A mixture of bickering and ignorant rap bounced around the inside of the car, making concentration almost impossible for the driver. Despite the interesting conversation, the passengers and driver had become bored with their aimlessness. After forty five minutes of driving around their mundane suburb, Adam, a lanky skater with messy brown hair who was sporting a hicky finally pulled over and exasperatedly proclaimed that he was staying parked until they found somewhere to go. Rebecca and Trevor, best friends since first grade who shared everything from eating utensils to a knack for passing out at parties agreed. They whipped out their phones and began contacting every possible acquaintance in order to find a dingy basement in which they could drink cheap beer. Frantically calling, manically texting and several false hopes ensued, but eventually the trio established a plan for the day: They would pick up their friend Anisha from her house and proceed to the beach where they would arrive with just enough time to smoke a joint at sunset and leave before it got dark. Clamoring for some excitement, Adam sped away from the curb where he was parked, forgetting to check for oncoming traffic and to release his parking brake. Being a teenager, Adam overtook the car next to him at every opportunity, cranking the wheel and cutting off soccer-mom driven minivans, arriving at Anisha`s house much quicker than expected. Anisha greeted them with a friendly “what`s up b****es,” and Adam once again stepped on the gas, heading for the beach.

It`s incredible how life can move so sluggishly while simultaneously racing by. Silently passing the joint from one another, towels draped over their legs, Adam, Rebecca, Anisha, and Trevor sat on the beach reveling in the fastest time of their lives while also embracing the calm of the moment. Entranced by the cotton candy sunset and receding and rising of the waves, Adam was content staring at the ocean for the rest of the night, though the rest of the group was itching to get back to town so that they could hit up Harrison`s party. Adam was reluctant for two reasons. For one, Adam was experiencing a moment of serenity and did not care to trade this situation for one where he would have to deal with drunk girls yelling at their friends who they hadn`t seen since school ended six hours ago. More importantly, Adam`s heavy eyes, tangent heavy train of thought, and intense hunger signaled to him that driving was out of the question. His friends badgered and bothered him to drive, saying that he had driven while stoned a million times before and that there would be nobody on the road at this time. At first, Adam stood his ground, logically explaining that there might be a DUI checkpoint or that a cop might pull him over because all cops are dicks. As his friends continued their protests, however, something strange happened: Adam began to see the reason in his friend’s words. After all, it is true that he had successfully driven while high plenty of times without getting in trouble, and it`s a short enough drive to Harrison`s house. Adam weighed the pros and cons one final time, then herded his friends into his rusted blue Honda Accord.

Rebecca and Trevor were clearly inside the car, but Anisha was nowhere to be found, though she was likely lying next to the car, her body limp against the pavement. Adam`s eyes shifted in and out of focus until he was finally able to distinguish Rebecca`s head resting against the broken shards of glass on the dashboard, blood dripping from her nose to the floor. Adam passed out shortly after that, and when he woke up in the ambulance, he was surprised when the gurney next to him was occupied not by Rebecca, Anisha or Trevor, but by an unfamiliar face, a bloodied, unconscious face, which belonged to a boy who was no more than ten years old.