Snitch (18 page)

“Do you think we’re g
oing to
break down?” Johnny asked.

“Not tonight,” Wes answered. “I already fixed her once today.”

Liz drew one corner of her mouth up and raised her eyebrows. “Then I guess we’re good,” she said. “Let’s find the party!”

We found it about ten minutes later down a dark road out in the middle of nowhere. Cars leaned dangerously into deep ditches on both sides of the road
,
and Wes parked his truck the same way before jumping out into the tall grass.

“Charlie’s is a great place to party. There aren’t too many people around
,
” Johnny said, opening his door.

I was surprised. “You’ve been here before?”

“Yeah, with Seth,” he said getting out of the truck. He looked back at Liz and me and said, “Is that okay?” before slamming his door.

“A
l
l
right.
That was awkward,” Liz said, not moving.

I blew it off lightly. “I think he’s a bit annoyed with me.”

I tried
to speak in
Johnny’s English accent, but even though we laughed we knew there was trouble. The first thing I had to do was find Johnny. I thought I knew what was bugging him; we used to be tight, and now, well, I spent a lot of time with Liz. It’s hard to juggle a girl and all the rest of your friends too; I would talk to Johnny and straighten things out.

The house was probably nothing to look at during the day, but right then it was a nirvana beckoning any kid worth their weight in cool. Music and noise greeted us before we even got to the house. People were everywhere.

“Can we talk?” Liz asked, hesitating at the door. An empty beer bottle rolled across the porch. By now it was obvious what kind of party I had brought Liz to.

“Let’s go around back,” I suggested, hoping it would be quieter out there.

A porch light illuminated the backyard where an old swing set stood. We each took a squeaky swing and rocked for a minute before Liz spoke.

“Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble between you and Johnny, and I think he’s upset.”

“I’ll fix it,” I said.

“I know. It’s just…we’re so good together. I like being with you.”

I smiled, pulled my swing over, and kissed her. “I love being with you.”

“Before we go in, do you promise to talk to him? I’d feel better.”

“Yeah,” I said, hesitating.
“About going in
.
T
his party…I think…I think there’s
go
ing to
be some drunk people.”

“I
know
there is. I can handle it as long as you don’t expect me to drink. It’s not something I want to do.” Liz waited for me to speak.

“I’m not a big drinker either. I mean, I’ve had a few beers before, but it’s not what I planned to do tonight. Let me spend a little time with Johnny, and we’ll leave early.
”

Liz smiled the way only she can. “Let’s go in,” she said. “Don’t worry. Do what you have to do. I can take care of myself.”

Actually, the party wasn’t that bad. Having beer around Liz made me uncomfortable, but I knew a ton of people there, nobody was out of control, and it was fun. Liz grabbed a
C
oke from the fridge and sat at the kitchen table to talk with some girls she knew while I went on the hunt for
Johnny. But after finding him, I didn’t think he would appreciate any interruptions because he was sitting on the couch with his arm around
Tammera
. It looked like Johnny finally had a chance with his dream girl, although I could tell she was pretty wasted. Johnny saw me, smiled and flashed me a thumbs up. I guess I was off the hook.

“
Oppenhauser
!”
Charlie yelled from across the room. “Good to see you!” He tossed a can through the air
,
which I caught by instinct. “Good hands.
Still got those good hands.”

Charlie danced to the music’s beat and wound his way over to me. Uncharacteristically, he put his arm around my shoulder, his breath smelling stale. “Speaking of hands, did you bring your red
-
headed squeeze?”

I nodded.

“Then you’re
g
oing to
have a good night. Pop a top. Enjoy.”

I stood there feeling stupid before doing what was expected; I pulled the tab and took a swig. It was bitter but cold. Heck, I could stay out there for a minute; Liz was happy in the kitchen, and one beer wouldn’t hurt.

I spent the next half
-
hour or more with the boys. Okay, it
was
probably more, but Wes, Ben, and Seth were standing around, tossing a
few, and reliving the last part of the district game; I wanted in on that. It was good to be with them again.

By the time Liz found me, the music was louder and the mood lighter. A few people were dancing, and everybody was feeling the alcohol. Thankfully my beer was long gone and guilty hands empty. I hoped the pretzels I had eaten covered my beer breath, because the first thing Liz did was kiss me.

“Having fun?”

“Yep.
You?”

“I’m okay.” Suddenly her easy going demeanor changed, her hands
fl
ying
to her hips
,
reminding me of Mom when I got in big trouble. “Is Wes drinking? How are we going to get home?”

I hadn’t thought of that. “Wes!” I yelled over to him. “How much have you had tonight?”

Wes turned, his unstable gait telling me all I needed to know.

“You’re supposed to be driving us home!”

“I can still do that
.
”
H
e leaned on Ben a little too hard, a stupid grin on his face.

Liz rolled her eyes. “I’m not getting into his truck.” She turned and surveyed the kids in the room, her eyes showing their disapproval. “Johnny’s even making a fool of himself. I didn’t know he danced.”

He didn’t, but
he
was too wasted to know or care. He bounced up and down out of time with the beat, arms pumping and legs flailing. I stopped myself from snickering. People do some stupid stuff when they’re drunk, but for the rest of us, it’s pretty entertaining.

“Where’s
Tammera
?”

“Last time I saw her, she was in the back yard throwing up. It was very attractive. Can we go now? People are getting stupid. ”

“Sure,” I said
,
not really happy about what I would have to do in order to leave. There was only one thing I could think of: I was going to have to invoke the
Dad R
ule
.

“Let me make one phone call,” I told her. “I got this thing covered.”

I grabbed a few more breath pretzels, stepped outside
,
and speed dialed Dad. Five minutes later Liz and I had left the party behind us and were walking down the dark road together. I hoped the breeze would erase the cigarette smoke from our clothes and hair.

“What are you going to tell him?” Liz asked.

“Nothing.
Tha
t’s the beauty of the Dad Rule
. If I get in a situation like tonight, all I have to do is call and he comes and gets me. He’s promised there would be no questions, no judgment. He just wants me safe.”

“Wow. Good rule. How long before he gets here? It’s getting kind of cold.”

I couldn’t help smiling; this was just another great excuse to put my arm around Liz’s shoulders. Not that I needed much of an excuse these days.

***

Dad picked us up a half
-
hour later; Mom accompanied him, which I hadn’t bargained for. She sat in the front seat wearing a hastily thrown
-
on jacket and worried eyes.

“Sorry it took us so long,” she said. “We were pretty much ready for bed.”

Liz and I nervously jumped in the back seat.

“Sorry
I had to call you
,” I said, waiting for Dad to turn the car around, away from the party.

“Never be sorry for this,” Dad
reminded me
sternly. “Never be sorry for using good judgment and being safe.”

My stomach turned and throat tightened. Dad hadn’t turned the car around; he was heading straight for the drunken melee down the road. Liz’s eyes widened with apprehension as the outline of cars parked at rakish angles came into view. Music and shouting filled the air. Dad slowed down, taking everything in.

“Isn’t that that Seth boy?
The one from the banquet?”
Mom asked. We watched Seth drunkenly pushing someone across the front lawn and onto the grass. Then Seth stood over him, his lips exploding with a string of curses that filled the air and my parents’ ears.

Mom fell silent the rest of the way home. I didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or horrified.

The party was the talk of the school on Monday. I was able to join in the inclusive conversations kept away from the prying ears of teachers and flaunted in front of the kids who hadn’t been included. All in all, the party was deemed a success and a place to be seen. People were more interested in who got shit-faced more than the fact that Liz and I stepped out early, so I was able to laugh at Johnny’s disco exhibition as well as shake my head over
Tammera’s
gross spectacle in the backyard and be part of it all.

“What time did it break up?” I asked Ben.

“I left about eleven-thirty
.
”
H
e looked away embarrassed. “I’ve got that curfew…”

I shook my head.
“Yeah.
I’ve got one of those too.”

“I didn’t see you leave. Were you with Wes when he got stuck?”

“No, I missed that.” I remembered the deep, grassy ditches that lined the road. “What happened?”

“They went off-roading.
Wes and a bunch of the guys.
I guess he sunk his front end in some mud, but his brother and
a
bunch of his friends pulled him out.”

I laughed, shook my head, and headed off to math. Poor Wes who had been driving his father’s fields for years had to be rescued by his big brother in the middle of the night. He was never going to live
that
down.

“Andy!” Liz called
.
“Wait up. Have your parents said anything yet?
About the party?
I mean, they saw it all and everything.”

“They’re not
going
to say anything. Dad just told me I did a good job taking care of you.”

Liz took in the meaning of all that and nodded her head once.

“That is
way
cool. My parents would have freaked.
Actually
, freaked isn’t a strong enough word.”

I walked with Liz to class
—she
was one of those girls who would never let me carry her books
—
thinking about what Dad really had to say. He had taken me into his study for one of those serious talks and told me how Liz’s parents had trusted me with their prize possession, how I needed to always live up to their trust, and take care of any girl I ever dated. Dad was totally serious but not in a lecture kind of way
.
M
ore in a man to man kind of way
,
which started making me feel guilty about that
beer I drank, until I realized he was talking to me
about Liz
but thinking about Sarah. If Sarah ever did grow up enough to make some poor boy want to date her, Dad’s expectations of him would make me not only pity him but fear for his life.

I caught up with Johnny before the bell but only had a few seconds to talk.

“I called you yesterday,” I said. “You never called me back.”

“I slept most of the day. Mom thinks I had a bad case of the flu.”

“You were pretty shit-faced,” I said.

“We all were
.
” Johnny smiled and slipped into his bad English accent. “But nod to
worrie
, there’s
ul
-ways
anothar
Saturday night, old chap!” Johnny saluted me and slid into his seat as the bell sounded.

***

I slipped away after supper to the park to meet Liz that night in our usual secret spot under the train trestle, away from playing children and prying eyes.

It was chilly, and Liz settled her soft shoulders into the waiting crook of my arm, her fine, copper hair making an inviting pillow for my face to settle into. I breathed in her scent
.
“You always smell so good.”