Prologue (3): Eliza

I managed to dress up and got out of the house without meeting with Erika. If I had met her before arriving at the party, she might have foiled all my plans. But indeed, since the incident with Ferly, Erika had always avoided me. 

That was not a new story. Erika had never liked spending time with me from the get go. But now, everything was getting worse. My feelings were always not in a great state every time I accidentally met her, and I knew she felt the same way.

I arrived at Marty’s house three hours late from the invitation time. Obviously, did I look like someone who really wanted to look stupid at a party that was still quiet? Moreover, this was Marty’s party, a guy who, it should be noted, was not very popular with people. As a popular girl, I had to be the person everybody waited for, not the person who was waiting. 

Seeing Marty’s house for the first time, I was disappointed. Marty’s house was not as spectacular as he often boasted and buzzed about. Sure, the house was much bigger than ours, but the design was too sloppy and so tacky. Inevitably, the word “new money” came to mind, and to be honest, that type of person was not my favorite friend.

In front of the door, Marty waited with his chest swollen with pride. I noticed that he was alone, no one was willing to accompany him, which made me regret even more that I came here. I should be friends with a more loaded person, not a cheap guy like this. 

“Eliza!” He shouted with his hands spread wide as if to embrace me. “Wow, you’re so beautiful tonight!”

I threw a sharp glance at him, and Marty instantly canceled his intentions with an awkward laugh. Well, at least he was still nice to me.

“The party is fine, I think,” I said while looking around. Well, given Marty’s really ugly reputation, the crowdedness at the party was truly astonishing.

“Definitely yes,” Marty said arrogantly. “Everyone can’t wait to see my house. You know, our friends all love it. When else will they be able to visit this great house? “

I tried to hold back my laughter when I heard Marty’s words that were too arrogant. Just for your information, most of our friends were willing to come here not because they wanted to feel the luxury of Marty’s home, which was not luxury at all. They only came because I had agreed to come. As Erika said (which I strongly approved of), “It’s useless if you show off, Nus, if your behavior is like a stingy person in a difficult time. If it wasn’t for your talking, I would have thought you were the poorest person around here, you know?”

Yeah, it was a bit harsh. But that was Erika, always blunt and precise about her points.

Feeling like it was enough to have small talk with Marty, I looked around, looking for Ferly. Hmm, where is that guy? There was absolutely no visible figure, whereas usually he could easily be seen because of his high posture. 

Just as I wanted to ask Marty, suddenly the sound of loud glass shattering could be heard. 

“Shit, she did it again!” Marty shouted in frustration. 

“What is that?” I asked curiously. 

“Your sister!”

It turned out that Erika was indeed here. Well, that would have a good effect on my plans—if I succeed in meeting Ferly, of course,

“She’s been throwing rocks at my windows since earlier,” Marty continued.

I almost laughed when I saw Marty’s face that looked really annoyed but helpless. But I should not laugh at the host. And—ewh, God forbid!—I might even be suspected of conspiring with Erika. 

Then I looked regretful and said, “Ouch, please forgive Erika! She’s not really that bad, she just likes to make trouble everywhere. “

“You should tell your father to punish her hard!” Marty shouted unhappily. “People like that can’t be helped. You need to be forceful!”

I wanted to remind him that only a short time ago he said our parents should not have banned us from doing everything. So actually, whatever Erika does, it did not need to be taken care of by our parents. But so that Marty did not get more and more irritated, I just nodded.

“I’ll tell my parents, Mar.” 

“Make sure she gets a heavy penalty, alright!”

“Right!”

I heard glass shattering again.

“Ahhh! That assh*le!”

Hearing Marty’s scream of frustration, I couldn’t help but laugh again. Luckily, Marty left me. I didn’t know what he would do. It was very clear he couldn’t face Erika alone. Maybe he would call the local security guard. Maybe he would bribe Erika to leave, who might even use this opportunity to blackmail Marty. If only I can find Ferly before Marty kicks Erika out….

My heart stopped for a moment when I saw a terrifying dark figure passing outside the window.