A Token of Potential Fun
The day after the party, Peter woke up at around noon with a slight headache. Luckily, Scott made sure Peter hadn’t drank too much, stopping him around the time they started dancing. The walk back home had Scott laughing and telling Peter to be more quiet and to get down from all the benches and other stuff he was climbing. After the party, Peter felt so full of energy and he didn’t want to go to bed right away despite it being around 3 am. Scott put on an episode of Arrow and they watched as Peter devoured a bag of chips. He started falling asleep not long after so he threw away the chip bag and brushed his teeth before getting back into bed. He finished off the night by thanking Scott. “Tonight was awesome.”
The headache lasted throughout the day no matter how much water he tried to drink to get rid of it. Scott gave him some painkillers to try and help, which they did after a couple of hours. After the headache was gone, Peter could finally think clearly and wondered if that was the kind of party that he had missed out on all throughout high school. It had been a fun night and he wanted to do it again. It was definitely a good way to let loose and relieve all the college stress he was keeping in. It was certainly different from his normal boring schedule of going to class, studying, and watching tv.
Still, Peter didn’t want to get behind, and he truly was interested in bingeing Arrow so he kept to his schedule for a couple of weeks after that. He just wanted the first semester to go well so he could know he was able to do it. So for those few weeks, Peter went to sleep on time and declined whenever Scott would ask him if he wanted to go to a party with him. He was tempted to go with him every time, but he wanted to prove to himself that he could hold off a bit longer. He wanted each outing to be special.
However, one night, Peter was just tired and lazy and needed a pick-me-up. He had reached a point where he felt like he was buried in schoolwork and kept snacking just to keep his energy up. He was afraid to look in the mirror in case he noticed any kind of weight gain. He’d heard of the freshman fifteen and he was afraid he’d gone past the fifteen limit (which he hadn’t). He needed to get out of the dorm but didn’t feel like going out by himself. The library wasn’t as fun as it was when the semester first started.
Peter looked over at Scott sitting on his desk reading while listening to music. He couldn’t understand how someone could do that. Peter’s brain could only take so much information at a time. He couldn’t focus on listening to a song he would be tempted to bob his head to, while taking in whatever he was supposed to be learning from his textbook. The music would take over and he wouldn’t learn anything.
Scott looked up and noticed Peter staring. He took an earbud off. “What’s up?”
“Oh. Nothing. Just bored.”
“Ah, so studying me instead of your textbook is how you have fun I see.”
Peter laughed and shook his head. “Just wondering if there’s any parties tonight. I need to let loose.”
Scott smiled and crossed his arms. “Ah, so you need a fix and I’m your dealer.”
“I guess. You’re the one always in the know.”
“There’s probably some parties happening,” Scott replied. “But I was going to take the night off tonight. Just stay here and read up on the fascinating history of the world. Maybe watch an episode of Arrow and then fall asleep.”
“I get it, you’re making fun of me.” Peter did feel a little bad for using Scott to try to figure out something fun to do. He felt like he was almost toying with Scott’s emotions by declining his invitations and then all of a sudden wanting back in.
“I’m joking, Petey. I was gonna go hang out with Carol tonight, but you are more than welcome to come with. She’ll probably have drinks or something. Probably nothing as big as the last time you went though.”
Peter was slightly disappointed, but it was something to do nonetheless. And it would be another new experience. He’d never been to a kickback where there was drinking. Maybe he’d find it just as fun.
When they got there, Carol welcomed them in each with a hug and they followed her to the little kitchen table where she had a few board games set up. Scott went straight to the fridge and began to mix a few beverages.
“Welcome to game night,” Carol said. “Glad to finally have a fourth.” Peter was surprised because it wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He loved playing games and he was surprised that Carol and Scott were into that. Back home, Michelle hated board games and Ned would always forget the rules so Peter never got to play as much as he wanted to.
“This...is awesome! I love games.”
“That’s great to hear, Peter,” Carol replied. “Because I get really competitive.”
“Too competitive if you ask me,” Scott said, returning with a drink for each of them.
“What’s this?” Peter asked curiously.
“Screwdriver,” Scott answered. Peter stared at him with a shocked look. It sounded like it would give him a worse hangover than the last time. Scott laughed. “Vodka and orange juice. Don’t worry, I mixed it just like you like it. Lots of juice. And only a few drops of juice for the lady.”
“Just like I like it,” Carol said. “Now, we’re just waiting for Hope and we’ll be ready for the games to begin…”
Just then another girl entered through the front door, yelling, “I’m home! Scott better not have finished the vodka!” She dropped her bookbag on the couch and waved at everyone, raising an eyebrow at Peter. “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Hope,” she said as she held out her hand.
Peter shook it and replied. “I’m Peter. Scott’s roommate.”
“Hope is Carol’s roommate,” Scott explained. “But she only comes out of her room to go to class and play games. That’s why you didn’t meet her at the party. She was asleep.”
“Oh shut up,” Hope retorted. “Where’s my drink?”
Scott began to fix another drink as Carol began to set up the game. It was a fun night and Peter was right in thinking he would enjoy it just as much as he had enjoyed the last party. He even won one round of the game they were playing. Scott looked impressed while Carol looked in shock. Hope just laughed at Carol’s reaction, stating that she was going to be keeping a closer eye on him.
It had been a couple of hours and they began to talk about actually going out somewhere, possibly a bar. Peter was confused as he thought they were all eighteen and couldn’t go to bars. At least he had assumed. “Wait, how old are you guys?” he asked.
“Eighteen,” the other three answered.
They blinked at Peter a few times and Peter blinked back until Scott understood what he meant with that question. “Oh, Petey, we all have fake IDs. That’s how we’d get into a bar.”
“The problem is,” Carol continued, “we haven’t tried it because we’re looking for a bar with a really dumb bouncer.”
“Shouldn’t be hard to find,” Hope finished. “We just don’t want to go to a shitty bar. We want to have a good time, you know?”
“Right…” Peter replied. “How’d you get fake IDs?” He’d always seen the trope on tv about minors with fake IDs but as he’d never tried to get one himself and never really had a reason to get one, it had always been a mystery for him.
Carol and Scott looked at Hope and after slight hesitation she spoke up. “Alright, keep it hush hush,” she said to Peter, “but I’ve kind of been making some fake IDs for us. They’re not perfect, but I think I’ve made some for us that will work if a bouncer isn’t paying too close attention.”
“That’s...really cool,” Peter said. Highly illegal, but it didn’t sound like she was trying to make a black market business out of it. She just wanted to have fun with her friends.
“Oh don’t be a bitch, Hope,” Carol said. “Offer to make him one.”
“Oh no, I’m good.” Peter immediately answered. As much fun as going out with everyone seemed, he didn’t want to start doing anything that could get him in trouble with the law.
“Look Petey,” Scott spoke, “just let Hope make you one for fun. You don’t have to use it. It could just be a token of potential fun.”
“Thanks to both of you for volunteering me,” Hope said with a raised eyebrow. “I think Peter can decide for himself though. So what do you say? Want a free fake ID? No strings attached. Just extra practice for me.”
Peter looked from person to person as he thought about it. It was true, he didn’t have to use it. It would just be something fun to have. He looked down at his cup of screwdriver. He was already doing something illegal by drinking, but it was a harmless crime. If he had a fake ID, he could say he had a fake ID but without the commitment of using it. Another harmless crime.
“Alright,” he finally replied. “I’m down. Let’s make me a fake ID.”
The other three cheered and raised their cups toward him. He raised his own and they all drank to their new little friend group. Peter was glad he had been so lucky to find these people he liked to be around and that liked to be around him.
The next day Peter had another headache, but Scott was ready with the painkillers. That was the first week he forgot to call Michelle and Ned.