Videogames  Anonymous

I had grown accustomed to the way my room looked. Like the ultimate entertainment  or video game center of  the world. And I had it all.  All the major video game systems from the XBOX to the XBOX 360, a PS2, Nintendo Gamecube, the Wii and as far as the portable video gaming devices went, I had the Nintendo DS and the PSP.

And even though I was  momentarily busy fighting some villain from a Nintendo Wii game, I tried to catch bits and pieces of what Sally, my best friend of five years was trying to convey to me.She was the  same age as I was, fifteen.  When her long and thick head of dark brown hair was loose, she looked more mature than her current age,  and that was pretty much the way  she looked  now.

“Do you think you can put that down for a second and listen to me,” I thought I heard her say in that soft voice of hers.
“Wait, I’ll beat this monster in a second,” I replied amid video game sound effects and the quick movements of my fingers on the Wii controller.

She must have sighed. Even though I had both eyes firmly planted on the television screen before me, I saw her from my side vision. Then out of  disgust, she must have left because  the next  non video game sound I heard was the slam of my bedroom door.
At that point I yelled out: “Sally, Sal, what were you saying,”
“She’s gone,” my mother yelled back from another part of the house.

I sighed, told myself I would call her in a while and resumed my video gaming.  But after  beating the video game  villain and I kept on advancing the game,   the minutes  rapidly turned into hours and I thought I recalled getting up to turn on the reading lamp beside my bed when the place got dark. And for the most part, Ijust kept on playing the game.

When I did go for a bathroom break, I glanced at the clock and noting that it was two AM, I told myself I would play for another thirty minutes or so, but that soon turned into another hour, by which time I  had grown sleepy. So I reluctantly saved my progress from the game, turned off the Wii and flopped myself on the bed without changing into my pajamas.

*****

Seeing that I had at least five minutes or so  before Math class, I whipped out my Nintendo DS, turned it on and pretty soon realized that    my  video gaming had attracted a small group  of  onlookers.

This was a sort of RPG puzzle game called Puzzle Quest.
“There’s a match right there, Kim, get it,” a guy yelled from behind me.
“And there’s another one on the right,” said another guy. So following their  tips, I cleared the matches and was close to defeating the villain when  someone abruptly  came and closed my Nintendo DS shut.

I slowly looked at the person’s face before me quite expecting it to be that  of  the teacher, but instead it was Sally. The small crowd  that gathered soon dispersed and  I heard them whispering  remarks like: “Whoa, here comes the boss,” and  “ Sally doesn’t like her playing all those video games,”

“ Teach is  coming,  you’d better put that away,” she said with her hazel eyes looking into my brown ones. And I did put it away, but I was furious with Sally.

When we were in the cafeteria at lunch, I with my Nintendo DS in one hand and a fork in the other, I unleashed some of that anger onto her.
“Why’d you shut my DS this morning in class,” I began.
“Because the teacher was coming and I thought I’d save you from another day of detention,” she fired back.
“ Stop trying to save me, I can handle myself,” I retorted.
“Yeah, well  I’d like to see one of those game characters jump out and try and do something for you for a change,” and with that Sally  got up, picked up  her tray and went elsewhere in the school cafeteria while I unaffectedly placed my fork on the table and resumed playing the video game.

*****

And thinking back to what happened that day while I undressed to take a shower, something fell out of my  jeans pocket. It was a business card. On closer scrutinization of it, I soon realized what it was all about.

For on it was the address, telephone number website address and email of a Video Gamers Anonymous organization. And thinking that Sally was the one who slipped it to me I uttered:
“ Oh, Sally,”
I thought about calling her to apologize for my behavior that day, but when I got out of the shower and changed into clean clothes, I began to play a video game and forgot all about calling her.

And  the next few days at school did not make things any easier. Everytime I ran into her or saw her in the hall, I froze when it came time to say something to her. But she was never alone now. She found a new group of friends to hang out with and I was still there stuck on my video gaming ways.

But all that  changed the day I happened to over hear her making a date with the high school quarterback.
After the hunk of a young man left the gym that afternoon, Sally and I were pretty much alone. I did not think she noticed me as she was busy gathering her books and things for yet another day.

“Did I just hear you two right, you’re going out with him?” I said stepping up behind her. She swung around, eyed my  shoulder length blonde hair, not my face or eyes and said:
“What do you care, I thought you’d be busy with your video games,” and the way she said the phrase video games, it was almost as though those games were totally meaningless.

“ He’ll just use you, Sal, is that what you want, just to be the next girl he does it with,” I found myself saying.
“ It’s my life, the same way you don’t want me telling you anything about your gaming addiction, maybe I don’t want you telling me who to date,” this time she did look into my eyes.

And suddenly  realizing that I  was on the verge of losing the only person outside my family who ever meant anything to me, I said:
“I’m sorry about that  day in the cafeteria,”
“ Oh, and what does that mean, Kim, are you gonna stop  spending all your free time on those video games now,” she returned firmly holding on to her backpack.
I lowered my head in embarrassment.

“ I just don’t want that  quarterback to hurt you, that’s all,” I said.
“ Well, I’ll tell you what, if you can hang up your video game controller for five minutes  maybe I’ll reconsider my date with Mike, so how about it, wanna see a movie later?” she said.
I thought about  the video games anonymous group.
“I’m sorry, but I have something I gotta do later,” I answered.
“ See, I didn’t think you’d give up your precious video game for me, see you around, Kim, and have a nice life,” with those icy words falling from her lips, Sally walked out of the gym and left me standing there all alone.

What I did next was no easy task. I  went home, disconnected my  video game systems from the television they were connected to, placed those systems in the closet along with the games and asked my mother to drive me to the address on the VG anonymous card.

When I arrived at the place,  I was surprised to see other people who were just like me, addicted to playing video games. And heard people telling  stories about who and what they lost because they could not  part themselves from their video games long enough to spend time with them.

For a second or two, I felt like walking out, but when it  came my turn to speak and I stepped up to the podium,  I do not know how she knew I was there, but Sally entered the room and smiled at me.

I found my  voice  after that and heard myself speaking into the microphone:
“ Hi everyone, my  name is Kim and I’m addicted to playing video games…”

“ So what did ole’ Mikey say when you turned down his date?” I said to Sally next evening when we were in my room watching some movie she rented.
She chuckled at first.
“ Oh he was devastated, you should have seen the look on his face when I told him I had other plans for that evening,” said Sally.
I laughed.
“It’s good to see you laughing,” she said.
“You too, Sal, it’s good to see you laughing too,” I replied.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cinderella-An Unhappy Ending-

Cinderella was not having a great day. She usually mopped the kitchen floor once a day, but today it was double. One of her step sisters, the oldest, Anastasia, spilled some tea on it. The splatter would not have been as widely spread if the bit of beverage had spilled a different way, but Anastasia, who was busy fantasizing about Prince Charming out loud, seemed to have forgotten she was holding a tea cup full of tea, and in a second of utter negligence, the cream coloured liquid went spewing in all different directions; breaking the delicate tea cup in the process.

Cinderella wasted no time in setting about her task of cleaning the floor once again. If she did not clean it, no one else would have. She was full of hope though, for she and only she and her Godmother knew the glass slipper would fit her and no one else. She hoped that maybe someday soon, all her house cleaning chores would come to an end.

“Come, Anastasia. Let’s go into the parlor while she cleans up the mess,” said the younger one, Drizella. Although Drizella patiently listened to Anastasia talk of the Prince, she secretly hoped the shoe would fit her when he came around to their abode some time in the near future. For Drizella, just like every young woman in the Kingdom, had her own fantasies of Prince Charming as well.

When both sisters left the kitchen, Cinderella was pleased. She always felt better when doing her chores with no one else around. Of course, things might have been a lot different if they would include her in the conversation, but since they did not, she found it at times, difficult to focus on the task she was trying to complete. Their constant chatter would confuse her, moreso when her stepmother, Lady Tremaine was around. On this particular day though, the Lady had gone to town a little early to do some shopping.

It was Cinderella’s time now to think of the Prince, while she was alone in the kitchen, cleaning. For it was she who danced with him all night up until the midnight hour on that evening at the ball. How his affectionate, blue eyes looked into hers every chance he got and how she eyed him too, with gentle smiles and loving glances. Other guests on the crowded dance floor were oblivious to them while they danced, as if they were in a trance. And although they hardly spoke to each other during those dances, they both knew they would see each other again. She felt even better when she thought of how bulky and clumsy her sisters’ feet were.
“It would never fit them,” she chuckled quietly.

Prince Charming on the other hand, was busy making his rounds of the land in search of the owner of the slipper. As usual, people fussed over him wherever he went. Mothers wept in silent disappointment as their daughters feet did not fit the piece of footwear, and some of those daughters ran sobbing into their pillows.

By the time the handsome specimen of royalty arrived at Cinderella’s home sporting a brilliant tourquoise cape, her step mother, Lady Tremaine was there as well. Neighbours looked out from their windows as Cinderella hurried out carrying a chair so her kin could sit and try on the shoe in comfort.

A feeling of familiarity gripped Prince Charming upon spotting Cinderella, those eyes were unforgettable. Cinderella felt the same way upon seeing him. But Cinderella was embarrassed for him to see her in the rags she wore, so after placing the chair in front of the house, she quickly returned to her room in the attic. From where she sat, she had a good view of what was about to take place.

The first to try on the slipper was a giggling Lady Tremaine, herself. She pushed her right foot in as far as it would go in the smooth surface of the footwear, but it was not a fit. Her smile and giggle at once disappeared when she removed herself from the chair to make way for her eldest, Anastasia.

She took her place on the chair in true dainty and feminine fashion, setting both bare feet firmly on the ground. The prince, on one knee, held out the slipper as Anastasia gently placed her foot in it.

Lady Tremaine and Drizella gasped in delight. The slipper fit Anastasia. Neighbours came running out of their homes to pay homage to their new future princess, while a shocked and disbelieving Cinderella could not take her eyes off the scene.

“The slipper fit her,” she heard herself say. The prince, also in some amazement had to be helped to his feet by his footmen. Unable to view the happy scene outside her window much longer, Cinderella paced the floor of her dark and cold room.

“How could this be, Godmother, how could this be. You said I was the one,” she wept. The spell was broken, no fairy godmother appeared to console her. Cinderella closed her window and flopped herself on her tiny bed, sobbing as the joyful sounds of celebration was heard just outside. She wished she could turn off her ears the same way she would close her eyes if she did not wish to see something.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Magic Sling Shot

“Remember now, Alfie, no more magic!” shouted the little elf’s mother from the floor below. Ten year old Alfie fingered his right, long ear and looked despairingly at the sling shot before him on the bed. He would never forget what happened the last time he used a bit of magic. Unable to control his newly developed power of ‘aim’ he ended up slicing off the top of his neighbour’s middle finger, much to the amazement and anger of certain individuals who did not believe it was an accident.

Knowing what he must now do, he picked up the enchanted toy or weapon, which ever way some one wanted to perceive such a device, and made his way to the veranda outside his room. There was nothing out there but an endless view of green grass, but somewhere along this meadow, there was an invisible force field that protected him and his folk from the world beyond it. A world where there was no magic, just plain humans getting by with their skill, intellect and labour.

Alfie inhaled deeply and reached his right arm as far back as it would go, he then flung the arm forward releasing the sling shot so far and high in the clear, blue sky that it broke through the force field and landed in one of those plain human’s freshly cut lawns. A glitter of silvery, shimmering aura surrounded the toy temporarily as it laid in its new place.

“Oh no,” Alfie groaned in disappointment, “you were not supposed to go that far,”
His mother, feeling the momentary tremor left by the break in the force field, called out to her son once more: “Alfie, have you been experimenting with your aim spell again?”
“No, Ma, that wasn’t me,” he yelled back at her. He did not like lying to her, but this time he felt as though he had no choice.
2

Eleven year old Derek Williamson sat up lazily in his bed. His eyes, still heavy with sleep, met the glare of the morning sun as it entered his room via a storm window. Derek squinted and lowered his head until he adjusted and focused his vision more clearly. He looked at the red shorts he fell asleep in. He did it again. Fell asleep without taking the time to put on his pyjamas. If his mother knew he had done this again, for the umpteenth time, she would be furious.

Before that could happen, he darted into the adjoining bathroom, brushed his teeth and showered. Relieved to have done those things without being found out, he dressed in his school unifrom which consisted of long khaki trousers and white shirt that was tucked into those pants. While he was examining his appearance in his full length door mirror, his mother called.

“Derek, are you ready for school? The bus will be here any minute,” she shouted from across the house in the one storey abode. Every morning they went through this same routine; her yelling at him while he was looking at himself in the mirror, already dressed for school, and every morning he gave the same answer as he was about to now.
“Yes, Mom, I’m coming,” he grabbed his grey backpack from the floor next to his unmade bed and headed out.
“Wow, don’t we look all neat today,” remarked his mother on seeing him. She placed a transparent sandwich bag which contained a pear and a roast beef sandwich made from leftover roast from the previous day in his backpack and kissed him on the forehead.
“Well, I’ll see you later,” she said opening the front door.

“See you later, Mom,” said Derek.
On stepping out on the paved walkway next to the lawn, he spied the sling shot. His light brown eyes lit up with enthusiasm upon spotting it. He looked all around him, but seeing no one, he walked ahead of him to the object and picked it up. The sound of the school bus made him suddenly stand up straight. He put the sling shot in his backpack and zipped it up before any of his peers on the bus could see it and stepped out again on the pavement by the roadside.

Derek waved at his mother as she stood in the doorway. She waved back and smiled as he got on the bus and the vehicle’s automatic doors closed. Barry Holson, a yellow haired, freckled face boy with mischievous blue eyes sat behind Derek on the bus everyday.

They were the journeys Derek did not like, for everyday he had no idea what form of mild torture Barry was going to dish out. Some days, Barry would tug at Derek’s hair, other days, he would pull his shirt by the collar. On a good day, Barry would tap him on the head a few times. Derek hoped this would be one of those good days. No sooner had Derek seated himself by the window when it began. Barry pulled his hair. Derek at once became a little agitated, but just pulled away.

“What’s the matter, Derek, a little chicken today, huh, huh,” taunted Barry.
The bus travelled on amid chatter and laughter coming from the other kids on board.
Derek lifted his head and tentatively sat up right.
Again Barry tugged at his hair. This time it was unbearable. Barry pulled his hair so hard that it hurt. Unknown to anyone on the bus, the main compartment of Derek’s backpack unzipped itself. Derek turned around and glared at Barry.

“Stop it, okay,” he said.
“Ooh, he speaks, Derek’s mad, Derek’s mad,” said Barry in a sing song, taunting fashion.
The tip of the sling shot emerged from the sack, still no one noticed, not even Derek. Then the smaller compartment at the front became opened as well. A rectangular eraser showed itself. It emerged bit by bit until it came out and headed in the direction of the sling shot. The eraser placed itself in the pouch of the toy. The pouch tightened its grip on the eraser by securing itself in a folded position, the slingshot was out of the sack by this time.

Before Derek could turn his head to the left of him to see what was happening, the band of the slingshot pulled itself back all the way in a ready position, with the eraser still in a secure position in the pouch. It then raised itself over the top of Derek’s seat and took aim at Barry’s forehead. The band was released. The eraser sped forward and hit Barry in the middle of the forehead, causing him to become unconscious.
Derek heard some girls scream in horror, when he turned to look at his backpack, the slingshot and eraser had already found their way safely inside the bag.
“What’s going on over there?” came the authoritative voice of the bus driver.
Derek felt himself becoming cold with fear as the bus screeched to a halt.
3

When they arrived at the school, Derek was escorted directly to the waiting area just outside the principal’s office. Barry was taken to the nurse’s office. Derek looked at the wall clock ahead of him, it was 8:15. He wondered why he had not seen the principal yet, when the angry face of his mother showed itself when she came strolling towards him. At this point, he wasn’t sure who he was more afraid of, the principal or his mother.
“I raised you the best I could and this is the thanks I get, a call from the school, so what have you done, and you better not lie to me, boy,” she began waving an index finger at him.

“I, I didn’t do anything,” he stuttered.
“Didn’t I just tell you not to lie to me?” said his mother.
At that point, the principal’s secretary, a young woman who wore glasses with round rims opened the door and said:
“He will see you all now,”

Derek and his mother entered the office and sat before the principal, Mr. John Patters, a bald man. Derek sat on a chair to his left while his mother sat on the right.
“Now tell me what happened on that bus today, boy,” began the principal. His voice was slightly hoarse. Derek recounted what took place, even the part about the sling shot.
Before the principal could utter another word, Derek’s mother turned to glare at her son.
“And just where did you get a slingshot from?” she asked.
“I, I found it,” said Derek.

“And just where did you find this slingshot?” continued his mother.
“On, on the lawn, this morning,” said Derek.
“Well, let’s see this slingshot,” said Mr. Patters.
Derek reached into his backpack which sat on the floor beside him and took out the toy.
“Ahh,” Derek’s mother gasped on seeing the object.
“Well it looks like you got some detention time coming, boy. Slingshots don’t operate by themsleves, and, er, I’ll take that,” said Mr. Patters. He held out a hand for the slingshot.
Derek reluctantly handed it over and sighed.

Later that night, Alfie silently left his house while he was certain his mother was in a deep sleep and slipped through the force field unheard. He placed a medium sized, white rock in front of it once he got to the humans’ side so he would remember the link back to his world.
All he had to do to get to Derek’s house was think of it and he was there, in Derek’s room. Derek was just about to pull the blanket over him when Alfie placed his hand across his mouth, silencing him.

“Don’t be scared,” said Alfie, “I’ve come to help you get back the slingshot,” then he removed his hand from Derek’s face. Derek threw the covers off him and got to his feet. Alfie looked at him in his blue shorts.
“Oh, I did it again,” said Derek with some frustration.
“I’m Derek, who are you?” spoke Derek as he put on some blue jeans and a shirt.
“I’m Alfie, that slingshot is mine. I came to take it back,” he said.
“Okay, but how’d you get in here?” said a perplexed Derek.
“Do you believe in magic?” asked Alfie.

By the time they made it to the school, it was so dark and quiet that Derek became scared.
“I’m gonna be in serious trouble if I get caught here,” he whispered to Alfie.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be all right,” answered a confident Alfie.
Acquiring the slingshot was not hard, before they knew it they were back in Derek’s room saying good bye to one another.
“The principal’s gonna wonder what happened to that,” said Derek pointing at the slingshot in Alfie’s hand.

“You worry too much. You don’t need anything to fight off a bully you know,” said Alfie, “just believe in yourself. You won’t be able to win all the battles that come your way, so walk away from some if you have to,”
“But you don’t understand, this Barry guy is always picking on me,” protested Derek.
“Then let him, sooner or later he’ll get tired and stop,” said Alfie.
“Are you sure?” said Derek.

“Just believe in you and you can face anything you set your heart on,” assured Alfie, “I have to go now before my mother notices I’m gone,”
“Okay,” said Derek.
They said good bye. This time Derek did put on his pyjamas before crawling into bed and as for Alfie. Let’s just say he learned to control and perfect his aim spell.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Anatomy Of A Break Up

On the first day which happened to be a Saturday, Shelly stayed in bed all day. And if her adjoining bathroom were not where it was, maybe someone in her family would have caught a glimpse of her had she made a deliberate attempt to go elsewhere in the house. She fell in and out of sleep, with her brown curls looking all dishevelled and uncombed, but Shelly did not care. All she wanted was for Jim to call her. To let her know he did not mean all those hurtful things he said to her, she wanted to hear him say how sorry he was and that all he ever wanted was to be with her, but the longer she stayed in bed, drifting in and out of sleep, her telephone remained quiet.

Mother Nature must have known all was not well with Shelly and her little world. For it rained all day that Saturday, adding bits of thunder and lightning to the dampness outside Shelly’s window. At one instance, a roaring thunderous sound jerked her out of a nap and made her sit up in fright. Around lunchtime, her mother entered her room and offered her something to eat, but Shelly had no appetite, maybe if Jim came by or called her that might have changed.

But as the afternoon turned into early evening and that turned into night, there was still no word from Jim. No email, no voice mail, no visits, nothing. Around eight o’clock Shelly began to wonder what Jim might be doing.
“Maybe he’s just busy,” she spoke the words to no one but herself.
Then she grabbed her telephone and dialed his number. It rang five times then switched to his voice mail. A still despondent Shelly placed her phone back on the nightstand and sank her slim frame back into her unmade bed. A couple of her girl friends called, but she did not wish to speak to any of them, so she made it brief and hung up.

At 9:30 Shelly’s mother returned with a roast beef and cheese sandwich. Shelly ate a couple bites, not because she was hungry, but because she did not want her mother to think she was starving herself. Her mother did not care about that, she was just happy to see her sixteen year old daughter eating something. Shelly did not get much sleep that night. She restlessly channel surfed the television, but everything she saw and heard either reminded her of Jim or made her want to call him. At 3:34 AM she found herself wide awake and still feeling as if someone reached inside her and removed a great part of her soul.

That emptiness would not leave her, no matter how much she tossed, turned, adjusted and re-adjusted her pillow and sighed. Then something dawned on her. How come on one level, when all is well, how can love make someone feel so heavenly, and on another, when things are not so good, how can it make you feel so wretched and tormented? Shelly thought she was finally reaching an understanding about the two sided nature of this one thing that is supposed to make the world go round.

“I guess the trick is you have to keep things going smoothly,” she found herself saying aloud in the silence and darkness of her room. She was also coming to the realization that in matters of love, that can be a real challenge.
She must have fallen asleep some time though, because when she awoke, there was no sound of rain or thunder.

Day 2

Although she felt a great emptiness in the depths of her insides, Shelly dragged herself out of bed and took a shower. She even shaved her armpits and legs, just in case Jim called and wanted to take her out or something. After all, it was a new day. Then as she stood there in the bath drying her body and her hair, she became angry.

Angry that Jim hurt her and was feeling the way she was. She decided right there and then that if he indeed called her like she was eager to have him call her, she would not be too welcoming or friendly. No one was going to hurt her like that and think it was all right, because it was not all right. She had feelings too. Feelings Jim trampled all over like a worn out door mat. Later on that day, her two good friends showed up and Shelly welcomed them.

They talked, laughed and ordered pizza. Shelly’s mother looked in on them from the ajar door and smiled to herself as she saw her daughter laughing and chatting cheerfully once again. When her friends left, Shelly took leave of her room and went to the family sitting room to chat with her parents and brother. She slept well that night and did not feel like calling Jim either, if he did not care enough to call her, why should she call him. She did get angry one more time though, angry that she allowed some one to make her lose sleep, not eat and feel the way she did.

But when she finished socializing with her family at the breakfast table and tried to go about the business of the day, that familiar fleeting feeling of nostalgia came back. Even if Jim were to call or come by, she was not so certain now if she would ever feel as happy as she did before their little break. They would have to get back to that point again, in order for that to happen, something Shelly was not certain she could do as quickly.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Gina’s First Party

“And are there gonna be any boys at this party?” asked Gina’s father.
Sixteen year old Gina stared at her father and caught sight of his bushy mustache. She also glanced at her mother who sat next to her father on the sofa.

Sometimes Gina did not know why she even bothered. She suffered the similar interrogation every time she asked her parents for permission to go somewhere with her friends. This time though, it was different, for she was asking permission to attend a party.

“Yes, Dad, there are gonna be a few boys there,” sighed Gina.
Her father, a forty-two year old civil engineer, thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
“And who are these boys?” he continued the line of questioning.

“Ones from school, Ronnie and Cindy are gonna be there too,” replied Gina. Ronnie and Cindy were her friends, persons both her parents liked because they knew their parents.
“Ronnie and Cindy, huh,” said her father.

Gina, already anticipating her father’s answer, turned to head upstairs into her room.
“I don’t think so, Gina, not tonight,” came the answer she was dreading, but heard anyway.
“Brad gets to go anywhere he wants,” retorted an irate Gina about her younger brother, stomping off.
“That’s because he’s not you,” came her father’s stern voice.
“It’s because he’s a boy, that’s what it is,” Gina was so angry by the time she made it to her room, she felt her heart beat increase to a faster rate.
She flopped herself on her bed and was about to embark on another one of her crying sessions when a knock came at the door.
“Come in,” she said in a quiet voice.
The door opened ajar and in stepped her mother, a five foot nine woman of medium build.

“You father didn’t mean to be so hard on you,” she began.
“Gees, sometimes I wonder if he’s ever gonna let me go to a party. I’m probably the laughing stock of my friends, their parents let them go to parties and I haven’t been to a single one,” said Gina. She sat up in the middle of the bed.

“Actually, that’s what I came to tell you, he said you could go,” said her mother.
Gina’s brown eyes lit up with delight.
“What! Are you sure?” she chuckled.
Her mother smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, just don’t be out too late,”

Her mother turned to leave while all kinds of thoughts entered Gina’s mind.
“Gosh,” she said standing in the middle of her walk in closet, “what shall I wear?”
While she was contemplating that, she ran to her phone and dialed Ronnie’s number.
“Hey, guess what?” said Gina into it when Ronnie answered, “my folks said I could go to the party,”
“Really? Wow! That’s great, well, I’ll be over in a while to pick you up,” said Ronnie.
Gina did not as yet acquire her driver’s license, she still had to take the road test. That did not bother her at the time though, she returned to her closet and looked again at the variety of colourful tank tops, blouses, blue jeans, trousers, skirts and dresses. She could not decide what to wear, so she settled for a pair of jeans and red tank top.

When they arrived at the house in the country, Gina could at once tell they had indeed stumbled into a party atmosphere. There were cars parked along the side of the road where the well lit house was, some teens stood outside chatting, some laughed heartily, loud music came from within the abode, she smelled alcohol and thought she saw some of her peers smoking what looked like marijuana cigarettes.

“I thought there wasn’t gonna be any alcohol here,” said Gina to Ronnie as they began their walk to the house.
“I thought so too,” agreed her friend.
A dark haired boy stepped in front of them along their way.
“Well, well, well, it’s good of you to show up finally, Gina, welcome,” he smiled broadly at Gina after taking a puff of his slim cigarette.
“Want a smoke?” he offered.
“Uh, no,” said Gina. She and Ronnie resumed their walk.
“Don’t be a party pooper,” yelled the boy after them.
Upon entering the house, Gina could tell at once, this was not the kind of party she anticipated. There were couples standing, sprawled on the floor, or couches kissing and making out with each other while others drank, smoked and walked around greeting new comers to the scene.

“Hi, Gina, good of you to make it, there’s enough booze and stuff for everybody, stay a while,” said a blonde girl more to her than to Ronnie.
But Ronnie who knew Gina better than Gina herself thought she did, saw right through the unpleasant expression on her face.
“You know, if you wanna leave anytime, just say the word,” she said to Gina.
“Are all the parties like this?” asked Gina as they walked on and greeted other friends and acquaintances.

“The ones I’ve been to, uh, yeah, pretty much,” replied Ronnie.
Suddenly Gina did not feel as if this was the environment she wanted to be around, not at that time anyway.
Ronnie looked at her watch.
“It’s only 8:30, you wanna go to the mall or something?” she asked.
“Um, yeah,” said Gina.
Both girls turned around and bumped into Cindy, a bubbly brunette who carried a beer in one hand and a lit marijuana cigarette in the other.
“Well, hi there Gina, glad they finally let you out of the house,” she said with a grin.
“It’s not my scene, we were just leaving,” said Gina.
She and Ronnie turned to leave.
“Party pooper!” yelled Cindy after them.
“Whatever,” said Gina back to her.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she was seated in Ronnie’s car.
“And here I was thinking I was missing so much from not being at any of those parties, it turns out like I wasn’t missing much after all,” she said as Ronnie turned the key in the ignition.

“I had a feeling you weren’t gonna like it, but I guess it’s just one of those things you gotta see to believe, huh,” said Ronnie.
“Yeah, I think so,” said Gina.
She whipped out her cell phone and dialed her home number.
“Hi, Mum, Ronnie and I are gonna go to the mall, I didn’t stay at the party after all, I’ll explain later,” she said.
“Okay, honey, see you in a bit,”
“I’m sorry for dragging you away from it,” said Gina to Ronnie.
“Honest, I don’t much care for that kinda scene either, let’s go see if they got anything new at Anercrombie,” said a cheerful Ronnie.
Gina grinned at her friend’s remark as they drove far away from that house where the party was.