’ve never come to this.

I feel my body itchy and strong light is hurting my eyes, I open my eyes and look around, I’m in my bedroom and it was all just a dream. The party is actually today and now I am more afraid to go than I was before.