The Long Winter #6
Orientation part 6
Leah did not argue with Henley when he swooped her away from Maddie. She let him put his hand on the small of her back and guide her back inside. She even let him provide her with a strong-smelling drink she did not sip and introduce her to another dapper-looking young man whose name she did not bother remembering. The two began talking about their plans for the school year and what they were going to do for a break from the weather in the middle of winter, and she used the opportunity to turn invisible and slide away from them.
The room was awash in young people and their noise. Young women shouting to each other about how cute their dresses were. Young men shouting obscenities at each other when they were not catcalling the girls. Everyone ignored her. It was different from the parties she usually attended. Her parents’ status necessitated her involvement with everyone present, but they were not here and neither were the omnipresent cameras. Thus, no one needed her to comment on their dresses, or ask her about her mother, or inquire as to whom her older brother might be dating that week. It was refreshing.
Hm. Refreshing…
She set her drink down and returned to the decks outside. Penny and Clark were no longer on the bottom deck near the boats. Maddie was nowhere to be seen. She breathed deep the cool night air, let herself feel it fill her body, so clean, so fresh compared to the big city air high above the streets from the balcony of her parents’ penthouse home. She could smell the lake, the pine trees, the soil. She felt like she belonged in a place like this.
Shouting voices and thumping steps stole her attention away from the thick nature around her. Braden and some friends were rushing past, their footfalls thunder on the stairs down to the lower level of the decks and he led them cheering onto the largest of the three boats tied up in the little private harbor. They served as a reminder she did not belong in this house specifically. The simplicity of this remote area outside this stupidly garish house appealed to her. It felt more like home than home did.
“Leah.”
She jumped and spun around. Standing beside her was a familiar face. The well-dressed young man had a model’s high cheekbones and delicate jaw and perfectly coiffed hair that amazingly moved with the wind despite the product in it. She did not feel inclined to smile at him, however.
“Mason. What are you doing here?”
“A friend of a friend invited my friend and she asked me to arrange some entertainment for them, so I thought I’d show up as well to see what the fuss was all about. All I feel, though, is like I’m slumming it. ”
Leah nodded, looking down at Braden and his friends (in an effort not to look up at Mason) as they gestured and moved lewdly on the deck of the boat. Of course Mason would bring the sort of entertainment those boys would like.
“I saw your brother yesterday. He’s proud of you for getting into this place.”
“I worked hard to get here. My parents only have to pay part of my tuition.”
“You could have just taken it easy and made them pay the whole thing. Why work so hard?”
“If you don’t understand I can’t explain it to you.”
Mason laughed. She frowned at him, put her shoulder towards him and moved away.
“Aw, did I offend you?”
“You always hurt my feelings.”
“I know. I know I do. But now I see you've grown up into quite the pretty girl and I almost feel a little bad about it. Tyler saw what the rest of us couldn’t.”
“Why do you bring him up?” Leah’s frown deepened into a glare.
“Why not? I know you two broke up, but—“
“It wasn’t just “broke up,” it was—” Leah sighed and turned away. “Never mind. I was having a peaceful evening until you walked up.”
“I just wanted to say hi. It would have been rude of me to see an old friend and ignore her.”
Leah raised her face and looked up, past the decks, past the boats and their boisterous passengers. The lake was dark and lonely beyond it all. No. Not lonely. Solitary perhaps. It was the way Leah knew she herself could never be. No matter what, there would always be someone near her.
“I suppose it would be rude. But I’m probably the one person you know who wouldn’t hold it against you for not saying hello.”
“You’re one of the funniest people I know, Leah. So listen, I hear your friends with that Mexican girl Braden keeps talking about.”
“Mexican? No, she’s from Port Matthew. She’s half white, half Japanese.”
“Mixed race, I can see that. She looked familiar to me. I wasn’t sure where I’d seen her before, but I have. Braden told me she was Mexican, and that threw me off, but you tell me she’s half Asian. That makes more sense.”
Mason had a canny smile on his face, an expression approaching but not quite reaching smugness and Leah’s eyes narrowed towards him. She turned to face him, drawing herself up to brave whatever horrible thing he might know about her new friend. He spoke again as she opened her mouth to ask about it.
“Well, anyway, it was nice seeing you again. I’ll tell Tommy you said hello and are in good spirits.”
“Wait, what do you know?”
“What? I know nothing. She just looks familiar, that’s all. See you around, Leah. I have to go meet the entertainment when they fly in.”
And with that he parted from her. He did not turn and go back through the house for his car, but headed down the stairs for the water. For Braden and the boats. He had to know something horrible about Penny. She was afraid of where he might have seen her before, given the source of his family’s wealth and the euphemistic way he referred to his porn stars as “entertainment.” She fled her quiet corner of the deck and began her search for her friends. The place was huge. If she went in through the wrong door, would she miss them if they went out through another? Maybe they were looking for her, too.
She was invisible, though. Even as she raced through the party no one saw her. No one raised their hand and waved, no one said “Hi, Leah.” And she rushed through the kitchen to one of the expansive living rooms. No Clark, no Penny, no Maddie. She leaned out the wide doors and scanned the decks again, but no luck. She very nearly deflated with a sigh when a familiar (and this time very welcome) voice reached her ears.
“Leah! I’m so happy we found you!”
“Penny, oh good.” Leah turned and smiled at Penny, then turned a smirk up at Clark. “And here I was thinking I had seen the last of you.”
“I’m your huckleberry, Leah.”
“Have you seen Maddie?” Penny asked.
“No. Ralph snuck her away from me, he had Henley’s help.”
“Well, where’s Henley?” Clark asked.
“He’s probably down on the boat with the rest of the over-stimulated boys in this place,” Leah said, casting a dour look down at the water.
“What’s happening on the boat?” Penny asked. She was so beautiful with those innocent eyes of hers. Leah blinked at the thought and frowned at the half-Asian girl.
“There’s going to be an adult-oriented show. A friend of the family, he’s having porn stars flown in to entertain the degenerates here.”
“Porn stars?” Penny’s eyes lost their shine and her face paled. “I don’t want to see them.”
Leah turned a little and looked at the half-Asian girl out of the corner of her eye.
“My family’s friend also mentioned something about you looking familiar. Any idea why that might be?”
“I definitely don’t know,” Penny answered, a bit too hastily. “Anyways, let’s find Maddie and head back to the dorm. I think I’ve had enough party for tonight.”
“You have? We’ve only been here an hour, maybe. Ralph’s not going to be ready to drive us back yet.”
Penny’s face turned helpless as she stared back at Leah.
“Well, we can hang out up here—“
Clark stopped talking at the whir of a distant engine. Excitement rippled through the room and they walked out onto the deck to see a seaplane swoop down from the sky and fly past the mouth of the little bay around which the senator’s estate sat. The sound of its engines faded a little as it circled around, and then it reappeared, flying low and touching down in the water some distance from the boats. It made its way slowly into the little harbor to be tied up by some servants at the far end of the dock. Three buxom young women in gaudy tight dresses got out. Their shrieks and laughter carried all the way up to the house as they walked up the dock to where Braden began beckoning them to come aboard the largest of the boats he and his friends inhabited.
“Well, we have our hookers,” Clark mumbled. “Anyone know where the blow is?”
“Blow?”
“He means cocaine.”
“Oh… Well, in that case I really don’t want to be here even more.”
“Nah, I’m sure you can be here and avoid both the hookers and the blow.”
“You sound like you just walked out off the set of an old movie.” Leah frowned up at Clark.
“I do, don’t I? That’s because my mom’s Hollywood. I’m very familiar with the whole hookers-and-blow thing thanks to her.”
“Yeah right, I’ll bet you’ve never even seen a hooker in real life, let alone any coke!”
They looked over to see Maddie striding up to them.
“Hi, guys. Me and Ralph were just having a very nice conversation. It was so wholesome I almost forgot where I am! Thankfully, I have you guys to remind me. Did they lay the blow out on the deck of that stupid codpiece in the water down there?”
Clark laughed while Ralph looked at the blonde in confusion.
“Let’s go back to your wholesome conversation. This whole “hookers and blow” thing is making me like, a little weirded out.”
Leah smiled at Penny. She was adorable with those big, innocent eyes, shining once again like the dark Lake Superior under the starry sky. Leah had to fight the urge—
The urge?? What’s wrong with me?
—to lean towards her and hug her. And also, Clark was there, standing beside her. Did he have to do battle with his own attraction towards her? She hated the idea of them as a couple, he was too tall for her, and besides she was gay. Their banter would grate on each other’s nerves after a while and their break up would be ugly, Leah was certain of it. If Penny was not a lesbian.
“We’ll get drinks,” Maddie said firmly. “And when Ralph is ready he’ll take us back. Right, Ralph?”
“Uh, right.”
Leah nodded along with the others. It was a good plan that would prevent Ralph from getting drunk and doing something regrettable. She respected Maddie for that bit of foresight. She saw Penny take one last look outside where people were cheering at the show starting on the boat. The half-Asian girl shuddered before following along. Leah again heard Mason’s voice in his head, his cryptic statement that he recognized her and wondered just what was in this innocent-seeming girl’s past? Whatever it was, Leah was having a hard time imagining something that would lessen this strange new attraction she was forming for the foreign student, so she decided to deny it was a thing, the way she had with Clark. No use in letting something so pointless distract her. Now, just where were those drinks…