The Beginning

The fire was already lit, the flames flying high lighting up it’s dark surroundings. Several familiar faces sat around the fire, others ran around the lake, others still stood at a table drinking something from red plastic cups.

The party was supposed to start at ten and it was now ten fifteen, so why did it look to Frankie that the party had been going for hours already? There was at least twenty people scattered; screaming, laughing, she even spotted a couple making out under a tree.

Frankie had been there approximately ten-seconds and she could already tell it was going to be everything she had ever expected, everything she had dreamed of for the last four years.

It was the Graduates Bon Fire, a tradition in Lincoln that had been going on ever since Frankie could remember. Just as she could remember entering freshman year and hearing all the stories from siblings of people who had gone to the bon fire night. There was Helen Skiller who had gotten pregnant the night of her bon fire night, there was George Jacobson who had had an accident and lost half of his finger. There were cops called some years, people breaking up, hooking up, anything you could ever imagine had happened one year or another at the graduates bon fire night. Frankie had listened to every story ever told to her about the bon fire night, she had held on to this night for four years in hope it was some kind of miracle night. To Frankie this was a night that could change her life for the worse or the better, and she hoped it would be for the better.

“I thought it started at ten, why are there so many people here already?” Frankie nervously tugged at the sleeves of her black, cropped hoodie. She felt as if she could vomit and she wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or excitement.

Josie shrugged her shoulders, “They’re probably excited just like us — besides, someone has to get everything going.”

“Have you ever wondered who’s property this is?” Frankie’s feet crunched on the gravel as she spoke her question out loud.

Josie shrugged once more.

Frankie had thought about thing such as who’s property the party was held on more than she’d like to admit. She had also thought about how they all knew the date and time, it’s not as if anyone was posting about it online or sharing flyers about the event. Adults in town hated the party as did the cops, after all there was more illegal happenings going on at bon fire nights than Frankie could count on both hands. That’s why it was word of mouth to let the graduates know when it would be, but who started the word? Who decided what time and day it would be? Who started the fire? Of course they’d never really know, but Frankie couldn’t help but wonder.

“When are Harriet and Jackson getting here?” Josie interrupts her thoughts.

“I’m not sure—“

“Damnit—“

“What?”

Josie groans, “I forgot my phone in the car.”

Frankie too, groans, “Are you serious?” It was a mile walk back to the car through the woods, they had only just made it to the rocky beach area where the bon-fire was.

“I’m sorry, but you know your phone is going to die in like ten minutes, don’t you want something to take photos on?”

Frankie thought for a moment — they could use Harriet’s phone when she got here, but what were the chances she’d hang out with them for more than two minutes before running off to have forest sex with Jackson?

With another groan Frankie turns around and begins leading them back through the woods. Halfway down the path they ran into Harriet and Jackson, “You already get kicked out?” Harriet had asked with a laugh.

“Josie forgot her phone,” Frankie explained, not the list bit enthusiastically.

When finally the two girls were back at the parking lot where at least fifty cars were packed in, Frankie stumbles on her feet and nearly chokes on air.

“What’s wrong with you?” Josie’s feet stop walking and she stares at her best friend curiously.

It only took a flash of red hair out of the corner of Frankie’s eye to know who was getting out of the black truck across the parking lot. Roger Flemming. Instead of speaking, Frankie simply stared — Josie caught her eye and followed her gaze to where she too spotted Roger.

“I thought he never went to parties?” Josie practically screams, earning them a few strange looks from three teens walking by them.

Frankie instantly shushes her friend and timidly continues on her way to where they parked the car, Josie right on her heels. “How did you not know he was coming tonight?”

“It’s not like I”m his mother,” Frankie rolls her eyes even though her friend can’t see it.

“Whatever - as if you don’t know when and where he’s going to be somewhere.”

“Okay okay, I did look into it but no one thought he was coming because he hasn’t been to more than one or two parties in the last four years of High School.” Frankie felt as if she could die, “I didn’t even do my makeup tonight.”

Josie laughs now, “At least you put mascara on, and I think I have some lipstick in the glove box you can use.”

They were at the car now, Josie’s white BMW that cost more than what Frankie’s life was worth to her. With a click of a button and two beeping sounds, the doors are unlocked and both girls climb in the car. Immediately Frankie opens the glove box and begins digging through the various loose items. When she finally spots the black tube with a silver ring around it she snags it up and twists the lid off. She slid the dusty rose color onto her lips as she stared into the mirror above her on her visor.

“So,” Josie clicks her phone off and places it in on her lap, “you going to talk to him or what?”

“I don’t know,” With the lipstick back in the glovebox Frankie stares at herself in the mirror, “do you still have a hairbrush in here?”

Silently Josie reaches behind them in the backseat and retrieves a small, black hairbrush and places it into Frankie’s hand.

“You might not see him again after tonight — at least not if you don’t go talk to him.”

“I know—“ Frankie could feel her irritation growing as she yanked the hairbrush through her straight, dark brown hair. She knew better than anyone that this was her last chance to talk to Roger, the boy she had been crushing on for at least two years now.

Whatever knots had been in Frankie’s stomach seemed to triple in size, a part of her wished he hadn’t shown up tonight — she could have had a lovely stress free night. It’s fine, she told herself, she didn’t even know if she’d see him or even talk to him tonight.

“Let’s go,” Josie opens her door followed by Frankie reluctantly opening her own and stepping back onto the gravel.

As their feet crossed the parking area where two more trucks were pulling in, they could hear the laughter of a group ahead of them walking. It looked to be five people just entering the woods, one of which had red hair — Frankie knew it was Roger. Unlike the group ahead of them, Frankie and Josie walked silently, occasionally sharing a look.

Josie had been Frankie’s best friend since second grade, they knew each other inside and out so it went without being said that Frankie needed to silence to compose herself and breathe away the knots in her stomach.

Once again they reach the beach with the crowd of people only the amount of people gathered had seemed to double in the short time the two girls were away.

“How long were we gone for?” Josie whispers under her breath, her eyes darting across the different groups of people.

Frankie laughs as she begins to lead the way to where a cooler sat a ways away from the roaring fire, “I think we need a drink.”

“Someone wants to get laid.” Josie follows close behind and while Frankie wanted to tell her to shut up, she didn’t because she knew she was right. There were a few things Frankie could do well; she could tutor people in English, she could ride a motorcycle, she could play volleyball — what she couldn’t do was hold her alcohol. Josie had snuck some wine from her parents alcohol cabinet and they had drank the bottle in an hour. Josie was Josie, Frankie was drunk for the first time and had their been any boys around she was sure she would have lost her virginity right then and there. Since that night she had drunk a few sips or a glass or two at the occasional party but she had made sure to limit herself with her consumption.

There were cans of various drinks inside the three coolers filled with slowly melting ice, Frankie was fairly certain she wouldn’t like the taste of any of them so she simply picked a can based off the color - she grabbed a bright yellow can and opened it. As suspected the taste of the liquid was tolerable at best, but still she drank it ignoring Josie’s humored expression as she drank from her own can — one of a purple color.

Darkness was beginning to fall and even with he massive fire, the sight of the people across the beach were beginning to fade from sight. There was no mistaking the tall girl with auburn hair walking by the fire towards Josie and Frankie though, Louisa Harper was a girl the two girls had known about as long as they had known each other. Only over the last two years had they all become close though, and only within the last summer had the rest of their posse formed.

“Big turn out this year?” Louisa greets them, grabbing her own drink from the cooler. As much as Frankie was considered a “good girl” for the lack of sex and alcohol and sex she indulged in, Louisa was the perfect good girl, in fact Frankie wouldn’t be surprised if she was about to witness her tasting alcohol for the first time. The girl, opposite of Frankie, knew very little about the bon-fire bash. Unlike Frankie and Josie who had snuck out and witnessed a part of it their Junior year of high school.

The two girls glanced around and compared the view to the one they had in their memory from two years back when they had witnessed the events for a moment or two before rushing back home.

Josie shrugs, Frankie speaks, “It’s a little bigger than what I remember I think.”

Josie nods, “Definitely not smaller.”

The group of three moves over to the fire where they soak in the warmth from ten feet away, any closer and they might break a sweat from the heat.

Frankie’s mind ran wild as Josie and Louisa discussed something she didn’t care to hear. She worked to form a plan on what she was going to do when she ended up alone for she knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. Harriet and Jackson were already off somewhere making out at the least Frankie was sure. She hadn’t even seen Parker but she could guess he was already laying around stoned somewhere, possibly in the middle of the woods. While her two best friends were with her now, she estimated an hour or two at the most before they were off making out in secret somewhere.

Neither Louisa or Josie had ever admitted or hinted to liking each other, or anyone of the same sex for that matter. Frankie had suspected Josie’s secret since they were at least ten, it was only confirmed at age fifteen though when she had accidentally spied her and another girl kissing in an empty room at school. Frankie had never confronted her friend on the matter, she felt it was up to Josie to discuss it when she felt comfortable with it. She couldn’t help think it would be so much easier if either girls just came out with the truth, at this point not only Frankie but the three others in their friend group had spied the two kissing more than once. Still the secret remained, and knowing her friends well Frankie knew they wouldn’t pass up this chance to sneak away to get a moment alone together.

At this point in the night, the only plan Frankie had in her mind was to drink, because if she drank she suspected she’d be brave enough to talk to someone, specifically Roger. So she drank until her can was empty and then she grabbed another, and another.