we were drunk

one

disappear | joey

The world around me is a blur as the bus driver speeds down the road faster than legal. The trees, houses, and people outside the bus disappear as quickly as they come into view like they hardly exist. My heart pounds and my head spins. I'm nauseous.

"—and, you know what? It's annoying."

I turn my head in Tahlia's direction at a speed that pulls our shared earbuds out of her right ear. I take the other earbud out of my left ear and hold it up by my head.

"Am I right?"

"Er — yeah," I confirm, though I have no idea what she's talking about. "It's infuriating."

Her eyes go to her lap where the fallen earbud lays and she sighs. I watch as she picks it up and puts it back in her ear. A Shawn Mendes song is playing, one that seems to soothe her. It annoys me. So does the bus. I prefer Thalia's ratty Jeep. Although it doesn't sound like much, getting picked up in the morning my Thalia and her brother is usually the highlight of my day. It's our norm. What is school without blasting good indie music in the car every morning with Thalia and Mickey? Of course, though, Thalia got her car taken away on Saturday when her mom found out about the party. The stupid, dreadful party.

My mind is pulled back to present day when the earbud is yanked out of my ear. Tahlia wraps them up as she speaks to me.

"There's a party at the Dawson household again this Friday, Joe," she tells me. This one sentence usually tells me what I'm doing with my night. There's a party really means you're going to a party. If this situation is the same as every other, I'll end up at that party whether I want to or not. Not only that but I'll be in some skimpy dress with too much makeup and some anxiety to go with it all.

"That's cool," I lie. I could not care less if I tried. The last thing I want to do is party.

Hey, Joey, your life sucks. Everything went downhill. Your senior year was ruined in literally five seconds. It took one guy to destroy you completely. But, you know what? It's okay; there's a party on Friday!

Yeah, maybe that will make me feel better.

Abso-fricking-lutely not.

The bus comes to a quick, unexpected stop, making Thalia and me jolt forward. I put my hands on the seat in front of me to stop myself while, next to me, Thalia's face flies into the leather material.

"God!" Thalia groans, leaning back and rubbing her face. "...bless America."

I roll my eyes at Thalia's attempt to cover up her curse while she puts her backpack on with her eyes closed.

"So," she murmurs, tilting her head back and rubbing her nose, "I get my car back tomorrow, Joey."

"Yeah?"

"What day is it?"

"Wednesday," I tell her, rolling my eyes again. If this dynamic continues, I'll have a headache by first period.

"I get my car back on Thursday; the party is on Friday." Thalia stands up, shifting her backpack so that it is comfortable on her shoulders. She opens her eyes and stares ahead.

Car Thursday.

Party Friday.

Party last Friday.