The New Year's Party Read Free

blanketed the front yard. “Wait up! Where are you going?”
    He spun around to face her. His handsome face was twisted in anger. “Beat it, Beth. Leave me alone! I’m sick of being made fun of!”
    He turned away with a scowl and trudged over the snow to his beat-up Ford Fairlane.
    Ignoring the freezing, swirling winds, Beth ran after him. “They were just kidding you. Come back. The roads are all icy. You’re too upset to drive!”
    â€œGo back to the party with your stupid friends! Leave me alone! You’re not my mother!” Jeremy slid behind the wheel and slammed the door. Snow toppled off the car roof.
    Slipping and sliding, Beth rushed around the car and jumped in the passenger side. “I’m going with you.”
    The tires spun on the icy street as he pulled away from the curb.
    â€œThe roads are all covered with ice,” Beth cautioned. She fastened her seat belt and checked to make sure Jeremy had his on. “Be careful, Jeremy. This is stupid. Pull over. Let’s talk.”
    Jeremy ignored her. Squinting through the snowy windshield, he sped through a stop sign without slowing down.
    â€œJeremy! Don’t drive like this. Please!”
    The car slipped dangerously close to the snowbank at the edge of the road. Beth shut her eyes, sure they would hit it. But Jeremy managed to steer the car back toward the center of the road.
    â€œSlow down,” Beth pleaded. She gripped the dashboard with both hands.
    Jeremy paid no attention. Trees and telephone poles flashed by in the car’s headlights.
    Beth studied his face in the dim glow from the instrument panel. His jaw was set, and he stared straight ahead, his eyes filled with anger.
    Why do they have to hurt him like this? Beth wondered. Why do I have to be Jeremy’s only friend?
    The car skidded out of control. Jeremy spun the wheel, struggling to keep from sliding off the street.
    â€œSlow down, Jeremy. Please!”
    They sped down the two-lane highway. Beth usually loved to speed through the darkness. It was a great feeling of freedom.
    But not tonight. Not on these icy roads. Not with Jeremy driving so recklessly.
    Jeremy plowed through a snowdrift, sending waves of white snow flying in all directions.
    The highway glistened like silver under the headlights—a solid sheet of ice.
    We’re not driving. We’re flying, Beth thought, feeling the panic tighten her throat. We’re flying out of control.
    â€œJeremy, the road is too slippery!” she wailed. “I’m begging you—slow down!”
    â€œHey,” Jeremy snapped. “It’s New Year’s. Why can’t I have a little fun?”
    The windshield fogged over. Beth could barely see out. “Turn on your defroster,” she urged.
    He shrugged.
    â€œJeremy! Turn it on! You can’t see!”
    â€œIt’s broken.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you get it fixed?”
    â€œBecause I didn’t. That’s why. Leave me alone, Beth. I didn’t ask you to follow me.”
    Beth wiped the windshield with her sleeve. But it only smeared it.
    â€œOh, please,” Beth begged. “We can barely see the road.”
    Jeremy tromped down harder on the gas pedal. The old Ford roared over the ice.
    I hate it when he’s like this, Beth thought. She squinted through the fogged windshield.
    And saw the dim figure.
    A boy?
    A boy in the middle of the road?
    She screamed.
    Too late.
    Jeremy swerved.
    Something bounced on the hood with a heavy
thud.
    A face appeared through the foggy windshield. A boy’s face, his mouth open in a scream of surprise.
    The boy dropped to the ground.
    The car rolled over him with a hard bump.

Chapter 4

KILLED
    J eremy jammed on the brakes. The car zigzagged wildly. Then slid to a stop halfway across the road.
    Beth stared out the windshield. The headlights showed nothing but the snowbank and the dark trunk of a gnarled tree.
    â€œIt was a boy,” Jeremy moaned.