It's 10 AM and the alarm clock won't stop with it's incessant cry. Craig is still sleeping like a brick through the horrendous noise. His roommate, Trent, shuts it off for him and flings the curtains open instantly waking Craig as the screeching sounded like nails on chalkboard and the light burnt his eyes so bad he swore he went blind. It's Saturday morning, but this is a fairly common exchange between the two whether it be weekend or day. Craig is a twenty-something college statistic while Trent is the same age and demographic, but actually puts time into his studies. They became roommates through random selection and despite being opposites in most areas, they were both too lazy to put in the effort to change roommates plus Trent thought Craig would drop out half-way through the semester. Unfortunately for Trent he didn't and now he was stuck with the college drunk as a roommate.
They got along for the most part, Craig had yet to throw up in the room but did come back to the dorm a little belligerent and wild more than once. Trent got his revenge in small ways like the rude awakenings and loud noises when Craig is hungover. He didn't mind that his roommate drank and smoked, he just didn't want that stuff near him in any manner. So other than these brief skirmishes the pair generally separated and went their own ways only to converge at night.
"You awake now Sleeping Beauty?" Trent smirked.
"Haha funny..." he grumbled rolling out of bed and beginning the search for clothes.
Trent shook his head holding back a laugh as he grabbed his back pack and left for the library. Craig did his usual schtick and called Trent an "ass" or some other equivalent word in passing as he muttered to himself. He put up with these types of things because Craig thought he was better off, he may have had worse grades but he certainly had more friends and in Craig's mind that meant more. More friends equals more networking which equals more opportunities right? The point is instead of hitting the books Craig hit the bars and the drugs, making life just one big party. The last few weekends have been kind of hazy, but nothing bad has come out of it so far or at least that's what he thought. You only live once, or YOLO, had become the mantra of many of Craig's friends so he readily adopted himself.
Craig had finished getting dressed when his phone began going off. It was some number he couldn't recognize, but was sure he knew. The phone was slipped back into his pocket and ignored as Craig headed out on his way to meet up with some friends. They were all planning a huge graduation party for one of the guys and wanted to make it bigger than anything their campus had ever seen. The group was borrowing the friends house and began working on setting up decorations and stuff all over the house. The house needed to be finished before their friend got back from classes and work which was about 11PM. Craig's phone kept ringing throughout the day and it was always the same obscure number, a few voice-mails had been left but they went unchecked.
All the planning payed off and was complete in plenty of time. When his friend got back, Craig was the first to greet him with a big, frat-guy smile and man hug. They were both after the same major and bonded pretty well after finding that out. After that the party was on, just like a typical Friday night. Craig burned through beer after beer and despite his lack of book smarts Craig certainly knew how to work a room and that was a big part of what made him popular. He could keep his speech together after a couple rounds and although his judgement was skewed, he still managed to land any girl he wanted. Drinks, drugs, and sex were all that concerned Craig and this night continued in this pattern. The party lasted well until 3 AM like usual and Craig had hung around a bit longer than usual. He wanted to personally say goodbye to his friend and then part ways. Craig shuffled out to his car and began pulling out of the driveway. He didn't check behind him though and was T-boned by a semi making a late night run. The neighbors heard the crash and quickly notified ambulances and the police. One student who lived nearby and recognized Craig's car also called Trent. He and Craig didn't live too far away from campus and Trent actually arrived on the scene before the authorities. The truck driver was sitting on the curb on the verge of a break-down as Trent rushed over to help a bystander try and pry open the door to get at Craig. They may have been opposites, but Trent and Craig were friends somewhat and this is what drove Trent to desperately attack the door. He didn't even register that ambulances had arrived and asked him to step back. Eventually two EMT's had to move in and pull Trent back as they worked opening the door with their tools. He walked away from the car shaking and headed up the porch of the friends house.
The guy stepped out and handed Trent a phone, "It's Craig's...he uh..he..he left on the counter I saw some voice-mails on there and figured..well uh....you lived with him you might want to deliver the uh..the news I guess..." the guy turned around dejected and went back into his house.
"Yeah, thanks." Trent said in hushed tones as he looked at the number.
He recognized it instantly, it was a girl from one of his classes Samantha who had asked about Craig one time. They traded numbers and it was then passed onto Craig who had hooked up with at a party a few weeks later. Not knowing the real protocol on the situation Trent pulled up the voice-mails and began listening. His face grew paler and he set the phone down gingerly when the last one finished playing as he trotted down the stairs and over to the officers.
"Is uh...Is he gonna be ok? I'm his roommate." Trent stuttered out, still shaken.
The cop let out a long sigh, "I'm sorry son, he was dead on impact."
The words rung hollow in Trent's head as he stood there dumbfounded. The cop gave him a sympathetic, patronizing pat on the shoulder before turning and leaving. This whole situation was the epitome of bad timing and Trent couldn't believe it. The hardest fact wasn't that his roommate was dead, but that his roommate was supposed to be a father. The voice-mails were from a shaken and scared Samantha who had recently found out the news and need validation from Craig that he'd be there for he. How was Trent supposed to tell her this? He didn't know what Craig's true feelings would have been and there was no way Craig could be there for her now. His poor life choices have now harmed two lives in Samantha's and the child's.
Author's note: Yeah this is a bit deep, but I'm hoping it's a reality check for some people. YOLO is good in principle, originally meaning to live life to the fullest and try things you haven't and just make life an adventure but as with most good things the youth have twisted and perverted it into an excuse to party and do drugs. It's now all about how much sex you can get and how many beers you can drink. Kids use it as an excuse to be stupid and selfish. Don't be stupid it's fine to have fun every once in awhile, but stop using YOLO as a crutch.
