Page 58 of Neo
“Have you ever been to Times Square?” she asks, staring at the screen in awe.
“Once, but it was in the middle of the day after a matinee of The Lion King.” I fondly remember. “My mom took me to this restaurant where the waiters sing to you and stuff.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“What about you?”
“No, I’ve never been to New York. It’s a miracle that my parents even let me go to Nevada for college, but honestly, I think getting me out of their hair while they hashed out the details of their divorce may have been the reason.”
Kennedy’s phone rings, and she emits a heavy sigh when she sees who it is.
“Your mom or your dad?” I ask her, assuming it’s one or the other.
“Neither — give me a second?”
“Sure thing.”
I step inside my bedroom to give Kennedy some privacy but the reality is that our place is small and the walls are made of cheap dry wall. You can’t hammer a nail that will stay put and you can hear every damn thing someone says when they’re speaking at normal volume.
“What!?” she roars when she answers the call. “It’s none of your business where I’m going tonight and it’s not your job to keep an eye on me. I’m a big girl.”
There’s silence for a few more moments.
“Nope,” is her one word response.
More silence.
“Why don’t you call Gia with this nonsense? I have somewhere to be.”
An hour later, I’m dressed, and practically creep back into the living room, worried that I might find Kennedy in a very bad mood after her earlier conversation with whoever that was. What I find instead is a girl clearly bent on us going on a New Years Eve mission, dressed in a tight gold dress complete with a sparkly New Year’s Eve themed headband and four-inch heels.
“Damn,” I say, as she twirls around. “You look amazing.”
“I know,” she says with a sly grin. “And you look hot as fuck.”
I’m wearing a silver cocktail dress that cinches at the waist and accentuates my curves. It has spaghetti straps, falls just above my knees, and I’ve paired it with black open-toe heels.
“Thanks,” I smile, feeling a bit more confident. “I should take you shopping with me more often. I would have never picked this.”
“And it looks good, eh?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “I definitely like it.”
“Okay, quick pre-game shot before we head out?” Kennedy suggests enthusiastically.
“Uh, no thanks,” I decline. “Remember, I don’t really drink.”
“Oh, damn, Violet, okay. But if you decide to drinkanythingat the party, make sure to drink the bottled beer, okay? Nothing else.”
“Got it,” I say to appease her, knowing full well that I won’t have any alcohol tonight. It’s just not my thing.
In the car ride to the party, Kennedy excitedly talks about all the different people we might meet there and how much fun we’re going to have ringing in the new year.
“You seem determined to get Ray’s attention tonight,” I point out, wondering if Kennedy is reacting to something else that may have happened back home, something other than her father’s relationship status.
“New year, new me,” she simply replies.
Meanwhile, my mind starts to wander as I think about what Neo might be doing right now. If Kennedy wasn’t sitting right next to me, I’d text him again, but I’ll just have to be satisfied with the audio text he sent me earlier.