After Class Read Online Free Page A

it.”
    Taylor continues to sit stunned. She tries to speak but nothing comes out.
    “Now that the cat is out of the bag, let’s both get drunk and pretend we never had this conversation. How does that sound?” Chantelle asks.
    Taylor shakes her head yes. She still sits in disbelief.
    “Okay good. Now let’s party,” Chantelle says as she grabs Taylor’s hand and drags her back into the house. Taylor can only follow her lead and drops her red plastic cup on the way in, her hands unable to even grasp anything, let alone her mind.
     

 
     
    3
     
     
    Hours pass and Taylor is a few too many drinks into the night. She is in the heart of the makeshift dance floor in the living room and is surrounded by people she doesn’t know too well. Nicole is off with her male suitor and hasn’t been seen since the beginning of the night. Chantelle and her friend are off doing body shots on the kitchen table as cheers from the crowd edge them on. It is nearly 1:00 am but by the looks of it, this party has just begun. 
    Taylor is swinging her arms above her head and letting completely loose. The bass from the club music takes over and she can feel the stress leaving her body. After months of hard work and stress, she is finally letting go. She is enjoying herself. She is having fun. It is a cathartic moment for her and a necessary one. She needed this. She wanted it – bad.
    At the peak of her enjoyment, Taylor can feel a vibration in her pocket. It is her cell phone going off. It snaps her out of her moment and back into reality. She pulls the phone into her dazed view. It is her boyfriend, Chad, on the other line. Taylor snaps out of her drunken haze and excuses herself outside of the house. She swipes open the phone, steadies herself and answers it. “Hey baby, how are you?” Taylor yells into the phone, sounding like the quintessential drunk college girl.
    “Hello, Taylor? Where are you? What are you doing? Do you know what time it is there?” Chad asks on the other line with an underlying tone of rage and worry.
    Taylor tries to calm herself and tries not to slur her words. “Hey Chad, I’m sorry. Nicole pressured me into coming out tonight and we are just on our way back to the dorm now. S - sorry I didn’t call you earlier.”
    Chad falls silent on the other line. Taylor can tell that he is upset.
    “Listen, we are just going to start walking back so I’ll call you when I’m in bed, okay?” Taylor waits anxiously for a reply. She is starting to teeter on her feet.
    “Whatever, bye.” Chad hangs upon the other line.
    Taylor, unaffected by the tiff, shoves her phone back into her pocket and heads back inside. Upon arriving back inside the home, she sees Chantelle and the brunette getting ready to leave. They are both attempting to hold the other up but fail to do so. They stumble out of the home and walk up to Taylor.
    “You guys are leaving? I thought you came here to show us younglings how to party,” Taylor snarls at the two girls.
    Chantelle smiles and composes herself briefly. She shifts her weight from the brunette onto Taylor. She hangs off of her and brings her lips up to Taylor’s ear. “It’s up to you now, Taylor. You hold the reigns. Make momma proud.” She breaks from the halfhearted embrace and winks at Taylor.
    “Oh, you can take the reins on that woman,” Taylor says. “There’s no way I can top you.”
    Chantelle taps Taylor on the shoulder and smiles. “You say that now, but if you are anything like me, we will see how long you last.” The two girls walk past Taylor and hail a cab off of the street. A few moments later, they are gone into the darkness of the night.
    Taylor stands watching the cab drive down the street and Chantelle’s words ring in her head. Was it that easy? How did she get away with it? Is it something that she could do?
    She shakes off any thoughts that she might have, turns and heads back into the party. Just as she is about to finally enter the house, Nicole