“Wow! That’s so cool!” Teeny responds, following along with the large towel wrapped over her shoulders.
I join the crowd, all huddled around the birthday boy, standing next to my mom who has a clear plastic cup of wine in her hand. “Having fun?” she asks, taking in my drenched state.
“Sure,” I answer with a smile.
“It’s good to see you’ve made some friends,” she adds, nodding a head toward Teeny and Josh who are now standing next to their parents, James, and Andrew.
“Uh, yeah,” I say, my voice low and hesitant. “We go to the same school, so…”
“Well, they’re nice kids. And their parents are really nice.”
I nod, looking over at Mr. Cohen hovering over Andrew. “Yeah, they are.”
The happy birthday song is cheerfully sung, and the cake is cut haphazardly into small squares before it’s passed around. People start to scatter around the backyard holding small paper plates of chocolate cake and plastic forks.
Josh sits next to me in one of the lounge chairs outside, empty now that the giggling teens were ushered inside to watchA Walk to Remember. I can hear them cry and squeal while I see flashes of Mandy Moore’s face on the big screen.
Teeny steps out of the house just then. She looks freshly showered and has replaced her bikini with a baby-blue sundress and sandals. She combs her fingers through her wet hair and strolls up to Josh. She has the cordless phone pressed to her ear, and she whispers a quick, “Hold on. Let me ask him,” before stopping at his feet. “Did you hear about Jake’s party?” she asks.
“Yeah, he just texted me about it.”
“Can I get a ride with you if you’re going?”
“Mom said you can go?”
Teeny nods. “As long as we help clean up before we go.” She walks away back into the house, and I watch her, her mouth moving a mile a minute with the back of her dress damp from her hair.
Josh peers at me over the curve of his shoulder. “You wanna go?”
“What is it? Just a party?”
He nods. “Yeah, Jake’s parents own this huge house off the beach. It’s sick. Like a five-car garage and a movie screening room.”
“Sure,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “I just gotta let my mom know.”
We spend the next hour cleaning up and stuffing trash bags with paper plates and soda cans. Once that’s all squared away, I go home to change, and we’re on our way to this Jake’s house with Teeny in the back seat.
I catch glimpses of her behind me in the passenger seat through the side-view mirror. She’s peering out the window, mouthing along to some song playing on the radio, when Josh calls for her attention through the rearview mirror.
“Teeny.”
“What?” she answers, her gaze still fixed on the view outside.
“Don’t drink tonight,” he instructs in a big brotherly voice.
“Yeah.”
“I mean it, Teen,” he says more sternly. “Mom’s going to kick my ass if you come home drunk.”
“I’m not, Josh!” She rolls her eyes.
The drive there isn’t long, and when we pull to a stop at the curb, we all exit at the same time. We’re greeted by a long street filled with cars and people herding toward a large house at the end of a fully packed driveway.
When we walk inside, Teeny disappears almost instantly, and I follow Josh as he’s greeted by other members of the senior class. Most of them I know already, some I’ve met but haven’t said anything beyond a simple introduction from Josh.
“Josh! You came!” It’s Jake. He’s a senior like me and Josh and someone that’s pretty well known on campus. He drives around in a shiny black Mercedes, probably brand spanking new considering his parents are loaded. I don’t know him well, but I do know he’s a little loud and brash. Probably all the money that’s gotten to his head.
“Jake,” Josh calls, greeting him with a smile. “This is Everett.”
