Gravity by M. Leighton Page A

others started to arrive.  It was as if the presence of Brady and his buddies served as an invisible beacon that beamed into the night sky like the bat signal.  Only this indicator alerted the masses, drawing them in like moths to flame.
    I found myself watching each person that arrived with a more critical eye.  I wondered if some sort of monster lurked beneath the seemingly innocuous surface and, if so, what kind of creature it might be.  Apparently my ability to see it was either like a flickering light bulb, only working in short bursts, or, more likely, it had to do with the person experiencing something that triggered their…inner beast.  I found the anticipation nearly as thrilling as it was nerve-racking.  For the first time in my teenage life, I didn’t mind being relegated to on-looker, to casual observer.  My ability to blend in like a wallflower was proving to be very useful as I circumspectly watched my peers.
    “Aren’t you ever gonna learn to mingle?” Lacey asked into my right ear, startling me so badly I jumped.
    “Lacey,” I said, putting my hand to my chest.  “You scared me half to death.”
    I should’ve expected her surprise approach, as she’d done the same thing in the previous version of the night. I’d just been so absorbed in the replay, in analyzing every person and action, that I’d lost track of the time.
    “Is that a ‘no’?” she asked.
    “Yes, that’s a no.  Apparently I will never learn to mingle,” I answered offhandedly.  Lacey leaned back against the wall beside me, crossing her arms over her chest as she settled in to keep me company just like she always did at Brady’s parties. 
    She was a really good friend in that way.  She stuck right with me, playing the shy recluse, completely out of her comfort zone, for the first couple hours of each one.  Then, when she’d had enough of sitting on the sidelines, she’d start to chatter with the people around her a bit more, slowly expanding her reach until she eventually left me to flitter about like the social butterfly that she was.  We couldn’t have been any more opposite in our nature, but I was convinced that’s why we worked so well together. 
    Quietly, we leaned against the wall and watched as people trickled through the door and then melted seamlessly into the growing crowd.
    “Omigod!  Can you believe she had the nerve to show up with him?” Lacey gasped.  “The Amity-ville Whore and the Rip-off Rock star.”
    I looked toward the door and saw Amity Ledger, shallow cheerleader extraordinaire, make her entrance with none other than Shane Gibson, rebellious rocker extraordinaire. 
    “What are they doing here?”
    “Oh, I’m sure she’s still trying to make Trace jealous.  Has to be.  That’s the only explanation because there’s just no way the two of them could actually work.  No way.  You know as well as I do that the odds of her genuinely liking Ozzy-wannabe are roughly the same as me walking through my back yard and getting hit by a meteor.  They’re a worse fit than she was with Trace.”
    I prickled at the reminder that Amity had managed to grab and hold Trace’s attention for a very short while.  The cheerleader had made all outward attempts to convince Trace she’d come back from the previous summer a changed person, a decent person.  Trace, being the nice guy that he is, had given her a chance to prove it by finally going out with her.  When the only thing she proved was that she was a scheming, conniving witch (albeit a fairly-decent actress), he dumped her. 
    Although the quick demise of their relationship did wonders for my heart, I still hated seeing Amity.  Brady had told me how beautiful Trace thought she was and her presence served as a constant reminder of all that I was not, physically.
    As if sensing our eyes and conversation had turned in her direction, Amity flipped her platinum hair over her shoulder, met my eyes and proceeded to flip me the bird.  She