33 : New Year, Same Problems

                                    

                                          
AALIYAH
"Okay, whose brilliant idea was it to get fireworks this late?" I asked, breaking the uneasy silence that had settled over us.
"Xavier's," Desirée replied, rolling her eyes.
Xavier looked genuinely offended. "How is this my fault? I didn't see anyone else penciling in time to buy fireworks. Maybe that's because we all forgot?" The car went silent again as he scanned our faces. "Exactly."
In case you're wondering, it's currently eleven twenty-four p.m. on December 31st. Lucas, Xavier, Desirée, and I are on our way to grab fireworks before midnight.
Normally, people don't forget to buy fireworks for New Year's, but we're not exactly the poster children for responsibility.
"Let's not start pointing fingers," Lucas interjected. "Naomi said to be back by eleven forty-five, and I really don't want to find out what happens if we're late."
"Then let's go, Xavier. The stand's only eight minutes from my house, and we're still not there," I said, trying to hide my annoyance.
"That's because everyone has been screaming in my ear for the past SEVEN minutes!" Xavier's voice escalated in frustration.
The car erupted in chaos, voices overlapping and tempers flaring.
"HEY!" Lucas shouted, his voice cutting through the noise. "Everybody, just breathe."
We all took a deep breath, settling into an uneasy silence. After a second, Xavier finally spoke up. "Wait... why are we even arguing about fireworks?"
Desirée opened her mouth to respond but then stopped, her expression shifting from confusion to amusement. "I have no idea." She started to laugh. An infectious, uncontrollable kind of laughter. Before I knew it, I was laughing too, and soon, Lucas and Xavier joined in.
As the laughter died down, we pulled up to the firework stand.
"FIFTY DOLLARS?!" a middle-aged man yelled as we got out of the car. "No way in hell I'm paying fifty bucks for one firework!"
We walked closer, curious about what was happening.
"Sir, I understand, but please don't make a scene. We have plenty of other options," the worker said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Yeah, you're right. There are a lot of other options. Let's go, Tanner." He looked at the man and then walked off behind him laughing at how he reacted. 
The worker sighed heavily before turning to us. "Sorry about that. How can I help you?"
"Yeah," Lucas sighed, "let's just get the fireworks and go."
We couldn't risk time arguing about which ones to get considering we were on a time limit, so we just asked the worker which ones would be best to get and bought them. 
While we were talking, Desirée wandered off, distracted by the other fireworks. She was so excited she didn't notice the rock in her path and tripped, crashing into the stand.
"Desirée!" I yelled, rushing over to help.
"My bad." She brushed off her clothes and sheepishly rejoined us.
"Let's just go before anything else happens," Xavier said, gently guiding Desirée back to the car.
Surprisingly, we made it back to the car without further incident.
"Well, that was eventful," Lucas muttered as we climbed in.
"'Eventful' isn't the word I'd use," Desirée said, still laughing.