After they clinked their drinks together, Eliot took a large swig before he turned to face the part, resting his hip against the food table. He gazed out at the crowd, allowing his eyes to slowly scan across the multitude of faces out there. A smile crossed his face as he spotted a few people he knew already, chatting it up with others. When Adelia stepped around him, he leaned to the side just slightly to give her access to anything on the table just behind him. 

“Judge people on food? Are you nuts? That would be totally rude. Some people have their own flavors that they like. You can’t go judging people on stuff like that. Who cares if you don’t agree. It’s their food. They’re not forcing you to eat it.” He scoffed before taking another sip of his drink. “Don’t go worrying about those people. They’re not worth your time. If they judge you on just what you eat, then definitely not worth even talking to them.” He peered down at a watch he had on his wrist. The time read 11:45 pm. He must have been at that mixer for a few hours by now. It was supposed to end by midnight. So they would be pulling the plug soon. 

When she asked Eliot about whether he liked the party or not, he caught the lingering question she asked just under the surface. “Some people are just tabs to be forgotten.” He slipped his hand into his pocket before withdrawing his phone from his pocket. “Some though, maybe it’s a tab with a lot of useful information I’d like to keep open.” He unlocked his phone and opened up the contacts list before handing it over to her. “How about we keep in touch? You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, but I thought you were pretty chill and God knows I could use more people like that in my life.” 

The intercom in the room buzzed to life and he peered up at the ceiling, along with everyone else in the room. “Attention students! The mixer will be coming to an end in the next ten minutes. On behalf of the student council, we would like to thank you for coming and hope you had a wonderful time. Please, if you have any trash, throw it away in the designated areas to make cleanup easier for us. Thank you very much and have a wonderful year!” 

Eliot nodded his head. Right on time. He straightened off the table and turned around to face the snacks. He began to pick up any trash that anyone might have left on the table. “Looks like our little get together is coming to an end.” He walked to the other end of the table before throwing any trash he found away. He returned to Adelia’s side with a smile. “Looks like we gotta go find somewhere else to chill.”