Zenon's Game Chapter 86

Heidi's a shopaholic. She immediately went online and ordered clothes for the party.  Extra revealing clothes. I could only imagine what the boys would say.

She burst into my room with the new dresses and spun on my red chair as I tried them on. My sister and I haven't had the best relationship in the past, but it seemed like we were making progress now.

"My weird little sis is scoring me invites to the hottest parties," she joked, "Isn't that the end of the world?"

I was happy to see her happy.  She'd been devastated by Matt dumping her and this had lifted her mood infinitely.  Yes, she'd insulted me in the process, but we are family. We need to stick together.

"My underwear is going to show in this," I said nervously, wearing the new dress.

"Then wear cute underwear."

Cynthia did our makeup and Julia hosted the pregame. Julia actually thanked me – the first kind words we'd exchanged in a while.

We drove to Axel's house in Cynthia's car. Her party playlist was a mashup of old skool hits and h*ip hop. I had a small buzz from the jello shots we took before.

It's fun to roll up to a party in a group of girls. We danced our way to the front steps - and that's when everyone's mood was killed.

Gloria opened the front door in a pair of slippers, "Hello?"

She was an elderly lady, with an Alfred Hitchcock movie playing in the background and an apple pie baking in the oven. There was no sign of any party.

"The party doesn't exist, does it?" Julia echoed everyone's thoughts, "They set you up, Candace."

"Party?" Gloria repeated loudly, pretending like she couldn't hear well, "Jumping jiminy, there's no party here. Unless you count me and my movie."

"I knew it," Julia rolled her eyes, "I'm leaving."

"But we came in my car," Cynthia objected.

"I'll get an uber."

Heidi and Cynthia looked at me, questioning whether they should go with her. Julia was already walking down the front lawn with her phone out.

Good luck with that surge charge.

"Candace, is that you?" Gloria asked, peering to have a closer look at me.

"Hi Gloria," I hugged her, "These are my friends."

"Come on in, dearie. Don't mind me, I'm watching Psycho. What a classic," she said, and the girls looked terrified, "You know where to go."

She opened the door for us to enter. We took our shoes off and as she was closing the door, she shot me a secretive wink.

I smiled back and led the girls to the cupboard.

I remembered how Zenon had shown me the way... and the Harry Potter spells I cast on him when I refused to believe him. I remembered holding onto his shoulders as he walked down the stairs and the kiss that almost happened.

And then I remembered the kiss that did.

"Why are you stopping, Candace?" Cynthia asked nervously, "We shouldn't stay in this house. There isn't anything here and the old lady is watching Psycho. If that isn't a sign..."

They were really losing faith in me.

"Welcome to the party," I said and, with my love for all things dramatic, I yanked open the door in a grand gesture.

"Oh-"

"My-"

"God."

The girls gasped.

Some guy from the basketball team yelled up to us, "$1 ENTRY!"

We had our $1 bills and descended the staircase, with the girls speechless behind me. The grotto was just as I remembered it. Humidity instantly hit us. The smell of alcohol and the sound of music sunk into our pores. Our bare feet touched the cool water as we waded through the party.

"Candace! You made it!" Axel found me, wrapping a strong arm around my shoulder, "These your friends?"

I nodded, "My sister Heidi and my friend Cynthia."

"Hey!  Thanks for having us.  What are you doing with all the dollar bills?" Cynthia asked bluntly.

Axel waved his finger in the air, "Live entertainment babyy. It's in the back."

"Yo!" Bryce yelled, wading through the crowd towards us. He was shirtless and wearing satin shorts.

Heidi and Cynthia stared at us. They were stunned at how Axel and Bryce were acting like they knew me...

I guess the boys weren't acting. They actually knew me.

"Listen Candace," Bryce swung his arm around my shoulder.

Axel's arm was still around me and he leaned in to listen.

"I'm getting really drunk right now so I want to tell you this before I forget," Bryce said, his words already slurred, "What you did yesterday was hard core. I thought you were a mouse the first time I saw you, but I'm impressed now. And I want you to come to my father's charity event on Saturday. The whole gang's gonna be there and you're a part of that."

A girl came up to us and pulled Bryce's arm. Before I could say anything, he was willingly dragged off by the girl.  

"Let's find you drinks," Axel said and then added quietly, "And ya man."

"What?" I asked, not sure I heard that last part properly.

"Nothing," Axel answered innocently, before he clicked his fingers, "I forgot! He's about to play! One sec, Candace, I need to introduce him."

Axel ran off.  I watched him dart between people with surprising agility and disappear into the smoky crowd.  

Who's about to play what?

The grotto was set up differently than last time.  There was still a large space for people to dance and the bar was in the same location.  By a corner, there was an elevated dry part, resembling a stage. 

A girl was singing on it now, sashaying around in front of an entertained crowd.  She was phenomenal.  And dressed like a s*e*xy mermaid.  

Very in-theme for the grotto.

"Look!" Cynthia gasped, "That's Zenon Albert!  He's here.  He's actually here."

I don't think Cynthia has ever seen Zenon outside of school.  

I followed her gaze to the bar.  Zenon had just turned around and was making his way through the crowd.  He walked with confidence, knowing as usual that most people had an eye on him.

And that's when his eyes landed on me.