"Just because a person isn't talking to you doesn't mean that they have forgotten all about you. There is a thin line between forgetfulness and ignorance. But then again, there is also a very thin line between ignorance and occupancy of the mind."

*****

The next week went on smoothly. Literature was good, calculus still sucked, and the Earth was still rotating on its axis. I'd spoken to Maya a couple of times, but other than that, I was mainly focused on writing.

Ever since I'd spent the day with Maya that day, I found a new urge to write more of poems. I had written a couple of them, though in the meantime I had also tried my best exploring new ideas for my new book.

I'd called my parents over the weekend. My Mom tried talking me into visiting on alternate weekends, but there was no way I was going to do that. Though I wasn't a part of any group, and neither did I want to be a part of one, I had made friends with a couple of guys across the hall, some of whom which shared the same classes as me, too. I'd hangout with a couple of them at lunch and sometimes in the evenings, but other than that, I was no man's land. It was great hanging out with a few guys at times, but I still preferred being in my own company. So much for wanting some time alone but not wanting to be a loner.

*****

Next week, around five o'clock in the evening, I was greeted by the one and only Maya Parker at my doorstep.

"'Sup, weirdo," she said as she made her way into my room, walking as though it was her own room.

"Nice to see you too," I replied.

She turned around to face me, with a sly smile on her face. "Buckle up, it's party time!"

Either my reaction was much less than she'd expected or maybe because my face was completely blank, but whatever it was, it made Maya's face drop.

She sat on the bed. Then, she looked at me with a blank expression on her face. "Look. I am taking you to a party. The first party of the year, which might just as well be the best party of your life, since I'm taking you there. The least you could do was give me a "thank you", really."

"Thanks. But it doesn't really matter, really. I'm not going anyway," I said matter-of-factly.

Maya looked taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course you're going!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Not a chance."

"Oh, shut up. You're so going to this bloody party."

"I- I can't."

"Why not? Oh, wait. Drug issues? No problem, I'll handle it. Alcohol issues? Definitely not an issue."

I looked at her in surprise. You'd think that someone would actually take these issues seriously, but no. Here was Maya Parker, acting as though it was the commonest thing in this world.

"First of all, no, I do not have any drug or alcohol issues. But I do have party issues," I said as I walked past her and sat on the chair beside my desk. It looked as though this was our everyday thing; us sitting like this and having discussions about parties and drugs and alcohols, like most teenagers do.

"What? Firstly, there's no such thing as party issues, okay? Secondly, even if there was, who in the world could possibly have that?"

"Me. Duh."

"Yeah, no. You're going tonight and that's final. Plus, it's a Friday night."

"I'm not going, and that's final. Parties are so not my thing. But they're probably yours, so you should go and enjoy a bit."

"Haha, nice try. But I'm not leaving you. You're going. I mean, why wouldn't you want to go to a party? I mean, unless you're a calculus guy, which I think you're not, what could possibly be stopping you from going tonight?"

"No, really. I just can't go to parties. I think I'm going to do some writing instead. You could read that later on, if you'd like."

"Oh, c'mon! Look, I get that you love all this writing stuff, even I do, but you can't just live all your life doing only that!"

"Now that you look at it, I actually can," I say. I wasn't going to let this slip off my hands, or at least, I was going to try my best not to let it.

"Hey, what's the matter? I mean, it's a party!" Maya exclaimed with delight.

"Exactly. It's a party," I said with the opposite tone. "A party, where anything and everything bad can happen."

"How bad could it actually get, huh? It's not like this is the first party you're ever going to!" The way Maya said it, she sounded so certain that everyone on campus, or at the very least, at least I, had been to a party. Poor her.

"Uh, no," I said, looking down. Till now, I never knew it'd be something I'd have to be embarrassed about. Heck, I never even thought that I'd have to have this discussion with someone. But here I was, sitting across Maya Parker, the girl who seemed so certain that I had been to a party before, trying my best to tell her she was wrong.

For the first nine seconds or so, there was absolute silence. Maya didn't utter a word nor did she make the slightest movement. I, on the other hand, was simply waiting for her reaction. "What do you mean "uh, no"?" she questioned.

"I mean, I haven't been to party before. Ever," I said, regretting my decision of telling her about this even more by each passing second.

Her mouth opened slightly. No words came out at first, then she scoffed. "You're kidding, right? Of course. You got me there for a while, Grey," she said as if it was the simplest explanation to the events of the last one minute.

"To tell the truth, no. I haven't ever been to a party, not the type you're talking about. I've been to birthday parties as a kid and all, yes. Just not these ones," I told her.

"No. No. I- I refuse to believe that. I mean, look at you! You're a fine lad, got decent looks. Why would someone like you never go to a party?"

I don't know what I was more surprised at- the fact that Maya Parker had just called me a "decent looking guy", something no girl had ever called me before, or the fact that she was still so surprised that I hadn't ever attended a party. Whatever it was, it wasn't enough to change the fact that I didn't want to go to the party. "Doesn't matter, though. I'm not going. You can go ahead."

"And leave you here sulking all alone? Not likely."

"No, seriously. You should go-"

And with that, she walked towards my wardrobe without so much as even looking at me, forget about asking for permission, and opened the doors. My mouth fell open as I watched her go through my clothes, which were stacked in a big mess, and then pick a pair of jeans along with a shirt as she threw them onto the bed. She even took out my belt and a pair of socks and threw them alongside the other clothes on the bed.

Before she could do any more tossing around, I walked up to my wardrobe and shut the doors close. Then, I turned around to face her, my arms crossed. "What do you think you're doing?"

She looked at me as though a second head had popped out of my shoulder. "Picking out clothes for you, of course. Duh."

"Yeah, I get that. But why?"

"For the party. Duh."

I sighed. "Maya, I'm not going. This is all unnecessary, really. There's no point in doing all of this."

She looked at me, a sense of determination passing through her. "Zach," she started, "you're a teenager. You're supposed to have fun, get drunk and dance all night. I'm not going to do this next time, if you don't have fun tonight. But please, just give me a chance to prove you wrong. Or to change you're opinion about parties, at least. Just this once, okay?"

I sighed in defeat. There was no changing her mind. If she wanted something, I'm sure she'd do anything to get it. "Fine," I said. "But just this once. And there better not be a next time," I added.

She shrieked in delight. "Perfect. Now, get ready. Quickly. I'll be at your door in two." And with that, Maya was gone in a blink.

*****

After another forty-five minutes, I was standing outside a big house, Maya right beside me. It was huge, with loud music and drunk students all around.

"No more backing out, Grey," Maya said. She seemed to be very excited for the party, even though she'd been to more of them than you could count on two hands. When I'd asked her the reason behind her excitement, she'd said that this time, she was getting a chance to give someone a new, thrilling experience, and she couldn't possibly not be excited about that. Plus, she said she lived for the thrill.

"Couldn't even if I wanted to," I replied.

And with that, I stepped into the house. The house where I'd attend the first party of my life. All I was asking for was a peaceful night, but here I was. Perhaps a decent, small party should do, then. Or was that too much to ask, considering the fact that I had Maya Parker on my side?

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Dear readers, firstly, I would like to thank y'all for giving this novel a try and for all the support that you've given me so far. Hopefully, you liked this chapter too. All comments, suggestions and opinions are welcome. Kindly do vote for this chapter, and even comment, if possible, thereby extending your support for the story.

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