Life of the Party by Christine Anderson Page A

but.”
Grey laughed wryly. We ushered in through the curtain to join the
people already there, seated around the back of the booth. The
lights were dim, which I liked. The tabletop was like the others,
clear Plexi over lights, the cushions upholstered in soft black and
white vinyl. Grey introduced us before we sat.
    “Mackenzie,
this is Jimmy, Tom and Lucas. You may recognize them from the
killer band Serpentine.” Grey chuckled and made a sign in the air.
The band mates cheered with a cacophony of curses. Jimmy was
younger, with dark black hair in a faux hawk—he smiled at me
politely. Tom and Lucas must have been brothers, though Tom looked
to be in his late thirties and Lucas seemed younger, they shared
the same shaggy brown hair and large, bushy eyebrows.
    “Bass, keys,
and our manager.” Grey explained. I nodded. “And beside them are
the lovely ladies Natasha, Tracy and Lori.” I smiled, and waved
once at them all, but the girls barely acknowledged me. I scarcely
had time to look them over before we were moving to sit down, but I
noticed lots of make-up, and skin, and a general expression of
utter boredom.
    We squeezed
into the booth, Grey on one side of me, Charlie on the other. I was
thankful to be past the scrutiny, to sit and relax. I lit a smoke.
Grey was talking to Alex on the other side of him. I heard someone
order champagne for everybody, and my eyebrows raised again. Was
this how they always partied? How could they afford it?
    A lady came
around with hand-blown crystal flutes, filling them halfway with
sparkling, honey coloured champagne. I looked around, but nobody
was drinking theirs. It was like they were waiting for
something.
    After a few
minutes Tom called us to attention. I did my best to lean over Grey
without blocking Charlie’s view, to better see the older man. The
talk quieted around us, and Tom raised his glass in the air.
    “Tonight, a
celebration.” He smiled around the group from his place in the
middle. “Tonight, a first. I am honoured, and delighted, and proud
to be a part of this ride with you all. Here’s to your success, and
to your futures. They’re sure to be bright. Congratulations.”
    “Fuck yeah!”
Alex shouted. Everyone cheered and then clinked their glasses
together, laughing happily. I watched them in confusion. Though it
was dim in the room, seemingly I was the only one completely in the
dark.
    “Um …
congratulations for what?” I whispered to Grey. He turned to me;
his blue eyes alight with happiness, the impact of them taking my
breath away. He laughed loudly.
    “Our band was
signed.” He explained. He clinked his glass against mine.
    “What? That’s
awesome!” I exclaimed.
    “Yeah. That’s
the idea,” he chuckled, “we’ll be recording soon.”
    “Wow. That’s
great … amazing even! Let’s celebrate, shall we?”
    “We shall.” He
promised. We smiled and drank the sharp, cold bubbly, watching each
other. Now that the feeling of ceremony was over, we relaxed and
ordered a round of more practical drinks, preparing to really
celebrate. Grey lit a cigarette and passed it to me, lighting
another one for himself. I drank my rye and Coke almost as soon as
it came, trying quickly to maintain my buzz. Grey watched me take
one last gulp, and smiled.
    “That’s
impressive, but really not necessary.”
    “What? Why
not?”
    “Because.” He
grinned wickedly, looked around, and passed me a hand mirror from
the other side of him. There were two smudgy lines reflected on the
glass, and I could see my face looking down on them—could see the
confusion, the comprehension, and then the anxiety that overtook my
reflected expression. Cocaine. Grey was offering me cocaine.
    “I promised you
a good time, didn’t I?”
    My stomach did
a little flip. Cocaine had always been something I avoided. I
didn’t really know why, but it was on the other side of the line I
had drawn for myself. The stupid line. I’d never had an
interest.
    “If you don’t
want to,