Around 10:00 pm one night when I was 16 my cell phone rang. My best friend was barely able to remain calm enough to get words out of his mouth.
After a bit of time, I figured out that he was at his girlfriend’s high school dance. A few things happened and a bunch of the local hooligans were gonna jump him when the dance was over at 11.
So I dutifully snuck out of the house, took the car, and drove to meet him. If he’s going down, I’m going down with him.
When I look back on this moment I can’t decide if it was a brilliant act of friendship or teenage stupidity.
The now older me asks what causes someone to drive to a near-certain walloping. The younger me still answers: friendship. If you won’t lay it on the line for your friends, who will you lay it on the line for?