You show up with the anticipation of having a good, if not great time. Everyone is saying how it will be fantastic and you’ll have a blast.

You walk around making small talk with people you know and others you don’t while waiting for things to begin.

You sit through the preliminaries which prompted your being there in the first place. Quick enough but you want to get on to the main event.

You walk around some more while ingesting alcohol to get the head going. Feels pretty good and you’re  getting loose.

You chat and drink some more and your head is in a good place as things just flow. You’re gaining altitude and everything feels great. You wish the feeling never wanes.

You get up and dance despite not being particularly good at it but nobody else is particularly good either and everyone is happy to be up and about and doing their best.

You take a breather to give your body a rest but your buzz drops a bit.

You grab another drink to try to re-elevate but one doesn’t do it so another one quickly follows.

You get back on the dance floor but fewer people accompany you and the energy is not quite the same. You begin to feel like you’re going through the motions and head back to your seat.

You desperately try to regain full altitude but you can’t quite get there so the trips to the bar become more frequent while the music drones on. Time seems to slow to a crawl.

You can’t leave despite being bored and impatient because it’s rude to go just yet. But the place is beginning to empty out and you’re getting annoyed as the alcohol has worn off leaving nothing but a headache.     

You think another drink might take the edge off while you muddle through and wait it out, but it only adds nausea and jitters to the mix. It’s really time to go but you can’t pull the trigger for fear of what others might think.

You reach the point of bewilderment but the clock has indeed been moving and the band leader announces the next song as the last. You think about getting back out on the floor one more time despite not wanting to.

You do it but there’s not much energy or interest left…it’s been fun but not for a while and you put in your time, so it’s now finally OK to go.

With no regrets or repercussions.