If the human mind was simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple to understand it.
-Emerson Pugh

Jason was standing nervously, waiting for his name to be called. This was it, the ending of one part of his life and the start of another. High school was finally over and in just a few moments he would have a piece of paper to prove it. The air was charged with sharp expectation along with relief that it was almost over. The class of 2004 had suffered through the speeches and awards and were finally being presented with their diplomas.

It was all he could do to keep his mind on what was going on around him. He barely noticed how hot he was in the graduation robe as his mind wondered. He had a summer of freedom then off to college. He was very relieved high school was over. It wasn't that he disliked school so much as he found it boring. Jason was a straight A student who found very little about high school that was a challenge. He was hoping to find college a bit more stimulating. He had not yet decided on a major, but was leaning towards computer science.

Jason did not fit the normal computer geek stereotype. He was pretty fit from working on his grandfathers farm. He stood about 6'1", had dark brown hair, piercing green eyes, and a rather slim, but muscular build.

A nudge from his right brought his attention back to the present. One of his class mates, Michael, was frowning at him and he realized they had called his name. Trying to look calm and pretend his face hadn't just turned scarlet, he made his way to the stage. Luckily he was able to shake hands with the principle, accept his diploma, and make it off the stage without incident. Breathing a sigh of relief, he waited for the rest of his class to finish.

"Hey, Jason! Wait up!"

Turning around Jason saw his best friend, Alex, running towards him across the parking lot. He had shed his robe, but was still in his black slacks and white dress shirt and was carrying a duffel bag. Jason shook his head and said with a grin, "Do I know you? Nobody I know dresses like that!"

Punching Jason in the arm, Alex laughed. "You better take a picture, cause you won't see me dressed like this again any time soon."

"Let me guess. Your wild steed is playing dead again." Jason said, looking at the bag in Alex's hand.

"Yeah, the piece of shit! I can't believe it! The best day of my life and the Mustang craps out on me!"

"Yeah, so now I suppose you expect me to offer you a ride."

"It doesn't matter if you do or not. Your stuck with me and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it! You was planning on going to the party at the lake, wasn't you? You wasn't going to geek out on us on the most exciting day of our lives, right?" Alex said, only half joking.

"Yeah, yeah. I already said my goodbyes to mom. My camping gear is loaded up in the trunk and I was planning on having a nice, quiet drive up to the lake" he said, smirking.

"Well, sorry to spoil your plans, but we do need to get moving. Jeff's picking up the keg and I am supposed to bring some munchies. We have to stop by my house to pick up my gear as well."

Hoping into Jason's Toyota Corolla, they worked their way out of the parking lot and headed towards Super Wal-mart.

"How is your brother anyway? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Jeff? Well, he just recently experienced another break-up with yet another girl friend and is planning on drowning his sorrows tonight. He has the worst luck with the women of anyone I know!"

"Yeah, I am sure it has nothing to do with his drinking. I don't think I have ever seen him sober," he said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

"Hey! He isn't that bad! He works hard at his job and parties hard to blow off a bit of steam is all. He is quickly becoming one of the top real estate agents in the area." Looking at Jason's death grip on his steering wheel, Alex frowned. "Look, Jason. Not everyone is your father and beer is not Satan. People drink all the time. You can't blame everything bad in this world on alcohol!"

"You have no idea how bad it got! I hated him, Alex. Maybe he was a prick before the alcohol, but when he was drinking he was ten times worse. When we got the call that he had died in an accident all I could think of was that was the last time the bastard would make mom cry."

"Ok, stop it! We are not starting the evening off on this note. It was five years ago, Jason. Let it go. You have the rest of your life to plan. Tonight is about giving the finger to our past and welcoming the future!"

Taking a deep breath, Jason forcibly pulled himself away from the direction his thoughts were going and decided he was going to enjoy this evening if it killed him. "Your right! The past is just that, the past. Let's live for the future!"

"Damn straight! Now your talking!"

The evening was only slightly cooler than the day. The serenity of the night was disrupted by the sound of Sum 41 blaring out of the car stereo. Half the graduating class was here and Jason was the only person not drinking. He was leaning against his car, thinking about hoping in and going home. As hard as he tried, he could not have fun around this much drinking.

"Jason, you're not wimping out on us are ya?"

"Nah, just lost in thought, as usual," he said, forcing a smile on his face. He tried not to look worried as he saw Alex, his brother, Kevin, and a girl he did not recognize.

"Well snap out of it, bud. I have someone here I want you to meet. Kevin brought his cousin, Kim. I keep trying to figure out how someone that good looking could be related to Kevin."

As Alex was dodging a playful punch from Kevin, Jason noticed the more than friendly look Kim gave his friend.

"Jeff and I are running to town for more supplies, but we'll be back soon." Alex reached out, taking Jason's hand and slapped him on the back.

Lights were flashing brightly. Blood was everywhere. Then he saw Alex's face, forehead crushed from hitting the dash of the car. The siren's were deafening. The car was crushed up against a tree. He felt the bile rising in his throat. Turning to the side, he stumbled to his knees and threw up.

"Jesus Jason! I thought you didn't drink!" Jeff said, backing up hastily.

Alex looked at his friend with a worried look on his face. "Are you ok Jason?" Kneeling down, he helped his best friend back up. "Damn, dude. You're pale as a ghost. You better sit down for a bit."

Kevin stepped forward, helping steady Jason. "You two go ahead. We will look after the invalid here."

"No! You shouldn't be driving!" Jason was looking at Alex with wild, fearful eyes.

"Damn it Jason! I thought we weren't going to get into that tonight! Relax dude! Besides, I won't be driving since the wild steed is still at school. Jeff's driving."

With a last, worried glance at his friend, Alex joined Jeff and headed to the car. Kevin helped Jason over to the picnic tables. After an hour, Jason had just about convinced himself he had finally lost it and passed the whole incident off as a stress induced hallucination. That's when the cops arrived. Jason recognized Kevin's dad as he got out of the car. As soon as he saw the look on his face he knew he had not had a hallucination. He never forgave himself for not trying harder to keep the two brothers from driving.