6 Saturday, August 22 PEYTON We giggle like kids with a secret as we dress all in black, and Liv paints dark stripes under our eyes. As we pile into Ana’s car, all of us talking over each other about how awesome tonight is going to be. Ana turns onto a dirt road, and Liv bounces in her seat, and we all crane our necks for that first glimpse of the barn. “There!” says Melanie Jane. She points out the window, and I lean across the backseat. Liv can’t see from up front, and it is just killing her, so she rolls down her window and sticks half her body out, so she can look over the top of the car. “The car is still in motion!” Ana attempts to tug her back inside by her belt loop, but Liv wriggles farther out the window, so Ana settles for stopping the car instead. “I guess we can get out here since some of us can’t wait.” I eye the barn again, high up on a hill over the fields, a good half-mile hike away. The place is dilapidated, at best. The wooden walls are a sun-faded gray—only a few boards show reminders of the original red paint.
