J never got invited back, obviously. I’m still in contact with several of the people who were present and a year or two back someone relayed the news that he was found dead on the sidewalk (cause of death completely unknown and surprisingly not drug related) in the suburbs a mile or so from where the above incident happened. Life is weird.
My small group of weird friends in HS had one who was a bit weirder than the rest of us, and seemed touched somehow. Not 'tism or 'tardation, but he had the 1000yd stare by 16 for no good reason. His family was decent & normal, and we'd all known each other since grade school.
Anyhow, there was a large overgrown field that we used to cut across as a shortcut to our river hangout & trails, but he absolutely refused to follow us, no matter what, even though the long way added another 2-3 miles of hilly road. We chalked it up to his bike not being meant for offroad, and would wait for him before continuing.
The guy never talked much, never offered any explanation, and we forgot about it until a couple years after graduating, when he disappeared without a trace.... until being found a year later in that same field, by some boys and their dog.
No determinate cause of death was ever given; he never did drugs, didn't hang out with anyone besides us, had no serious health problems (the guy was an excellent left-wing on the ice), etc. The only info we ever learned, was that he'd walked out into that field & died midstep, halfway to the other side.
I dunno.... thinking back on it, he wasn't even fatalistic or edgy or anything. It just seems like he saw his own death somehow, but for some reason stopped avoiding it.