Duncan and I woke up early to double check that everything was ready and set up and get some last minute decor done. We wanted everything ready by 5:30 p.m. which gave us plenty of time to make sure everything was in order. Mom watched my nervous antics casually, before sending me out into the garden to relax for a while. Duncan and I sat in the grass, eventually Sophie joined us, and listed the names of any plant that Duncan pointed out. At some point I chilled out enough to go back inside and we spent our day relatively normally until about 5:15, when Duncan grabbed his outfit and mask and we went into the studio for any minor readjustments. His suit was brown, and matched his hair. He also brought a vest and a small top-hat that was more for style than for actually being used as a hat, and a simple white mask. I gave him a little dark red rose to pin to the lapel of the suit.

I put on my outfit first. It starts at the bottom with dark grey, knee high boots, with a row of gold buttons from top to bottom. There were off-white pants tucked into the boots, they were high-rise, with more gold buttons along each side. I had some blue and black trimmed ruffles that hung off the back-left side of the pants, with flowy fabric that hung to my shins beneath it. Then the coat, which I turned into more of an overshirt and tucked into the pants; it was blue and had three-quarter sleeves. The coat also had decorative shoulder pads, one with gold chains attached to the collar. I also had an old, blue military hat, with the flowers, and more flowy fabric hanging off the end. My mask was white with a few black and gold details in the mix.

“You don’t mind if I change in here do you?” He was already taking off his shirt as he said that. I laughed.

“By all means, go ahead. It’s up to you.” I said as he turned his back toward me. He was wearing a new binder, it was black. No longer the old stained white one he wore for ages. I silently appreciated it, the white one desperately needed to be retired. We both finished getting dressed, and gave each other our absolutely necessary wolf-whistles and check-outs before we tied on our masks. We went back upstairs, and saw that the people my parents hired had arrived and were doing their part before the time for the party to start, which was 6:00. I actually felt much more calm, behind the mask. Not that I was afraid of social situations, it was just easier to have that sense of anonymity. Time between 5:30 and 6:00 passed quickly as the hired workers and guests started arriving. All sorts of different people walked through the door, sometimes one lone person, or even a whole family. I had many people approach me to compliment my attire, as I did to others as well. I got tired, eventually. Duncan and I sat on the couch in the living room when there were fewer people hanging around there, and read together. Duncan was much less fond of socialization, I was happy to take a break with him for a while.

People left and entered the room frequently while we got lost in our pages, every now and then he’d reach over and point out something in the journal, and every now and then I’d tell him something interesting or funny that happened in the story. I was quiet for a while though, because the heroine of the story was having a conversation with a girl she was friends with. They were talking about life and hardships, but the heroine eventually broke, frustrated with her life. She was falling into a deep depression, and couldn’t help but pour her heart out to this woman. The heroine was going be forced to marry a man she didn’t love soon, and her heart broke over and over at just the thought. Then to my utter surprise, the girl kissed her. I read further, the heroine ended up panicking and turning away, convinced that the other girl was giving her affection out of pity, because she saw her friend with a man. I wanted to scream at her to turn back, that she was misunderstanding- the girl obviously really liked her, the man was marrying someone else for crying out loud! Before I could start on the next chapter a voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Hey…” A rather deep voice made itself known. Duncan and I both looked up from our books.

“Hi.” I said, and Duncan waved. The man in front of us was wearing a mostly purple suit, and a black mask. He had dark skin, and dark eyes. He looked young, anywhere between my age, and my older sister’s age. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment.

“Is this seat taken?” He gestured to the chair beside the couch, just to my right.

“No go ahead.” I nodded. He sat down.

“Not big on parties?” He asked quietly, trying to make conversation.

“I like them okay, but him?” I gestured to Duncan, who was reading again. “Not so much.”

“Ah…” He said, quiet for a moment. I could clearly see he wanted to talk, but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. I humored him.

“My names Owen, and who are you?”

“Ah, I’m Liam. Nice to meet you.” He relaxed slightly. I nodded.

“What brings you to the party, Liam?” I asked, trying to get him to talk more.

“My dad does.” He sighed, and smiled a bit “wanted me to get out of the house for a little while.” he said it like a joke. I snickered.

“Relatable.” I said with a smile. Liam smiled more, then looked at the book in my hands.

“What are you reading?” He asked.

“Oh this? It’s called ‘Blue Heron Red’. About a girl in the victorian times, and her life and adventures and what-not.” I held up the book, showing the cover of an insignia with a blue heron on it, the insignia was turning red at the bottom. It was supposed to be symbolic.

“Sounds neat. What’s happening in it so far?” He asked, curious. I sighed.

“Well, the main character’s friend basically just confessed her love for her but she doesn’t think she’s being genuine, and now she’s running from the situation, and it’s all just a mess.” I explained, frustration evident in my tone.

“The girl is in love with the other girl?”

“Oh, yea it surprised me at first too but I think they’d be happy together. They have a lot of chemistry.” I clarified, hesitantly. I watched for any reaction on his face.

“Oh cool!” He beamed. It was an innocent smile, I could see he didn’t dislike it, and he didn’t get weird about it either. Which I appreciated. He opened his mouth to keep talking, but a tall bald man walked in. With a thick black moustache under his grey mask.

“Liam my boy, there you are!” the man said a little loudly. Duncan’s attention was once again drawn away from the book. “I’ve been looking all over for you, come, I want you to meet our hosts.” Then the man turned to me, he’s been smiling this whole time.

“And who might you be?” The tall man looked between me and Duncan, who shrunk back slightly.

“I’m Owen L. Lancaster, this is my friend, Duncan. And you are?” I stood and extended my hand as I spoke, this man seemed like the kind of guy who you might want to be on his good side.

“Oh! I beg your pardon, I didn’t realise you were Roland’s son. I’m Murphy Hanson, please, call me Murphy.” He shook my hand with a firm grip. I could see Liam watching the interaction from the side, looking both awkward and startled.

“It’s alright, it’s good to meet you Murphy.” It felt weird using his first name, and I nearly hesitated before I said it. “I won't keep you anymore, if you wanted to go ahead and find my parents.” I took a step back, giving them more space to move if they were going to leave.

“Actually, if you could help me find them that would be great. I admit I have a bit of trouble navigating your lovely home.” Murphy requested, and I could practically see both Duncan and Liam deflate. Not wanting to offend or anything, I nodded. I made eye contact with Duncan, who took the hint and stood up. He walked alongside me while I started walking out the door.

“Where did you see them last?” I asked.

“One of the living-spaces toward the back of the house, heading toward the patio I believe.” He responded quickly, before moving onto questions of his own. “So Owen, how old are you?”

“17.” I answered, a little confused.

“Oh? Well, Liam here just turned 18, himself.” He told me. Unsure of what to do with this information, I just nodded for a moment, then said ‘cool’.

We reached my parents after he continued on, asking more awkward questions. I stuck around for a bit during the introductions that followed, then Duncan and I quietly walked away when we saw an opportunity. I thought we got away unnoticed, but I looked over my shoulder as we went through the doorway, and locked eyes with Liam. The man quickly looked away, after getting caught staring. He said nothing though and I continued on with Duncan through the house.

“Wanna go get food?” I asked as I watched one of the hired men walk by, carrying a tray with glasses of champagne on top. Duncan’s response was immediate.

“Yes. Please.” and then we were walking towards the dining room. There were a lot of people in here, including Paisley and her friends, who each had a glass of sparkling juice in their hands (at least I assume it was). We managed to swipe some snacks from the table, then we hung around my sister and her group. After a few minutes of socializing with them, Liam approached again. I didn’t notice until my sister looked up at him, with her award-winning smile still on her face.

“Hello, I like your suit! It’s a nice color.” She said. Liam looked down at himself and I could see him adopt a somewhat bashful look.

“Thank you. That’s a nice dress you got there too.” He said in response, with a smile. He was suddenly much less awkward than before, and I felt a little frustrated for some reason. I brushed it off as he turned to me.