Soon, a waiter appeared with a tray of drinks in his hand. The two guys took a glass each, I and the other girl declined while Alesscia took two glasses.
When the waiter left, she offered me a glass. I politely declined but she kept insisting.
"It's my birthday so you have to do whatever I want", she whined.
"Okay!" I resigned taking the glass. I raised the glass to my lips but paused before I could take a sip as a thought struck my mind.
"A sip for the birthday girl", I said thrusting the glass forward for her to take. She gave a broad smile, one that was obviously fake.
"Nah, I have a glass already", she said maintaining the smile in a mechanical way.
"I insist. Take it as a gift, you can't decline a gift, can you? Besides, yours is a different flavor"
"Okay", she replied as she took the glass and had a sip. She returned the glass to me and I watched her for a while to know if it had any effect on her before I took my own sip, cautious enough to take the same amount as she took.
"Now for your main gift", I said using the opportunity to drop the glass. I brought out a small box from my purse.
"Happy birthday!" I said handing it to her. "Awwwn... Thanks", she said and pulled me into a hug.
"I know you don't trust me but it's not necessary to show that to the world. I wouldn't kill you with a drink", she whispered into my ear while still maintaining the hug.
"Of course you wouldn't", I replied and broke out of the hug. She flashed me another smile before attending to some other girls who approached her.
"These are my friends, Mark and Clinton. This is Natasha, one of my best friends and this is Alya, a very good friend of mine", she introduced all of us to the girls who I assumed were related to her.
I wondered when this dumb charade would end. We both didn't like each other and we were equally aware of that fact yet she just addressed me as a really good friend of hers.
To me, this was just a truce under the tag of 'friendship'.
"And these are my cousins, Kosarachi and Kasie", she introduced the two girls. Looking at the three of them, it was obvious that beauty ran in their gene.
I watched as they exchanged gifts and hugs and man did I feel thirsty. I picked up my glass and took a small gulp. Whatever this drink was, it had a supernatural taste, a blend I couldn't quite explain.
I cast a quick glance at Alesscia who was also downing her drink. I took a few more sips before dropping the glass.
I didn't want to drop the drink but I did it anyway. I excused myself and left for, nowhere in particular. I doubt anybody even noticed I left.
I stood next to the line of tables, the grasses suddenly becoming the most interesting things I had set my eyes on.
I was about to bend down and start admiring them when a guy just walked up to me. I stared at him for a long while, he was also staring.
"You want a dance?" He asked. I nodded, this wasn't me, I could feel that but it didn't seem to make a difference.
We took the floor as a slow song played in the background. This reminded me a lot of a previous event, for a moment, I actually thought it was happening all over again.
I soon found new interest in his lips. I kept my eyes focused on it as we danced. I soon felt his own eyes on mine.
I was pretty tall for a girl and well he had an average height for a guy so I didn't need to stand on my tiptoe as I leaned in to kiss him.
He kissed back, plain as it felt, it sparked something.
"...you can't live without me"
I pulled away. He looked startled by my action. I was now looking at the grass. He started raising my face with his palms but I shoved his hand so hard that he almost fell.
I stormed out of the place catching a slight glimpse of Alesscia rocking Devan Mike with a crowd cheering on.
I didn't know how I managed to stagger to the Benz waiting to pick me. As we drove off, I noticed that the driver kept glancing at me every once in a while through the rear view mirror.
He had a worried look on his face. I decided to ignore that fact as I rested my head on the glass and closed my eyes. I felt tears slide down my cheeks.
I stayed in that position until we got home. I stuck my head out of the window for the usual eye vein verification.
The gates rolled open and I went up to my room immediately I stepped down from the car, locking the door behind me.
I sat down for a while still in a shitty mood. I picked up my tablet and tried to video call Ami. She didn't pick. I didn't expect her to but as you would have noticed by now, I wasn't in my senses.
I dropped the tablet and slept off feeling very dizzy.
****
I woke up with a heavy head and this really terrible headache. It took a while before I started recapping the things that happened last night.
I regretted having that fucking drink. I couldn't exactly wait to see Alesscia. I could break a limb or two in her body, not much but at least something.
I glanced at the time, it was nine in the morning. No school for me today.
I guessed Alesscia wouldn't have attended either so I didn't feel so bad about being absent. I got up and had a shower feeling disgusted to have slept without a shower.
When I got out from the shower, I picked up my phone. I saw a couple of missed calls from Ami Tara.
Just then, I received another call from her. I rejected the call before I could think it through. That same instant, I received a message from her.
'I'm worried sick 'bout you. Stop acting like a brat and answer my call'
I rolled my eyes. I dropped the phone and picked up my tablet. I got a video call from her. I contemplated for a while before I accepted the call.
"How are you?", She asked.
"Fine? How else did you expect me to be?" I asked with an eye roll. She really needed to quit acting like she cared. It really didn't suit her.
"I heard you came home drunk last night", she stated ignoring my rude remark.
"You heard right", I replied with an eye roll. She gave me her usual disapproving look.
"When did you start drinking? Is it because you are still mad at that boy who left you?"
"Hell... No! I love myself way more than you think and I ain't fucking my liver cause of some dumb guy. Plus he didn't leave me", I said almost screaming the last part.
"Keep consoling yourself", she said with a bored look. She didn't miss out on a chance to frustrate me.
"How old are you again? You are sixteen right? Are you even meant to be drinking?"
I didn't reply, just waited for her to keep yarning.
"I don't ever want to hear that you came home drunk. In fact, stay far away from anything alcohol..."
"Are you saying that cause you care or you just wanna sound like a good parent?", I asked interrupting her.
"What do you think?", She asked yawning. I didn't respond.
"Once I drop this call, I'll ask Stephanie to get rid of everything alcoholic in that house..."
"I thought all those drinks were really expensive"
"Money can't buy my daughter's life"
"But it can buy me a mother right?"
She rolled her eyes in response. "Just don't get yourself into any trouble. I am really busy and I can't keep worrying about whether you're alright or not..."
"Between the both of us, who is in a better position to give advise?" I asked utterly frustrated that none of my previous words managed to annoy her.
She kept a straight face. She didn't look angered by my question at all. My efforts to piss her off always failed terribly.
I didn't know if it was her celebrity status that forced her to stay calm all the time or if it was just her nature.
"You have a problem", she said.
"Not the first time someone's telling me that", I said resisting the urge to hiss and hang up.
She shook her head probably wondering what she had done to get such a daughter. "Take care of yourself", she said and with that, she ended the call.