Nina, unfortunately, wasn't quite as much of a natural at parties as Lily was.
She smiled and chatted and even laughed, and there were moments where it even felt good to be the focus of attention for so many strange eyes, but even after a year of working to feel more comfortable in her own skin, she spent much of the evening feeling lost.
Watching Lily disappear through the bathroom door, Nina finished off her champagne and then slipped through the crowd after her, but she was stopped along the way by a donor to the company, a middle-aged man with eyes that lingered a little too long on places other than her face.
When she finally escaped, she pushed through the bathroom door, Lily's name already on her lips, but it echoed down a long, unfamiliar hallway, and when she turned, she found more of the same: ornate columns, gilded in gold, a wide open atrium and imposing marble statues.
"Hello?" she called, her voice wavering, her small, beaded clutch falling to the marble floor with a clatter.
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She smiled and chatted and even laughed, and there were moments where it even felt good to be the focus of attention for so many strange eyes, but even after a year of working to feel more comfortable in her own skin, she spent much of the evening feeling lost.
Watching Lily disappear through the bathroom door, Nina finished off her champagne and then slipped through the crowd after her, but she was stopped along the way by a donor to the company, a middle-aged man with eyes that lingered a little too long on places other than her face.
When she finally escaped, she pushed through the bathroom door, Lily's name already on her lips, but it echoed down a long, unfamiliar hallway, and when she turned, she found more of the same: ornate columns, gilded in gold, a wide open atrium and imposing marble statues.
"Hello?" she called, her voice wavering, her small, beaded clutch falling to the marble floor with a clatter.