Time passed slowly during the afternoon of Friday, April 2nd, 2010. There were plenty of things I knew I had to do, things that were better done sooner than later, but I could not concentrate on them, and restlessly checked the clock every five minutes. Finally, six o'clock rolled around, and, shortly afterwards, I put down my book and began to get ready with mounting excitement.
Having gotten dressed for the evening, brushed my hair, and put my pajamas in a bag as props, I headed out for the door. My mother watched me go with a look of concern she could not, or did not bother, to conceal. Despite the fact that I had told her I was sleeping over at my friend K*********'s house, and despite the fact that I had urged her a thousand times earlier that day to call my friend's mother, who had agreed to verify my story, my mom had not done so, which annoyed me. My mom was clearly suspicious of my intended whereabouts for the evening, but she had no concrete evidence or solid grounds for her suspicions, and was therefore obliged to agree to my plans.
I ran out the door excitedly, and, calling out a light-hearted "good-bye" to my silent, suspicious father, I took off on my bicycle, taking care not to let him see me mount my bike without my helmet. I accelerated on the bike that was as dear and loyal to me as a horse was to a musketeer, but not in the direction of downtown, as my parents expected. Instead, I turned in the opposite direction, and within a matter of minutes had pulled into Orchard Park.
There were many people in the park, but nobody I knew was yet there, and, after tying my bike in a well-hidden spot, I walked down the bike path to Weis, where I was supposed to meet Fabiola. After waiting for in extreme boredom for a good few minutes, I finally spotted her small, slim figure approaching from the far end of the parking lot. She approached, and we set off towards Orchard Park together, taking care to avoid routes where I was likely to run into my parents. As we approached the park, I heard the unmistakable sounds of the rest of my friends already at the pavilion, and my heart pounded with excitement, as I felt my evening had truly begun.
They were all there at the pavilion--all of the newly regular OP people, and, of course, Mike, Julia, and Kelley. The picnic tables were spread thick with food--namely, an excess of desserts, and two pizzas for variety. I felt like I was walking in a dream as I approached amidst greetings. This was my party, the birthday picnic I had planned, and, even at first glance, it looked like far more of a success than I had reckoned on. It was hardly a lavish, ornate ceremony, but it was a natural, free-spirited feast of my own initiative that was extremely fitting for the occasion and circumstances.
Russ produced a tray of chocolate fudge that made my mouth water, and they put a number of candles into it before lighting them with my Zippo lighter. The candles started to burn with surprising rapidity; I closed my eyes, visualizing for a split second all of the dreams and goals I desperately wanted to accomplish, then, opening my eyes, gracefully extinguished all of the candles amidst the applause of my friends.
That being done, we all began opening packages of food and digging into our feast. I reached avidly for a slice of pepperoni pizza; I had barely taken a bite, however, when I heard the ringing of my cell phone. To my unpleasant surprise, I saw the incoming call was from my parents' cell phone. I quickly shouted "Quiet! My parents are calling", and, once the people nearest to me had spread the message and a hush had fallen upon our crowd, I calmly answered the phone with a cool, unconcerned, "Hello?"
My mother's voice sounded rather tense as she asked me, "Where are you?" I had a nagging fear that something was wrong, that my parents had somehow found out that I was not where I had said I would be. However, I couldn't figure out how on earth they would be aware of where exactly I was. I turned around to check that they weren't watching me from the bike path, as they could have been had they been taking my sister for a walk, but the bike path was mercifully empty. I answered my mother cautiously, "On my way to downtown to eat dinner with my friends." My mom said, "So, you're downtown?" Something about her tense voice and the repetition of the question made me absolutely certain she did not believe me, but I could not understand what reason she had for the disbelief. I answered, "Yes, we're on our way there, and I don't know what my plans are yet, I'll call you and tell you when I find out, alright? Bye." I was mildly annoyed at the phone call and slightly worried about her obvious suspicion, but I shrugged it off and pushed the matter to the back of my mind. I had been standing on the nearby picnic table as I was speaking, and, as I turned around to face my friends and re-enter the conversation, I saw, over my friends' heads, my own parents, barely fifty yards from me, sitting on the swings of the park and watching me.
I gasped, and completely froze in shock and horror. I was completely speechless for the first time in living memory. I was told, later on by my friends, that my face visibly drained of color as my knees slowly bent from under me and I sat down on the picnic table bench. Everyone stared at me, rather anxiously, as they saw my spirited, animated expression replaced with a horror-stricken, mask-like face that resembled the face of one who had caught a glimpse of death itself. Everyone inquired, "what is it", looking at me with increasing anxiety as they saw my obvious fear and horror. My mind was completely blank; I could not think of a single way to mitigate the effects of the lie I had been caught point-blank telling. I was certain my parents would murder me for that white lie they had caught me telling, and that I had just kissed my planned birthday celebration good-bye. Finally, I managed to say, in a hollow voice, to all of my friends, "Talk, talk amongst yourselves, talk, and don't look back. My parents are at the swings right behind us all." Some of my friends exchanged surprised, nervous looks, but restrained themselves from looking over their shoulders, and immediately began talking among themselves. When the conversation had started, my eyes met those of Mike, and my gaze sought his helplessly. "Help", I whispered to him. "Help me come up with something to tell my parents, please."
Having gotten dressed for the evening, brushed my hair, and put my pajamas in a bag as props, I headed out for the door. My mother watched me go with a look of concern she could not, or did not bother, to conceal. Despite the fact that I had told her I was sleeping over at my friend K*********'s house, and despite the fact that I had urged her a thousand times earlier that day to call my friend's mother, who had agreed to verify my story, my mom had not done so, which annoyed me. My mom was clearly suspicious of my intended whereabouts for the evening, but she had no concrete evidence or solid grounds for her suspicions, and was therefore obliged to agree to my plans.
I ran out the door excitedly, and, calling out a light-hearted "good-bye" to my silent, suspicious father, I took off on my bicycle, taking care not to let him see me mount my bike without my helmet. I accelerated on the bike that was as dear and loyal to me as a horse was to a musketeer, but not in the direction of downtown, as my parents expected. Instead, I turned in the opposite direction, and within a matter of minutes had pulled into Orchard Park.
There were many people in the park, but nobody I knew was yet there, and, after tying my bike in a well-hidden spot, I walked down the bike path to Weis, where I was supposed to meet Fabiola. After waiting for in extreme boredom for a good few minutes, I finally spotted her small, slim figure approaching from the far end of the parking lot. She approached, and we set off towards Orchard Park together, taking care to avoid routes where I was likely to run into my parents. As we approached the park, I heard the unmistakable sounds of the rest of my friends already at the pavilion, and my heart pounded with excitement, as I felt my evening had truly begun.
They were all there at the pavilion--all of the newly regular OP people, and, of course, Mike, Julia, and Kelley. The picnic tables were spread thick with food--namely, an excess of desserts, and two pizzas for variety. I felt like I was walking in a dream as I approached amidst greetings. This was my party, the birthday picnic I had planned, and, even at first glance, it looked like far more of a success than I had reckoned on. It was hardly a lavish, ornate ceremony, but it was a natural, free-spirited feast of my own initiative that was extremely fitting for the occasion and circumstances.
Russ produced a tray of chocolate fudge that made my mouth water, and they put a number of candles into it before lighting them with my Zippo lighter. The candles started to burn with surprising rapidity; I closed my eyes, visualizing for a split second all of the dreams and goals I desperately wanted to accomplish, then, opening my eyes, gracefully extinguished all of the candles amidst the applause of my friends.
That being done, we all began opening packages of food and digging into our feast. I reached avidly for a slice of pepperoni pizza; I had barely taken a bite, however, when I heard the ringing of my cell phone. To my unpleasant surprise, I saw the incoming call was from my parents' cell phone. I quickly shouted "Quiet! My parents are calling", and, once the people nearest to me had spread the message and a hush had fallen upon our crowd, I calmly answered the phone with a cool, unconcerned, "Hello?"
My mother's voice sounded rather tense as she asked me, "Where are you?" I had a nagging fear that something was wrong, that my parents had somehow found out that I was not where I had said I would be. However, I couldn't figure out how on earth they would be aware of where exactly I was. I turned around to check that they weren't watching me from the bike path, as they could have been had they been taking my sister for a walk, but the bike path was mercifully empty. I answered my mother cautiously, "On my way to downtown to eat dinner with my friends." My mom said, "So, you're downtown?" Something about her tense voice and the repetition of the question made me absolutely certain she did not believe me, but I could not understand what reason she had for the disbelief. I answered, "Yes, we're on our way there, and I don't know what my plans are yet, I'll call you and tell you when I find out, alright? Bye." I was mildly annoyed at the phone call and slightly worried about her obvious suspicion, but I shrugged it off and pushed the matter to the back of my mind. I had been standing on the nearby picnic table as I was speaking, and, as I turned around to face my friends and re-enter the conversation, I saw, over my friends' heads, my own parents, barely fifty yards from me, sitting on the swings of the park and watching me.
I gasped, and completely froze in shock and horror. I was completely speechless for the first time in living memory. I was told, later on by my friends, that my face visibly drained of color as my knees slowly bent from under me and I sat down on the picnic table bench. Everyone stared at me, rather anxiously, as they saw my spirited, animated expression replaced with a horror-stricken, mask-like face that resembled the face of one who had caught a glimpse of death itself. Everyone inquired, "what is it", looking at me with increasing anxiety as they saw my obvious fear and horror. My mind was completely blank; I could not think of a single way to mitigate the effects of the lie I had been caught point-blank telling. I was certain my parents would murder me for that white lie they had caught me telling, and that I had just kissed my planned birthday celebration good-bye. Finally, I managed to say, in a hollow voice, to all of my friends, "Talk, talk amongst yourselves, talk, and don't look back. My parents are at the swings right behind us all." Some of my friends exchanged surprised, nervous looks, but restrained themselves from looking over their shoulders, and immediately began talking among themselves. When the conversation had started, my eyes met those of Mike, and my gaze sought his helplessly. "Help", I whispered to him. "Help me come up with something to tell my parents, please."
Mike listened sympathetically to my plight. He, being well aware of my parents' uncompromisingly strict rules and policies, understood the measures I needed to take just to be able to stay out and celebrate as I planned. He also understood how much trouble I could get into for the lies I had told to assure my night out. After a whispered conference, he, my friend Kelley, and I all stood up and calmly walked in the direction of the parking lot without looking back. Our plan was to leave the park for long enough to lend my lie a slight credibility, and possibly get some drinks while we were gone. This, however, did not work out quite as well as expected, as my mother followed us to the parking lot, as though she was afraid of letting me out of sight. She called out to us multiple times, and I pretended not to hear her, then, finally, turned around, and feigning surprise, acknowledged her. I faced her calmly and nonchalantly, as though I had not a care in the world, and politely introduced Kelley and Mike to her. Kelley and Mike stood supportively at my back, like bodyguards, and my mother could not appear stern with me in front of my friends, but she nevertheless said, in a voice of false cheeriness, "Your dad would like to talk to you. Come with me."
Having maneuvered me away from my friends, she led me to where my father was swinging my sister on the swing-set. I faced him, leaning coolly against the pole, my face a blank, expressionless poker face. I fully expected him to reprimand me for my lie and issue some edict in punishment, and was prepared to battle it out against him to the end. To my surprise, he merely stated that he would have to talk to my friend K********'s mother in person before he would let me go on my "sleepover" with her, but he issued no punitive edicts. As frustrating as this was to me on principle, I did not argue, for this was something I could live with. K**********'s mother had already agreed to lie for me, and, although my dad's conditions would undoubtedly make my life inconvenient later that evening, they would not interfere with my plans for the night.I returned to the pavilion where friends had already finished the pizza, and we resumed our feasting and conversation. When we had all finally had our fill of food, and darkness had settled over the park, we all stood from the picnic tables and eagerly commenced an energetic game of freeze tag, followed by a still more wild game of stealth. My blood heart raced wildly with excitement and adrenaline as I crawled through tunnels in the bushes, crept over open territories, and sprinted towards the Grandfather Tree time and time again. Stealth was my game, a game I was good at and strove to constantly improve myself at. My parents took pleasure in pompously telling me that my friends and I were far too old to take pleasure in games like Stealth, but I always laughed off their words as mere evidence of my their lack of spirit and imagination. Stealth was a combination of tag and hide-and-seek, but it was worth more than the sum of its parts--it was ultimately a game of strategy, which made it profoundly appealing to me.
We stayed in the park until nearly eleven, our games becoming increasingly wild, intense, and spirited. The energy of the atmosphere was absolutely intoxicating; I couldn't remember when I last had felt so vibrantly, intensely alive. We were all loathe to leave the park, but I had call my parents to reassure them that all was well, and relocate to a place nearer to the Starbucks downtown in case they insisted on meeting K*********'s mother and seeing for themselves that I was really "going to her house for the night". With some difficulty, we managed to fit everyone in our company in the three cars we had at our disposal, and headed off towards the Hub to continue our evening, my celebration.
I called my parents, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they had already spoken to K********'s mother on the phone and were content to leave me alone for the night. Having gotten that concern off my mind, I rejoined my friends, and we found, to our excitement, that we could play Lazer Tag at the Hub that night, completely for free. I had only played Lazer Tag once in my life, and had been too young and cautious to appreciate it then. This time, however, I went all-out, and distinguished myself for my enthusiasm and bold maneuvers. After two rounds of Lazer Tag, I was waiting idly in the room while my friends checked their scores and filed out, when I struck up a conversation with one of the operators of the station. He mentioned that he and his fellow operators frequently climbed on top of the station while there were people inside, and took pleasure in bouncing on the inflated balloon. I said, enthusiastically, "Wow, you're so lucky you can do that! I'd love to climb on top of the station, I wish I could!"
I had not meant anything in particular by this statement; it was merely an enthusiastic outburst, and I had not even entertained the notion of persuading the man to actually let me climb it. To my surprise, however, he seemed to consider it, from the thoughtful silence he lapsed in and the look in his eye. I stared at him, shocked, wondering if there was actually a chance of me being allowed to climb the Lazer Tag station.
Finally, he said, "I don't think I can let you, if you fall down and die, we'll be responsible for your death." He did not say it firmly, however, so I didn't back down. I looked directly at him and said, "I won't fall down, I can keep my balance really well, I'll be careful. Please, I won't get you in trouble, I've just never climbed a Lazer Tag station before, while for you it's a normal occurrence...it's my birthday", I added pertly.
He looked at me and chuckled. "You won't fall, and if you do fall you won't die, will you?", he said wryly. "Wait here while the next group goes inside, then I'll see what I can do."
I obligingly stood to the side while the operator herded another group inside the station, then came forth. He turned on the music inside the station, and motioned me forward. The inflatable rubber station was far more difficult to climb than it first appeared, but I managed to scramble up the side with the help of the operator. I sat there for a good five minutes, grinning ear to ear as I bounced on it. It felt like a convex trampoline, and the new experience, along with the thrill of mild transgression, were bracing. Finally, at the request of the operator, I climbed down, just as he turned the music down to bring the group's session to an end. I thanked him, and went back into the hall of the Hub to rejoin my friends.
They were all sitting at a table downstairs, playing board games, drinking soda, and chatting. I sat down at the table, and for the next two hours, we all played various card games and caught up on each others lives. I took little interest in the card games themselves, but merely sat there, enjoying the atmosphere and the company of some of my favorite people in the world, supremely happy that I had managed to arrange this all-night party. I vaguely wondered whether my parents knew more than they let on, and whether I would get grounded for lying when I went home the next morning, but I didn't much care. At the moment, I was so intoxicated on the vital, intense enjoyment of living, I felt this one night was worth any price I had to pay later.
At around 2 in the morning, the late-night Hub event was beginning to close down, so we returned the board games and began parting ways for the night. Some of the crowd, such as Mike and Julia, decided it was time for them to go home in order to get some sleep, and I bid them good night. Others, such as Jenn, Helen, and Steve, decided to stay up all night with me. Phil volunteered his place for the purposes of continuing the party, and we all loaded into Jenn's car and left the Hub.
The rest of the night went by far slower after we arrived at Phil's house, but, even so, it was an unforgettably enjoyable night. At first, we spent a long time playing cards, then we moved on to video games, which was a fairly novel experience for me, considering how few times I had ever played video games in my life. Around four in the morning, Kelley's mother called her and insisted she come home in order to get some sleep, so Kelley and Jenn both took leave of us, Jenn with the intent of driving Kelley home. Phil, Helen, Steve, and I remained, keeping our all-night vigil. We played more video games, then, shortly before dawn, left to wander around the nearby park. After the sun rose, we slowly made our way to the Waffleshop for breakfast. At this point, we all felt somewhat drained; I was the most energetic person in the company, and even I was tired after the sleepless night. Even so, I was determined not to sleep when I got home, but to immediately start on the immense pile of homework and personal projects I had waiting.
Upon leaving the Waffleshop, we walked slowly to Orchard Park, to retrieve my bike, Phil's bike, and Russ' lost glasses. Slowly, we continued walking down the bike path, looking as tired as we ever looked in our lives. At the crossing near my house, I bid them a hasty good-bye and went my way; the three of them continued in the direction of Phil's house.
I rode my bike slowly towards my house, wondering what kind of a reception awaited me at home. As I pulled into the driveway on my bike, I felt my insides briefly turn to ice as I contemplated what my parents would do to me for yesterday's white lie, then I shrugged off my concerns and pushed them to the back of my mind. I'd just had the night of my life, a night to rival my camping nights in Russia--that was worth any price.
I pushed open the front door and quietly slid into the house. Dropping my bag of props on the stairs, I glided quietly down the hallway, paused in front of my parents' room, and went in. My mother and father were both asleep; I quietly shook my mother's shoulder, ostensibly in order to tell her that I had made it home safely, while in reality trying to get a feel, based on her reaction, whether or not I would be in trouble later. She blinked, saw me, murmured "We're glad to see you back", and dropped her shoulder back onto the pillow. Smiling quietly to myself, I withdrew to my own room. I felt a quiet, exhausted elation as I mused at the intoxicatingly amazing night I had just spent--and excitedly considered what lay ahead.
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