CHAPTER FIVE: THE PARTY
Zachary had
invited some classmates over to his parents’ home in Talleyville while
they were gone. All told, there were twenty people in the house,
sharing stories and beer.
Rebecca sat
down
on the sofa next to Eric. “You’re not very talkative tonight, are you?”
she noted.
“Well, the
stuff
they’re talking about doesn’t really interest me.” Eric told her. “I
don’t give a fire truck who wins the football game. These folks think
drinking too much is a good thing. Drink to enjoy, not to compete.
That’s why I stick to beer. The drunkest you can get on beer is drunker
than you wanna get anyway, so there’s no loss. You catch a buzz to
socialize, but don’t overdose and get sick.”
“Fire
truck!”
Rebecca repeated. “I’ll have to remember that one.”
Eric drank
another
beer. There were fifteen people in the house. He drank another, and
there were ten. “Everybody seems to be heading out, and the party is
winding down. It’s 1:47 now. I’m calling it a night.” he told Rebecca.
Rebecca
smiled
at
Eric, and reached out to touch his arm. “Will you take me home
tonight?” she asked.
“No, I
can’t.”
he
replied, shaking his head. “I’ve been drinking, and I’m in no shape to
drive. I don’t drive if I’ve had even one beer, because it’s not right.
I’m leaving my car parked here and calling a taxi, and I’m going the
other way from where you live.”
“I mean,
like,
will you take me home tonight, Eric?” she requested again.
Eric looked
annoyed. Then he turned and looked at her, shaking his head, saying,
“What part of ‘NO’ don’t you understand? You know I’ve been drinking,
and asking a drunk to drive you home is just as bad as driving drunk
yourself.” He stood up, and used his cell phone to call a taxi. At 1:54
it arrived, and he left.
HOME PAGE
CHAPTER ONE:
THE PARKING LOT
CHAPTER TWO:
THE COMPUTER
CHAPTER THREE:
THE LOUNGE
CHAPTER FOUR:
THE CAFETERIA
CHAPTER
SIX:
LUNCH
CHAPTER
SEVEN:
MELISSA
WORRIES
CHAPTER EIGHT:
MELISSA’S PROJECT
CHAPTER NINE:
THE TEMPLE
CHAPTER TEN:
RECRUITMENT
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
THE PLANNING
CHAPTER TWELVE:
OPERATION UNDERWAY
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN: OPERATION MOVED
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN: GLORIA
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN: THE DISCUSSION
GLOSSARY
Copyright
2007 Tom Alciere