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I WANT TO GO OUT TONIGHT

Elaina Wolfe walked up her brick walkway to her front door and took out her key. She thought about how wonderful her father was for not leaving any lights on for her.

As Elaina walked through the wood door, she heard glass crashing and loud voices coming from upstairs. Her parents must be in a fight. Again. How many fights can one couple possibly have?

"Honestly, Michael, how are we supposed to deal with another set-back like this?" Elizabeth Wolfe, Elaina's mother yelled, running down the stairs.

"Elizabeth, for the last time it is not my fault. I'll make up for it," Elaina's father, Michael Wolfe, followed.

"How? How could anything possibly make up for this?" Elizabeth looked up at him.

"Um, guys?" Elaina said quietly.

"What?" her parents yelled simultaneously, making Elaina jump.

"I just wanted to ask you what was for dinner," she said tentatively.

"Nothing. Thanks to your father we might as well all starve," Elizabeth said, stomping into her study and slamming the door.

Michael sighed. "And where have you been all day?" His tone was hard and slightly belligerent.

"I went to the Nikon store. I got this really nice –"

"You went to get a camera? You were supposed to be at the library studying," Michael yelled.

"Dad, I did. I was there all day. I just stopped there on my way home." Elaina tried to stay calm, but there was only so much she would take.

"You wasted an hour of your study time to get a stupid camera, Elaina? I expect you to be serious about your work."

"It's not a stupid camera, and I am serious. I didn't think it was an issue. I'm sorry." Elaina put her hand in her pocket and gave him the finger. This was her way of calming down.

"It's really sad that you can't even comprehend what you did wrong. That's disappointing."

Elaina rolled her eyes and marched into the kitchen. She sat down at the island chair and tried to breathe, telling herself to not let him get to her. Just as her pulse was starting to go back to its normal speed, her father stormed into the room. Of course.

"You have no right to be upset with me. I have done nothing wrong," Michael roared.

"Who are you trying to convince? Yourself or me? Either way you aren't doing a very good job," Elaina countered, taking a bite of an apple.

Michael's face turned bright red. "Go to your room," he bellowed. "Now."

"No. I think I'll go somewhere a little less crazy than this place. Like Cirque du Soleil!"

Elaina grabbed her purse and new camera and sauntered to the hall. She threw her apple over her shoulder and heard it bounce on the floor as she slammed the front door behind her.

Elaina sped away in her yellow Porsche Boxter and blasted the radio. All she had to do was figure out where to go. She thought for a moment. She wished she actually could be in Cirque du Soleil. But then she thought of the next best thing. After all, she had her credit card and her fake ID was in her wallet. Why not splurge?

She pulled into a Forever 21 and picked out a tight pink tank-top, black leather skinnies that looked like they had been painted onto her legs, and strappy high heels. Now, onward to the local bar.

Elaina rode around until she found a place called Jade Nightly. She parked about a block away and made sure to lock her car. She took out her fake ID and showed it to the bouncer. He let her in even though he barely looked at her card.

The place was crawling with hot older boys and the smell of liquor polluted the air. She thought she saw a few boys from school there, but she couldn't be sure.

Elaina went straight to the bar and ordered a Bud Light. After she chugged her first one, she immediately asked for another. She downed another beer, a few vodka shots, and spiked punch.

"Hey," a voice said.

Elaina looked around the room, nearly falling off her bar stool. She realized there was a girl sitting right next to her. She tried to focus her vision. The girl was wearing a short leopard print dress with red pumps. She had short curly blonde hair. It looked so healthy and bouncy. Elaina looked at her own hair: long, brunette, and stringy. She hadn't had time to re-straighten it like she normally would have.

"Hi," Elaina said too loud. She hiccupped.

"I'm Carla. I'm new in town," the girl said, reaching out her hand.

"I'm…Elaina," she slurred, almost forgetting her own name. She shook the girl's hand and took another sip of her punch.

"That's such a pretty name."

"Thanks."

"And I just love your top," Carla said, grabbing at the bottom of Elaina's shirt.

"Thanks. I like your dress."

"Thank you. It was my sister's, but she hardly wears it anymore." She smiled. "Do you want to dance?"

Elaina knew that she should be a little creeped out by this whole thing, but she went along with it. She was too drunk to care.

Carla pulled Elaina out onto the dance floor. The two danced wildly together. Elaina hardly knew where she was or what she was even doing. All she knew was that she was dancing, and she loved to dance.

The dance session grew wilder and the room began to spin. Suddenly, Elaina felt soft lips on hers and the whole bar began to cheer. It took her a few moments to realize that Carla was kissing her. As soon as she knew what was going on, she pushed Carla away.

"What the hell?" Elaina screamed.

Carla just looked at her. "What?"

"You kissed me."

"I'm sorry. I should not have done that?" Carla look embarrassed.

"No." Elaina felt light headed. The crowd was still cheering and made Elaina's headache even worse. The floor seemed to have come up and hit Elaina in the head. Before knew it, she was on the floor.

"Elaina! Are you okay?" Carla kneeled beside her.

Elaina heard the crowd laughing and chanting for them to make out on the floor. Elaina groaned and tried to get up. She heard familiar voices and extra hands were trying to help her sit up.

Elaina looked up. Her friends Lindsay Gilbert and Mandy Davis were looking down at her. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but they lifted her and they all stumbled into the bathroom where they sat Elaina down next to the sink.

"Get off me. I'm fine," Elaina insisted.

"Mandy go get a cold paper towel or something," Lindsay said.

"I don't need it." Elaina tried to get up, but her knees gave out and she fell back on her butt.

"Stop. Sit down," Lindsay said, sternly. Mandy handed her the towel and Lindsay stuck it down Elaina's bra.

Elaina jumped and tried to grab the towel. "Lindsay! What did you do that for?"

"You have to wake up."

"Elaina, I'm really sorry. I just thought…" Carla pleaded.

"No, it's fine. It was probably my fault anyway," Elaina sighed. "Guys, this is Carla. We just met tonight. We had fun." Elaina smiled at Carla, feeling sorry for her.

Lindsay and Mandy introduced themselves to Carla and they all decided that Elaina had to get out of there.

"Okay, c'mon," Mandy said, helping Elaina to her feet. The girls walked to Lindsay's white Compact Coupe Hybrid Concept and got Elaina into the car.

"What about my car?" Elaina slurred.

"Is it locked?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes."

"We'll get it in the morning."

"Hey, Elaina?" Carla walked up to the window. "I'm really sorry."

"It's really okay, Carla. Maybe I'll see you around." Elaina forced a smile.

"It was nice to meet you!" Mandy said. Then they sped off into the night.

Elaina had no sense of time as they drove to Lindsay's house. It could have been two hours before they got to her driveway. The car light went on when Lindsay opened her driver's door. Elaina squinted.

"Turn that off!" she yelled.

"Nope," Lindsay said, helping Elaina out of the car and onto her feet. "Mandy help!"

The girls got into the house and laid Elaina out on the couch. Elaina passed out as soon as she hit the cushion. Awhile later, a massive headache woke her up.

"Oh my gosh," she squealed, sitting up too fast, making herself dizzy. "Ugh."

"Oh good, you're up," Mandy said, setting a bowl of oatmeal in front of her on the coffee table. Lindsay placed a mug of coffee next to the oatmeal. "Eat."

The girls sat down and watched as Elaina ate. It turns out she had been asleep for three hours. It was now two in the morning.

"So," Elaina began nervously, "did you guys see much?"

"Well, yes…" Lindsay said.

"Was it bad?"

"Not to make you feel bad or anything, but yeah." Mandy joined the conversation.

Elaina moaned. "What did I do?"

"Well, you were grinding with that Carla girl. A lot. And then you started screaming that you had a purple dog named Bobo at your very own circus in Canada," Mandy explained.

"Then you got onto the bar counter and started dancing like a crazy person until you decided to go crowd surfing. The guys in there were all over you, but you pushed them away to go be with Carla. You were pulling her dress strap off her shoulder when she kissed you," Lindsay continued.

"Holy crap. How do I not remember anything but her kissing me?" Elaina asked in disbelief. "And why didn't you guys stop me?"

Lindsay and Mandy looked at each other, then back at Elaina and shrugged their shoulders.

"Thanks." Elaina finished her oatmeal and downed her coffee. She felt a lot better, but still was in no shape to do anything that required standing. Just as soon as she thought her headache was gone, her cell phone rang. Her head pounded. She reached into her purse and answered it just to make the awful noise stop.

"Hello?" she mumbled.

"Where the hell are you?" her mother's voice boomed through the speaker.

"Lindsay's."

"When did you leave?"

"Hours ago. Why are you calling me now?"

"Because I…I don't have to explain myself to you. But you better come home first thing in the morning! You are in a lot of trouble, young lady!" her mother said quickly.

"What for this time?" Elaina sighed.

"Don't play dumb. I talked to your father. I know what happened between you two and you better be ready for some major restrictions."

"Yeah, okay. Have a good night. Goodbye." Elaina hung up. Really? She wanted to crawl under a rock.

"What was that?" Mandy asked.

"My mom. I'm trouble for wasting study time and talking back to my dad."

Lindsay laughed. "I'll get the earplugs."

"I'll need them. I can't wait until the agency gets back to me. I need to know if they liked me!"

"Did you even tell your parents that you sent your portfolio to that modeling agency yet?" Mandy asked.

"Are you kidding? All they would tell me is that it would interfere with my school work and it would take away study time and blah blah blah. I don't know if I can ever tell them."

"Please don't worry about this right now. Just get some sleep," Lindsay pleaded.

"Sounds good," Elaina agreed.

Lindsay got Elaina a blanket, turned off the light, and went upstairs with Mandy. Elaina sighed and was out within five minutes.