Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Bellcolor
I rummage through my closet – actually, scratch that, that’s what a normal teenage girl would say. I walk through the span of my roomful of closets searching for something to wear to the party, the way a normal girl would go shopping at Zara in a big American mall.
The funny thing is that the overwhelming majority of clothes displayed in the closet still have their price tags, since I never bothered to wear them. But it seems my father’s daughter can’t afford to not own every outfit that ever hit the market.
Every price tag I look at amazes me more and more, to the point where I’m sure my eyes will roll clean out of my sockets any moment now.
I shouldn’t feel this way. After all, I studied at a private school with kids who were just as rich as me, but wearing a dress worth six figures to a high school party seems a bit much to me.
Finally, I choose a black bell skirt that stops over my knees, and a simple white strapless shirt, since they both go with my black flats. I'd rather not put on new shoes that’ll murder my feet tonight. I decided it’d be best to go for the simple look, even if they were bought at some foreign super-designer’s store for a fortune.
I shower, dry my hair and decide to put some effort into it for a change, styling it into soft curls. I sit by the vanity, lean in towards the mirror and notice that the pigmentation in my irises have spread a bit. I tug on the skin around my eyes. Damn, that’s weird. Am I going blind? I’d think so if my vision wasn’t clearer than ever before.
I make a note to keep track of the pigmentation before it becomes a problem, and put in my color contacts. I blink for long moments to get used to them, and wipe away the stray tears as my eyes refuse to accept them.
When I manage to keep my eyes open without blinking like a crazy person, I put on my makeup – dark smoky eyes, light pink blush because my skin’s gotten so pale I look like a walking corpse, and shiny bright pink lip-gloss.
I review my efforts and I can say that I’m… satisfied. The bell skirt gives my body the illusion of curves, and the strapless shirt actually complements my almost-flat chest. My eyeshadow is perfectly suitable for the whole goth girl vibe, but the light pink softens it a bit, and the blush I drew across my cheeks highlights my cheekbones.
Okay.
My cellphone starts ringing, pulling my hypnotized gaze away from my new look.
I glance at the screen to see the caller ID, even though I already know there’s only one person who could be calling me.
“Hi, Dad,” I glance at the clock. It’s 8 PM our time, meaning it’s 10 AM in Tokyo. Doesn’t he have some important meeting to be at?
“Hello, Bellcolor, how was your graduation?” he asks with exemplary politeness. There’s no excitement in his voice at all that I’ve reached such a defining moment in my life, a supposed transition into adulthood.
“Fine, it’s over and done with.”
“Congratulations,” he says, and I stifle the disdainful scoff that almost escaped my mouth.
“Thank you very much,” I force myself to reply.
“Are you packed and ready for your trip tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course. I went over the suitcases Betty packed and added a few items of my own.”
“If you need anything else, please update the dorm staff, they’re briefed to provide you with anything you need.” Of course, I never thought otherwise.
“Thanks, Dad,” I answer purely for the sake of good manners.
“So I assume you’re getting ready for bed? Your flight’s at 8 AM. We wouldn’t want you to be late.”
“Ah…” I stammer. “Of course,” I lie. I don’t know exactly why. I’m over eighteen, after all. Legally I can do anything but drink alcohol, and if I were in Europe I could do that too. Besides, any teenager who just graduated would be expected to go to a graduation party with their friends, wouldn’t they?
“Excellent, Bellcolor. Have a good night, then, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Good night, Dad.”
I had no choice but to lie, right? He would’ve said no, because I have an early flight. If I spent all night partying, I might miss it. Just the possibility that he’d say no makes me anxious. But when I think more carefully about my lie, my knees start to shake. I’m so stupid. This whole house is networked with cameras. How will I sneak out without getting caught? We live in the top floor penthouse, I can’t exactly escape through a window. And there’s a camera in our private elevator too. I’ll just have to slip out under cover of darkness and pray my father won’t feel the need to check the security cameras.
I can be so stupid for a girl who’s meant to inherit a medical empire. Maybe my father has a point and I’ve caught the American stupidity he so despises.
When I think about being thousands of kilometers away from my father once my lie is exposed, it manages to calm me down a bit. Well, whatever . Maybe it’ll be part of my new life. A rebellious phase every growing teenager has to put their parents through. Maybe he’ll even be pleased with it. Because when you really think about it, if I never rebelled I really would go crazy, wouldn’t I? It’s a sign that I’ve recovered. I feel great too, for a change. I’ve stopped taking my pills since last night. It’s just a miracle. Divine revelation and a miracle in one day.
Religious fanatics spend their whole lives waiting for something like that, and here I am, a total atheist, getting both on the same day I wanted to die.
Lucky me.
I wait for Betty to turn off the lights and go home. As usual, she activates the alarm and wishes me a good night before the elevator doors close behind her. When I’m sure there’s absolute silence beyond my bedroom door, I finally pull my ear from the door and carefully open it.
I pull on a black cloak that reaches my knees, and tiptoe out of my room. I cling to the walls – I don’t know why, maybe because I’ve seen spies do it in movies – and make my way to the elevator door. I disable the alarm, to keep it from going off if I get back too blurry-minded and make a mistake punching in the code.
I’m sure I’d make an exemplary spy, joining Her Majesty's secret service and alongside James Bond or something like that.
When the elevator doors open, I take off my cloak and press it to the camera in the corner of the ceiling. That’s where it stays all the way down to the parking lot. My arms get tired from the uncomfortable position, I have to stand on the tips of my toes and stretch my arms up, cursing myself for not making enough effort in gym class. Clearly the C I got was too generous.
When the elevator doors open at the parking lot, I hurry to put the cloak back on and, hunched over, make my way to the row of cars we own.
I choose my G500 Mercedes jeep because for some reason it suits my sneaking around. Aside from its black color, its windows are tinted too, which will make it easier for me to drive upright instead of staying bent down to avoid the security camera on the left side of the exit. Perfect. Ms. Belle Fucking Bond.
I put Trent’s address into the built-in GPS, after finding it on the invite making the rounds on the popular kids’ social media, and I start driving where it tells me to go.
Trent lives in a New York suburb, so I’ve got a relatively long drive ahead of me. I hook my phone up to the car’s media system and choose an appropriate playlist for a party atmosphere.
I have no idea what’s popular when it comes to music these days, but it’s enough to put ‘party’ into Spotify and the app does the rest. I sing along with the artists – the words repeat themselves and they’re pretty catchy – and I dance along in the driver’s seat. It’s pretty good work considering I’m a brand-new driver on a New York street, and I’m filled with a sense of pride. Looks like driving is another skill I’ve discovered in myself tonight, along with my styling skills. And my spy capabilities.
As the skyscrapers disappear in the rearview mirror, and the scenery around me changes, I assume I’m getting close to my destination. A monstrous and well-lit house appears after a while, and the group of teens lounging on the front lawn confirms that I’m in the right place.
Wow, the neighbors are pretty forgiving to these just-graduated teens. It must be awesome to have good relationships with the neighbors, though I wouldn’t have a clue about that either.
I take a parking spot that’s pretty far away, since most of the guests made it before me, and I walk towards Trent’s house, passing faces that I recognize from school corridors. Their confused expressions tell me they're trying to figure out who I am. That, or they know who I am, and they're baffled as to why I was invited.
The sounds of music erupting from the house are overpowering, and as I walk through the front door I’m almost deafened.
“Bell-bell, you’re here!” Trent calls out. I twist my face. We’ve gone from Bella to Bell-Bell? Okay.
“Hi,” I shyly say, waving a hand.
He carves a path through his friends, swaying on his way to me. When exactly did he find the time to get so drunk? I turn to stone as he hugs me tightly, and manage to get a grip on myself and hug him back so I don’t come off as a weirdo.
He steps away from me and reviews my appearance, and suddenly I question my fashion choices. When he smiles, I decide I pulled it off after all.
“Let me get you a drink, Bella, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I thought you weren’t going to make it.” He grips my hand and pulls me towards the kitchen, which is packed full of people no less drunk than he is. The kitchen island is full of red plastic cups and bottles, and the marble counter proudly displays a row of beer kegs.
“What’ll you have?” he smiles at me, and my eyes dance over the tremendous selection.
“Mmm… whatever, you pick, I don’t usually drink,” I reply. I really have no idea. “Anything but bourbon,” I add just before he reaches out towards the island. No way am I drinking that awful piss again. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime.
“No problem!” he declares, picking up a red plastic cup and pouring beer from one of the kegs. “We’ll start with something light, before shifting gears to something more serious.” He hands me the cup, we briefly tap our cups together and I take a long sip. The flavor is… tolerable.
“Well?” he asks, waiting for the verdict.
“It’s alright, thanks.” I force myself to smile.
“Now this!” He grabs two small cups full of red jelly, clinks them together, and I struggle to pry the jelly out of the glass. It helps that it’s made of plastic, because as soon as I crush it the jelly comes loose. It tastes of cherries and there’s a sharp aftertaste – must be mixed with some kind of alcohol.
“Well?” he asks, and I laugh at the sight of him genuinely interested in my opinion.
“It’s tasty,” I giggle again, and he waves his hand in the air, making a victory sign as he spills half the contents of his plastic cup.
I jump back and laugh along with him. My head’s spinning, whoa, looks like the alcohol’s already kicking in.
“Come on, I want you to meet some people.” He takes me by the hand before I can react.
We reach what looks like a game room, it’s got a pool table and a few arcade machines scattered around. It’s quieter here than the God-awful clamor going on in the rest of the house. Every face in the room turns to us as we walk in, and I recognize them all as members of Trent’s inner circle. The popular kids, of course.
“Hey, you know Bella, say hi,” Trent announces, and I shrink under everyone’s scrutiny. The girls glance at me disdainfully, while his friend’s practically drooling over me. I take long sips of beer because I have no idea how to act, and I’m tense. I never thought I’d be hanging out with the popular kids, and here I am, feeling like I’ve walked into some crazy parallel universe.
“You sure you go to the same school as us? Because I know I’d remember you,” Trent’s friend Leo says in a smarmy tone, as he approaches and draws my hand to his lips. Unlike him, I know exactly who he is. And fuck, Leo Cable himself just kissed my hand. Holy hell.
“Y-yeah…” I giggle, withdrawing and pulling my hand away from his lips. I don’t know why, but I feel the need to wipe his saliva off on my skirt.
“It’s that psycho Fermi, you idiot,” Kelly, the former head of the student council and Trent’s girlfriend, hisses and shoots me a look full of loathing.
Leo shrugs as if the information doesn’t bother him in the slightest. “Then you’ve come to the right place, Bella, because tonight we’re all going to get crazy as hell!” he shouts, and Trent cheers after him. The girls, on the other hand, roll their eyes and nod their heads. I’m the only one standing there, awkwardly shifting my weight from one foot to the other, unsure how to react.
“If I’m not mistaken, this is your first high school party, isn’t it?” Kelly asks, flashing a glance at her friend. I think her name’s Tiffany.
“Yes,” I admit, my voice barely audible.
“So you’ve got plenty to catch up on before you head off to college!” She smiles at me and claps her hands excitedly, but something tells me her reaction isn’t at all genuine. “You are going to college, aren’t you?”
“Yes, the University of Bologna,” I reply.
“Which one’s that?” Leo asks with a confused look.
“It’s in Italy, you moron. God, how did you make it into Harvard?” Kelly slaps him upside his head. He really is an idiot.
“My dad used his connections, pulled some strings.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“Your dad must have some impressive muscles, considering how hard he’d have to pull those strings,” Trent laughs at his friend’s expense, while the latter punches his shoulder with a faux-offended look that quickly gives way to laughter. I smile at them since it really is pretty funny.
“Okay, Bella, so I assume we’ll have to start from square one. Shall we play Truth or Dare?” Kelly suggests. She and Tiffany jump up and cheer, and their high-pitched voices cause me actual physical pain.
This time it’s Leo’s turn to roll his eyes, but Trent on the other hand seems intrigued, and I feel my face heat up. Damn it.
I quickly lower my gaze and pray deep down that none of the girls have noticed the blush spreading across my face. I force myself to breathe so the blush will quickly fade away, and when my heart finally stops pounding I raise my head.
They didn’t wait for my answer because the four have already cleared the pool balls off the table, and someone’s placed an empty bottle of alcohol on it.
I approach the table and discover that Trent has moved away from me, and is now actually standing in front of me across the table. Does he want to be on the other side of the bottle when it points at us? No, that’s ridiculous, isn’t it?
I discover the answer much faster than I’d anticipated, because in the very first round the bottle points to me and Trent, and he smiles that fucking panty-dropping smile of his. I try to swallow the lump in my throat as all eyes turn to me.
“Truth or dare, Bella?” Trent asks. Kelly’s got a scheming smile on her face.
Damn, which one’s less bad? Will they make me kiss someone? I’ve never kissed anyone. God, how pathetic is that.
“Truth,” I answer. Truth is probably the lesser evil here.
“Is it true you’re still a virgin?” Trent asks, and a stream of beer bursts through Kelly’s lips. Okay, maybe that really wasn’t the lesser evil.
My face burns with shame, and it feels like an abyss has opened up beneath me when I realize the answer’s spread all over my blushing face. Laughter explodes from the peanut gallery.
“Stop, don’t be assholes!” Trent calls between the laughs. He’s protecting me, and I smile shyly at him. I don’t know why I thought he was a bastard; He seems really nice. “Shut up already!” He hits Leo, who’s standing next to him, in the shoulder, and the latter almost chokes from the strength of the blow.
“Alright, alright,” Kelly says, wiping away her tears of laughter.
“I personally think it’s charming, it’s old-school,” Trent says, and I scream thank you! in my heart.
“Oh, look, look!” Kelly clucks her tongue. I raise my gaze to see she’s managed to spin the bottle again, and it’s pointing at me and Trent again. What the fuck is happening here? Is this bottle magnetically drawn to us?
“Truth or dare, Bella?” he asks, and this time I consider my answer more carefully. Okay, I’ve already said the most embarrassing thing about me, it can’t get worse than that.
“Truth,” I answer.
“Is it true you’ve never been kissed?” he asks, and Kelly and Tiffany quickly shut their mouths before another wave of laughter bursts out of them.
So it turns out it can be worse after all. Ugh, how did I find myself in such an embarrassing position again?
Before my face can give away my answer again, Trent leaps from his spot and walks up to me with a determined look. My brain can’t process the speed of events when he grabs me by my cheeks and presses his lips to mine.
Trent fucking Gibson is kissing me. Holy. Shit.
He moves his warm lips over mine and I choke – because who wouldn’t react the same way? Trent uses my momentary choke to slip his wet tongue into my mouth, and I let out a groan when I realize how much he turns me on. My guts twist and squirm as he completely takes my breath away.
I have nothing to compare this kiss to, but damn, I understand why everyone my age is constantly making out during recesses.
I could totally become addicted to this.
When he steps away from me and looks into my eyes, I blink like a complete idiot with my mouth hanging wide open.
He doesn’t say anything, and goes back to where he was before, like nothing just happened and he hadn’t just given me my first kiss. The best kiss in the world!
“Okay, now that we know the answer to that question, let’s move on.” Kelly spins the bottle again, and it seems like Trent cheating on her right in front of her face doesn’t bother her at all. Which is weird, isn’t it? If Trent were my boyfriend and he’d kissed someone else in front of me, I’d have murdered both of them. Maybe they split up, or they’re in an open relationship? It’s pretty common nowadays, and becoming more and more acceptable.
But in all the years those two have been together, I’ve never seen them with other partners. Finally I realize – better late than never, right? – that something fishy is going on here. And as soon as the bottle stops on Trent and me again, I realize I have to get the hell out of here.
“I-I think I’d better go, I’ve got an early flight to catch tomorrow…” I turn to the door.
Leo hurries to cut me off and block the door. “Where do you think you’re going, Bella? ” He rolls my name on his tongue with an exaggerated flair I don’t like at all.
“Home,” I answer assertively, and reach for the doorknob.
“I don’t think so,” he challenges, and my stomach turns. “Hey, Trent, didn’t you say you roofied her? It sure doesn’t look that way.”
“Let me go or I’ll scream,” I threaten, putting my hands on my waist and adopting a serious expression.
“Go ahead, I love making women scream. Besides, the music’s so loud no one out there will hear you.”
His answer makes my eyes widen in terror. “W-why are you doing this?” I ask.
“Because I can?” Is this idiot asking me?
I turn to his friends behind me, and watch them approach with agonizing slowness – like this whole scene is taking place in slow motion, in some twisted horror movie.
“W-what’s going on here?” I stammer, giving Trent a pleading look, but his expression tells me I’ll find no salvation from him. His gaze is even more insidious than the others.
I crouch on the floor, closing my eyes tightly, hugging my knees, burying my face and praying to be swallowed up and wiped away from this world before the worst takes place. Why did I come here? How could I think something wonderful, like the most popular boy in school inviting me to his graduation party, could even happen in my life? I curse my stupidity again and again in my mind, then I tightly clamp my hands over my ears to drown out all the screams I let loose in my head.
Or maybe they’re real screams, because I swear by all I hold dear that all I hear are screams.
My heart is pounding in my chest and my stomach’s doing somersaults as time stretches out into a torturous, unending existence. A sharp smell hits my nose and blurs my senses so intensely that I think I’m about to fall flat on my face. When I manage to count my breaths and seem to hit a hundred, I could swear it’s been suspiciously long, and something – anything – should have happened by now.
I gather the courage to open my eyes… but there’s no one there. I’m alone in the room.
I force myself to blink and scan the room again. It’s silent and still.
Even the sharp smell has almost vanished. Where did they go? Did they change their minds and decide to leave me alone? Or maybe it’s another twisted game of theirs?
My stomach flip-flops with the realization that they might come back, so I burst through the door to the game room and run out of Trent’s house as fast as I can. I don’t look back as I cross the lawn full of teens and run straight to my jeep. I get in, slam the door, start it up, shift into gear and the squeal of tires echoes throughout the nightmarish suburban streets of New York.
The thought of a guardian angel makes more and more sense to me. Because I swear, I have no other logical explanation for what happened tonight.