ggerating. I only t

orror. "There shouldn't be any che

lf. "Let me rephrase my sentenc

t, before turning away. He was lucky he was practically family, or I pr

m, I saw him sneak one last sample into his jacke

ike this, where there was always too much to go around. If you didn't keep an eye on him, he'd scarf down half the spread before anyone els

, and I wanted it to be even better. I needed to show the crowd that this was my thing, my control. This wasn't just about being the guy

n the hallway. Her attempts were made in vain since we all prompt

didn't have the backbone to enforce much of anything, especially when we outnumbered her by dozens. It wasn't personal.

m over in my hands, letting the slight weight of each envelope settle in my fingers as I spoke. "It might just be the hottest party of the decade if peopl

as getting to me. It was funny, how everyone pretended like they weren't affected by the chaos surrounding the party when deep down, they were all

that it would feel more personal, more exclusive if we handed them out directly at school. Well, it wasn't my party, but when y

o come. There wouldn't be enough room in the ballroom, and there was no way I was changing the venue by that point. Besides, we didn't want there to be

made it onto my list, my cell phone buzzed. I glanced d

Taylor, letting her take over. "It's the caterer agai

le about the guest list to pay me much attention. I quickly stepped away from the crowd an

ked, my voice low but carrying the wei

iled off slowly, the hesitation

aced. The catering company was the last thing I needed to deal with right now. I'd

her voice faltering. It was a word I hated more

d, rolling my eyes. "I'm runnin

not that bad. Just a small glitch, but

one with her for another half hour while she explained why they couldn't seem to get the menu together. "F

y mind racing. I knew she'd find a way to fix the small complication, but

t just for the sake of the party, but to prove to everyone that I was capable of running this show. I was ready to take over the company

and I wasn't about to wait until after school to find out what it was. He had this way of building suspense, like he was preparing to drop some

of my head for a moment. There was too much to manage at the moment, too much hanging in the balance. I needed

e moments where you realized how small high school felt, like everyone knew everyone else's business. It was hard to imagine t

he immediate future. And that imm

thoughts of what was to come. The party. The company. The takeover. Whate