John hadn’t had a drink in ten years; since his senior year of high school. However, his ten-year high school reunion was approaching and it was time for him to face his past and the people who were in it. The spring of his senior year, he had a job at the town fair where he operated the rides and games. John needed the work because he wanted to get something special for his girlfriend for their one year anniversary. For the first couple weeks, work was fairly uneventful. However, one night, and let’s just say his last day of employment, before he started his shift, his girlfriend, Jessica, came to his house and broke up with him. John was devastated. He didn’t see it coming at all. How could this happen? What did I do wrong? These were the questions he kept asking myself. John drove to the fair and started his shift. During his break, he called his friend, Andrew, who came over with alcohol, and a lot of it. John’s break was for a half an hour, and he got hammered. After his break ended, he returned to work and what happened next, changed his life and kept him sober for 10 years.

The following are potential endings to this story which started with extensive, irresponsible drinking.

A:  John had been operating the carousel, which as you well know, goes round and round. He relieved Jake of his post and stumbled to his seat in the booth. There was a mile long. He began taking tickets from the children when his stomach began to grumble as he smelled the fried dough and grilling hot dogs. He felt something rising in his throat. “You don’t look so good, mister,” said a concerned little girl wearing a polka dot dress. He forced a smile and took a deep swallow. After the three minutes, the ride ended, and the children headed for the exit gate. There was one pudgy little boy wobbling from side to side, and his face was turning pale. As soon as he exited the gate, he grabbed his stomach and bent over, and John knew what was coming. The boy threw up right in front of the booth. As soon as his chunks hit the ground, John knew he couldn’t hold it back. He leaned over the ledge of the booth and threw up right on the poor kid's head. The kid then slipped and slammed his head against the booth, breaking his nose. John was then fired from his job and became the laugh of the town. Jessica never talked to him again.
At the reunion, as soon as John walked through the front door, he immediately met eyes with Jessica. She smiled and John started walking towards her. As he made his way over to her, he bumped into a waiter and a drink splashed all over his pants, of course in his crotch area. Embarrassed, John looked back towards Jessica. She was mid-laugh and John hurried towards the bathroom. He took off his pants and put them under the hand dryer. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, the fire alarm. John opened the door and saw smoke. He ran out of the bathroom and headed towards the door. As he ran, he bumped into a table and dropped the pants but frantic, he kept running. As everyone stood outside, he could hear the snickers and felt everyone’s eyes staring at him. After the fire department came and put out a small fire in the kitchen, they were allowed to go back inside to get their stuff; if only John could remember where he left his pants.

B:  John stumbled onto the fairgrounds and saw Jessica, or at least who he thought was Jessica. Actually, it was her illustrious twin sister, Sydney. John casually strolled over to her. She smiled and John kissed her. She didn’t resist and John didn’t realize his mistake until he heard an all too familiar voice behind him, “Jake?” He quickly turned around and saw Jessica standing with her hands on her hips. “To think I was going to apologize and say I had thought I made a mistake,” she aggressively said, “we’re done, forever!” He never talked to either one of the twins again, nor did he ever drink again. At least not until the reunion. He arrived at the venue and saw the twins standing by the bar. A waiter came over and asked John if he wanted champagne. It wasn’t that John had some moral reason for not drinking, he just made the decision not to, since that night at the fair.  He took the drink and chugged it. Now that he had some, liquid encouragement, he walked over to the bar. However, only one of the twins was still there. Now that ten years had passed, the differences that distinguished them were gone, and John couldn’t tell which twin it was. They began talking and after an hour, she asked him if he wanted to leave. He said yes. She still lived nearby and when they got to her house, things escalated. The next morning, John, realizing he was late for his plane back home, frantically rushed to find his stuff; if only he could remember where he left his pants. John never figured out if it was Jessica or Sydney.

Endings A and B are the potential happy, comical versions of the story, however, this story could also end with other, devastating consequences.

C:  After Andrew and John finished drinking, John decided he would skip his shift and instead the two boys got into the car. They began driving in circles as John ranted about Jessica. He got distracted and lost control of the car. The vehicle swerved into a tree with direct impact to the passenger side. Andrew got crushed. The ambulance came and took Andrew to the hospital. He was paralyzed from the waist down and John was sentenced to six months in jail. Andrew’s family sued John and he became a disgrace to the town. Jessica also never talked to him again. After he graduated and was released from prison, he went to college about as far from home as he could. He had only decided to return for his high school reunion because Andrew had actually got in touch with him and insisted he go. When John arrived, he sat in his car for 30 minutes before he got up the nerve to go inside. When he finally went in, he kept his head low but knew everyone was looking at him. Then he heard someone yell, “John!” He looked up and saw the familiar, yet aged face of Andrew. John gave him a forced smile and walked over to him. Andrew was sitting on a stool at the bar. There was a wheelchair parked to his left. John took a deep breath and walked over to him.
“You alright?” asked Andrew as he placed a hand on John’s back, “it looks like you're going to throw up.”
“Well, everyone here hates me and is staring. Why did you ask me to come?” asked John.
“Because, after plenty of time to think, I realized I really don’t have a reason to hate you. I brought the alcohol that night to the fair and it just as easily could have been me driving and you put in the wheelchair. It is my parents who hate you. I forgive you, though. Now, sit down and have a drink.”
“Oh, I’m alright. I’ve been sober for ten years now… eh, since that night.”
“Okay then. Well, will you at least sit?”
“Umm, yeah, I have to quickly run to the bathroom, though. I’ll be right back.”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll be here..”

Andrew gave John a quick smile and turned back towards the bar. John walked towards the bathroom and suddenly, made eye contact with Jessica. “Oh my god, is that John? How dare he show his face back here,” whispered someone. John looked around, then turned towards the door and hurried to his car. He was about to drive off and act like the night never happened, but then he heard a knock at the window. It was Jessica. She opened the door and got in. They talked for an hour, then suddenly she kissed him. Things then escalated. After, she said she had to go and would call him. They then proceeded to get dressed; if only John could remember where he left his pants.

D:  John was assigned to run the pony rides for the night. He stumbled over to the field and relieved Jake for his break. He then chugged a bottle of water and took the next ticket in line from a little girl. He took the reigns of the pony and helped the girl onto the saddle. Suddenly, John felt dizzy and used the pony to balance himself, however, the pony interpreted this pressure on his back as the ‘angry go’ command and freaked out running across the field with the girl still riding him. The girl then fell off and hit her head. She wasn’t wearing a helmet since John was too distraught and forgot. The fair fired John, the girl’s parents sued him, and since he was underage, there were charges brought against him for intoxication. The town ostracized John, Jessica never talked to him again, and as soon as he left for college, he rarely returned home. The only reason he decided to go to the reunion was because he read in some self-help book that he needed to face his fears so he decided to seize the day and go. When he walked through the door, he felt eyes turn towards him. He made his way through the crowd, forcing a smile and walked towards the food. At the table, he saw a tall, long legged brunette, and John immediately recognized her; Jessica. They talk for a while and she asked him if he wanted to head out. The story ends just as Part B did.

Part C and D are the more detrimental consequences of drinking, opposed the potential comical endings, however, an ending being the combination of both is also possible.

E:  John was assigned to the bow and arrow game station. He sat on the stool, took people's tickets, and hoped nothing would go wrong, nor would he get caught. A small boy approached him and asked for help with the bow. John stood and took the bow and arrow from the child's hands. He aligned the bow and took aim. “JOHN!” He turned around, eyes wide, and saw Jessica standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. Stunned, John let go of the arrow and it released from the string; impaling Mrs. Watson right in the butt. She let out a huge shriek. The ambulance arrived and she was taken to the hospital. She thankfully didn’t press charges and only had a minor injury, but he was still fired and Jessica never talked to him again. He decided to attend the reunion for the same reason as part D and the story ended just as that one did.