Soon after they finished eating, Finn showed up. Hazel begged Jan not to abandon her at the party, she had promised her parents she would be back around midnight and since Jan was the one who picked her up, she would prefer Jan to drop her back home.
“Sure, babe, no problem, I’ll meet you here around 11. 30, ‘kay?” she winked. Her arms were tangled with Finn and the boy’s mouth was on her neck. There was no way Hazel could persuade her to stay with her for a little while longer.
Hazel looked around for a familiar face after Jan disappeared into the crowd. She couldn’t find any, not in the pool area anyway. She didn’t want to go in to the dance scene, she wasn’t drunk enough to dance on her own in public. She started to regret her decision to come in the first place.
She picked up another cup, and another one with her other hand just in case and walked over to the pool house where Marlon was. The sound of their laughter was intimidating, she was about to enter an unfamiliar territory. Hanging out with Marlon just the two of them was one thing, hanging out with Marlon and his city friends is another.
“There she is!” Dennis’s voice greeted her as she stepped into the pool house.
Hazel didn’t even see him until he stood up and walked over to her. Dennis took her hand and led her to the living room sofa where everyone was. They had their own booze, snacks, candy, and everything in that part of the house.
Marlon was sitting on a table next to the sofa with his feet on the cushions. Mandy was leaning comfortably on Marlon’s arm and her head on his shoulder. They looked a bit drunker than the last time she saw them.
“Everybody, this is Hazel … Hazel, this is everybody,” Dennis introduced them.
There were about 8 or 9 other people gathered in a circle around the coffee table full of bottles and glasses. They were all so drunk and friendly, they said their names almost at the same time. Hazel smiled widely and nodded, she couldn’t hear half of their names and probably won’t remember them after that.
Marlon set his eyes on her as if he was studying how Hazel would behave around his friends. “Hazel helps me with my studies at school … she’s the smartest girl in class,” Marlon told his friends. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said it.
They were buzzing. “And … what about you, Marlon? Are you the smartest guy in class?” somebody said and the other laughed. “I’m surprised they haven’t expelled your ass yet … have you been a good boy?” another one asked.
Marlon laughed it off, he took a gulp of his drink.
“I see you’re holding two cups, do you want to have something stronger?” Dennis offered, he picked up a bottle of Grey Goose in one hand and Jack Daniels on the other. “Take your pick, we have everything,” Dennis pointed to the table where there were at least six other bottles with different brands.
“Oh no … I’m fine … I have to be home at 12, I can’t drink too much,” she said.
Marlon’s friends were rowdy. She heard someone shouted, “Cinderella!” The others were laughing. Mandy was holding her giggle with a smile and whispered something to Marlon’s ear. Hazel realized they found her answer amusing.
“Sorry, Hazel, they’re idiots,” one girl said. “Don’t mind them … you seemed too nice to be friends with this bad boy over here,” she patted Marlon’s knee.
“She is … too nice,” Marlon agreed and smiled at Hazel. “I don’t deserve her,” he added. His friends laughed thinking he was joking. But Mandy shot a look at him, she was the only one who knew he wasn’t joking.
Dennis on the other hand looked eager. “Well … we have to find some other way to entertain you then … would you like to dance? I’m a very good dancer,” he grinned.
Hazel blushed and pressed her lips together.
“Dennis! Give it up man, you’re making her uncomfortable,” Marlon snapped at him.
“No, that’s fine … but no thanks, maybe later … after a few more drinks,” Hazel said.
“That’s the spirit, here! here!” Dennis poured drinks to his friends’ cups and they all took a gulp.
Dennis made space beside him for Hazel, “Come sit down Hazel, you don’t want to stand all night.”
Marlon stared at Dennis though he didn’t say anything. He sipped on his drink to mask his annoyance. And when Hazel walked over to Dennis and took the seat, Marlon cleared his throat and looked away.
“So … tell us about yourself, Hazel, … we’d like to know more about Marlon’s friend from school,” Dennis said.
“Yeah … and tell us how our boy here is doing at school … what kind of trouble he’s in lately,” another voice said.
Hazel glanced at Marlon and found his eyes were watching her. She wouldn’t dream of telling them about Marlon’s real trouble especially in a social setting such as that party. She smiled, “He’s doing great actually, he’s got good grades … if he keeps it up, he’ll be able to apply to Universities soon.”
“Marlon? To Uni?” they all laughed. “Oh man … I thought this was just a bad joke your dad tried to pull to keep you busy,” a guy names Errol said.
Marlon curved his lips and ignored his friends comments.
“Seriously dude, you’re going to Uni? I thought we’re going to continue with the channel you planned to do,” Dennis said.
Marlon shrugged and took another big gulp of his drink. “Nothing is decided yet, but my grades are pretty good … unlike all of you dropouts.” They laughed.
“Yeah … but Uni? You’ve gotta be kidding man, there’s no way you can go through boring lectures for 4 years straight,” somebody said.
“He’s right, you know, you’re not cut out for school … it’s too boring,” Mandy said close to Marlon’s ear.
Hazel looked at him. This was the first time she ever hear about it. She always thought University was the whole point of Marlon being at school and her tutoring him. Marlon avoided her gaze, he changed the subject instead.
“You know what, it’s not a party without a beer bong … who’s gonna do it with me?” Marlon stood up and everyone cheered.
They started to make a fuss about it and planning on a funneling contest at the bar. Anyone who was up for it wrote their names on a piece of paper and put them in a glass bowl. Hazel took the moment to slip away from the crowd, she took a drink and walked around the house to look for a quieter area.