If it got any colder, I was suing the whole state of New York.

My teeth chattered against each other in a comical fashion. My jaw was stiff and any attempt to talk to my brother resulted in a noise that sounded like I was sitting on a chainsaw.

My brother nudged me. "Only an hour more of this, eh?"

"Don't say that," I said. "Just the thought is turning my brain to dry ice."

"If we die here," he said, "What do you think people would do?"

I looked around the crowd of freezing people. They were all chatting excitedly, but looking as cold as I was. There were nationalities galore. Dozens of languages were going off around us. My few years of several foreign languages classes became a tangled mass of knowledge.

"I don't know. Everyone's too drunk and high to care," I said. And it was true. People were pulling beers and other bottled beverages from their winter coats and practically inhaling them. I've heard whiskey was supposed to keep you warm but this was not what these people were doing. A couple of people had thrown up already, which was an interesting sight to see: hot vomit hitting frozen asphalt. I never wanted to see it again.

Yes, this was the life. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to go see the ball drop on Times Square in New York City. It was turning out to not be as glamorous as they showed on TV.

My brother, Levi, had promised to take me before he had to leave for college. He was almost 22 and planned on an art school here in New York. That was a ways to just come visit home in Idaho. Even though there's 5 years difference between our ages, we've always been close. It's always been Levi and Jennifer Jo. This was going to be our last hurrah as "kids".

I rocked back and forth on my toes. "We're gonna freeze out here," I sang out. Levi hugged me from the back. "We'll huddle like penguins," he said with a laugh.

Someone tapped his arm. An older man with a wiry beard held out a packet. A goofy grin was on his face, his black beanie perched precariously on his head completing the look. "Here, man," he said. His words were clear and he didn't sound drunk. But he wasn't in his right mind either. Levi raised an eyebrow but didn't extend his hand. "What is it?"

The man scoffed and threw his hands in the air. "Only the best powder on earth! Take some and pass it on." He grabbed my brother's hand and pressed the gray packet into it. "Yeah!" he screamed, hands pumping in the air.

Levi let go of me and I turned to face him. "What is it?" I asked, pink tipped nose scrunching. Levi looked at the packet. We didn't know much about drugs but it looked exactly how I would expect cocaine to be sold in."

"Is it Crack?" I asked. Levi shook his head. "No, it says 'Hiipe'."

"Hype?" I repeated. I leaned forward to see it. Not hype but Hiipe.

"It's definitely drugs," Levi said, grimacing. "I saw stuff like this in Colorado when I lived there. I don't recognize the name though."

"Can I look at it?" I asked, holding out my hand. Levi lifted it above his head. "You can't touch this," he said.

A teenaged couple pushed their way towards us. "You use all that?" the boy asked. Levi pressed his lips together. "Yeah," he said finally.

The teens sighed and  the girl whined, "TJ, you said you'd get me some."

"Could we have the baggy then?" TJ asked.

"No," Levi said, dropping the packet in the iced road. He ground it under his boot. When it exploded into a light yellow powder, the kids gasped. "You lie!" TJ said. His girlfriend knelt down to scoop us some in her gloves. Levi blocked her with his leg. "You don't want this guys," he said. "Bad batch."

They cringed and TJ pulled the girl to her feet. "Let's go," he mumbled.

We watched them slink away into the crowd. I shook my head. "The things people would do for drugs."

Levi agreed. "It's a sad thing."

Over the next 45 minutes, we were offered Hiipe 8 times. Whiskey twice. We turned them down every time. A half full beer can was dropped and splashed, rolling to our feet. Cursing was heard.

"Mom's not here," Levi said. He kicked the blue can, causing it to spin and spray liquid. "Wanna a beer?"

"Haha," I said wryly. "You first."

Levi kicked it one last time, powerful and hard. It skipped through the crowd, splashing the knees of people. No one really noticed however.

"Just testing you," Levi said, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. "Never drink, by the way."

"Not in my plans."

With the last couple minutes to go, people were getting crazier. Every time we got Hiipe, Levi crushed it under his foot. With only two minutes to go, a small mountain of yellow and white was beneath us.

"You been throwing that stuff away?" a man asked. Levi shrugged. "It's bad," he answered simply. The man pushed Levi away from the drugs and began to sweep it into his bare hands. I walked forward to protest his manners.

"Let's leave him be, Jo," Levi murmured, gripping my arm. "He's high as a kite."

As we tried to slip away, the man looked up. "Hey!" he cried. He jumped to his feet and stomped towards us. Levi grabbed my shoulders and pulled me behind him. I looked around his tall figure.

"You're payin' for all of that," the man growled.

"People gave it to me. I didn't buy it," Levi said. He backed up some more and I kept close.

The man kicked at the Hiipe. "It's ruined, thanks to you. It's meant to be snorted, man, not stomped."

Levi shrugged. "Sorry."

Bending down, the man scooped up some powder, the cleanest he could find and sprinkled it on the back of his dry hand. He sniffed the powder. Just watching made my nose sting. I rubbed it and held back the urge to sneeze.

The man tipped his head back and sighed. "Whatever, man," he said. "It's New Years. I made the stuff for the people. It's what they want." He walked away. I came out from behind Levi. "Is it always like this here?" I asked.

"I didn't think so... maybe this was a bad idea."

"Nah. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!" I said. Looking up at the clock, it showed 1 more minute. 50 seconds. Then 30.

Another, younger, man came up to us. "Hey," he said to Levi. "I'll give you a whole packet of Hiipe if I can kiss your girl at midnight."

"No," Levi snorted. "She's my sister."

"Ah, so it's fine," the man said with a crooked smile. He took a step towards me. And was thrown back.

"Get away from us," Levi said. The young man clambered to his feet. "Not cool," he said. And in the mix a cheers and bells, was the sound of cracking as the man's fist hit Levi's eye.

***

"How does it feel now?" I asked. Levi pulled the ice pack off his right eye tenderly. His eye was swelled shut and turning colors faster than a traffic light. "Fantastic," he said. He place the pack back on his face, wincing.

Across the waiting room, was the kid that punched Levi. He was nursing a hand that was purple and slightly disfigured. He groaned every now and then, calling for a doctor. By now, no one was showing up for him.

"Levi Carter." We both stood up and walked to the nurse in the doorway. "You together?" she asked.

"Siblings," I answered. The nurse nodded and told us to follow her. We walked into a small examination room. "Sit in the chair please," she said hurriedly. Levi did so and I leaned against the wall. The room smelled like rubbing alcohol and rubber. This was the first doctor's office we found and what do you know, my brother's fighter was there.

Levi was probably fine to not get checked out but he wanted to be safe and get things checked out before we flew back.

The nurse shined a light in Levi's eyes, prodded the bone around his eyes and checked for concussion.

"You look like you got of the fight unscathed," she finally said.

"It was a one sided fight," Levi said, standing up.

"What even about?"

Levi hesitated and looked at me nervously. I answered for him. "This guy tried to kiss me."

The nurse rolled her eyes. "New Years is awful for things like that. Everyone is drunk and high on the moment. No one has their head on straight."

"Speaking of being high," I said, "Have you gotten any overdoses?"

"We usually don't get those because they get sent straight into the ER. Why?"

"There was a drug going around out there," I said, ignoring Levi's warning look. "Called Hiipe. Have you heard anything about it?"

The nurse opened her mouth then closed it. "No, we haven't. It's time for you to go though." Her voice was cool now, and she shooed us out to the front desk. Levi pulled out his insurance card and got everything paid for. We walked past the man with the broken hand and I smiled at him. "Have a good New Year," I said. He glared at me and I laughed.

"You probably shouldn't have mentioned the Hiipe," Levi said as we walked to our hotel.

"Why not? Someone's going to to find the drug and know all about it."

"We don't want to seem involved in any way. We didn't take any but we could get in trouble for it."

"I think the nurse is going to get in trouble for it," I said with a chuckle. Levi laughed out loud at that comment. "I know, right? She definitely had heard of it. She probably accepted some tonight."

"She wasn't high though, thank goodness," I said. "But she's got some." I shivered. "Can't we get a taxi or something?"

Levi shook his head. "Do you think climbing into a random car is safe?"

"That's how people get around here," I argued. "You've been watching too many crime shows."

My brother rolled his eyes and punched my shoulder with his free hand. "You might be right. The cold air feels good on my eye though."

"You don't even need that ice pack," I said. "The air will do it for you."

We crossed the street and Levi sighed. "We still have several miles to go," he said. He looked down the road and called out, "Taxi!"