A Tale of Two Parties

Once upon a time, in a big metropolis very far from home, a twenty-something girl had a dilemma. In the time she'd been in the far far away place, she'd managed to find herself two groups of friends, each very different from the other.

There was the group who she met in the place she went to everyday in order to get things like food, rent, and clothes. They were, generally speaking, nice enough people who were fun to spend lunchtimes and the occasional weeknight with. They shared interests like shopping, and going to bars, and all came from places a lot closer to where the girl herself came from. She liked them, but could admit to herself that it was possibly because she was glad of the company and, if she were at home, she wouldn't spend nearly as much time and effort with them.

The other group was made up of people the girl saw on the weekend when she went to chase a small ball and hit it with a long stick. They were a diverse, friendly, rowdy bunch, who appear on Facebook with loads of pictures of them in the pub after a match, and very little record of the fact that they turn up for games at all. They are more like the friends the girl left behind her at home, and accept people as they are, without judging clothes (the more for the fact that they stay in the uniform of the club), or any actions or stories not related to the activities and time they share together.

The girl was quite plesed with herself for finding two such nice groups of friends, and for doing it in such a way that there should never be any clashes in the demands they made on her time. Until, on a day like today, there were two parties for her to choose from.

On the one hand, there was the fancy, glitzy party, themed on James Bond, which would require the girl to go shopping for a new outfit with money that she would rather spend on other things, in a place that was, at best hideously expensive, and probably not her scene. The people were sure to be nice, and the surroundings lush. On the other hand, however, was the gathering around the corner from home, which was certain to be a far less lavish affair in far more relaxed circumstances, with little enough class to go round between the many who were going to be there. In it's favour, however, she could almost guarantee that, based on past experience, she would have a good fun night and be able to find her way home. What to do, what to do? Especially given that she somehow made it seem to both parties that she was going to the other one first, but would be turning up to theirs a little late, but better than never?

It came down to the people involved in the end, she had to admit. She saw the people from one party every day. She knew she should go to that party - especially since it was in honour of two people entering the third decade of their existence. But she knew that she wouldnt be going to Covent Garden tonight. She knew, deep in her heart of hearts, that come tonight, she'd be finding her way around the corner and into the basement. And in all honesty, she was quite happy with the idea. It was, afterall, a far better party she was going to than she had been to in London before...