Turning 21

"Come on, man, it's your twenty-first birthday. What the hell do you mean you're not gonna drink?"

I sighed and rubbed my face. I probably shouldn't have been surprised that this was going to be an issue, but I thought my friends would have known me better than this by now. "I don't want to drink," I explained. "I have no interest in drinking. Above all, I don't want to find out what kind of drunk I am."

Ryan sighed and shook his head. "You don't have to get drunk, man," he said, pushing the glass towards me. Some of the beer sloshed over the edge, a gross looking liquid that splashed on the ground, making a mess. I sighed to myself, knowing that I should clean it up before it stained the floor and created a sticky spot that would take ages to get out, but that no one here would give me the opportunity. "Just take a drink, dude. You're legal now. It's like a right of passage. It's just something you have to do."

"If it's something I have to do to become a man," I countered, "then I would rather stay a child. Get that shit out of my face." Ryan practically glared at me and held his hand firmly where it was, beer glass perhaps a foot from my face. "Don't make me do this, Ryan. Today is a good day for me. Don't make me ruin it with alcohol."

"Alcohol doesn't ruin good times, moron," he replied hotly. "It enhances them. It makes you feel light and fuzzy. Makes you feel like you can fly. It's not a thing you should be opposed to."

I rolled my eyes at him. "One glass leads to another, and another yet, and before you know it you have no control over yourself, and you start doing things you'd regret in the morning if you could ever remember them."

"That only happens to people who are weak willed and can't control their drinking."

"And I'd rather not find out if I'm one of those people. Is that such a hard thing for you to understand? I don't know what kind of drunk I will be, and I don't want to find out. I'm enough of a piece of garbage sober, I'd rather not ruin what little stability I have in my life by getting drunk. Now for the last time, get that disgusting shit out of my face."

Ryan angrily through the glass aside, letting it crack and spill all over the floor. I sighed. Clearly he had been drinking before he had arrived, thinking that I would join him. I had a feeling that after this, I wouldn't be seeing him around much any more. He was clearly becoming someone I didn't want to be around. Funny how alcohol reveals these kinds of things.

I moved past him and carefully picked up the glass, moving it into a sink to worry about later. Now that there was a bigger mess, at least I would be able to get away with cleaning up. I heard Ryan walk away as I got to work. "Good riddance," I mumbled. "I don't need that kind of shit in my life. I got enough problems as it is."