I had just reached the neighborhood mentioned in the letter I was holding when I had this weird feeling in my gut that something would go horribly wrong. That usually happened during a big math test or sometimes right before I got onto the ice rink for a hockey match. But this time, it was really out of place. I had finally gotten an invite to a party held by juniors as a freshman. I should have been excited, but I just felt awful. I awkwardly knocked on the door and started waiting. Just as I began to think it was the wrong house, the door creaked open. A tall, curly-haired boy was standing at the door. He had a slight mustache and sparkling hazel eyes. He smiled warmly at me and welcomed me inside. I had seen him around campus before, but I didn’t know him. In fact, I didn’t know anyone there.
The moment I stepped in, I was greeted by two older girls. They were different people, yet they looked so similar. One of them had a claw mark on her face. Just by looking at it, you could tell she had been through a lot. The other had so much makeup on that it was almost impossible to tell what her real face looked like. I thanked them politely and moved to a corner where I could see everything that was going on. It was just a typical teenage party—blinding colorful lights, drinks, snacks, music, and most importantly, no adults. Everything seemed fine at worst, until I decided to use the bathroom.
I was sure this huge mansion had several bathrooms, but the one I stumbled upon was a tiny room with no windows, a broken mirror, and flickering lights. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, so I quickly finished up and washed my hands. As I was checking myself in the mirror, I realized something—I had completely changed. During my last year in middle school, I was a typical nerd with my nose in books and no social life. I couldn’t even remember when I had started wearing makeup and doing my hair for school, let alone going to parties where I knew no one. I didn’t even recognize myself in that sparkly dress and “pretty girl” high heels. I had become someone I wasn’t familiar with at all. I wanted to get out of there; I wanted to cry. So I grabbed my phone and headed towards the door.
Suddenly, the lights went out. That wasn’t a problem because I had my phone. I used the torch to light the room and reached for the door handle. It was stuck. It wouldn’t open. The worst part was that with all the music going on, no one would hear me if I screamed. I had no choice but to wait until the party was over. I hated it there. I couldn’t stand the loud noises, and the smell of alcohol made me sick. Still, I had accepted the invite. I sat down on the floor and started sobbing softly.
After a while, I heard a gentle tap on the door, followed by a boy’s voice. “Hey, just wanted to check on you. Are you alright? You’ve been in there for quite a while.” I quickly wiped away my tears and yelled, “Well, the door is stuck. I don’t know what’s wrong, but it won’t open.” The boy must have done something because the door suddenly opened, and I realized it was the same boy who had let me into the mansion. His eyes were still sparkling as he added, “Will I keep opening doors for you, or will you learn to do it yourself sometime soon?” I laughed it off and thanked him. We started chatting and ended up having a great time. He hated parties too, but it turned out he actually lived there. It was his sister who hosted the party. He offered to get out of there, and I reluctantly agreed. We sneaked out through the front door without anyone noticing and ran all the way to the beach. As we walked, our feet sinking into the cold night sand, we kept talking endlessly, never running out of things to say. It was the best night I’d ever had.
I took a moment to catch my breath and looked at the pair of curious hazel eyes staring at me. I finally finished the story. “And that, that was how I met your dad.” I smiled and gave my toddler a goodnight kiss, tucking her in as I did. She had the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face.