In One Year

Hustle

“HEAR.” I turn to Jaiden, but it was Brandon trying to hand me a beer bottle. Jaiden’s eyes widened as he quickly tried taking it away.

“No way man!”

“What she was complaining her head hurt this should help.”

“Dude she’s 15!”

“So what?” I yelled over the music. He was only one year older plus it was only one beer I have had a small bit before from dad for the 4th of July. It was disgusting but I mean anything that would make this better. I was starting to get overwhelmed from the music.

Jaiden just looked skeptical, “No, have you even had beer before?”

“Yes I have, thank you very much, and you aren’t much older than me.”

Taking it from his hands a took a gulp of it. It was just as awful as I remembered but what the hell. Brandon just laughed at our glaring match. Throwing his arm around me he steered me to a second sitting area where a bunch off people were piled on top of each other all smooshed onto the three couches available. Some just sprawled on the floor.

“Don’t put that down if you do don’t drink from anything you haven’t opened yourself, okay? There is some harder liquor floating around and some drugs so just be careful. Everything is labeled but if you aren’t sure don’t consume it.” Confused all I could do was nod.

“Would someone try and put something in my drink?”

“No, but some people are mixing their own with stuff they brough so if your not sure its your best not to touch it. And the food on the kitchen table is safe.”

“Safe?”

“Yeah, you see the food lined up on the deck?”

“Yeah.”

“Well let’s just say if you don’t want to be friends with the stars tonight stay away from them.”

“Really man?” Jaiden had been following behind our little tour of the house looking peeved. I took another mouthful of alcohol and took in my surroundings.

The back doors were open all the way to allow the party to spill out into the yard. And since this house did not back onto a lake there was a massive pool that was locked off from the rest off the party. At least someone was semi-conscious of this problematic situation.

“What? No one brought anything particularly illegal. It is mostly recreational m*******a and hard liquor no big deal. And if anything gets out of hand my brother will handle it.” Leaning in to my ear, “Don’t worry no one is into anything heavy here.”

I didn’t even know how to respond to that, so I just downed the rest of my beer as he steered me back towards the house. Passing the buffet on the deck he picked up a brownie and broke it into two offering me half.

“What’s in this?” I held the piece between two fingers inspecting it. It looked fine.

“Pot.” He tossed it into his mouth all at once and gestured for me to do the same. Biting off a bit of the corner I slowly chewed. It tasted good. Slightly more overcooked. Finishing the small piece, he gave me I turned down another piece. I think I reached my limit.

Turning to find Jaiden he almost looked furious.

“You, okay?”

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes he just nodded.

“Oh, Little Bit, you need to try this game!” pulling me into a huge game room there seemed to be a tournament going on. People were placing bets and screaming for their player.

“Yo, William, meet Little Bit, Jays new baby sis.” He slurred. Shooing people out of the way he had me take the losers spot next to a guy that looked a lot like young Johnny Depp.

“Sup.” He held out a controller for me. “Hey, I’m Ivy.”

“Hey Jay, good to see you man.”

“How you are doing Will.”

“Same ‘Ol. Band has a new gig next weekend. You in?”

“Maybe, I’ll have to see.”

Picking me up he resettles me next to him, putting me between him and William.

“What are you guys playing?” I wasn’t the best at video games, but I was a quick study.

“Street racer, winner wins the losing pot.” He explained the controls to me quickly and the rules. The room made a bet on who wins and puts a dollar on the side of the person they think will win if that person loses all the money goes to the winner and the people who bet on the winner gets their dollar back.

“Sounds simple enough, can I have one practice though?” I was starting to feel relaxed and warm it was nice, and my headache was muffled.

“Sure.” Addressing the room, he announces the first practice race. It was faster than I thought I understood the controls though and was getting the hang of it by that last lap.

“Cool, I’m only going to race once though.” I knew I could only get lucky once. I had the element of surprise.

“That’s fine.” The room quickly placed their bets not surprising that most everyone put it on Wills side. Jaiden put one on me though.

“You ready?” I just nodded and prayed to the Mario cart gods. The race was intense from the start, and I was on his tail for most of the laps. We were so close the volume of screaming and back seat gaming was intense, but I was focused. At the last second, I squeezed around him and crossed first winning the race. The room was filled with shouts of disbelief.

“I can’t believe you just hustled me.” William faced me with mock surprise.

“I didn’t hustle you, the only consoles I ever played were Nintendo, but I was great at Mario cart, and I did need to learn these controls.” I stated with my best innocent look. Jaiden and Brandon were laughing their asses off. While Jaiden won his money back apparently Brandon also bet on me.

“Hush and take your winnings before I challenge you to a rematch.” Laughing he held my controller up for the next person. Grabbing my cash, I stood up and swayed a bit, I really felt a lot lighter. It was nice.