freshman year was a deadly, yet beautifully picturesque chicago winter and i had caught a nasty cold virus...  normally one would stay home with such 'yuckiness' but i had been invited to a party.  my very.first.one.  instead of staying home from school and missing out on said party, i spent most of the day in the nurses office and after school, as always, mom didnt want me going out.  not just because i was sick, no!  that was her big excuse.  i was growing up and doing things and she wanted to keep me in.  seemingly, for the rest of my life since, i would forever be hearing how i should stay home.  with her.   i wasnt having it.  not at all and not one bit.  i suffered through school to earn this night out and nothing could stop me.   i go to the party, which by the way was utterly shocked it wasnt anyones birthday!,  with  junior high friend jamie and we may have been or it at least seemed like, we were the only girls there...  not to mention with a bunch of seniors...  boy was it cool...  i was sick.  i was awe struck.  i didnt speak to anyone.  the cold was really beginning to take over. not to mention, i was exhausted, i never stayed up that late and usually fell asleep in the saturday night live opening monologue, if i even lasted that long!  

the best way i know how to make the very best of any situation be it school, work or party, espeically in an uncomfortable or boring environment, i look around and pick a boy i think is the cutest in the room and focus on him.  entirely. and while looking like i have a serious staring and or stalking problem, (most likely the latter)  i manage to get hit on by the guy i am not attracted to at all , which means the one i like isnt interested or now thinks i am uninterested becasue of said distractng boy blabbing, or, my favorite and yours, the party-love triangle the guy who htinks my  girl friend i came with to the party is pretty...  at this point i sigh deeply inside by being taken away from my favorite pasttime ever- boy-scouting.  a sport i feel ive perfected over the years and enjoy more than sex itself. 

there was beer.  pot, speed, and acid.  thats what i knew of anyway.  at one point someone asked what i was on since i wasnt talking.  i told 'm i was sick and his response, which was more of an announcement:  "dont share your bowl with this girl, shes sick"  sweetly i smiled and shook my head no in agreement with his announcement, as i silently thought to myself, 'ew!!  why would i want to share a bowl of soup or cereal with YOU?  not to mention - i dont even know you!'  there were people playing pool, someone playing the star splangled banner on electric guitar, people going on the deck smoking pot & cigarettes, with right next to that was another cherry popped:  faces of death, seemingly on auto-replay all night on one of tv's.  awesome.  exactly what my head needed. 

i later discovered, the chosen one, the boy i "picked" was the speed freak,  and was clearly uninterested, as my friend furiously made out with him one party and more later in which i was not in attendace to,  i eventually figured out what kind of bowl i wasnt supposed to be sharing with anyone.  and i wasnt invited to a party like that until i started lying to my mom about what i was doing.  her cool-mom act only worked once.   after she called everyone's parents,  if you asked her what i did for fun as a teenager it was being a super-star bowler.  p.s. i dont like bowling so much.  i never did.