Party

Six P.M. he roamed the basement checking on the preparations for the big party. It was the first time his parents were allowing him to host a get together of his friends. He wanted everything to be perfect.

The sodas were on ice. Chips and various dips were strategically placed around the room. Stacks of albums were ready to go on the turntable. All that was missing were his guests. He checked his clock for what seemed like the hundredth time. He saw it was still early and he tried to relax.

Popularity was not his strong suit. Belonging to the chess club and the rocket club were not part of the proven path to popularity in any high school. He was not athletic so he did not belong with the jocks. He was not the best looking boy in school, which left him out of most social circles. Those few that drew closer to him found an agile mind and a great sense of humor. They also found that he was loyal to a fault. He forgave and forgot more than most people would or should.

Seven P.M. and his best friend arrived with the pizza. They spread the boxes of cheese heaven about the room and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Conversation was easy between the two of them and they enjoyed a fierce debate concerning the merits of the Flyers and the Kings their two favorite teams.

Eight P.M. and his sister who was one year younger and much more popular came down to check out the "crowd". When she saw that no one had really arrived she rolled her eyes at her brother's rationalizations. She loved her brother but she never held back when she had something to say. She had attempted to explain to him that most of his "friends" were of the fair weather variety. She warned him that very few if any would show up. However, tonight upon seeing the shattered look in his eyes she wanted to find those "friends" and give them a piece of her mind.

Nine P.M. he sat on a bar stool wondering why no one had even called. Traveling the road of human nature without a map was proving to be difficult for him. He could rebuild his calculator. He could decipher trigonometry without breaking a sweat. The human mind though was an ocean of uncharted waters.

Ten P.M. the cheese and pepperoni had congealed into a greasy mass. The soda was flat and the sour cream dip was watery. No one had showed but his best friend. No calls, no apologies nothing. What hurt so much was not the no shows but the lack of explanations. It was as if to most of the world he was a non-entity unworthy of common courtesy.