Sunset to Remember
The sun hung low in the sky and tomorrow would be the day that I would walk down the stadium podium and shake my way into adulthood, a day that I had been dreaming of my entire life. But not tonight, tonight was the night that we as seniors in high school, made a vow to party our faces off, and make bad choices in good company. As we kissed this chapter of our lives goodbye within the glowing gold embers of the falling sky, we sett off to celebrate Senior Sunset. Before we could embark on our journey of un-chaperoned fun we had to take care of one tiny factor, our loving, ignorant parents.
Heart pounding, thoughts racing…
I pulled my car over into the Albertson’s parking lot and reached for my iPhone. Opening the Spoofcard app, an app crafted to mask and change caller identification, I eagerly handed it to my best friend and fellow walking partner Nicole. Although we were both avid experienced users of Spoof, there was always a level of risk associated with deceiving your parents. We locked eyes and exchanged a gaze of mutual understanding. A silent gaze that reeked of collected panic and undeniable mercy, that only a best friend could ever fathom. Her usual sultry bronzed complexion was drained of its color, and her deep olive green eyes gleamed wide with terror. The stakes were high, and our livelihoods rested solely on our ability to come off as “honest” liars…20 minutes flew by, yet the next 5 minutes were slow, brutal, and agonizing, yet worth the struggle, as once they were over Nicole and I were free to indulge in our hard earned freedom. The Closing of, “Bye love you too mom”, was the beginning to an unforgettable night.
Blood pumping, adrenaline flooded my veins and left me with a grin that just wouldn’t budge.
Overwhelmed with a sense of carefree nostalgia, I discarded all notions of reality and embraced the idea of adventure. Our friend Kyle was hosting an event for the entire graduating senior class, and had a reputation for hosting the craziest parties. Equipped with matching outfits and two handles of Sky vodka, we proceeded to enter through the front door, where loud music and drunk sirens crept beyond the walls of the house. A lightweight mansion, two sloppy hands flung around my core and the warm spice of Captain Morgan enveloped my senses. Greeted by all of my close friends, and my not so close friends, we did what teens do best, binge drink. Shot after shot, the alcohol would burn at first, as it hit my lips gliding into my throat, then gently melted into a stream of comforting warmth that radiated from deep within.
To tell you that I remembered the next series of events in their entire actuality would be an outright lie. As the next thing I know, I feel the slapping of base penetrating the innermost core of my body, the trembling of the black leather beneath me, and a soft flesh blanket tightly cradling both sides of my figure.
Where am I?… I thought…
Blinded by city lights, I was packed tight within a black Range Rover making my way into the depths of San Francisco. Though far from home, I was unalarmed and even more so filled with a notion of peace. I was free, and invincible to all the responsibilities of the past and anxieties of tomorrow, my mind was at ease.
“Jess are u okay there?!”
I hear my friend Nicole energetically shriek with excitement.
We were en route to a popular San Fransisco nightclub Ruby Sky, all thanks to our ability to outsmart our parents and wear way to much makeup…
Nervously approaching the bouncer, I felt my stomach drop a little. A club that I had never been to before, I did not know how strict they were on IDs, and to drive all the way out to San Francisco just to head back… would be such a shame. Telling myself, “You gotta be confident, own it”, over and over again, I was determined to get in. Nicole went first. She nailed it. Now it was my turn, I gazed at the bouncer and confidently smiled, and sure enough, I’m in. Bundled up nerves ease into excitement, and the anticipation of failure only built up the victory to be that much more rewarding.
Velvet purple lights glaze over my body as they dance with sultry seduction, while the low hypnotique drop of the bass drum eases my mind into a trancelike state, making my knees weak with delight. I was a kid in a candy store.
My life was a movie, and I had landed the lead role, the feeling was unreal. Twerking and grinding the night away, we moved in ways that would have surely gotten us kicked out of any of our high school dances, and caused our parents to shake their heads in utmost disappointment, wondering about where exactly they went wrong with us…
Due to the graphic nature of the subsequent events, for the welfare of the reader, I leave the remainder of the nights activities to the imagination... The important thing to note is that we made it back in time for our walking ceremony, therefore, all else should remain irrelevant.
Hand in hand, Nicole and I walked to accept our graduation diplomas, sporting wide grins of shock and disbelief. We did it, and the success felt so sweet. Though our hands were interlocked, the extent of our bond delved far beyond the grasps of our extremities, and when we locked eyes a different type of grin came to light. This grin, although sweet in its exterior,
bore the sinful pleasures of lasts night’s festivities, along with the guilty satisfaction one feels when not getting caught…
While technology based media did not directly get me drunk, or cause me to blackout… it did act as a precursor and enabler of it all. By hegemonically altering vehicles of communication, media technology has shaped the experiences of my past, along with my collective identity as an individual today. Therefore, after all these years, I still feel like I need to give credit to where its due… So thank you Spoofcard, for keeping my parents in the dark and giving way to all the questionable yet awesome decisions of my teenage life.
Friendship
