I stood in front of my full length mirror and scrutinize my deep red cocktail dress that falls just above my knees. I made a last minute visit on the mall yesterday afternoon when I realized I still haven’t got anything to wear. I was supposed to buy the other day but I was preoccupied by the previous humiliating episode at mom’s office.

It’s been two days since that happened but I still felt stupid. So stupid, I want to pull my hair out. I plopped down on the edge of my bed as I recall how I must’ve looked like a deer caught in the headlights after the guy smirked at me. I hurriedly pulled the curtains of the window; my knees went fragile and the next thing I knew, I was sitting weakly on the floor, feeling mortified more than ever. Then, I ran off the room and waited for mom by the nurse’s area. Even the nurse noticed something was wrong with me because she noted that I looked pallid.

My head was in a complete mess while we drove home that night. I was anxious that the guy recognized my face but I convinced myself that it wasn’t possible because I, myself, couldn’t make out his entire facial appearance. But then I realized that I had forgotten to turn off the lights. And the way he smirked, he was implying he knew I was watching him. And I had this nagging feeling that he didn’t just mean that particular night but the other nights I was watching him as well, which makes me feel a whole lot more humiliated. I didn’t dare come near mom’s office again after that.

I grabbed one of my pillows, buried my face in there and let out a frustrated groan.

Eun Hye, who slept over here last night, came out of the bathroom and looked at me funny. We spent the next few more minutes finishing up in getting ready for the party. I just finished wearing my favorite cloud-shaped earrings when the door bell rang. Eun Hye’s mother was the one who drove us to the café.

When we arrived, we both joined the small cue by the entrance. We handed our invitation to a guy and then he let us in.

We made our way to the veranda where the party was going to be held exactly, although, some parts of the café were also adorned with Alice in Wonderland decors and colorful embellishes in general, such as these vibrant paper lanterns hanging on strings, cut outs of skeleton keys, mad hatter hats and rabbits, oversized teacups on stack, and more lively colored things which will definitely make my mom dizzy.

The party had already started when we entered the veranda, which was bathing in pink and purple lighting, a pop song was blaring on the speakers and the guests were already gathering and dancing around the dance floor. Eun Hye went to get us drinks while I admire the arch on the entrance of the veranda which was made with deck of cards. Kyungsoo suddenly appeared beside me, carrying a tray of colorful drinks.

“Yeah, it’s really stunning,” Kyungsoo said to me after handing me a drink. “But we had a hard time getting that thing inside.” I chuckled. “You look nice.” he complimented me genuinely.

“Thanks.” I said. “You look great yourself.”

Kyungsoo glanced down at his own outfit: black polo shirt, white pants and tie. “Right, except I wear the same outfit with other six baristas.” I frowned, a little confused. “Your school mate required us to wear certain outfit such as this.” Kyungsoo clarified, gesturing at his outfit.

I couldn’t help but giggle at his uneasy expression. I asked him about their baristas because last time I checked, they only have four. He said he asked for the help of some his friends because Da Hee’s guest list suddenly expanded. I glanced around the café and it was, indeed, crowded. Da Hee must’ve invited the entire school and some students from other schools. The minute Kyungsoo and I parted, there was a crashing sound on my right side. A guy, who I assumed was a barista, seemed to knock one of the oversized teacups on stack décor by the floor. Some guests looked at the guy funny. I saw Kyungsoo helping him out—he’s probably one of his friends.

Eun Hye finally came back with no drinks in her hand as opposed to what she had said five minutes ago. I inquired where she’d been but instead of answering my question, she grabbed my drink and emptied it on one swallow.

“Wow, you’re welcome.” I stated sardonically, turning my plastic cup upside down, she drained it completely. I looked back at her and noticed her looking around, her eyes seemingly distracted. “Are you alright?” I inquired. “Eun Hye.”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me inside the café where the music was toned down a bit. “He’s here.” she hissed at me urgently.

I waited for her to elaborate more but Eun Hye looked over the packed veranda again. “Mad Hatter?” I offered in undertone.

"No." Eun Hye said, giving me an incredulous look.  “He’s here.” she pointed her finger towards a guy standing across the dance floor. It was her ex-boyfriend.

“That’s ty.” I sighed, sitting down on a couch.

“He talked to me.” Eun Hye continued, sitting beside me. “He talked to me and he complimented my dress and make up. I mean, how can he do that?!? How?” she asked me desperately, like I have any clue. “How can he act and speak to me like he didn’t just shred my heart into million pieces?! And how dare he brought that plastic girlfriend of his.”

I rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. “Take a breath. You’re not breathing.” Eun Hye complied but the look on her face was still infuriated. She must be really upset. “Do you want to go home?” I asked her tentatively.

“No. No.” Eun Hye answered, getting up on her feet confidently. “I will not go home! I’ll show him what he just missed.”

Eun Hye didn’t really get to show her ex-boyfriend what he missed because he was busy flirting with his new girlfriend while Eun Hye was throwing death glares at them. I pulled Eun Hye and brought her to the dance floor to shift her attention and mood. I persuaded her to dance with me. She didn’t want to, at first, but she caved in eventually.

After a song finished, we went back inside the café to get some water and grabbed something to eat by the dessert table. We munched on colorful cupcakes which were shaped in mad hatter hats with food picks labeled with “Eat Me”. Eun Hye and I were enjoying eating when Da Hee came around and asked us if we’re having fun.

We spent another half an hour by a table inside the café and eat our cupcakes and talk about our film making instead. We agreed to hold a mini audition sometime next week for the male lead since Eun Hye and Da Hee had already managed to contact some guys they know. The conversation led my mind to the incident the other day once again. I felt so relieved I didn’t tell Eun Hye about it, otherwise, she’ll endlessly tease me.

“I told you it wasn’t my fault.” a male voice echoed near where Eun Hye and I were sitting.

Both of us turned our heads to find the owner of the voice. It was one of the barista and I recognized him as the guy who accidentally knocked off those oversized teacups earlier. The barista was looking at a girl with a rather stern look, while the girl was also looking at him with the same expression, both of her hands on her waist. I knew the girl, she’s in my Calculus class and she’s a know-it-all with a very bad temper.

“Oh, so it was my fault, then?” my classmate scoffed. “Or my boyfriend’s?”

Another guy appeared, it was the manager of the café, before my classmate could say another word. The manager tried to calm my classmate down but she wouldn’t shut and kept on pressing that the barista intentionally spilled the drink on her boyfriend’s shirt. The barista said he wouldn’t do such thing.

“It’s because this waiter—” my classmate cut in, looking austerely at the barista who’s obviously restraining his own annoyance, “—is jealous of my boyfriend’s designer shirt! That’s why he did that!”

The barista looked at my classmate incredulously and shook his head in disbelief.

Honestly, it was such a face-palm inducing moment. My classmate’s boyfriend was obviously humiliated by the actions of his girlfriend and not by the situation at all. The manager cut in again but my classmate wouldn’t stop and she even started calling the barista with names. She was demanding an apology from the barista but he said he already apologized.

“Look how your waiter talks!” my classmate yelled to the manager. “Is that how you train them?”

Kyungsoo, and another tall guy beside him appeared. “What’s going on?!?” Kyungsoo asked the barista. At that moment, Da Hee also came out from the veranda, asking t