"Well, there's your answer," Zack said, chuckling. "This, I gotta see."
Despite the crowds, he and Adriana had no trouble making it to the edge of the circle, where Parker and a girl who had her back to them stood. The renowned playboy did, indeed, have a huge dark stain on his shirt, and surprisingly, he didn't look particularly upset.
When the girl turned, Adriana immediately saw why. It was the girl she'd met in the bathroom a few days ago, Maya. She didn't know why she remembered her so clearly, but there was something about her that stuck out from Valesca's preening socialites-in-training. Despite Maya's delicate appearance, she seemed to emanate a vibe that indicated she wasn't one to let herself be pushed around, which Adriana, who herself was no shy wallflower, appreciated.
Besides, it was clear Parker wouldn't be so quick to impose any sort of social pariah-dom on the poor girl--she was gorgeous. Even Zack, who was normally pretty laid-back when it came to expressing his opinions about the opposite sex, let out a low whistle.
Parker, not looking terribly upset, was saying something, but it was hard to hear, since everyone had formed the circle at a respectable distance from the two.
Adriana decided to take matters into her own hands, but before she could, she was surprised to see her brother step forward. "There's nothing to see here," he said firmly. And with those five words, the crowd reluctantly dispersed, though more than few cast surreptitious looks in their direction.
Zack was about to make his way over to Parker and Maya when Adriana laid a hand on his arm. "Wait," she said, tilting her head towards a tiny redhead who was barreling towards the duo at an alarming speed.
"Maya!" the girl cried, her gray eyes the size of saucers as they darted between her friend and the huge stain on Parker's shirt.
"Wh-what happened? Are you okay? You're—you're not going to be expelled, are you?"
"Not if I have anything to say about it."
Adriana watched, intrigued, as a good-looking, sandy-haired guy stepped up behind Venice, staring directly at Parker.
Then, as if the scene couldn't get more dramatic, the front door opened and who should come in but Roman and Carlo?
Well, Adriana thought. This party is finally starting to get interesting.
* * *
"Um…uh…" I was speechless as I just stood there, taking in the damage I'd done to a shirt that probably cost more than an average person's monthly rent. A shirt that belonged to Parker Remington, no less. I was painfully aware that the rest of the party had stopped and everyone was pointing and whispering, but I couldn't focus on anything except for the fact my life was pretty much over.
"I'm sorry," I finally managed, desperately searching for a place to set down the offending and now empty cup. Unfortunately, the nearest table was about twenty feet away. "I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to spill it—it's just—I'm a bit—well, I was in a bit of a hurry so I just rushed in here and I didn't see you and there's so many people that it just accidentally spilled—"
I knew I was rambling incoherently and embarrassing myself even more than I already had, but I couldn't help it. In my mind, I could see my chances of getting into Stanford, or any other good school, disappear in a puff of smoke.
The whole time, Parker just watched me with an inscrutable expression on his face. When I finally fell into silence, awaiting his next words with a Texas-sized pit of dread in my stomach, I somehow felt even more humiliated that I was basically groveling in front of someone for something as minor as spilling beer over him.
I mean, yeah, if it had been anyone else, I still would have apologized and tried to help him clean up, but the situation was only exacerbated by the fact Parker's a Scion. This time, I felt my cheeks heat up with shame and anger at myself for being too much of a coward to stand up to the Scions' dictatorial rule.
"Well, this wasn't part of my plans for tonight," Parker commented, lifting his sticky shirt away from his defined torso, which was clearly outlined through the soaked material.
I braced myself, wondering how to tell my mom my chances of getting into a top ten school were non-existent now.
"But it certainly isn't the end of the world."
Oh god. I was going to end up working at McDonald's for the rest of my life, subsisting on welfare—wait, what? "What?" I blurted.
I heard someone say something in the background, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the crowd that had been watching us miraculously break up, but I was so overwhelmed by the hope that was coursing through my veins I couldn't quite focus on anything else.