Greenwood Bay

2 | A Party to Die For

"Sorry! Didn't realise your dad would drop you off otherwise I woulda hid it better. It's just fresh water and vegetable smoothies, of course" Mike joked, finally heaving it onto the gravel path, The path behind him weaved around the hills with thick shrubbery and long grass littering the way. On the horizon, Dakota could just make out the glisten of water... or perhaps that was a mirage.

"I know a crate of beer when I see one," Dakota said with a laugh and turned to Noah who was wearing his usually geeky get-up except he replaced his jeans with denim shorts, "Hey!"

"Hey, good to see you!" He replied with a smile.

"Zach's already down there," Emily announced, swatting away a bug. Her outfit would be complete punk-rock style again, with a faded band vest and red shorts with plenty of chains and rings, if it wasn't for the comically large black brimmed hat that sat atop her head. One wrong step and she was sure she'd wobble over.

"Cool. Who's all coming?" Dakota asked Emily as they started to walk down the trail. The grass billowed in the strong winds, bugs were humming, birds were chirping. The smell of flowers lingered in the air. Noah and Mike trotted on ahead each carrying an end of the ice box.

"Not too sure. Zach for sure, I don't know if he's invited anyone. I asked Brooke and Asher but they said they were busy,"

"Back to the woods for mysterious reasons?" Dakota asked raising an eyebrow.

"Afraid not. They have band practise,"

Dakota pictured them playing a flute and tuba.

"Didn't realise they were in school band,"

"Not the school, silly! They have their own rock band, the Ciceros - you should have a listen, they're quite good!"

"What?!" Dakota exclaimed earnestly, "I had no idea they were in a band, thats's so cool!"

"Yeah! Asher's on bass and Brooke's lead singer. I don't really know the other members. You should ask to join, I think they need another backup singer,"

"I don't sing,"

"Well, neither does that their backup singer now clearly but that hasn't stopped him!"

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the shore of a vast lake. The shore was more like a beach with dark coloured sand and the occasional shoot of a plant trying its best to make it through the ground. They were alone out here, a few other groups of people sat at different points around the lake, all staying far away from each other. The occasional dog-walker would stroll back and Dakota made a mental note to hide the booze whenever that happened. Sure enough, Zach had already set up shop just ahead, laying out a large red picnic blanket under a tree a mere two meters from the soft waters. As they approached, Dakota realised he wasn't alone: two people sat with him, a round boy with a freckled face and ginger hair and a brunette girl with a round face and plump lips.

"You made it! Oh, and you brought Arizona!" He said motioning to Dakota.

"Hey, Zach! Long time no see," Dakota said playfully. This behaviour was so out of her comfort zone but she tried her best to act casual about it. Suddenly, he bent down on his knee and shouted 'my liege' but Emily pushed him over.

"Come off it, Zach. Is that Jeremiah?" She called out to the ginger boy, who rose to his feet and gave her a big bear hug, "Damn, is the whole lacrosse team coming today?"

"Nope, just the hot ones," Zach replied, turning to Mike "Oh my god, who is that stranger? Everyone! Don't look him in the eye or he'll follow you home!"

"Oh, is this what we're doing?"

"What do we do when we see a bear, guys, remember our Scout training. If it's brown, lay down. If it's black, fight back. If it's white, goodni- ooh, bear! There's a joke there..."