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Chapter 36

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By 9 pm we had gone into at least twenty stores playing around with whatever we could find. We started to walk back to the car that was parked at the other end of the massive boardwalk. As we walked we got stopped by multiple obnoxious drunk teenage guys who wanted us to join their drunken party. We shook our heads at them as we began to walk away only to hear their disappointed moans behind us.

We reached the car and started to drive back towards the townhouse. I reached down and grabbed the bags I had gotten from the stores to look for the chap-stick I had bought. When we reach the townhouse I walk to the top floor to place the bags on the beds as Alyssa looks up the closest grocery store. We grab our wallets and start to walk to the supermarket a half-mile up the road. After we cook a chicken pasta we walk out onto the balcony to sit and eat. On the beach down in front of us there is a large bonfire burning with a group of college students sitting around it in beach chairs just talking away.

Alyssa and I continue to talk about my ideas for the senior play. "Hey. Why don't you come down and join us." Both Alyssa and I look down to the sand to see a guy in a sweatshirt looking up at us. "Come on. We don't bite. Besides the view is a lot better from on the beach."

We smile at the guy who was waiting for our reply. I look over to Alyssa to see if she would be willing to go down to the sand. "Theresa, we don't know these people." She leans in and whispers.

"Well we aren't going to know anyone if we don't introduce ourselves." I whisper back with a smile.

"That sounds like a yes to me!" The guy yells obviously having no idea what we had just said. "I'll see you down here in five." He says as he turns around and walks back towards the group. I look over to Alyssa who is beginning to stand-up. I quickly follow her lead and walk in the glass doors.

"Are we seriously going to go sit around complete strangers?" She hesitates.

"We have our phones if anything starts getting weird." I nudge. Before she replies I grab a water from the fridge and toss it to Alyssa. "Lets go!" I smile. We walk down the stairs and I grab the volleyball as we leave the garage area.

When we emerge from the wooden gate the college students around the girls begin to cheer loudly and clap. We make our way through the sand as the guy in the sweatshirt runs past us to a truck backed up to the edge of the sand. He grabs two beach chairs from the back and starts walking towards the bonfire. "Hi! I'm Crew." He places the chairs into the sand and motions us to sit. "This is Sara, Matthew, Rachel, Mike, and Haiden." He names the people while holding his handout to each one.

"I'm Theresa and this is my friend Alyssa." I respond to Crew as he sits back in the seat right next to mine. With the close proximity to the welcoming college student I can tell that his hair is beach blonde and is brushed to the side. He holds his hands within his football sweatshirt.

"Where do you go to school?" Rachel asks from across the fire.

"We go to the University of Maryland College Park." I respond hoping that Alyssa will play along.

"Oh yeah? That's where I went last semester. I'm at Towson with these goons now." The guy next to Alyssa says. With hushes from the people around the circle Crew reaches over and grabs a sand cooler from the other side of his chair.

"Where are my manners?" He pushes the cooler in between him and me. "Take whatever you'd like." He says as he opens the white lid. I look down to see different types of alcoholic drinks sitting on the ice. As I reach down to grab a dark glass bottle with a picture of a large blue moon on it I grab a familiar Coors Light and hand it to Alyssa who is looking over my shoulder.

"How'd you know that's what I wanted?" She said as she took the beer laughing.

"Ah, you're a Blue Moon girl." Crew says as he picks up the same bottle from his chair's cup holder.

"I've actually never had Blue Moon before." I laugh

"No time to waste." Crew says as he waits for me to open the bottle. I screw the top off and raise the bottle to the air.

"Here's to fucking the finals!" I scream above the fire. The rest of the group lifts their drinks and yell in agreement. As everyone brings their drinks to their mouths I slightly tilt the bottle back and feel the unfamiliar bitter liquid flow down my throat. Alyssa had gotten drunk once before while with Mitchell, but this was my first time tasting alcohol in my life. As I place the bottle into the cup holder I see Alyssa looking at me from the corner of my eye. I look over to face her. When my eyes meet hers she smiles and lets out an almost silent laugh.

I was never against drinking, but none of my friends ever wanted to. Logan was the only one who would have the occasional drink, but had once told me that he had gotten drunk a few times over the summer and hopes to never feel that way again. I was not going to let myself get drunk around strangers, and I didn't trust Alyssa to stay sober long enough to be there for the both of us if our drinking went too far. "So what are you studying?" Crew asked as the rest of the group began to talk to one another. Alyssa was in a conversation with Haiden about who she should and shouldn't avoid at college.

"I chose the easy major." I say with a smile as I take another drink from the bottle. "I'm studying to be a doctor."

"Woah. I'll drink to that." Crew says as he puts the bottle to his mouth.