Playing with Fire Read Online Free Page B

watch.
    “But no one's here,” points out Cameron.
    She scowls.
“My
friends are here. And I hired you to play from seven until midnight; So play.”
    Cameron gives her a fake-looking smile, then turnsto his band. “Okay,
kids
, let's play some tunes for the old folks.”
    Dirk makes a little joke, and Jack lets loose with a foul word that Mrs. Brow doesn't hear, but then the band starts to play. Just jamming sort of playing, but it sounds pretty good, and although the old folks seem oblivious, at least Garrett and I are enjoying it. This goes on for about an hour with only a handful of younger guests trickling in, and they don't look terribly comfortable. Plus, Amanda hasn't made an appearance yet.
    “Let's take a break,” says Cameron. But they've barely stopped playing and gotten sodas from the kitchen when Mrs. Brow is on their case to start playing again.
    It's about eight thirty when a large crowd of kids finally bursts into the house with Amanda in their midst. I can tell Amanda's parents are miffed at their daughter, but they do a pretty good job of concealing it as they bring out a huge cake, and the band plays a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” The house gets louder and fuller, and after a while Amanda's parents and their older friends sort of disappear. I'm not sure if they've left the residence completely or simply retreated to a different room. But the party definitely begins to get wilder. And it's obvious that alcohol has been sneaked into the house and equally obvious that some of the kids are overdoing it.
    I can tell by Olivia's expression that she's not appreciating this chaotic atmosphere, but she's being a good sport and singing well, and some of the guests actually seem to be enjoying the music. But when the band takes its second break a little past ten thirty, Olivia takes Garrett and me aside.
    “I don't feel good about this,” she tells us. “Kids are getting seriously drunk.”
    “That's not all.” Garrett nods at a particularly rowdy group of partyers clustered on the patio by the pool. “I heard a guy in the kitchen bragging about how he snagged a bunch of ecstasy before coming here. He's handing it out to girls like it's candy.”
    “No way!” Olivia's blue eyes get big. “And do they really think it's candy?”
    He shakes his head. “Only if they're totally stupid… or drunk.”
    “I don't like this either.” I glance over my shoulder to where a girl has just been tossed into the pool. Now I'm sure the pool is heated, but it's like sixty degrees out and not exactly swimming weather.
    “I'll tell Cameron that I'm leaving,” says Olivia. “They can have my share of tonight's earnings.”
    The guys in the band are just returning from their break and look pretty ticked at Olivia as she explains the situation. But she stands her ground, and finally Cameron acts like he gets it and waves her away.
    That's what you get for asking little Miss Goody-Goody to sing in the band,” Jack says in a fairly loud voice.
    “Hey, you should be happy,” Garrett tells him. “Now you can take over vocals and put an end to this party.”
    Jack glares at Garrett, and for one very uncomfortable moment, I think maybe Jack is going to punch my lab partner. I grab Garrett by the arm. “Let's get outta here.” I tug him toward the back door.
    But when we get back to Olivia's car, we realize that it's totally blocked in by the other cars. “There's no way Ican get out of here,” she says. We look at the cars wedged in all around us and see that it's hopeless.
    “If the caterers could move their rig,” says Garrett, pointing at the white van parked next to the edge of the driveway, “you could probably slip out on that side if you were careful.”
    “Yeah,” says Olivia. “I think you're right. I'll go ask them now.”
    Garrett and I stay outside and wait by the car, but when a couple of guys get into a fight over a girl just a few feet away from us, we actually step in and make