Spring Break (ONC 2023)

7: Truth or Dare

Other people's mistakes are easy to judge from afar. Whether fictional characters, or people who make the news, it's easy to see where they went wrong and to imagine how much better we'd have done in their places.

We would have kept a cool head and acted rationally. We would have done this and not the other thing. Surely, we would have been selfless and brave.

What's missing when we recast ourselves as the hero, however, is fear.

Fear is an ancient emotion—perhaps the first to evolve—and it's easy to underestimate its power. Especially when we're not the one under its sway.

Those are some of the random thoughts that shot through my mind at lightning speed while I stood as if frozen in time with Tyler's beer bottle still clutched in my hand. Most of the other thoughts, occurring simultaneously, were less organized and stemmed, indeed, from fear.

I could toss the bottle in the woods, where it would never be found.

I could smash it and bury the pieces.

I could simply rinse it out, wipe it clean, and put it in the trash.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

We'd probably already fucked up by moving the body. Who knew what other evidence might be lost over the course of the next two days? Not to mention how bad it would look from the outside. I could almost hear an imaginary cop interrogating me in my head.

"So, you kids just kept partying while your dead friend chilled in the freezer, huh? None of you tried to get help? None of you kept a spare key in the wheel well? None of yous know how to hot-wire a car?"

My eyes snapped open. Imaginary Cop (who for some reason had a New York accent) was right. There had to be a way. Even if we couldn't get a car started, there had to be another house—or something—within a reasonable distance for a hike.

Meanwhile, I was still holding the bottle, and I needed to decide what to do with it. So I took another deep breath, straightened my spine, and made my fateful choice.

⁎⁎⁎

"Raven?"

I startled guiltily as Rose entered the kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

Shutting the refrigerator door, I said, "Nothing. Just seeing if there's anything to eat."

Rose made a face. "How can you be hungry right now?"

"I get hungry when I'm nervous," I lied.

"Oh. I'm the opposite," said Rose. "I can barely keep water down when I'm anxious."

I cleared my throat. "Where are the others?"

"Out by the cars. Nick thinks he can get one started."

"Really?" A little thrill shot along my veins. It was a relief to know I wasn't the only one thinking of ways to get out of there.

"Yeah. He wants to know if your Prius has a spare key."

I winced. "It did, but I lost it a long time ago."

"Shit. How do we end up with five cars and no spare keys between them?"

"Wait... no one has a spare?"

Rose shook her head. "Nick's is so old, I'm not surprised. Mercedes and I rode in Cece's Beamer, and she thinks she has an extra key but doesn't know where it is. Logan and Michael carpooled, and Michael says his mom has his spare." She rolled her eyes.