Chapter 56

Our limo picked us up for the twenty-minute ride. It was manned by Stephen’s personal driver, since he would get to the Wallis Annenberg Center in another car with Juliet and other central figures from Homecoming. The five of us passed around a vial of coke with a small spoon attached to the lid. The back of the limo was a chorus of quick, sharp snorts as an eight ball disappeared in record time. We were perfectly buzzed as we pulled up.

What having Stephen’s chauffeur did for us was allow us to enter the party in the lesser-known VIP entrance, not having to wait up front for the throngs of red-carpet goers and people who had paid more than $100,000 per ticket. We got treated like movie stars.

It was a fucking badass experience. There was no other way to put it. No one recognized us, but by virtue of entering through the back door, as it were, we eased right into the hum of the party. The scene was electric -- and crowded. Too crowded, honestly, to really have a good tim