| The country club isn't always open to those who aren't members, but there are occasions others are invited. This is one of them. Its not an overly elaborate affair, especially if one happened to attend Isabelle Dalton's birthday bash last year. This year's party is a more casual setup in one of the clubhouse's ballrooms.
Tables along one wall are spread with a gourmet pizza buffet (all cooked on the clubs in house wood fired oven of course), snacks of various sorts and plenty of carbonated beverages. Another table is set aside for gifts, and of course there's cake to be cut and served later. While there are places to sit and chat, a large portion of the floor has been cleared for a dance floor and on the end of the room opposite the food a live DJ is playing all the popular songs and ready for requests.
The birthday girl herself is near the gifts table gossiping with a couple of her close friends who are admiring the cheerleader's new bracelet. Her dress isn't exactly what most would call casual, but its fitting and not overly fancy either.
Kaicee definitely isn't a member, far from it. Never having set foot in the posh club, she looks out of place, wearing clothing that looks as if it were purchased at Hot Topic. Even more possibly, she wasn't even invited, but she's here to crash the party with Donny. Casting Donny a glance, she leans in a little. "So, what do you do at a country club party?"
Donny makes his way in. He actually cleans up pretty good. Mint green polo shirt and a pair of khakis end in a pair of black loafers. "I dunno.." He looks around nervously and spies the DJ. The air in his lungs escape, as if he deflated. "Great.. It's Daft Duck, not even a live band, so I can't even ask about gigs." He looks around. "Do you notice anyone from school who isn't fake?"
Shane may not have been invited to Isabelle's birthday party, but Rebecca 'Becca' Fowler was. The senior girl is dressed appropriately for a party at the country club. Tagging along behind her, or being practically dragged by an invisible leash, is the much more underdressed Shane, who is wearing a pair of faded jeans, a grey, long-sleeved thermal shirt under a black tshirt with an abstract design on the front. Becca starts to head over to the gift table, as she is carrying a metallic pink and silver striped gift, stops and turns to Shane. "Please, do not do anything to embarass me." Becca flashes him a big, bouncy yet strangely predatorial smile. "Thanks." She then spins and heads over to where Isabelle is standing. "Isabelle. Fabulous party. The parents made me bring the new foster brother. This is Shane. Shane, this is Isabelle. It's her party." Looking a touch shell-shocked, Shane offers a bit of a smile. "Um.. hi.. happy birthday..."
Etienne seems to fit in well enough here, having properly groomed after a morning in the stables and on the riding paths, dressed in something a little more toward Country Club normal, though the top few buttons of his button-down shirt are undone and he still wears the somewhat bohemian-looking black cord around his neck, though the charm on the end of it is hidden below the land of ironed white. Khakis, dress shoes, a blazer of muted blue, it all looks about right. Nobody's dragging him into the room, yet he's not particularly well-acquainted with the birthday girl, aside from the classes they share. It was his grandparents, members of the club, who thought it would be the right thing for their grandson to attend the club function and give birthday wishes to someone of standing in society, and so he's obliging them with all due filial piety and grace, entering with the poise of someone who's at least been to a society function or two in the past. He smiles broadly as he recognizes Shane before even the birthday girl, and, since he's over where the presents are, he heads in that direction, bearing a smallish box wrapped in paper of swirling hues of cream and peach to add surreptitiously to the collection.
Isabelle laughs, turning as Becca joins the little group and a couple others move off in search of food or to take to the dance floor with various others. "So glad you could make it, don't worry about it," she waves the bringing of the foster brother off with a wave of hand - which shows off the sparkling bracelet on her wrist. "The more the merrier, right?" Of course there are some they'd all rather not have show up. "Nice to meet you Shane," she greets the boy, offer a hand and a smile.
"Describe fake." Kaicee says deadpan. Course about every teen she knew from school had been called that at some time or the other. "Uh. I didn't bring a gift. I think I have a pack of gum in my car." Crossing her arms over her chest, she watches the reunion over by the gift table. "You wanna go say Hi?" The question is asked in a dubious voice, a hesitance there. "Oh hey, forgot to tell you, you look nice and stuff." Isn't that how dates worked?
Donny holds up the gift bag in his hand, tissue paper neatly sticking up out of it. "Got it covered. Even when crashing a party, never go empty-handed, Mom always says." He looks around and slides behind a new crowd making their way to the gift table in order to stealthily drop off the present. "And you look great too, without even having to fit the mold. As for saying hi... I think that might be a bad idea. There's being ballsy and then there's being stupid."
Shane takes the offered hand, returning a somewhat nervous smile. "Thanks... Nice to meet you too..." He gives a 'wassup' chin up when he sees Etienne. "Hey, man..." He looks back to Isabelle, "Thanks again for letting me crash your party..." He sees Becca giving him the 'behave look' once again. "Well, I'm sure you have a lot of people to meet and greet.. " Becca gets pulled away chatting with someone for her class.
"Shane," Etienne returns the greeting with a firm clap of hand on Shane's upper arm, a subtle 'hang in there' message latent behind the outwardly masculine form of salutation. "Good to see you again," he tells him with a smile. Maybe he's a little surprised to have run into Shane in this sort of environment, but, if so, he hardly shows it, and surely doesn't mention it. He looks from Shane to Isabelle, and inclines his head in a genteel fashion. "And best wishes to you, Miss Dalton, on your very special birthday," he wishes the birthday girl herself.
Tanner makes his way into the party. His family has a membership, but he's rarely at the club unless his father makes him come. He's dressed in expensive khaki shorts with a buttoned up dress shirt and tie on, a tattered old navy blue blazer on over that. He has his ever-present smile on, and waves around as he walks in carrying a little white box with an impeccable ribbon wrapped and bowed around it. He sits it on the gift table and grins, calling out to no one specifically, "Wassup was sup!"
"Hope you enjoy yourself," Isabelle comments in reply to Shane, "Plenty of food," she motions towards those tables, "and music." But he's right, there's plenty to meet and greet and be generally social with throughout the evening. Thankfully perhaps she hasn't noticed the party crashers just yet, instead turning a smile on Etienne, "So glad you could make it, but please. Isabelle," she says between a thank you to another present being added to the pile. "Your grandparents might prefer such formalities, but this is a party." Lighten up and have fun!
Kaicee is one of the sophomore class, sixteen, she's not into any sports or music. She takes the Auto Mechanics class at school and works at her father's shop, living in this town all her life. "You remembered to bring a gift?" Kaicee rolls her eyes, either at the gift or the mention of his mother's lesson. Her jaw tightens. She doesn't offer to accompany him to the gift table, preferring to lay low. "So do you always fit in to their cookie cutter mold?" A ghost of a smile crosses her lips, but it's brief and gone again just as quickly.
Donny makes his way back from the table. He swallows at the rebuke. "I..." He rolls his eyes. "No, not typically. I just didn't want to draw too much attention and get us kicked out." He shrugs. "If you wanna take off and grab a pizza or something we can do that." He tries to salvage things as much as possible. He looks around and spies Shane and nods a hello to the man from across the hall. Donny's a sophomore too, new to the school and the town.
Shane extracts himself from Isabelle's immediate presence. There is a mildly amused grin at Etienne's antiquated demeanor. His green eyes are then drawn to the somewhat outlandish entrance of Tanner, who apparently knows no other way of entering a room.
"Isabelle," Etienne repeats, obedient, but with a smile playful enough to give spirit to the word. He marks the bracelet she's seemed to be showing off. "Your bracelet. Was it a birthday present? It's quite charming," he remarks, of it, before beginning to follow Shane as he sneaks off, letting others step up to greet the birthday girl. "I hope you'll have a dance free for me, later," he tells her, by way of delaying further conversation 'til then, his attention marching straight after Shane's attention on its way to Tanner.
Tanner holds his fist up in the air, "Shane! Dude!" And he makes his way over towards Shane. "Hey, man! Looks like Isabelle Super-Fine totally managed to invite the noobs, too, huh?" He points at Donny, "The D-man's here, too! Right on!" He nods, approvingly, "Word."
Isabelle beams at the mention of her bracelet, lifting her hand to show it off to Etienne. "It was, from my parents of course. A full carat." A white gold tennis bracelet studded with diamonds and interspersed with sapphire. "Have Charlie add you to my list," she teases after the boy, sending a flutter of fingers after him. She can't be expected to remember all the dances she's supposed to save.
"Leave?" Kaicee echoes. "And miss the chance on getting thrown out of here?" She lightens up considerably, for now. "Like I said, you look great, but then again you did out by the bank too in your normal stuff." Tilting her chin towards the dance floor where people are jamming out to the DJ music, she smirks, "Dance, food, drink or want to go talk to your friend?" Course she probably knows most in the room on sight, but she doesn't greet anyone in particular.
Donny shrugs with a smile. "No reason why we can't do all of the above." He says as he reaches gently for Kaicee's hand. "Lemme introduce you to them?" He tries to make his way over to Tanner and Shane. "Hey guys."
Shane reaches up and brushes his hair back from his eyes with his fingers. "Tanner... Donny... " As Etienne moves over that way, Shane grins at him, "Hey... you know this is like totally not school work... How will you survive? I mean.. this is like two nights in a row..." He looks over to the girl with Donny, "Hey.. I'm Shane..." He gestures to the wild man with white boy dreadlocks, "That would be Tanner.. and if you don't know 'em... this is Etienne... "
"Isn't that what Sundays are for? On the seventh day, the Lord stopped partying long enough to finish his maths," Etienne recites to Shane with mock-solemnity, grinning at Tanner, the meanwhile, seeming unable to help the expression in the wake of such enthusiasm. "Hey," he greets Tanner, once he's been introduced, reaching out with a hand for a shake, or perhaps something less formal.
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