"Hey, Jeremy!" Jacob asked as he poked his head into my room. "Now that school's out, do you have any plans for the summer?"

"Eh," I simply replied as I put my headphones on and started playing my music. Jacob walked over, yanked them off, and looked at me.

"There's gotta be SOMETHING you wanna do," he told me. "It's summer vacation!" I deeply sighed.

"To be honest," I told him, "I really want to try getting a job!"

"A job?" He sounded really surprised. "It's 3 months of no school and you want a JOB?"

"Believe me," I explained, "I wouldn't do it unless I had a good reason to do so."

"What would that reason be?"

"I really really REALLY want a new car."

"What's wrong with the one you have?"

"It's not that reliable anymore. I swear I can't go one day without it dying on me!"

"Wow, that's a bummer..."

"Tell me about it. I need a car that's newer and can actually survive a drive across the street!"

"Well, do you have any idea where to get a job to get that money?"

"Honestly, no...I haven't checked for any available jobs yet."

"Well, better start looking now! The beginning of summer is the best time for job openings, especially for a high schooler!"

"I guess you're right. I'll check the paper and see if I can find anything."

"I'll even bring it to you. Give me a second."

My big brother then left my room and went down the stairs.

I wasn't a fan of working in the summer, but it was the only way I could get the car. Mom and Dad refuse to buy me one and school is too busy to have a job at the same time. This was my only chance.

Jacob came back into my room holding a rolled-up newspaper. He handed it to me and smiled.

"I guess you better pray this'll be worth it!" He told me.

"I guess so!" I replied with a chuckle. I then unrolled the paper and started reading the want ads.

I actually saw quite a few job offers. There was a barbershop looking for a janitor, a family looking for a babysitter, and even a store looking for a cashier! Despite the many jobs, though, none of them could pay me enough money to get a car by the time summer ended.

"There's NOTHING?" Jacob asked.

"None that'll give me the money soon enough," I replied.

"Well, I'm sure there's a job available somewhere."

"Hopefully..."

"Jacob! Jeremy!" A familiar female voice called from downstairs.

"Yeah, Mom?" We both replied.

"Get ready; we have to go to Tommy's birthday party in an hour!"

Ah, shit. I had forgotten about that. I still don't understand how my mom convinced us all to go our cousin's birthday party. It's not like we knew anyone on that side of the family very well!

"Well, let's get ready, I suppose," Jacob told me.

"Where's this stupid party at again?" I asked.

"I think it was called 'Freddy Fazzy Pizza' or something like that."

"Sounds about right. Well, let's get this over with."

I honestly had no idea a simple birthday party would lead to a total nightmare that would haunt me forever.