Down The Highway

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Shawn disappeared like a bubble. He got out of my sight. I don't know if it was him who got away from me or if it was me who got away from him. Myrna's hand got away from mine in the middle of the crowded people dancing around. "Myrna!" I screamed but no one heard me because of the very deafening loud music. I even got bumped by a few people around me who were enjoying the noise that I wasn't. I sighed in disappointment, thought that Myrna was drunk already so she lost me.

Or maybe I lost her. The number of people around the house was uncountable. Infinite. Even if the path was so slim and tight, I still tried to walk and look for the exit of the house to finally be away from the bunch of strangers. This is why I hate parties so much.

I walked around until I reached a door. I opened it immediately to escape. The moon, stars, and the dark sky were the first things I saw as I got out of the crowded house. I realized that it wasn't the front door, it was the back or exit door. There was a pool, a group of eight to nine people sitting around, formed as a circle, on the grassy floor, and there was also a sliding chair. Peaceful, unlike inside. I walked towards the group of people where I recognized some of them.

There was Jannet, Ben, Nolan, and Shawn. The others were just strangers from our campus whom I met before but forgot the names. "Oh, hi Jade!" Nolan gracefully asked as I saw his hands on top of Jannet's. I looked at it as I frowned and he immediately got his hands away. There was something in between. "Hi?" I spoke in a low voice.

"Come sit around." He added as I smiled. I wanted to sit beside Jannet but he quickly filled the space. I knew he didn't want me to sit beside her because he wanted to be the one to do so. "You can sit beside Shawn" he smiled awkwardly and I gave a fake smile. I saw his hands getting back on top of Jannet's. I sat on the floor beside Shawn as he smiled at me but I tried to ignore him.

There was an unfamiliar thing in front of us, a round black machine which I have never seen before. "They seem to be enjoying the night there inside" Ben narrowed at the house where I came from. Flashing lights and the loud noise could still be seen and heard from afar. "They sure do" Jannet inserted.

"So, anyway, we are going to play a nice game tonight," Nolan introduced.

"Seems like something is going on in there can you assist it first, babe?"

Babe???

He just called Jannet Babe. I knew something was going on. She sweetly smiled and stood as she made her way to the house. "This game is called, the Lie Detector Challenge" I gulped as I faced Shawn who was thinking the same thing as me. Going to be a good game! Or maybe not. I heard about this game before but haven't played it even just once.

"A player would ask his fellow player who he wants to ask, a question of his choice. When the lie detector beeps with a red light, it means the answer is a lie, but when it beeps with a green light, it means that the answer is true. Whoever lies would take a shot. You guys in?" I gulped, unsure if I would accept the invite or not. I thought that the condition inside was worse already.

But this is the worst. It's just that I haven't tried drinking alcohol before. I sighed. Didn't have a choice when Nolan started the game. "Let me go first, who wants to ask me?" Shawn stated as I looked at him. "Let me" the smile on his face vanished but didn't have a choice but to nod. "Go ahead"

I smiled, "let's say that you secretly loved a girl from your past, but you lied to her." I spoke, "would you come back to her and pretend that you are somebody else?" I watched all the sweat that dripped down from his face while he awkwardly smiled.

"I won't. Because I already lied to her before so why would I lie to her again? A real man should always be honest" I sighed in disappointment, didn't get the answer I was looking for. Everyone around me clapped their hands and shouted in proudness. But then, the lie detector beeped with a red light. I laughed lightly. "I guess your quotes don't make sense at all" I teased, he smiled and courageously took the shot glass as he immediately drank the alcohol inside it like he was a pro drinker.

Everyone, including me, got all our jaws dropped on the floor, and looked at him with wide eyes. He wiped the leftover alcohol on his lips as he looked at me playfully. "My turn" I gulped, knowing that he was going to take revenge for what I did earlier. "Similar to your question, let's say that you also secretly loved someone from your past. When he comes back, would you give him another chance when he says sorry for all the lies he gave before? In other words, would you love him again"

Nolan and Ben slightly laughed in the background but I ignored them and just held all my attention tightly focused on Shawn. "No, because he already lied to me so why would I love him again? Girls aren't toys to play with" the two unfamiliar girls with us clapped their hands in agreement. "So true," the other girl said. But the lie detector beeped with a red light.

My eyes widened. "It shouldn't" I whispered. Shawn devilishly laughed at me. "Your quotes don't make sense too" he grabbed a shot glass and I slowly grabbed it from his cold hands as he offered it to me. I drank it, tasted like crap. It was like the taste of different medicines combined. Tastes bad as the name of it.