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Sharon’s complaining that her feet hurt. My hair is totally wrecked. I’m thinking we should just give up and go home when we hear music. We follow the sound, the music getting louder, mingled with the noise of laughter and glass breaking. Suddenly the woods open and we stumble into a clearing.
    Everyone looks up. You’d think we barged in on a dinner party or something. There are about twenty people standing around a fire, most of them B-list stoners, and none of them Darin’. A couple of skanky girls I’ve never met gawk at us like they’re looking for a fight. But Gus is there, so Sharon is happy. They disappear immediately into the woods, leaving me alone to fend off the skanks and stoners. I’m thinking the situation couldn’t possibly get worse when I hear the distinct sound of a small motor coming through the trees. Please, God, let it not be Tod.
    It is. He crashes into the clearing, his moped bucking to a stop in front of the fire. I can’t imagine how he managed to ride through the woods. In any case, I wish he hadn’t, because the stoners are all too happy to have someone to pick on. They surround Tod, pushing him and calling him names.
    “Who invited you, Toad?”
    “Who said you could come?”
    They’re even worse than the stupid jocks, the way they’re shoving him around. And then something really horrible happens: they get me involved.
    “Hey, Smith, your boyfriend’s here.”
    I freeze, pretending I’ve never seen Tod in my life. I don’t want him to get pulverized but I’m pissed that he showed up in the first place. What was he thinking? It’s like he
wants
to get beat up or something.
    The stoners take Tod’s helmet, tossing it back and forth. Whenever Tod tries to grab it, they shove him—hard. Until Tod is stupid enough to retaliate, and gets decked. He hits the ground, arms and legs flailing, gasping for air. I can’t stand it another second so I bolt, running into the woods. Leaving Tod at the mercy of those goons makes me want to hurl, but I don’t have the guts to stick up for him. Besides, I’ve worked hard to get where I am. If he’s too stupid to follow monkey rules, it’s not my problem.
    I wander around, hoping to find the path back to civilization. But it’s so dark, I have no clue which direction to go. I’m actually scared. Then it starts pouring rain, and within seconds I’m soaked to the bone and shivering. I pull out my cell to call Sharon but it’s dead. I knew I should have charged it before I left but Sharon said I could use hers. I could kill her right now! And Tod, too, just for showing up and forcing me to vacate—though I don’t know what I would have done by myself anyway with Sharon off making out in the woods. What kind of crummy friend ditches you the second you arrive at a party? I only went because I was hoping to see Darin’. Now I couldn’t go back if I wanted to because I’m totally lost.
    For some reason, my desperate plight gets me thinking about Miss Marple. Maybe this is how she feels when she gets all confused. It’s an awful situation to be in, all scared and uncertain of what to do next. Mom and Dadwould have a conniption if they knew I was out here like this. I’m thinking I should just lie down and die when I stumble onto a road. I follow it, hoping it takes me somewhere … anywhere.
    I walk for about an hour before I see a house at the end of a very long laneway. I’m so happy to see the lights are on, I swallow my pride and decide to ask if I can use the phone. I’ll call Dad and tell him to come pick me up. At this point, I don’t care if he grounds me for the rest of my life, I just want to get home.
    Walking up the lane, I see several cars and motorcycles parked to one side. Led Zeppelin blasts from inside the house. Whoever lives here must be having a party. Suddenly I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to ask about using the phone. The whole set-up seems seriously wrong. I mean, anyone could be inside. I’ve