8

Parties aren't your normal scene, but it's an opportunity to watch your classmates and gather dirt for later use.

You park around the corner and walk up Milford Lane, sculpted shrubbery to your right, immaculately clean suburban avenue on your left. Light snow falls from dark clouds, but the sun fights to shine through. Walking closer to the house, you spot several classmates walking up the driveway, some sprinting from parked cars wearing shorts, flip-flops, and bulky winter coats. You catch a glimpse of Taylor Regan, Madison's best friend. As he runs up the driveway, his coat flies open, exposing leopard-print swim trunks underneath.

Leaving the sidewalk, you cross the cut grass through a break in the bushes and hop a short fence into the backyard. Music fills the air; tall speakers belt out a hard beat. The lead singer moans on about teenage romance in a scratchy voice. You step around the garage, passing a cherry-red sports car. In the rear of the house, a mass of teens comes into view. The back area is immense, with a C-shaped pool with a built-in jacuzzi, a long deck with tables, chairs, and several tapped kegs, and a separate stand decorated as a full tiki bar. A beach ball floats around the pool. Snow piles dot the far side of the landscape, but aside from a light coat of fresh snow, the grounds are clear. A new song starts—Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.

You spot Jonah hobbling near a large corner speaker, dancing off-beat and spinning in drunken circles. His naturally curly hair hides under a huge straw beach hat, and his floral shirt seems over-the-top even for him. He's goofy and overbearing, and most of your classmates laugh at him (not with him), but you've known him since the first day of kindergarten, spent every summer by his side, and value his loyalty and friendship.

"Yo, you made it," Jonah says, slapping you on the back. He holds a red solo cup and sloshes amber-colored liquid onto the floor. "Want this? I'll grab another." He pushes the cup towards you.