"The Party" -- July 17

Word count: 750

The Party 

You don’t have to sparkle. Just…be gregarious.

I don’t know how to do that.

Just…for heaven’s sake don’t frown.

Billie had a headache from smiling. Clutching a bottle of craft root beer, she stood by the wall and watched people walk by, keeping a thin smile pasted across her lips. Why had she let Liza drag her out to this party?

Soft music covered the room like a blanket as the singer perched on her chair and crooned into her microphone. Ripped denim, oversize clothes, and glittering piercings dotted the room. Liza had left her and stood in a crowd of denim jackets, holding a clear plastic cup of white wine.

Liza was definitely going to get the deal. She’d been negotiating with the producers for months. She had a smoky, rich voice and a ridiculous talent for lyrics. She had a charming smile and a few connections in the industry.

Billie had a degree and no music deal.

For heaven’s sake don’t frown.

Billie checked her smile.

“How’s it going over here?” Liza materialized in front of Billie. “You don’t look like you’re having fun.”

“I am.” Billie took a drink of her root beer. It was getting warm. Was her smile really that bad?

“You should talk to some people.”

Billie shook her head. “Maybe later.”

“All you have to do is stand on the edge of a conversation and smile.” Liza held up her clear plastic cup. When Billie didn’t respond, she reached to Billie’s side and clinked it against Billie’s bottle. “Good luck.”

She flitted off.

Liza made it look so easy. She made everything look easy. Singing, dancing, writing. Talking to people, negotiating, working with a producer.

Meanwhile Billie worked 9-5 at a gas station. She studied her nails and scratched a little dirt out of them. She’d only come to this party because Liza hinted so broadly that she should. Maybe she would meet someone, Liza said. Maybe she should get out of the house more, Liza said. Maybe if she would just try a couple events, Liza said.

Liza’s delighted squeal drifted faintly over the room as she fell into the arms of a blond-haired girl with pink highlights in her hair. “I missed you!”

Watching the two hug each other and then grab a booth and sit down, smiling and chatting like they’d known each other their whole life, Billie felt an aching loneliness grow behind her breastbone.

Billie shook herself free of the annoyed thoughts. She was here to make connections. Scanning the room, she spotted a small group at a table with an empty seat. When she sat down, a well-dressed man turned to her and smiled.

“Hello,” he said. “Who do I have the honor to welcome?”

“Hi, I’m Billie.” Surely he would be able to tell her smile was fake.

“Tom.” He reached out for a handshake.

Billie obliged. Her palm was sweaty. She tried not to grimace.

Tom turned back to the others at the table and they continued their discussion. Something about the music industry. Billie tried to look interested, but Tom kept spouting numbers and the others repeated them, and she couldn’t follow what was going on. So she sat in a bubble of silence, waiting for something to come up that she understood.

Across the room, Liza entered another group and immediately fell into conversation.

It looked so easy. But when Billie opened her mouth to speak, her throat felt constricted and the words fled from her brain.

“And…Billie, was it?”

Billie jumped. Tom had turned to her and was smiling. She tried to smile back, her heart pounding.

“Yes.”

“Have you released anything?”

Billie hesitated. What a strange question. “A…bird got caught in my house,” she said. “I let him go—”

Tom laughed, a deep belly laugh. Billie broke off, heart racing, confused.

“I mean music; have you released any music?”

Understanding flashed through Billie’s mind. Blood rushed to her face. She would have to leave. He could never take her seriously after this.

“I’m sorry, I…” Billie looked around for Liza among the confusion of brightly colored hair and denim-covered shoulders. It was time to leave.

But if she left, she knew she would never come to an event like this again. Billie spotted Liza across the room, talking and laughing with her producer and two young women who sang on her album, and she dug deep for her determination. She took a deep breath.

“Actually, I’m looking for a producer.”