_margot_

She sits in the corner of the room. Silently she is taking inventory of the crowd that is moving around. She feels out of place in the group.

"These people all know each other", she thinks. Leaning against the wall, she lights a smoke and takes a shot. She talks to the girl she came with, her best friend. Then she slinks into the bathroom. Sitting on the floor, she inhales the smoke. "I feel so different, so out of place." She says to herself.

Leaving the bathroom she makes her way around the crowds. Placing judgments on herself constantly. She looks at the pretty girls and knows they will have a partner at the end of the night. She knows that she will be curled up in the corner alone.

Emotional content and intelligence with a serving of wise ass is just what she needs. One more shot and she opens her mouth. She walks up to a girl talking to her friend and makes small talk. This one has warmth, a contagious spirit. She walks away feeling good, ready to talk more.

She set a goal, to talk to him, the one here that she was scared of. It was not time yet. Into the kitchen she goes to embrace the host, his soul makes her at ease. Wise up woman, you are doing well.

The remainder of her night is filled with a sense of self she has not known for sometime. Liquid courage got the ball rolling, however, she is making her own. New friends at every corner. Familiar faces met with warm embraces. Who knows what is felt for her from any of them, in the end it doesn't really matter.

She realized in the end that she can only be her. Take it or leave it.

The warmth of the air mixed with the sting of the booze makes her fall back into a grin.

She hopes to see some of them again, if they so desire.