The Weirdest Party Ever

1 am on a Saturday night, now Sunday morning, and I'm trying to study for finals.

It's not going well.

The guys next door to me are throwing a loud party, and here in Quarters with the paper walls, I'm feeling the party. Sounds like they're banging on a table. Wtf? I'm cool with the guys who live there, so I kinda just want to let them have their fun. Whatever. Back to pretending to study.

2 am, and I haven't moved an inch. Fuck it, I'm going over to see what's up.

I walk in and it's like I've walked into a frat party. Empty beer cans and empty shot glasses are lying all around, and the floor is glistening wet. Loud music, and the table banging's still going. I run into my friend Alex, who's one of the guys who lives there. He's a big, built guy, but he's swaying like a boat in a storm, with a lowball glass full of rum hanging from his fingertips.

"What's up man, didn't know you drink! I thought you just studied!"

"Hell no man, not anymore!"

"Haha, I see your roommates have corrupted you well bro."

"For sure man, enjoy the party. I'm gonna step out for a second to let some people in. See ya in a bit."

Turns out the noise is called Thumper. Looks like a blast. I watch for a little bit to see how it's played, and figure what the hell, I'll come in in a few minutes. I walk over to the other side of the room to scope the place out real quick, and the next thing I know-

"COPS!!!!!"

This big, 6 foot tall drunk dude comes racing straight across the room, but slipped on some beer and went barreling right into my feet. I look down at him in confusion and some amusement. He scrambles on his hands and knees for a second, lunges for the iPod supplying the music, and pauses it.

"COPS!! EVERYONE, SHUT UP!!!"

The party is dead quiet. Nobody is moving, and some girls next to me have stopped in mid-grind with each other, their mouths open. You could have heard all the hearts in the room, beating like drums. Everyone's head is turned towards the door now.

Aaron, the only guy who lives there left at the party, tiptoes toward the door and peeps into the hole. He turned around and his eyes were wide open. He put his arms in the air, making a "keep it down" sign with his hands. Maybe if we keep it down for long enough, they'll believe we magically poofed away, I think.

The other people there seemed to agree with me, and after a few seconds they start whispering amongst each other. Aaron looks like he's in pain. He's doing the hand-waving thing again. Scattered shushes go around the room.

The longest 5 minutes of my life crawls by.

The cops knock every minute, each time getting louder and angrier-sounding. Aaron's still at the door, refusing to budge. Everyone's looking at each other with that "Aw, come on" look on their faces, occasionally casting nervous glances at the door. Some of these same people still have drinks in their hands.

Now that I think about it, I did meet some Aggies at that party.

I can't help but snicker a little bit. Great. Just my luck that I'd run into trouble with the law as soon as I ditch studying to go party. And just my luck that I'd come in right when Alex left. The sad, twisted irony. Fuck you, Karma.

Finally, the knocking subsides for a bit, and people start to ease up a little. Maybe they're gone.

Then, some more knocking.

By this time, people are like, "Just answer the door already! You're making it worse!" I couldn't blame Aaron for not wanting to. If it were me, I'd say "Fuck yall, there'll be hell to pay if I get screwed up the ass for having all this here." Nobody's going to tell him what to do though, he plays football and I bet nobody there could budge him if they tried.

Finally, he looks into the peephole and his shoulders slack. He opens the door, and everyone draws a collective breath.

It's Alex.

Apparently, the cops had finally left, and Alex had actually just seen him leave in his police car. But were there more of them, and were they going to come back?

The party slowly resumed itself, but it was on life support now. You could barely hear the music, Thumper was thumping no more, and worst of all, no dancing. A tense fear hinted in everyone's eyes. Every conversation was about the same thing. What just happened, and was it safe to stay?

I met the big guy who had careened into me, trying to turn off the music. His name was Hayden, and he had actually cut his hand on the TV stand when he slipped and fell. Everyone was giving him shit for flipping out. Poor fuck.

I chatted with some girls for a bit before I decided it was time for me to exit stage left. It was just too tense and the party vibes were dead anyway. But sure enough, Karma decided to come back for seconds, and right when I got to leave, there was knocking on the door again. Apparently the cops were back. I couldn't even leave to go over to my place next door. Gawd.

Ironically enough, history repeated itself. The knocking went away after 10 minutes, and came back soon after. Aaron opened the door, and this time Ben, the third guy who lives there, popped into the doorway. I didn't hang around for long after that.

It had been an hour since I had ditched homework, and I finally sank into my chair at home, very confused, relieved, and a little humbled. What a night.