We were in the courtyard, as usual. We were already finishing the first month of classes, and that meant that soon we'd have our first tests.

—I'm sick of studying!— I exclaimed, throwing my book down in frustration.

—But you haven't read anything!— Erica argued.

I laid down on the stone floor next to her.

—Yeah, well, I'm sick of it anyway. Does anyone have a summary?

The others looked at me.

—I have nothing— lamented Pekos.

—Wasn't Camila going to make a party for her birthday?— remembered Galica out loud.

I stood up immediately.

—Did someone say "party"?— I exclaimed.

The others laughed.

—Is she in our class?— asked Erica.

—A very nice girl, a little... sturdy— explained Galica.

—The whiny walrus who always forgets everything— said Troveto.

—Oh, her— said Erica.

—How can you call her that?— yelled Galica, offended.

—It's easier to understand than your explanation— he argued.

—But she has a big house, and the parties she throws always have a lot of food— remembered Pekos.

—When is it?— I wanted to know.

—Friday night— said Galica.

—Didn't she invite the whole class?— Erica recalled.

—Yes, she made an announcement before class, a week ago— agreed Galica.

—Excellent, then we have a party— I concluded.

I liked the idea of having a party so early in the year. At last we would have a chance to relax and take out our frustrations. Maybe I'd get lucky with Erica. I looked at her to see her reaction, as I never quite knew how she would respond to anything. This case was no different.

Erica had a troubled look on her face, as if she had suddenly been told she had a super important exam the next day. I found it odd, but not entirely disconcerting. Maybe she was just nervous because she didn't know what to get Camila, that was a common fear.

—You okay?— I asked, just to make sure.

—Huh? Yeah, yeah, sure— she answered— And you?

—You're going, aren't you? —I continued.

—Eh?

—To the party. You're going, aren't you? I'd love for you to be there.

I waited for her to receive my cryptic message: "I'd love for you to be there, so we can drink and dance and eat, and maybe we'll go to bed together. It's an excellent opportunity for both of us." But she didn't seem to pay much attention to me, at least she didn't look directly at me for more than a few moments. Her nerves were slowly rubbing off on me, impregnating me with an idea that seemed less and less absurd: Erica didn't want to go. She didn't want to have a good time with us.

But she couldn't. There's no reason she wouldn't want to have a good time with her friends...

Unless she had other plans, like hanging out with other people, people she liked more than us. I contemplated, for a moment, that maybe she had a boyfriend we didn't know about, and she wanted to hang out with him. I cursed under my breath, but then shook my head. Erica was very transparent; we would have found out by then.

—I don't... I don't think I should. I don't know Camilla very well— she excused herself.

I froze. Erica didn't want to join us. Something strange was going on.

—What are you talking about? We're going to have a lot of fun— said Galica.

—Nice one, Flea!— I exclaimed in my mind.

—You think so? But still, it feels weird— Erica stated.

—Relax, girl— Troveto said— you'll be with us all the time, it'll be great.

—Really?

—Yes, and we can dance and all that— suggested Pekos.

I noticed that Erica recoiled. For some reason, the mention of dancing had ruined all of Troveto and Galica's progress. I thought fast, I had to salvage the situation.

—Or better yet, we can just hang out between us— I said, raising my voice a little to sound more authoritative— come to the party, Erica. You'll have a good time. I'll make sure of it.

Of course, I said the latter with my charming smile. Erica looked at me for a long moment, at first with a weird disgusted expression, as if she had put something weird in her mouth, but then with a resigned grimace.

—All right, I'll go. Maybe... maybe we'll have a good time.

We all raised our hands, victorious.

—Yes! Let's go to the party!— we exclaimed.

-------------------------------------------------------

Soon the night of the party came.

We didn't meet before the party, we just arrived at the time that suited us. Of course, I arrived on time, exactly an hour and a half after it officially started. Late enough to avoid the boring part where nobody does anything, but early enough not to miss any of the good events.

I said hi to Camila and gave her a gift; a cheap chocolate I had bought on the way there. Then I headed to the living room, where people were gathering. By that time most of the class was there, plus a few faces I didn't know. I soon found my gang; Pekos was wolfing down food at the table, Troveto was laughing with some boys, Galica was arguing with a boy by the music system. Everything seemed to be going well. I looked around, there were a lot of faces, but not Erica's.

I asked one of our classmates, and he pointed me to the courtyard. After saying hi to my friends, I headed to the back door. There were a lot of people there too. Camila's backyard was quite spacious, with a large part covered with red tiles and a limited section composed of grass and a small tree. There were a few chairs set up against the wall, but not enough for all the people. In one of the larger groups I caught Erica. She was standing between two tall boys, almost behind them. She was holding a plastic cup with a drink in it, staring at the floor with a bored look on her face that not even the best comedian on the planet cheer up. I wanted to let her know I was there, but I kept quiet to watch her for a moment. The people in the circle laughed animatedly from time to time and chatted openly, but then I noticed that not everyone was participating, just two guys and a girl, who constantly interrupted each other to speak, while the others just laughed and listened. Erica wasn't even listening, she was just standing there, bored. After a while she seemed to wake up, and turned to go somewhere else. At that moment she noticed me and smiled, relieved, I'm afraid.

—Ocko, you're finally here!— she exclaimed, more cheerful than she had ever greeted me before.

The other boys and girls noticed me too, many came over to say hello. It was only natural, I was everyone's friend. After chatting a bit with the others, I grabbed Erica and took her inside. The music was a little too loud for conversation, but that's the way parties are, what can you do.

—Why didn't you stay with the others?— I asked her.

—What?— she said, trying to hear me over the music.

—Why didn't you go talk to the others?— I repeated louder.

She shrugged her shoulders.

—I don't know, I was bored— she shouted.

I didn't understand; even more bored than when I found her?

We went to the armchairs, where Pekos was eating like a pig. Soon Galica joined us. She scolded Pekos for ravaging the food, Troveto stood talking to another boy instead of joining us. I remembered I had to help him flirt. The idea gave me a hard time, but I had to do it, I had already promised him.

We stayed talking for a while with Galica and Pekos. At one point even Troveto joined us. We laughed, we made fun of some of our classmates who had not arrived, we talked about the things that were on our minds at the moment, the same as always. We chatted for quite a while, until I realized that Erica hadn't said anything in most of the conversation. I turned to her, only to find that awful bored expression on her face again, as if she had spent a whole day studying.

—Are you all right?— I asked her.

She looked at me, quizzical.

—What?

The loud music was starting to get on my nerves.

—Are you all right?

She arched an eyebrow, not quite sure what I was saying. I thought I would have to repeat my question to her again, but then she nodded and stood up to get another drink.

During the course of the party I tried to cheer her up with jokes, with small talk, and of course I tried to give her a drink, but she didn't laugh, she wasn't interested, and she didn't accept the glass of pisco and cola.

—It'll get better, I assure you— I insisted, holding out the glass with pisco.

—I don't want it— she said.

—Really, Erica, it's yours— I insisted again.

She shook her head.

—Well, I'll leave it here— I said, as I placed it right in front of her, on the coffee table— drink it whenever you want.

—I'm not going to— she pleaded— I don't want a drink.

—Let's leave the possibility open, that's all— I said.

She looked at me irritated, but said nothing more. I expected her to change her mind at some point, but liquid in the glass didn't go down at any time, until Pekos hit the table unintentionally and dropped it.

At one point I noticed that people started to dance in the backyard. It was about time.

—Hey, let's dance!— I urged the gang.

Troveto, Galica and I stood up. Pekos and Erica stayed seated.

—Let's go! What's wrong with you?— I shouted over the noise of the music.

—I'm tired— Pekos pleaded— I've been in the gym all week.

—Come on, big guy. Let's dance for a while!— Galica invited him.

Pekos made a face like he didn't want to and stretched lazily, but in the end he reluctantly stood up.

—All right, all right! I'm going to be annoyed if I don't go anyway!— he claimed, as if it wasn't obvious that he was happy that Galica wanted to dance with him.

I looked at Erica, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try the same trick.

—Don't you want to dance, Erica? It'll be fun!

She looked at the backyard through the door frame, from a distance. Then she looked at me and shook her head.

—Oh, come on, everybody's doing it!— I pleaded.

—I don't want to! I don't like dancing!— she shouted.