A Jock, A Nerd, and A Bet

21. Jordan

I enter the guys and I favorite bar and find them sitting at our usual table. It's a guy's weekend and although I wanted to spend it with Midget, Troy needs me. We do the same thing every year. On this same month and same day.

I walk over to the table and take a seat next to Daniel. "What's up, man?" I ask.

"Nothing much. The regular." He says.

I sigh, "How bad has he gotten?"

"Two beers and three shots of 252." Daniel says.

I shake my head. "Is he drunk?"

"No, but close. It hasn't really sunken in yet, but he's getting there. We tried to tell him to slow down, but he just told us to shut up and lighten up." He sighs.

I turn my head to see Ryan and Troy walking over to the table with a tray full of shot glasses. Ryan gives me a look that says "I tried to stop him.". Ryan sits down and so does Troy.

"Jordan, you finally made it, brother. I thought you were going to skip out on us." He smiles a drunk smile.

I try to give him a smile of my own, but it's hard when you don't exactly agree with his actions.

"You know I wouldn't miss this day for the world." I say.

He smiles and grabs a shot, passing one out to everybody. "Let's take one. For my brother." He says.

I hesitantly take the shot and down it. It's a 252. I begin to cough and my eyes start to water. So does Daniel and Ryan. Troy laughs at us and shakes his head.

"Pussies. Jackson can drown these drinks with ease." He smiles, thinking about his brother.

"Well, we're not Jackson. You know these drinks are too strong for us. Hell, they're even too strong for you. You only drink them because Jackson used to drink them." Daniel says, still coughing.

A 252 is the worst drink you can try. It's disgusting and strong. Troy makes us drink one every year and we end up almost throwing up each time. One time Daniel actually threw up.

"Shut up, Daniel. I'm sure there is some cranberry juice up front. Go get some and let the real men drink." He says.

"Troy, he's right. These drinks are disgusting and too strong. You only drink them on this day. I know you dread drinking this crap." Ryan says, trying to reason with him.

"Why can't I have fun tonight? I'm in need of my three best friends and all they're doing is telling me not to drink." Troy shakes his head and downs another shot.

I cringe for him because I know that had to be the worst thing ever to him, but he doesn't make a face.

"Why can't we be here for you in another way. You do the same thing every year. Get drunk and pass out. What do you accomplish by doing that?" Daniel asks.

Troy slams his fist on the table, making us all jump. "You know why I do this every year!" He shouts.

"Troy calm down." I say.

"No! My brother and I we used to come here every year for his birthday. This was his favorite place to go. We'd drink, play pool, flirt with some girls. This became my favorite place until three years ago. He was just flirting with some girl and her boyfriend got mad. He punched Jackson and Jackson was drunk, so it didn't take much to piss him off. He slammed his beer on the dude's head and started pounding his fist into his face. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't ease up on the dude. The girl kept screaming for Jackson to stop, but he wouldn't. When he finally did stop, the guy didn't move a muscle. I thought he was passed out, but when the cops came, they said he was dead. My brother went to court and that same girl he was flirting with testified against him. That bitch. He got eight years in prison. Was going to be ten, but his lawyer got it cut down to eight. He was my brother. My best friend. I looked up to him. And my parents aren't any better. They stopped taking his calls. I found out the other day when I went to go see him. He feels like shit guys. He said I was all he had left. I'm so fucking mad at my parents. They're treating him like he isn't even their son." His eyes fill up with angry tears.