The stale and cold midnight air of Bedlam curled into the metal frame of the scarlet truck as it pushed down the road. The wind slipped through my hair, tossing the blond strands backwards.

Bedlam at night was usually peaceful; I liked the tranquility of the crickets and the low whistling of the wind. I liked the moonlight over the cornfields as it basked the golden straw in a cobalt hue. But tonight was not a peaceful and tranquil night.

“Turn the music up, Evie! I wanna get this party started!” One of the passengers, a girl I didn’t know bellowed from the backseat. And for what felt like the millionth time in the past half hour, I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

The music was already plenty loud. Loud enough to make my pulse drum aggressively and make my feet tense against the bottom of the car. Popular pop music blared from the radio, screaming at me just like the other people in the backseat.

Looking over to Evelyn, her eyes were beginning to glaze over from the alcohol. Her long mahogany hair was tied in a ponytail with a couple wisps slipping down her neck and over her forehead. The back of her head was pressed against the seat as she looked out the window.

The smell of open vodka ruminated and permeated the fabric of the truck. The large clear bottles shifted between people’s laps as I turned another corner. I could hear the clinking of more bottles in a bag behind me.

I was seriously regretting doing Evelyn a favour.

“Evie!” She hollered again. Some of Evelyn’s friends; two football players, Mark, and a cheerleader had bummed a ride off of Evelyn to the party. Not to mention the others that were sitting in the bed of the truck as we drove. I could feel their tapping hands as they beat the metal frame of the truck with each beat.

They were all crammed in the car like a can of sardines.

But I was the one stuck driving. Apparently no one in Bedlam but the Curie’s had a truck.

Stirring, Evelyn raised her head from the head rest and turned towards the rest of the group. Beginning to sing along with the music playing.

I exhaled deeply, my breath almost becoming frost as my hands gripped the wheel. The metal almost curling beneath my grip. The action had my body stopping. Good thing everyone in the car was far from sober.

“You think Alvara’s going to be there tonight?” Immediately my back straightened like a rod in my spine. I shifted in my seat awkwardly but still listening spiritedly to their slurred conversation.

One of the boys from the bed of the truck stuck his head in from a small window in the rearview, “Hopefully, then we can steal his alcohol! He probably has that rich-boy shit!”

The cheerleader reminded the group with a slur dragging down the enunciation of her words, “He never shows up to these things. He thinks he’s too good for us just cause he’s from the city.” She shook her head tempestuously, “What a fucking asshole.”

“Its the least he can do after what his fucking parents did to this town.” I let the car slip into a stop, the rusted stop sign was clear in the blinding headlights.

Someone’s voice dropped lower but I kept my eyes on the road. It was rude to eavesdrop. “Your dad was one of those people that got laid off right?’

“Yes, Darren, now shut the fuck up.” Snatching the vodka bottle from his hand, Jack downed colossal gulps of vodka.

And then the car began to shake. The boys in the back hollered and whooped at a passing car. From the passenger seat, more hollers echoed into the midnight air.

Looking into the mirror, Jack and the cheerleader were now making out. Grimacing, I stole my glance back and put it onto the road.

Soon enough we turned down a harsh gravel road. The truck tipped side to side as we slipped further away from the road and into tall farm fields. The small farm house was illuminated by the trucks headlights.

The car stopped and immediately everyone jumped out. Not even saying a word to me as they entered the party. Even from the driveway I could hear the thumping of dancing and music that permeated the walls.

Evelyn rounded the car and pressed her elbows on the window sill. I could hear her shuffling the rocks beneath her with her feet as we spoke. I took in a deep breath of the cold air, “I’ll just be in town. Call me if you want to leave early. Be safe please.”

She winked as the white moonlights draped over the side of her face. I could see her dark eyelashes in the light, “Always am.”

I watched as she raised the bottle of vodka into the air with a whoop accompanying it. Mark pressed a kiss to her head as they walked towards the house.