of a party would have usually been at the bottom of my to-do list, but tonight, I was pushing it all out of my mind. I was going to be a normal, reckless teenager. After all, I was supposed to be celebrating my high school graduation. I popped another pill and headed out the door, but not before grabbing my oversized shoulder bag, now hiding my newly acquired bottle of alcohol. If I wanted to forget, I’d need a little more than a pill to do it.
Driving down County 5 with a country music party-anthem blaring, I took a swig of the caramel-colored booze and felt a hot, burning sensation course through my body. The woodsy, honey flavor left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. Apparently, $20 didn’t get you the finest quality, but it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever tasted. By the time I reached the turn off, I’d already drunk a quarter of the bottle. The alcohol mixed with the two pills I’d taken that day were just about in full effect and I was ready to party without a care in the world. I whipped down the dirt road that led down to the river and back to Smolder’s cabin. I pulled through the gap in the barbed wire fence that surround the property and parked next to the cluster of cars and trucks belonging to the other party-goers.
Hap and January were sitting on the tailgate of his beat up Ford Ranger, waiting for me, each resting their arms on the blue Igloo cooler that sat between them. There wasn’t much to do in a small town on a Saturday night, but one thing that you could always count on was having a drink. I watched each of them tip back their brown beer bottles before turning their attention to me.
“What’s up?” I shouted as I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, with a little stumble in my step.
“Hey.” January’s greeting was accompanied by a look of confusion. “What’s up with you?” When I’d told her, at the graduation, that I was going out to Smolder’s tonight, her reaction was ecstatic. “That’s great, I think we could all stand to blow off a little steam and have a good time tonight,” she’d said. I don’t think she anticipated me having a pre-party by myself, so her words were met with caution as she tried to assess the situation.
“Hey, Lyss,” Hap laughed, “you look like you’re ready for a good time!”
I started to chuckled, “You know what, Hap? I am!” I could see the look in January’s eyes that let me know she was overly concerned about my behavior. I hadn’t drank much or really gone out at all since the accident.
“Have you been drinking, already?” The motherly tone of her voice sobered me momentarily.
“Jan, I’m fine, really.” I tried to give her my most convincing smile. “I just want to celebrate the end of high school with my friends.” By friends I meant, January, Hap and the bottle of knock-off Jack Daniels currently tucked away in the safety of my bag.
“Okay, just take it easy tonight,” she said, smiling as we all began to walk back to the cabin.
Hap wrapped his arm around January’s neck, trying to reassure her, “She’ll be fine.” He kissed her cheek. “I mean look at her.” He pointed at me as I danced my way up the dirt path that led from the pasture to the wooded area surrounding the cabin. “She’s a champ!”
I laughed as we entered the party, already in full swing. The inside of the cabin was pretty much one big open room. I saw a handful of my classmates playing cards across the room mixed in with faces that I didn’t recognize. Smolder’s parties attracted people from all over the county, so I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t know them. If I were sober, I would have probably been focused on the fact that everyone from Harrington was staring at me. Feeling sorry for me. Judging me. Instead, thanks to the medication and booze that were now flowing through my system, I couldn’t have given two shits.
We made our way over to the kitchen. The island
Driving down County 5 with a country music party-anthem blaring, I took a swig of the caramel-colored booze and felt a hot, burning sensation course through my body. The woodsy, honey flavor left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. Apparently, $20 didn’t get you the finest quality, but it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever tasted. By the time I reached the turn off, I’d already drunk a quarter of the bottle. The alcohol mixed with the two pills I’d taken that day were just about in full effect and I was ready to party without a care in the world. I whipped down the dirt road that led down to the river and back to Smolder’s cabin. I pulled through the gap in the barbed wire fence that surround the property and parked next to the cluster of cars and trucks belonging to the other party-goers.
Hap and January were sitting on the tailgate of his beat up Ford Ranger, waiting for me, each resting their arms on the blue Igloo cooler that sat between them. There wasn’t much to do in a small town on a Saturday night, but one thing that you could always count on was having a drink. I watched each of them tip back their brown beer bottles before turning their attention to me.
“What’s up?” I shouted as I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, with a little stumble in my step.
“Hey.” January’s greeting was accompanied by a look of confusion. “What’s up with you?” When I’d told her, at the graduation, that I was going out to Smolder’s tonight, her reaction was ecstatic. “That’s great, I think we could all stand to blow off a little steam and have a good time tonight,” she’d said. I don’t think she anticipated me having a pre-party by myself, so her words were met with caution as she tried to assess the situation.
“Hey, Lyss,” Hap laughed, “you look like you’re ready for a good time!”
I started to chuckled, “You know what, Hap? I am!” I could see the look in January’s eyes that let me know she was overly concerned about my behavior. I hadn’t drank much or really gone out at all since the accident.
“Have you been drinking, already?” The motherly tone of her voice sobered me momentarily.
“Jan, I’m fine, really.” I tried to give her my most convincing smile. “I just want to celebrate the end of high school with my friends.” By friends I meant, January, Hap and the bottle of knock-off Jack Daniels currently tucked away in the safety of my bag.
“Okay, just take it easy tonight,” she said, smiling as we all began to walk back to the cabin.
Hap wrapped his arm around January’s neck, trying to reassure her, “She’ll be fine.” He kissed her cheek. “I mean look at her.” He pointed at me as I danced my way up the dirt path that led from the pasture to the wooded area surrounding the cabin. “She’s a champ!”
I laughed as we entered the party, already in full swing. The inside of the cabin was pretty much one big open room. I saw a handful of my classmates playing cards across the room mixed in with faces that I didn’t recognize. Smolder’s parties attracted people from all over the county, so I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t know them. If I were sober, I would have probably been focused on the fact that everyone from Harrington was staring at me. Feeling sorry for me. Judging me. Instead, thanks to the medication and booze that were now flowing through my system, I couldn’t have given two shits.
We made our way over to the kitchen. The island
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