Suddenly, the heavy bass of the music cut out.
A sharp, ear-piercing screech of microphone feedback echoed through the yard, causing several teenagers to wince and cover their ears.
Chloe stood by the DJ booth, holding a wireless microphone. She tapped it twice. Thump, thump.
Two hundred heads turned away from the water, their eyes locking onto the birthday girl.
“Attention everyone!” Chloe beamed, her voice amplified, echoing off the surface of the pool. “Thank you all so much for coming to celebrate our eighteenth birthday! It means the world to me.”
The crowd erupted into cheers, raising their plastic cups in the air.
Chloe’s smile remained plastered on her face, but as her eyes scanned the crowd and locked onto the dark corner of the patio where I was hiding, that smile turned razor-sharp. It dripped with a malicious, venomous intent. She had waited her entire life for this moment. She was going to cure me of my “need for attention” by publicly shaming me into submission.
