Replay Today

Chapter Eleven - A crazy game

"Let's get drunk." she said.

"Wha...?"

Truly, no matter how daring I was, I would never have considered something like what Tracy had just suggested. I looked at her trying to guess if she was joking but her face was tinted pink with embarrassment as she waited for my answer.

"But.. why..?"

"Well, isn't it what people do when they want to forget their worries?" she asked, looking off into the distance.

"I... suppose..."

"Plus I've never done something like that before, so, it's kind of exciting, isn't it?"

As I looked at Tracy she really looked like a sheltered girl who wanted to break free and experience something forbidden. I couldn't say I was much different, even though my parents weren't as strict as hers.

"Have you... done it before?" she asked.

"N-no, never!" I quickly denied.

"I see. Then... how about it...?"

"I..." I still had reservations but I felt hard to say no. Tracy, however, seemed to take that as a yes.

"Let's go then," she said quickly, "I think there's a store this way."

"Um, wait, I.."

I tried to think of something to say, but she had already started walking off. I quickly caught up to her.

"A-are you sure it's a good idea?" I asked.

"What's the worst that could happen?" she asked. "Besides, you want to forget about what Annie did, right?"

"Well..."

"Like when she said, 'I don't belong to you', and so on?"

Those words suddenly stirred up an emotion that had laid dormant most of the day. A feeling of grief mixed with anger. So despite all I had done today, that feeling was still here? Perhaps Tracy felt the same about her sister's birthday party.

"Alright," I said with resignation, "Let's do it."

Tracy gigglee.

"I wasn't actually sure myself, but since you're so determined..."

"Huh?"

She was teasing me again. She ran off and without thinking I chased after her.

Getting some alcohol was surprisingly easy once Tracy showed her id card. Neither of us knew what to buy so we chose something that didn't look too dangerous and took it to the counter.

The man behind the counter looked at her id card and then at Tracy.

"You're not planning on sharing this with any minors, are you?" he said, glancing at me.

"I'm older than I look." I said.

"Whatever."

He put the bottle in a paper bag, took our money and then handed the bag to Tracy. Like that we walked out of the store.

I could feel a layer of sweat on the back of my neck.

"It actually worked." I said with amazement.

"Behold the power!" Tracy said as she flashed her id card.

"So where are we going to go?"

"Anywhere that's not close to our house," she said, "I have an idea for a place."

We caught a taxi and then rode back across the city toward the suburbs. I looked out the window with a feeling of sadness as we went. Like this our 'date' in town was effectively over. Tracy was still looked excited so I wondered how the next part of our day was going to go.