It was the last hour of school on a Thursday and the classroom was buzzing with excitement. The teacher was absent, and it was absolute chaos. There were paper planes flying and makeshift balls being thrown around. But our group was seated quietly in a corner with pens and notebooks, we were making plans.
Josh, Stanley, Hyun, Chris and I were drafting precise steps on how to escape the clenched jaws of our parents and go to the Iron Mad concert. We came up with a brilliant plan. My mother along with Josh, Hyun and Chris's mothers were leaving on a weekend vacation to the countryside where Chris's mother, Mrs. Josephine had a farmhouse. Hyun's parents had a divorce recently, so this was more of a therapy vacation for Mrs. Kyung, Hyun's mother. And my mother was the spearhead of this 'therapy' vacation as she has had experience on the subject matter. My father left us ages ago.
But this worked out perfectly. This meant that my house will be empty except for my sister. We planned that all the boys will tell their parents that they are staying over at my house for the weekend while we leave for the concert without anyone knowing. Chris had a phone which meant communication will not be a problem. I will take my mom's car if they leave in Mrs. Josephine's car; otherwise we would have to take the bus. And we were all finally eighteen which meant that we could even drink during the concert, legally! The only roadblock was my sister who should not need much convincing anyway.
"Alright then, I think this should work. All I need to do is talk to my sister and off we go!"
"I don't know if my parents will allow me to stay over for two nights man," said Stanley. He was the mastermind of the group and the one with the plan.
"Oh, fuck off!" Josh was pissed. "Grow some balls will ya? Don't ask, tell them. That you are staying over at Dan's house for the weekend and fucking leave."
"He's right you know. I think it's time you stop sucking on your mama's tit and leave the house for once," said Chris jokingly.
Hyun just shook his head. Every time Stanley says he can't go, but at the end he's always there. And we need him too. He comes up with the most ridiculous plans at the right moments and he has saved our asses so many times.
The bell rang and school was over. "Okay. Final decisions tomorrow then. See you."
"You sure your sister will be cool with this Dan?" asked Hyun.
"You don't have to worry about her."
"Bring her along too man, it will be nice to have some pussy around."
"Oh yeah Chris? Isn't yours enough?" We all laughed and left for our homes. I wasn't too worried about my sister; I knew she would be fine with this.
.
My mother came to pick me up. I stepped in the car and without saying anything, plugged in the USB and started playing some Iron Mad. I couldn't believe I was going to their concert to watch them live.
"Anything new?" said mom.
"Nope."
We talked of sports, weather and her vacation on our way home. She said that she was going to console Mrs. Kyung through the tough times and that she would have taken me along if she could. I was so glad she didn't. I slowly put forward our little fake plan of my friends staying over for the weekend. She said okay without much hesitation and asked us to stay safe.
After reaching home, I went to my room to start packing. I couldn't wait. I was glad to finally be able to use my tent that I had bought so many years ago. It was going to be so much fun. I wasted my time watching Iron Mad concerts until it was time for dinner.
After dinner, I went up to my sister's room to talk.
"What are you watching?" I said.
"What do you want?"
"Well, since you know mom is leaving, so, my friends and I have decided to stay over for the weekend here. And - "
"What? No!" she interrupted.
"No. We will not be here. That's what we will say we are doing. Instead we are planning to go to the Iron Mad concert in Bostom."
"Bostom? So, you'll be gone for the weekend?"
"Yes. And all you need to do is not tell anyone."
"When will you be back?"
"Sunday night. And mom's not coming back till Monday morning."
"Alright. Just don't get yourself into any trouble. I don't want to have to be the one to answer questions."
"You won't. We've got everything planned. Stanley will come over tomorrow and reroute the telephone to Chris' phone in case any parent calls here. You don't have to worry about anything."
"Okay cool. Just make sure that you get back before mom does."
"Done."
She gave me a little smile, "Alright then. Great! I'll finally get rid of you for a weekend."
I slept smiling that night.
The next day, the five of us were ready. Everything has gone according to plan and even Stanly was allowed to stay over at my home. They all brought their essentials along with them and I told them that I had already packed and that we could leave right after school as my mother will be gone by then. I could see everyone was super excited and couldn't wait.