by George Redding
Amber Smith was worried, and for a good reason. The eighteen-year-old senior's parents were attending an assembly at Central High School. The large gathering at the school was not a parent teacher conference or a discussion about the curriculum. Rather, they were there to deliberate over the possible consequences for all of the students involved in the preceding night's celebration. Spanking was at the top of the agenda.
The teenagers in Elmwood, Wisconsin, who had attended the celebration the night before, now sat on porches and door steeps everywhere around town wondering and worrying about the conversations that were taking place inside Central High School.
The Central High volleyball team had won a huge victory over rival Roosevelt High in the state championship game in Madison, Wisconsin, the night before. The students returned home to a hero's welcome and there was dancing in the streets. Unfortunately, the celebration carried over into the nighttime hours and soon there was a major gathering of Central High students and other teens at the Stillwater Motel, by far the most popular place in all of Elmwood. It was owned by the parents of Amber's best friend, Janie Stills.
Amber and Janie who both starred in the victory, had organized the party while returning on the bus trip from Madison. They called a few close friends who were not at the game and told them of the victory and their plan to have some fun upon their return. It was clearly a cause for celebration and the students needed to let out some steam after years of being clobbered by the Roosevelt Hawks.
Janie supplied the location, the Stillwater, and Amber agreed to procure some alcohol with the help of a few college boys who still mixed in with their group. It seemed innocent enough at the time. After all what would it hurt? Both girls decided it was worth the risk. They were both elated over the victory and felt they should do something to mark the occasion. It seemed a fitting tribute after so much hard work.
Neither intended to let the party get out of hand but two six packs of beer soon became a few cases, and hard liquor quickly followed. The party soon spiraled out of control. More and more students arrived to join in the celebration. Some came from a neighboring community college and others arrived from another county. After a few hours partying, fights broke out and there was general chaos. Alcohol was now flowing freely and cans of beer were strewn everywhere. There was yelling and hollering mixed in with, what was by now, a feeble attempt at the school's fight song. Several kids were so drunk that they fell into the pool at the motel.
Eventually the police arrived and a small group of about thirty students were corralled and detained in the pool area and lobby of the motel. Others fled by one means or another.
Previously Janie and Amber had made some ineffective attempts to quell what was rapidly escalating into a riot of sorts but by then it was too late. The small gathering had gotten so out of control they could not even be heard above the noise.
Now that the police were coming, Janie and Amber, like some of the others, decided to make a run for it. They planned to make a quick exit to avoid the consequences. Unfortunately, they were considered the ringleaders and everyone knew it, at least those who were from Central High knew it.
Since Janie had a master key to the rooms marked Employees Only, she grabbed Amber and a couple of friends and they ducked into a janitor's closet.
The pandemonium was finally brought under control by fifteen police officers who had to break up another fight, this time between a couple of the girls. Three other highly intoxicated students apparently felt that it would be a good idea to throw liquor bottles at a large window in the pool area. Unfortunately, the window shattered and the glass rained down like a waterfall flowing into the pool itself. The main troublemakers were quickly rounded up, and placed temporarily into police custody.
Janie, Amber and two boys sneaked down a hall and out a side entrance to their car. They drove to the end of the parking lot and saw several other squad cars coming, so they ducked down in the car. It immediately dawned on Janie that she and Amber had made a terrible mistake and Janie suggested that they turn around and go back. Running away would not solve their problem and they would be found out anyway. Everyone from the team knew who had set up the party in the first place. They needed to get back before things got worse.
Amber proposed that they go up to an officer and tell him they left in an attempt to try to chase down one of the out of town partiers who came uninvited. They would then claim that the phantom guy brought the liquor, called his friends, and caused all the trouble. The story grew and grew. Nevertheless, they all agreed that this was a good a plan and that it might work. If it did, it might just get them out of major trouble. If not, their problem would grow exponentially.
If the cop bought the story then maybe, just maybe, they would only be punished for inviting a few friends to a small celebration, which it was really supposed to be. They hoped to avoid the more serious consequences for the major mess that they had caused.
Soon Janie realized how juvenile and stupid she was to think this would only be a small gathering of friends and teammates to celebrate the victory. Word of a party for teens, at a motel, on a Friday night, with alcohol, traveled on the internet faster than the speed of light.
Now, unless they could successfully lie to the police, she knew that she and Amber would probably be skinned alive. It was agreed they would give it one last desperate attempt in order to save each other. Their acting had to be perfect and they needed to look sincere. It would not be a problem for them to look worried because they were very worried.
The alcohol they had consumed before had worn off for the most part as they sat at the edge of the lot waiting for the right moment to approach an officer. They watched all the activity going on at the front of the motel. The party and the teens had poured into the large lobby. Janie was particularly upset seeing and hearing all that was going on.
There was another six-pack of beer on the floor in the back seat of the car. The two boys who were with Janie and Amber decided they had better get rid of the beer before confronting the police with their story. They grabbed the six-pack from the back, exited the car, and climbed up an embankment intending to throw the beer over the other side when they were spotted by an officer who shown a spotlight on all four of them. One of the boys nevertheless threw the entire six-pack over the embankment, hoping that he would not be seen. From the police car, a voice on a loud speaker warned them not to move. They froze. It was too late.
They tried to stick with their story by saying that the six-pack was recovered on the ground and probably left there by the persons they were going to follow. The police officers chuckled at that and escorted them to a police van. The chase story was immediately dismissed by the police officer as a fabrication.
"The exits were blocked fifteen minutes ago," he informed the culprits. They could now add lying to a police officer to their growing rap sheet.
A burly cop moved forward. "We're going to take you back to the motel lobby where some of you can be reunited with your parents. If they're not there yet, we will be more than happy to give you a free ride to your homes to greet your smiling parents and siblings and tell them of your little crime spree," he said, with a knowing snicker.
Another officer commented. "Did you kids know that lying to the police is against the law and could result in a charge of obstruction?"
Amber and Janie knew that they were caught in a lie and now they shuddered to think of the possible consequences of it all. Janie considered asking if she could go directly to jail. Amber agreed it might be a better option. But they both knew that in Elmwood, that would not happen, at least not initially. Oh no, things would be handled differently in Elmwood.
Janie recognized her parent's car speeding in the direction of the Stillwater as the teens made their way toward the motel in the police van. Janie was trembling now and held Amber's hand. Amber could tell what was on Janie's mind. It was on hers too. The van dropped them off at the entrance to the Stillwater. Two police officers escorted them inside.
Many of the other parents were already on the premises and were congregating near the pool and in the lobby area. They were waiting for the owners of the Stillwater and other parents who had been summoned by the police. The desk clerk confirmed that Janie's parents, Sam and Nancy Stills, had arrived.
About ten police officers were still out chasing down those who attempted to flee on foot. Most of the students successfully escaped and the police returned with only one or two stragglers.
Janie and Amber felt like common criminals and, given what they had done, they were. Under normal circumstances in other jurisdictions, they would have been arrested and charged with a whole host of juvenile and even misdemeanor offenses such as underage consumption, curfew violations, possession of alcohol by a minor, and of course for Janie and the gang, obstructing an officer. But this was Elmwood. Things were different here.
All the students who lived in Elmwood, and even some of those who did not, realized what they were facing now. Some of the girls from the team were crying. The other participants looked down at the ground trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.
Janie and Amber tried to calm each other. They hugged each other as if they were about to be sent to the death chamber. They knew their parents would find out the truth. This party was over and there would be serious consequences.
What Janie and Amber didn't know was how significant the whole affair had become. They were unaware of the glass-breaking incident and the other fights that had broken out after they left in their unsuccessful escape attempt. They did not know about the police chase involving the kids who tried to get away on foot. They did not know of a car chase involving police cars and partiers who attempted to flee the scene.
The car chase, as it happened, ended up being the biggest problem. It had created a very dangerous situation on the roads and there was one accident. The police believed it was alcohol related and one student was now in custody.
Several of the partiers were sick from the effects of alcohol and three of them vomited in the pool area. There was glass in and around the pool and some maintenance men were already starting to clean up the mess. Other regular paying guests had left for another, safer and quieter, motel and their money had to be refunded.
Upon seeing all of this, Janie started to cry again and attempted to talk but she simply mumbled some incoherent words. Some of her friends huddled in a corner waiting for their parents to arrive. Others attempted to comfort Janie and told her they were sorry.
Not to be reposted, reproduced or distributed, in part or whole.