Page 71 of Absorbed

Several girls scrutinized Stacey, trying to place her. She bit her lip, shaking her head. “Not really.”

“Didn’t you have long hair though?” Heather asked.

Stacey nodded again, but her eyes were glued to two girls behind Heather, one whispering into the other’s ear while they looked her up and down.

Melissa handed Stacey a Solo cup with a small amount of clear, sparkly liquid in it.

Stacey took the cup and downed it. The back of her throat burned. She coughed, surprised. “What the hell is that?” A river of heat ran into her gut.

“You’ve never had Goldschläger?” Melissa asked, exasperated. The posse around her giggled. “It’s the shit! It’s got cinnamon in it. A little bit gets you buzzed super fast, so you don’t have to drink all those calories. It tastes like Big Red.”

Stacey nodded dumbly, adjusting to the heat seeping throughout her body.

Melissa took her cup and poured in double the liquor. “Here. Just sip on this. Avoid the beer. You’ll be chill for the rest of the night.”

Stacey accepted the cup and smelled the sugary scent. She took a tiny sip and her mouth was flooded with cinnamon fire.

“Melissa said you went out with Jessie,” said a girl in the shadows beside Heather.

Stacey gave a small nod, squinting to see who was talking to her. Something about the girl seemed familiar.

“That’s Stephanie,” Melissa said. “She asked Jessie to Sadie Hawkins.”

Stacey recognized Stephanie from Christian Club. She had much longer, cuffed shorts. Her collared shirt covered her waist, and no cleavage was visible.

One of these is not like the others…TheSesame Streetsong played in Stacey’s head.Why is someone like Stephanie even at this party?

“You’re friends with Mary Jo, right?” Stephanie asked Stacey. “And those guys from the Juvenile Delinquents? I’m best friends with Jimmy’s older sister, Natalie.”

Stacey nodded, taking another sip, her eyes traveling around to all the faces watching her. Some of the most popular girls who had just graduated stood in the circle.

“I met Jessie at Christian Club, so I thought he’d be nice,” Stephanie said. “Melissa told me he’s actually, like, a total jerk.”

“We only hung out a few times,” Stacey replied coolly. She sipped the alcohol again, the smell and taste no longer surprising. She lowered her shoulders and she shifted her weight onto her left hip.

Melissa rolled her eyes and made a W with her hands. “Whatever, Stacey! Jessie was super into you. You know it. I could totally tell.” She turned back to the other girls, her chin high. “They went out last week. Then he tried to get with me Saturday. He was playing both of us!”

Stacey’s head started feeling fuzzy.

“Did you have sex with him?” Heather asked Stacey.

Sweat gathered under Stacey’s arms. She tried to look casual. Her whole body felt hot.It’s now or never.She lifted her chin, attempting to imitate Melissa’s confidence. “Yeah. So?” She chugged what was left of the liquid left in her cup.

“See!” Melissa sounded triumphant. “I knew it! The next day the dickhead tried to fuck me in the girl’s bathroom!”

“Oh my god!”

“Gross.”

“What a jerk!”

“I know, right?” Stacey agreed. She blinked slowly, the faces and voices around her coming in and out of focus.

“As if!” Melissa shrieked.

Stacey looked into her empty cup.Maybe Melissa’s plan is working after all.

“Jessie never tried anything like that with me.” Stephanie sounded embarrassed.

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