Chapter 1

The rusted out Datsun 280z sped along County Road 69 as hip-hop music thundered from the giant speakers mounted in the trunk. Tyrone drove with one hand, with his free arm around Ebony pulled tightly to his side between him and Monica with Wendy in Monica’s lap. Monica, by the way, had clandestinely interlocked a finger with Tyrone behind Ebony’s back. Wendy opened a can of cheap beer, took a swig, and handed it to Tyrone.

In the tiny back seat sat Chad in the center with Stephanie in his lap and Emily on his left and Rachel on Emily’s lap, and Hannah on his right with Ashley on Hannah’s lap. Stephanie lit another joint, took a drag, and passed it along to the others.

The joint eventually made its way to the front seat as the can of beer found its way to the back. “Fuck high school!” someone yelled. “Fuck homework!” yelled another. “Fuck the teachers!” yelled someone else.

After an hour of driving, the group turned off the main road onto a dirt road that led into the woods where they arrived safely at Chicanery Pond. The teens piled out of the car and carried coolers full of food and beer down a footpath to the edge of the pond that was fed by a waterfall from a cliff on the other side.

More beer was consumed. More pot was inhaled. Tyrone and Monica swapped spit off on a secluded rock as Ebony lay stoned against a tree. Not too much later, clothes were shed down to just underwear and they found the water refreshing as the summer heat rose as noon approached. Chad led a group of intrepid explorers around the pond and up a steep rocky incline to the top of the waterfall. A large rock jutted out next to the waterfall, forming a natural diving board. Chad and Stephanie ran and jumped off the end of the rock, hand in hand, and landed with a huge splash in the water below.

Emily, Rachel, and Wendy stood on the edge of the rock looking down at the two making out in the water below.

Stephanie looked up and waved. “C’mon, you chickens!” she yelled. “It’s not that high.”

Emily shrugged and jumped, almost landing on top of Chad and Stephanie. A splash fight ensued between Chad vs Stephanie and Emily.

Wendy jumped next to help Chad balance the battle.

Rachel decided to give Chad and Wendy better odds against Stephanie and Emily, so she stepped back and then jumped off and dove in head-first to join her friends all splashing and laughing below.