hang
by jess ryan
chapter 1

In the somewhat dim lighting of her bedroom, Josie Green admired her green chiffon-clad reflection in her full-length mirror, a tingle of excitement rushing through her.  It was her first party – the first one she had ever hosted – and it was her way of finally getting the recognition and popularity she’d always dreamed of.  It would be a smashing success, she imagined, and the people in her class would be talking about it and congratulating her on it for years to come.
  Josie couldn’t wait.

  Dressed in red and looking stunning, Claire Kozic made her way up the front path of the Green house.  As one of the most popular girls in school, Claire liked to arrive at parties before everyone else, so she would have a chance to greet her fellow students as they came in.  Just as she’d planned, Claire found herself the very first person to arrive.
  “Come in, come in!” Josie practically squealed when she answered the door, quickly pulling Claire inside.  “How are you?  LOVE the dress!  Did you want a drink or something?”
  “I’m fine, thanks,” Claire replied with an uncertain grin.  Sure, Josie had always been excitable, but now she was bouncing around as if she would explode if she stopped.  “So, your parents know you’re having a party?”
  Josie nodded as she led her through the house to the back patio, where the party would be held.  “Uh huh.  They’ve gone away for the weekend, and they suggested it.”
  Claire raised her eyebrows.  “Really?”  There was always something suspicious about parents who actually suggested fun teenage things, especially things such as parties, where alcohol and sex were surely involved.  She settled herself into an uncomfortable plastic chair.  “Are you expecting a good crowd?”
  “Only the entire senior class!”  Josie sat down in a chair facing Claire.  “Plus a few select juniors, and a couple of sophomores.”
  “You do realise that there will be gatecrashers, don’t you?” Claire asked.  There were always gatecrashers, and unless they’d been brought along by party-goers, they were nearly always trouble.  Josie flippantly brushed off her question.
  “The more the merrier!”
  Hmm, Claire thought.  Well, this would be an interesting night.

  Ten minutes after Claire arrived the doorbell began to ring, and it didn’t stop ringing until and hour later, when people started to just walk in.  All the guests made the same route through the house: down the hall, into the kitchen to deposit drinks and whatever munchies they’d brought, and then through to the patio where the party was well underway.  A DJ had been hired to control the music, and a makeshift dance floor had been cleared on the far end of the patio.  Josie was run off her feet answering the door and preparing chips and dips and keeping en eye on the dance floor, but she glowed with pride whenever someone popular complimented her on her dress or the party.
  Even from the front of the house you could tell there was a party going on.  The sycamore trees on the front lawn, along with the pillars on the front porch, were all decorated with tiny fairy lights, making it look like Christmas even though it was March.  Catherine Reice noted this as she stepped out of her green Porsche convertible.
  “This looks nice,” she said brightly.  “Gonna be a great party.”
  “Too bad Jess couldn’t make it,” Alana Leigh agreed.  “She would have had so much fun picking up with us tonight.”
  “And just who were you planning on picking up?” Aleesha Jacobs asked, adjusting the hem of her little black dress as she climbed out of the backseat.  “This school – especially this class – are full of nobody’s.”
  “Yeah, but you know there’s always crashers,” Catherine told her.  “Well, at least we can hope for crashers.”
  Aleesha shook her head.  “You two are nuts.”  Nevertheless, she linked arms with two of her three best friends and started towards the front door of the Green house.
  As soon as they walked through to the patio, people turned to notice.  These were the most popular girls in Riverdale High School, and Josie’s eyes widened in awe as she saw them.  As usual, they looked flawless.  Aleesha was the more serious of them, in her black cocktail dress and strappy sandals, her short brown-and-blonde streaked hair falling loosely around her shoulders; Alana was the sophisticated one, wearing a red singlet top and black mini-skirt, with her trademark black leather knee-high boots.  Catherine, the perky one, wore a light blue dress with thin straps and her own leather knee-high boots.  That just left…
  “Where’s Jess?” Josie asked the three.  Jessica Ryan was the fourth person in their little group, the sweet one.  And she was nowhere to be seen.
  “Not feeling well,” Catherine told Josie.  “She might put in an appearance later, but she sends her apologies.”
  “Oh.”  Josie looked disappointed for a moment at having the head cheerleader bail on her first party, but she got over it quickly.  “Well, you girls look great!”
  Alana flashed her an open, friendly smile.  “Thank you.  You have a lovely house.”
  Josie flushed with pride.  Alana Leigh had said her house was lovely!  She thought she’d died and gone to heaven.
  People still streamed through the back doors onto the patio, and Josie went to see to them as the Catherine, Alana and Aleesha made the rounds, greeting people and doing their popular “thang”.  As they stood by the steps leading down to the back lawn, a few jocks approached them.
  “Hey ladies.”  Kevin Richardson automatically draped his arm across Catherine’s shoulders and handed her a plastic cup filled with beer.  Catherine didn’t pull away.  Devin Lima leaned against the wall next to Aleesha, and Hayden Johnson and Adrian Moore hung about Alana, as usual.  Brian Littrell and Nick Carter stood by themselves.
  “Jess decided not to come?” Brian asked.
  Alana shook her head.  “She wasn’t up to it.”
  “Understandable,” Brian agreed.
  “It was a pretty awful…” Devin began, but Aleesha shushed him.
  “We don’t talk about it,” she told him.
  There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Kevin spoke.  “So, this is gonna be a pretty unbelievable party, hey?”
  “Yeah, Josie’s put in a lot of effort,” Alana agreed.
  “If only she wasn’t such a ditz, she’d actually be a cool person,” Aleesha retorted.  The others snickered as Louise Mitchell approached them.
  “Have you guys seen Grace?” she asked.  Louise was a sophomore, and the best friend of Brian’s little sister, Grace.  She and Grace had only been invited to the party because of Brian.
  Brian shook his head.  “Haven’t seen her since we arrived, sorry.”  The others shook their heads and apologised as well.  They all liked Louise and Grace.
  Louise looked even more downhearted.  “Thanks anyway.  If you see her, can you tell her I’m looking for her?”
  “Sure.”  Catherine gave her a friendly smile, and she shuffled off.
  “Maybe we should have asked if she wanted to hang with us until Grace appeared,” Aleesha said.
  “She’ll be okay – Grace can’t be far,” Brian replied.  The DJ changed the song to an upbeat number, and he looked at the dance floor.  Before he could say anything, Catherine squealed.
  “I love this song!”
  Kevin began to steer her up the stairs.  “Well, there’s only one thing to do about that – let’s dance!”