Happy New Year.

 Who wants to hear the story about the only time I ever got invited to a New Year's party? 

You do. 

The party was in our friend's large shop. Not a store. It's more like a garage/workshop. We were the first ones there. 

We turned off the truck. Layla had the techno channel on for me, so at first I thought it was that. But when I got out of the truck I realized it was coming from inside the shop. 

We went inside. Rock music was playing on a huge party speaker, and it made my ears hurt. Our friend realized we existed and turned down the volume, probably hoping that we would pretend it was never that loud. 

We talked for a little bit. A few people came in and brought in a bunch of snacks--M&Ms, crackers, sausage, Twizzlers, and cheese. 

Of course, I was all over the M&Ms and Twizzlers. I love sweets. Another lady came in with a box of candy and a stuffed Toy Story character (I have no idea what that was for). There were also a couple of drinks inside that looked like Yop containers, but something surprised me when the lady brought the side of the unopened drink to her face...

AND.

LICKED. 

IT. 

And then I was all, "Wait. Is this a dream? Is she insane? What is happening?" The lady put the drink back in the box, probably for someone to drink. Then I became worried, because what if she injected herself with ebola and then just started licking things that people would eat? Unlikely, because she seemed healthy, but maybe she was immune to the disease. I tried to move on with my day and just avoid the box of possibly-ebola-covered-goodies. 

More people filed in, bringing in lawn chairs and plenty of food. Eventually, there were around twenty of us. That hum of conversation when there's a ton of people chatting at once started. 

I started chatting with the woman next to me, who was sitting on a homemade seat made from a bucket and some... dried yellow chemical on top? I sat on a box that contained a fuel-powered generator. Layla sat on an old airplane seat. Others sat on lawn chairs or anything they could find. Some stood. 

They all started drinking beer. I don't do alcohol, but it got fun when they took out a bottle of this "cough syrup" in a tall green glass. Everyone was handed the tiniest cup filled with it. Layla sipped it all in one go, and she yelled, "WHOO! Now THAT'S cough syrup." And then I was all, "This must be some intense cough syrup." Still, I didn't have any. Even though it was New Year's Eve, I insisted on none despite being offered it. 

They all started smoking, and soon it was rather hard to see. Normally, the air would irritate me, but I've spent my entire life around heavy smokers, so I guess I'm just used to that kind of air? My dad blew out some impressive smoke rings. I watched as the ring floated perfectly in the air, then became uneven and disappeared. My dad was not a smoker, but I tried to discourage him from smoking when he had the chance. But the rings were impressive. Wait, this makes me think of onion rings. 

Now I want onion rings. Crap. I need to make some onion rings tonight. Do we have onions? Probably. 

Back to our story. It was the best party ever. Not even those people up two towns over could host a New Year Party better than that. I felt at home. I didn't know a lot of the people there, but they are friends now. Even if I don't know their names. 

And of course, there was the weird food. People were begging me to try this stuff made from whipped cream, fruit, Jell-O, and probably Red 40 dye. I said no, because Jell-O is disgusting for me--it tastes all synthetic and weird. "But please," they'd say, "it tastes like the havens, I'll tell ya! You don't even notice the Jell-O!" I refused. Who knows what was in that stuff. But they were offering me platefuls of it and asking me to lick it off their fingers, which had probably touched the Ebola Yop. 

A lady who I knew, Cecilia, made this homemade creamy stuff that was sort of like Carolans. Cecilia took a sip directly form the bottle, and passed it to other people, who did the same. The Carolans stuff went around in a circle. I didn't want any, of course, but I may have thought about a mocktail version a bit when Layla tried it and was like, "MMM! So rich and creamy..." 

Neon lights that hurt your eyes shimmered above on the high ceiling. The gigantic tubular woodstove kept us all warm. And then it felt sad when it was time to go home. But I knew that snacks and fireworks awaited us. 

We got home and Dad and our family had rum and Coke. Since I didn't drink alcohol, Dad wouldn't give me any Coke. He had never given me Coke in my life. I took out the tiniest, tiniest shot glass and begged him for just the smallest bit. He let my uncle Jay pour it, but he said only an ounce. I felt a sense of eliteness when Jay poured so much it fizzed over the top and foam splashed on my hand. 

We brought out the large box of fireworks, and they were all amazing. Classic fireworks. There was one called the Bazooka, which looked super intimidating. I don't have a picture, but I found this one online. 

The fireworks were awesome, just like everywhere. Layla and Jay's dog, Kash, would probably run around eating the stray used fireworks like a maniac. He loves doing that. And he would do his signature dog smile, which he had learned to do from humans. 

It was midnight, 2026. 

Happy new year, y'all.