Throughout college, I’ve had my fair share of experiences being the sober one in the group. Everybody has had their turn – and everybody has had their stories to tell afterwards. What would have been the most annoying night ever actually turned out to be the funniest story I like to tell.
Out of 10 people, I ended up being the only fully sober person the whole time, which I was fine with! We were celebrating two of our friends’ 21st birthdays, and I wanted to make them feel carefree. Jeffrey and Ana were legally allowed to drink, so to let them go all out on their special night was a present in and of itself. So I did just that, actually being dubbed the birthday car, as I was in charge of only driving the two of them.
The night would be spent in Ann Arbor, the plan being to go to a drag show at our favorite club. We would pregame at a friend’s apartment and walk to enjoy the rest of our time out and about.
My car was the first to arrive, along with some storm clouds that threatened our plans. By the time the second car arrived, Jeffrey and Ana had pregamed a little too hard and the clouds had twisted into rain and thunder. With a few shared looks, the group decided to stay inside and party the night away instead of venturing out in potential dangerous conditions.
But then that plan was spoiled too.
The roommates in the apartment we wanted to stay at didn’t really want us there. We understood, so we decided to take ourselves across the city to our friend Hayley’s teensy-tiny apartment… just as it started downpouring.
I had a full car, and unfortunately, when there are more than two people with me, the windows tend to fog up. On top of this, it seemed like my windshield wipers couldn’t move fast enough to combat the rain.
Hayley’s boyfriend at the time was in the front seat giving me directions… and so was Jeffrey in the back seat. And God bless him for trying, but everything he told me was wrong. He wasn’t in the right of mind to be pointing me on where to go, but he was going to do it anyway – even when we told him to stop.
So there we were: frantically wiping the windows with our sleeves, soaking wet, trying to get across a city I was unfamiliar with. We did manage it, including a few wrong turns and a handful of panicked stops in the middle of intersections. The chaos was very frustrating at the time, but looking back, it was a blast. The night had barely started and we were already having a wild time.
When I found a place to park we all sprinted through a torrential downpour to get inside. Things calmed down. Everyone settled into the small space and we decided to play some games to pass the time.
Things were much funnier from my point of view, as listening to incoherent people try to describe things to me was a highlight. Sitting and listening to political rants and TEDTalks from my friends who would never remember talking about it in the morning. There were hallway races, Mario Kart, and deep dive discussions on personal relationships, all of which got crazier as the time passed and more drinks were handed out.
Then, the fire alarm went off.
Before anyone freaked out, Hayley told us that it went off often. And it wasn’t a big deal at all. We didn’t need to leave because someone probably just set off their smoke alarm while cooking.
But it kept going.
As 10 minutes went by, I had to ask if anyone was smelling what I was smelling. Like, if they had also gotten a whiff of a hair straightener being left on.
We quickly gathered up our things to make an emergency exit. I wanted to make sure everyone got their shoes on, and got out before anything else happened. We needed to move fast as the alarm had already been going for ages at that point. I didn’t even put on my shoes when I realized that every single person had forgotten their coats. So I swiftly grabbed them and headed out. Because while it was early spring, it was still a Michigan spring, and it was freezing out.
Right before I got to the stairs, Jeffrey realized he forgot his coat and headed back. Not listening to me as I yelled over and over again that I had it. The jackets piled up in my arms alongside my shoes I still hadn’t put on yet. When we finally made it to the stairs, our friend Blake was waiting for us. And counted out that eight was the correct number and we had everybody.
Which is funny… because we actually had 10.
Nonetheless, he was correct, and everyone had safely made it down to the front lobby that was now filled with smoke. That’s when I finally put on my shoes, and when Blake, our friend Ella, and her younger brother all decided to investigate the smoke.
While everyone else had made it outside, and I was handing out coats they slipped into the laundry room to find the source. It was a dryer that was causing alarm, pouring out thick smoke.
The fire truck soon came, and everyone made the valid decision to head home. The rain subsided just enough for us all to get back to our cars. And everyone went their separate ways after one of the funniest and craziest nights ever.
I wouldn’t have had it any other way, truthfully. I actually would choose to be the sober one in this situation over again if given the chance. I’m able to tell the story in great detail, unlike my friends who were so far gone. And I was also able to lend a hand to the two birthday celebrations we were having.
Jeffrey and Ana were returned safely and we even stopped for Taco Bell as one last treat. Everyone else made it home safely. (We know that because Jeffrey called every single one of them up at least two times to check if they were okay.)
And now I have a favorite story to tell when someone asks me what my best night out was – and I get to explain why being the DD is actually really fun.