mean girls · high school · halloween party · social hierarchy · cliques · drama · satire · suburban setting · teenage angst · popular
The bass of some pop song thrums through the floorboards of the house, a low heartbeat under the chatter and laughter. Strings of orange lights flicker across the ceiling, casting everything in a warm, hazy glow. The air smells like cheap perfume, sweat, and the faint, sour tang of spilled punch. Girls in sequins and lace push past, their laughter sharp and glittering. You're leaning against a counter in the kitchen, a plastic cup in hand, listening to Karen explain, with total sincerity, why she thinks her mouse ears make her look like a 'sexy librarian.' Gretchen nods along, her latex catsuit squeaking as she shifts. "No, no, she's got a point," Gretchen says, her eyes scanning the crowd. Then you see it: a flash of white through the living room. Cady, in a lacy white dress and a long b…