~this fic contains strong emotion and S U B S T A N C E S~
~not canon~
Joanne’s parties weren’t very fun. After all, people just stood around, maybe telling some stupid jokes, and if you were lucky, there’d be a very short game of Spin The Bottle where one person spins, then the person it landed on would chicken out, a few laughs would be had, and then everybody would stop playing. That was all that happened until sundown, and Ellie had usually gone home by then. Plus, you’d find Brad there. Ugh.
Ellie had known him since fifth grade. He was a bit decenter back then, a lifetime ago. In seventh grade, he got flirty. And he’s only gotten worse.
“Hey!” Said her semi-friend Daisy’s older brother, Caleb. She had seen him at a party once or twice, but “hi” and “hey” were the only words ever uttered between them.
“Did you hear about what happened to Kate?”
“No.... what is it?”
“Well, at one of Joanne’s latest parties, some kid brought, well, S U B S T A N C E S.... and that’s why you won’t be finding Kate around here anymore!”
Ellie was shocked. She didn’t really know Kate, but she was Joanne’s BFF, and even if Joanne didn’t use the... things... she might feel distraught about the whole ordeal.
“Did... Joanne... *ahem* use them?”
“You bet your butter! But she’s only suspended for a few days. Her dad bailed her out with his millions of dollars.”
Ellie was fighting back tears. Maybe this was all fake. It’s just a dumb rumor, it might not be real....
“How... how do you... know?”
“A buddy of mine was there. He told me.”
“Did... did he... use them?”
“Nah. He actually was the one to call the cops. So if you see a kid being called ‘taddletale’ or ‘party pooper,’ tell him Caleb says hi.”
She had so many questions. Who else had used the S U B S T A N C E S? What was his opinion on this whole thing? But she was too stricken. She just walked away, and managed to say, “see you later.”
It’s just a rumor. It’s just a rumor. It’s just a rumor.