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“Wait. Cynthia.” Ashley realized what Cynthia was planning, but it was too late to stop her.
She tossed Ashley the half-empty vodka bottle before slipping out of sight behind a shrub. A second later, a bat fluttered out of the branches and off into the night.
Ashley’s shoulders slumped. Of course Cynthia was going bat to travel. It was easier than learning how to drive a car. Easier for Cynthia at least. Ashley still hadn’t managed anything useful in the transformation department, and Cynthia knew this. Ashley was just a burden slowing her down.
All right, Ashley was on her own tonight. Again. Not a problem. She could handle herself. Plus, she could probably name everyone here. For example, there was Fadl from her anthro class wearing a Big Lebowski cardigan and standing with a group of his friends. Time to put on a smile and make the best of the night. She took a fortifying swig from the bottle that was getting much lighter than she expected and set her shoulders.
“Fadl! Saleh! Taylor!” Ashley called.
“Heyyyy!” They all cheered, lifting their hands above their heads in greeting.
She wasn’t sure if any of them remembered her name, but they were always a welcoming crowd. She returned the dramatic hey and jogged over.
“Who’s jumping in?” She nodded to the pool where they congregated. It was best to take control of the conversation early. If there was a lull, people started in on the small talk which inevitably led to the dreaded,What’s your major? And she really didn’t want the concerned,Oh you’re undecided? Or worse still, the falsely supportive,Wow, how braveand,You have plenty of time to make a decision.
“Taylor can go first.” Saleh, always the jokester, had on something that looked like a khaki fisherman’s vest and had shaved his stubble into a goatee.
“Hey, man!” Taylor in a Pikachu onesie stepped back from the pool, raising their palms in the universalI’m outgesture. “I’m not going in. It’s cold in there. She can go ahead.”
Inspired, Ashley took a long swig of her vodka—yuck, she needed to check out that drink table—placed the near-empty bottle on the ground, and lifted both arms over her head.
“I said brrr,”stomp, clap, clap, “it’s cold in here,”stomp clap. “There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere.”
“Oh. My. God.” Taylor was smiling hard. “You know that cheer? My aunt and I spent a whole summer trying to learn it.”
“I have no idea what you people are talking about.” Fadl looked between her and Taylor, brow raised like he was unsure if he should laugh or change the subject.
“It’s from this old cheerleading movie from like 2000,” Taylor said. “Bring it On.”
Thanks, Taylor. Now Ashley felt old.
“Can you show me how to do it?” Taylor asked.
“Yes.” Pepped back up, Ashley slowed down the move, and soon others were joining in. Someone pulled up the song on their phone, and in a matter of minutes, she had a handful of people performing a passable routine. This devolved into Ashley performing different jumps for people. The third time she landed a front handstand, she wobbled, rising to her final pose. Was she getting tired, or was the alcohol starting to get to her? Maybe she should move away from the pool. She cleaned out the last of her vodka while scanning the crowds for an excuse to move on when she spotted a flash of familiar blond hair.
“Uther!” she called and waved, excited to recognize another person.
And that wave was the final straw on her balance. She pitched backward, her foot catching on a stone tile, and arms twirling, crashed into the pool behind her.
Cool water enveloped her, blocking out the noise of the party and shocking her senses. Maybe the alcohol was getting to her after all. As a vampire, she couldn’t die of hypothermia or drowning, but it didn’t feel good. She kicked off the bottomand broke through the surface, lifting her arms in victory and showing she was okay.
Everyone cheered. Then a song she didn’t recognize started, and everyone cheered again, her tumble forgotten.
She leaned back and floated on the surface of the water, letting it muffle the sounds of the party like she was in another space, another room—apart. That was the goal, right?Good job, Ashley. You’re living the vampire dream. The pool must have been heated or still carrying some heat from the day because a shallow fog lingered on the surface. She let it play between her fingers, not caring if she looked like an idiot, because she wasn’t here with anyone, so there wasn’t anyone to care.
Eventually, she got tired of feeling sorry for herself. This was a party. She didn’t need to feel sad if she didn’t want to. Because that was definitely how happiness worked. Of course, this rule only applied to her. She sighed and pulled herself out of the Pool of Introspection before she cried in the middle of a party and ruined it for everyone. Water streamed from her clothes and hair, sloshing onto the tile that had tripped her. She looked back. Her bow remained floating in the pool. It was time for that drink table.
She wove her way toward the house—the ground gently swaying beneath her feet and people jumping out of her way to avoid getting wet—and finally found the table set up on the back patio. Legions of liquor bottles surrounded the punch bowl, a mysterious red concoction with a semi-melted, frozen hand floating on its surface. When at a Halloween party, she thought and filled a red cup. She took a sip. There was that rum she was looking for. And a lot of other things, but her vodka was gone and this was dangerously good.
A short brunette dressed as Wonder Woman appeared at her side. “Hey! Don’t we have anthro together?”
Ashley gave the girl another once-over. She did look familiar now that she mentioned it. “Charrrrrlotte?” Names were coming a little slower. What was in this drink?
“Char, actually. Well, I go by Charlotte in class, so that makes sense you would remember that. But most people just call me Char.”
“Cool cool coolio.” She performed some obnoxious version of finger guns, and Char giggled. Ashley still had it.
“Are you okay?” Char reached like she might pat Ashley’s arm before changing her mind. “You’re kind of wet.”
