Free Aspen by Rebekah Crane

my nerves still frayed.
    I grab the sponge to clean the table, and internally wipe away the words I was going to say a moment ago.
    “If you and I went to high school at the same time . . . ” Ninny’s looking Cass up and down.
    “Mom!” I yell.
    “No, keep going,” Cass smiles.
    “I’m ready to get drunk. Let’s blow this joint.” Kim gives Ninny a high-five.
    “Don’t bring up blowing a joint around Ninny. You’ll put thoughts in her head.” I wipe the crumbs from the table into my hand and carry them to the sink.
    “Ha. Ha. Very funny. And yet, a great point,” Ninny says, “So, what are you kids doing tonight?”
    “We’re teenagers, not kids,” I correct her.
    “Party at some popular girl’s house. Aspen got us invited. It’s like she’s famous or something. I’m hoping for naked chicks.” Cass nabs a slice of pizza from the open box and stuffs it in his mouth.
    “Real sensitive, Cass,” Kim says.
    “You love me.” He smiles, his mouth full of food.
    I glance at Ninny. Her head is cocked to the side, and her eyes look like they’re working overtime to appraise the level of sexual tension between my two best friends. Her mouth cracks open, ready to say something, and her eyes turn sparkly the way they always do before she talks about sex. I cut her off before she can get a word out.
    “We’re out of here,” I say, pulling the fringe on Kim’s brown suede jacket. She grabs Cass’ arm.
    “Great to see you, Ninny,” he yells.
    “Don’t drink and drive,” Ninny offers as we’re walking out the front door.
    “Don’t worry,” I say. “We’re walking. It’s a nice night.”
    “Aspen.” Ninny stops me before I shut the door. I poke my head back in. “Did you want to tell me something?”
    I pause and take in the innocent look on Ninny’s face. In the house, the candles flicker. “Just that I’m sorry I called you old.”
    “Be careful tonight. If anybody does something you don’t like, kick them in the crotch with your cast. That way it’ll be good for something after all.” Ninny smiles, and I can’t help but love her. Even if she’s not the most on-time person in a crisis and screws her boyfriend on the dining room table.

C HAPTER 6

    Suzy’s huge white colonial house sits on a hill and has a yard that takes up half the block. Two swings hang from a big tree in her backyard, alongside a bubbling fountain with a statue of a naked boy in the middle. Teenagers gather in the backyard, laughing loudly as a group of guys down shots. I see Tom Ingersol’s sculpted hair from the bottom of the driveway. It makes me nervous. And not the excited, itchy nervous that tells you something wonderful is about to happen. A creepy-crawly nervous.
    As we walk up, the heavy beat of a rap song emanates from inside Suzy’s house. My feet drag on the ground; the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach holds me back. I glance around, worried Katelyn is hiding in the trees, waiting to pop out at me, utterly pissed that I’m invading her world.
    “High school kids have the worst fucking taste in music,” Kim groans, adjusting her hot pink nose ring.
    “You are a high school kid,” Cass says.
    “This is a façade.” She points to her face. “Inside I’m a sixty-year-old rap-hating hippie.”
    “It’s a hot facade.” Cass smiles in the twilight and Kim blushes, her cheeks practically matching her nose ring.
    My eyes skim the trees and shadows. Distracted, I hug my chest.
    “Are you okay?” Kim touches my arm.
    “We need an escape plan,” I say quickly. Kim and Cass look at me, surprised. “If this party sucks,” I try to say casually, forcing myself to relax, “let’s use a code word to leave.”
    “Vagina,” Cass offers.
    “How are we supposed to casually drop that into conversation?” Kim asks.
    “Exactly. The code word can’t be something like beer or red plastic cup. It needs to be something we rarely say. Like the medical term for your lady bits. Vagina is