Emily sipped at the drink and made a face. “This Coke tastes weird,” she remarked.

“I added some coconut juice,” Brandon lied. “Don’t worry.”

“Coconut juice?” Emily echoed.

“Yeah, it adds flavor. If you don’t like it, I can get you some orange juice instead. That Coke might have been kind of flat too.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Emily responded, still frowning. “Orange juice might be the better choice.”

“Sure thing!” Brandon said cheerily, hurrying off to the kitchen.


AJ sat down, his head swimming.

How many? he thought. Four? Five? Yeah, five. He sighed, watching the others drinking and passing various items back and forth. Looks like Lyle’s getting to be good friends with good old Mr. Cuervo, he thought, smirking. As for me, Mr. Daniels and I, we’ve gotten reacquainted. Haven’t done this since last year. Maybe later. AJ closed his eyes. I need some time to myself. When people around me drink, I tend to do the same. Not to mention, I tend to be a very… honest… drunk.

Slowly, shakily, he rose.

“Hey, AJ, where are you going?” Kenneth yelled. “We’re gonna do a keg stand.”

“Do one for me,” AJ replied. “I’m going upstairs.”

Kenneth chuckled knowingly. “Aah, I get ya. I saw one of the art chicks going upstairs. Can’t remember which one, but I do remember she was really hot. Go for it!”

“Yeah, whatever,” AJ muttered, heading up the stairs. What’s wrong with me? Last year, I’d have jumped at the opportunity to get some, and now… oh, man, what’s wrong with me? he wondered.

He stared at the row of closed doors. Hope I don’t walk in on anyone, he thought. He selected a door and opened it. The lights were off, and no one appeared to be inside. He slowly walked in and shut the door. Then, he flopped onto the bed and heaved a sigh. Suddenly, he sat up, startled. Someone was in the room, crying!

“Hey,” AJ slurred, “sorry. I didn’t know anyone was in here.”

“It’s okay,” a voice replied. A girl, her voice hoarse from crying and raw emotion. “You don’t have to leave. Just let me cry a little more, and I’ll go back downstairs and be out of your hair.”


AJ turned his head in the direction of the voice. It sounded familiar. “Why are you crying?” he asked, genuinely concerned. “Hell, I feel like crying. It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“My so-called friends are f**king phonies,” she choked out. “I traded in my real friends for these jerks.”

“Story of my life, sweetie,” AJ said bitterly. “I left a bunch of people who were my friends, for a group of people I used to have nothing to do with. Then, when I go back to the people I thought were my friends, I realized who my real friends were. We all screw up.”

In response, she sobbed even harder.

“Shh, calm down,” AJ murmured gently. He felt around for her, and, after locating her in the dark, he wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her. She flinched and started to pull away. “I’m not going to try getting into your pants. Promise,” AJ reassured her. “First of all, I’m too sauced to be much use for that, and second, I really do feel bad for you. Go ahead and cry. Use my shirt for a tissue, if you need to. Besides, do you really think I’ll tell anyone about this? I don’t even know who you are.”

“Thanks,” she whispered.


Tiffani looked around the smoky room. Bunch of stoners, she thought disapprovingly. She sighed. Guess this wasn’t worth my time after all.

As she turned to leave, she saw an oddly-dressed boy leading a girl with long wavy-frizzy black hair up the stairs. The girl was unsteady on her feet, as if severely drunk. Tiffani stared at that hair for several seconds, and her eyes widened with recognition.

Emily! she thought. She looked around, concerned. God, where’s Ophelia when she’s needed most? Guess I have to be a hero and do this myself.

Tiffani hurried up the stairs, just in time to see a door shut. She raced up to the door and tried the handle. Locked!

“S**t!” she muttered. What would Ophelia do? she thought. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. This!

“Hey!” Tiffani yelled, banging at the door. “Open up!”

“Occupied, babe!” a male voice called from inside the room. Tiffani could hear Emily mumbling. She was not going to give up easily.

“Goddamn it, open the door now, or I’ll f**king break it down!” she shouted, slamming her entire weight against the door. “I’ll do it! I’m a lot heavier than you think!”

“What’s it any business of yours what’s going on in here?” the guy yelled back.

Tiffani thought quickly. “You’re shacking up with my girlfriend!” she lied.

That worked. The guy opened the door. “What?” he asked.

“That’s my woman,” Tiffani lied.

The guy looked over at Emily, startled. “Really?” he asked, shocked.


“Damn straight,” Tiffani snapped, pushing past him. She headed over to Emily and helped her sit up. The guy, Brandon, ran off, frightened of what method of torture he might be put through.

“Tiff…” Emily mumbled.

“It’s okay,” Tiffani whispered. “Are you okay?”

“Brandon… he kissed me some and felt on me…”

“That’s it?”

“Uh-huh. He didn’t do anything like… you know…”

Tiffani nodded and sighed, helping Emily to stand. “I’m gonna take you home,” she said softly.

Just then, down the hall, a girl shrieked, “Oh my God!”

Tiffani grabbed Emily’s hand and dragged her down the hall to see the cause of the commotion.


“Think you’ll be okay to go back to the party?” AJ asked.

“Yeah, I should be fine. I’m going to leave in a little while anyway.” She paused. “Crap, I just dropped my ring. Turn on the light so I can find it.”

“Yeah, good idea,” AJ replied. He rose and felt at the wall, searching for a light switch. He flipped it on and turned. “Found it?”

“Yeah!” she exclaimed. “It rolled under the bed.” She rose and began turning toward AJ. “Thanks.” As she faced him fully, her mouth fell open in shock. AJ’s eyes widened.

“Ophelia?!” he gasped.

Ophelia stared at him silently for several seconds, then finally let out a loud, albeit not surprising shriek: “Oh my God!”


They stared at each other, unsure of what to say. A clamor of footsteps came, as two people raced to see the cause of the commotion. Tiffani, dragging Emily behind her, burst through the door. They all stared at each other, shocked.

“Ophelia!” Tiffani gasped, shocked to see Ophelia at the party.

“Tiffani!” Ophelia shrieked, equally startled.

“Ophelia?” Emily slurred, recognizing her friend.

“Emily?!” Ophelia gasped, realizing that her friend was drunk.

“AJ!” Tiffani shrieked, wondering what her boyfriend was doing alone in a bedroom with Ophelia.

“…Uh…” AJ muttered, stunned into near-silence.


Just then, Angela, holding a cup, stepped into the room. “Hey, guys,” she said, taking no notice of the situation, “you’re all making too much noise.” Then, realizing who she was talking to, her eyes widened. “Crud,” she muttered.

“Angela!” they all gasped.

For several seconds, they silently stared at each other. Finally, Tiffani broke the silence. “Look,” she said sharply, “several of you are plastered. I’ll drive you guys home. You’ll have nasty hangovers in the morning, so I’ll save the lecture for… let’s say, two days from now.”