Perception Spring 2023

Caitlin Spillane | Photography
Yearning
100 | Perception
Halloween
Alaina Triantafilledes
Ella wasn’t fond of parties, but if she went, she spent less
time at the party and more time outside of it. The outside of a party
was someplace liminal. It was for seltzer cans in wet grass and
laughter in passing. It was for hiding or for telling the truth. Tonight,
Ella found herself on the porch steps of a stranger’s house. She sat
with her chin propped on her hand, her cheek squished into her
palm. As usual, she was in strange company. That is, after all, the
most common kind of company. After twenty resilient minutes in the
sweaty basement, Ella wandered up the stairs and out the front door.
She found herself among silent smokers and passionate couples on
their way to one of their bedrooms. Ella wondered if their roommates
were home. On the sidewalk in front of the house, girls who were
only partially dressed were dressed as bunnies. They were all talking
over each other. The outside of a party was a place for comers and
goers, but Ella was prone to lingering. It was in these in-between
places where you could observe or sometimes overhear the most
interesting fragments of things that were none of your business.
The cotton-tailed girls were calling their friends. They asked
in slurred, panicked voices where the others were and insisted they
come outside before the Uber arrived. Past the girls pacing on the
sidewalk, a boy leaned against a tree. Ella could see the shape of his
breath leaving his mouth as smoke and he could see hers as heat in
the cold. If they could help it, their eyes never met.
“That party was so dead,” one bunny said to another.
“It’s always dead,” the other bunny said. She was typing on
her phone and her eyes hadn’t left the screen for at least forty-five
seconds. A third bunny recommended a party two streets over.
“It’s always dead there,” said the first bunny.
“I’m tired,” said a different bunny. This one held her
detached puffball tail in one hand. Before they reached a consensus,
they piled into the Uber driver’s SUV. Ella wondered what the
destination was set as and if the driver would be annoyed when they
Spring 2023 | 101