[h1]Injae Park[/h1] [@Mr Allen J] [@Maxx] [hr] Ratchet said her goodbyes (or rather, her see-y'all-laters) and turned back towards the Crystal Shores. Retrieving the moped, Ratchet motored her way back to her aunt's. Upon returning, Ratchet leaned the moped on its kickstand and unlocked the door. She looked at the phone number and address that Taylor had given her. "It isn't too far away," she mused. "Though it is a rich-folks party, and they tend to be the snobbish, judgmental sort..." Ratchet debated on whether she ought to go; she was no introvert, of course, but she was admittedly a little nervous at the sort of fare that rich folks hung around. She probably had oil stains from the companies that these rich kids' tycoon fathers owned. "So, how was the beach?" Kate asked, bouncing down the stairs. "Um, met one of Jennifer's friends, who proceeded to wipe my face in the dirt at volleyball," Ratchet replied casually. "I told you about the fight that didn't happen," she added, "and then I got invited to a party tonight." "Will there be beer?" asked Kate. "What the heck, Kate? Where'd that question come from?!" "In the movies, all the grown-ups at parties stand around and drink and stuff." "Don't worry, Kate," Ratchet replied. "Alcohol shall not pass these lips." She then smirked. "I'll use a straw." They both giggled a bit at that. "No, but seriously, I've got no intention of drinking tonight. Or any night," Ratchet continued. "What about peer pressure?" asked Kate. "Kate, I'm 5'10" and I'm part machine. I'm not the type to easily get pressured into doing dumb things," Ratchet replied with a raised eyebrow. Kate laughed. "Whatever you say, [i]un-nee,[/i]" she replied. Ratchet rolled her eyes with a smile. -- Honestly, this was the most amount of preparation that Ratchet would ever do for an event like this. She had bothered to put on a clean, white collared shirt with (relatively) few oil stains, and even checked the buttons ("Always, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, never," Ratchet muttered as she redid her buttons). She rolled up her sleeves. She let her hair down and brushed it into some semblance of looking sorta-okay (she managed to get the snags and tangles out; that's a plus), and didn't bother with the makeup ([i]f**k that,[/i] she thought). There were no such things as dress overalls, but Ratchet really wanted the pocket. Upon asking her father if he'd seen her cleanest pair, Ratchet sighed as her father said that the overalls were no way to show up at a party, so Ratchet instead wore black dress pants and wrapped her tool belt around her waist. (The belt is a necessity. You never know when you'll need a wrench.) Ratchet finished her ensemble with a newsboy cap and, as usual, her mismatched pair of socks and her black Converse. "I look like I jumped out of a steampunk comic," Ratchet remarked, looking at herself in the mirror. "All I need are the pilot goggles." Ratchet walked out of the room, and Kate immediately said, "You're going to a party looking like Rosie the Riveter?" "Rosie doesn't have a fake arm or a [i]Newsies [/i]cap," Ratchet replied. "True, true," Kate replied. "Hey, just out of curiosity, you want to watch [i]Inside Out[/i] tomorrow?" Ratchet asked. "Sure! I'll ask Winston, too!" "Hopefully old Winnie's not gonna be too busy PUNCHING SOMEONE ELSE'S CRYSTAL TO DEATH." "I heard that!" protested Winston. "I know!" Ratchet and Kate snickered. -- Ratchet had asked to borrow the Volt for the night. Showing up at the party, Ratchet parked on the curb and strode properly up to the door, giving three quick raps on the door. Almost immediately, the doorman admitted her into the party. Ratchet first noticed the noise. Whooping, yelling, bottles and glasses clinking... Ratchet estimated that about 65% of these people were at least a little tipsy. She just followed the noise. Hearing a loud cheer, Ratchet walked into the room where all the action was... and just as she walked in, the room erupted into applause as Jen banged the bottle of vodka on the bar. "That can NOT be in ANY way good for your liver," Ratchet remarked.