THIRD WHEEL

The driver parked the car right in front of the main staircase that headed to the hall where the party had to happen, and the girls quickly hopped off the car very excitedly. The exhilaration was to meet all the other people from school in their best dresses. It was not as if the other students had not seen everybody in their casual attire because they had seen their friends in all kinds of garments.

It was nothing new to them because in the hostel they would see each other wearing such clothes except for the fact that there were only a few occasions that they were allowed to show off their party wear clothes to create uniformity because not everybody could afford expensive looking clothes. They were only allowed to wear very simple clothes in the hostel daily and not like the backless dresses, sheer clothing, crop tops, shorts, etc. clothing they were dressed in at the party.

The young boys and girls were impeccably dressed and everyone was looking their best. Most of their batch mates were there, but there were still some of them who had not been able to make it to the party. Nevertheless, the place seemed full, and everyone was full of excitement for it was the first birthday party of a male friend that they were attending because now they were in the first year of senior high, and that itself was a big achievement to them.

Decorations in the hall looked lavish and the kids at least got an idea of how rich Derek’s family was because it was not easy to book the reception hall in the town hall complex as it was always booked for big shots since it was in the city center. Derek did not talk much to anyone in school, but seeing where he belonged, the perception of him for everybody was changing.

Boys and girls admired the whole place and started clicking pictures of themselves which they called selfies. They also helped others to take different shots for them to upload it with the hashtag fake candid as it was trending very much. Mobile phones were not allowed in the school premises, and thus, they would make the most of the time at home by uploading pictures of wherever they went.

In the party hall, music was playing anyway, but the volume of everyone was pretty darn high for the songs that were playing in the background to be audible. This was why it took some time for the party vibe to be established. The teens were glad to meet their friends and were discussing how the two, three days at home had been. Also, talks about the things that they were going to do during their holidays were leading their conversations.

As Jean and Marie walked in together, they were just as surprised as everyone else to see the set-up. That is when it struck Marie that most of the time what they think of someone at the very first instance they see them is not always the right thing. Looking at Derek, it seemed to everyone that he must not belong to a very wealthy family, but the birthday party of his was certainly contradicting that very assumption.

There were expensive decorations and well-dressed food servers who did not even look as if they were supposed to be working over there. The food variety was extremely expensive too, which not only comprised of the continental food that kids loved, but also had exotic items on the display. Not to mention the extraordinarily delicious looking cake which was bigger than the wedding cake which Marie had ever seen in her life until now.

To all the girls, the party looked very dreamy. They started fantasizing about living such a life. Most of them became extra sweet to Derek, and that, by the way, was how even the boys started behaving. It was the young dude’s birthday, and it felt very special to him. He was only enjoying the attention that he was getting from everyone, but every good thing also has something unfulfilled for people.

Derek had his eyes stuck on Marie the whole time at the party. He felt very differently for her considering especially her studious nature which attracted him the most because he had also been a star student of the boys’ school. She was never seen at any famous places which were known to everyone to go against the rules. Being particular about everything was one of her main qualities.

Just as the names of toppers from the boys’ wing would be displayed in the admin notice board at the main building, the names of toppers from the girls’ school would also be there. Derek had been following Marie’s picture on the notice board for almost three whole years because that is when she had joined the school and started coming first in class.

So, there was a major twist that was on the way. They were all young and getting into an age in which they were able to understand the different emotions that could rule their minds and the effects they caused to them; the feeling which each one of them imparted. It was time for them to face the bitter reality of life and realize nothing really works the way that we want it to work.

At times it just makes us sad, and sometimes it disappoints us to a level that we start hating that specific emotion and run away from it every time that it may land up in a situation that was responsible for us to feel depressed and let down. Despite the many decades and centuries which have gone by; since ages the one thing that has been at the top of that list is love.

Adults found it hard to understand that their children were in their teenage. That time is the most vulnerable. They should not only be proud of how well the teenagers live those years, but they should also not underestimate that phase of life because it holds a lot of power. Youngsters are prone to so much in their life, and yet they grow gracefully.

Becoming an adult is a pretty simple task; you sleep on your seventeenth birthday, and the next day you wake up, boom! You are an adult. What is difficult is choosing between the things which parents say and the attractive things which friends do. And teenagers have been battling very well between the two, trying their best not to upset anyone.

Derek's birthday party was one such time when there was a choice in front of Marie. The choice of something which her parents have always asked her to do was the first and the other was the choice of living freely just this one time when she did whatever she wanted to do without having any kind of fear of being caught since the youngsters were not under some kind of strict supervision. The big question was, what will Marie choose to do?