"This is going to be so awesome!" Shay announced from the back seat of Tony's car.

Tony sat in the passenger seat, letting Marge drive. Her short, crimped blonde hair was all Charlie could see from the seat behind her, but she heard her voice trail back.

"Haven't you ever been to one of these concerts before?"

"Nope," Shay admitted.

"Me, either," Charlie said.

"Wow," Marge said, "I thought Tony would have took you guys, being that he's been to so many."

Tony was a few years older and, though they were cousins, he had more freedom than Shay had. Shay's mom had refused to let her go to any dangerous concerts until "She got old enough to drink." However, the girls found a loophole. How could her mother refuse her best friend's sweet sixteen gift? Mrs. Wriggly had reluctantly agreed to let Shay go along, after doing all but making Tony sign a swear paper with his own blood stating that he would watch over the girls and keep them safe.

An hour later, and perfectly safe, they pulled up at the gigantic parking lot at the outside venue. The sun beat down as they got out of the car. Charlie noticed a group of people nearby. It was two girls and three guys. Only a few of them wore uni shirts, but all of them looked like they were the same age--eighteen or nineteen. They were loud and smoking something they kept passing around. Tony walked up to them.

"Hey, Tony!" said a tall slim guy with long blonde hair.

He reminded Charlie of a guitarist in a rock band she liked. A girl with short, wavy blonde hair was hanging on his arm, but he looked like he was trying to ignore her. She smiled and watched him, but he was clearly uninterested. He and Tony shook hands unceremoniously, wrapping their fingers around each other's thumbs instead of grasping palms, then they bumped shoulders.

Behind him, the others greeted Tony in a friendly way as well. A shaggy haired guy wearing a Slayer shirt, a short dark-skinned girl with long brown hair, and a big guy with wild bushy hair.

"You all know Marge. This is my little cousin, Shayleigh, and her best friend, Charlie," Tony said.

Tony introduced the blonde guy as Jake, the wavy haired girl at his side was Tamera. The boy in a Slayer shirt was Jonny. The short girl was Demi, and the big guy was Dan. Tony said that Demi and Dan were siblings. It was odd, because they didn't look anything alike. Demi was so small and dark. Dan was huge and pale.

Charlie didn't muse on their opposites for long, however, because Jake spoke and drew her attention.

"What's up, Shay?" he said, as though he'd met her before. "Hi, Shay's best friend."

Charlie smiled and mumbled a shy hello.

Tamera seemed to come alive to the rest of the world beyond Jake just then. She said hello to them, but it was too cheery. To Charlie, it seemed like she was putting on a show of being nice specifically for Jake. She kept glancing back at him like a child trying to gauge how well she was doing. Would she get a treat? A praise? Charlie found it quite unsettling. She decided she didn't like Tamera.

But she did like Jake. Jake was cool. And Jonny seemed pretty cool too. His arm was draped over Demi's shoulder. He pulled a pack of smokes and a lighter out of the pocket of the baggy flannel shirt that she wore. He pulled out something completely white and slimmer than a cigarette.

"One more before we go inside?" He asked.

He put fire to the end and inhaled the smoke. Demi took it and inhaled. Then Dan. Somehow, everyone had formed a circle, and Shay and Charlie were part of it. The smell was unmistakable--like Charlie's cousin Joe's bedroom. Joe was an avid pot smoker. The thing was definitely a marijuana cigarette. She was surprised when Shay took the thing from Jonny and breathed it in. Shay then tried to hand it to Charlie, but Charlie shook her head.

"I'm allergic," she said. It was easier than saying no, because then they wouldn't think she was scared or uncool. They also wouldn't try to pressure her to smoke it if she were allergic.

"When did you ever try it?" Shay asked, baffled.

Charlie thought quick. "Last summer with Joe." She was lying. She hated lying. Shay could probably tell it was a lie. Charlie would tell her the truth later. She just didn't want to look like a loser. "It made me so sick. . . ."

"Man, that would suck," Jake said.

"Yeah, that would suck," Tamera said in true parrot fashion. Then she added her own commentary. "You suck." She giggled. A few of the others giggled, but nobody took it seriously, so Charlie didn't take it seriously. She shrugged nonchalantly.

The joint was going back around. Tamera took it from Tony and held it awkwardly. She drew in a tiny amount of smoke--not enough to really count--and then she handed it to Jake. It was clear she really didn't want to smoke it either. Hypocrite.

Charlie decided that she really didn't like Tamera.