The scent of spilled bourbon and stale beer hung heavy in the air, competing with the thick cloud of blue cigarette smoke drifting from the corner booths. Under the low, amber glow of neon beer signs, the bartender wiped down the sticky mahogany counter with a rhythmic, hypnotic swipe of his rag. Glasses clinked in a messy symphony against the backdrop of a low-humming jukebox, which pulsed with the raspy, slow cadence of an old blues track. Every few minutes, the heavy oak front door swung open, letting in a sharp gust of night air and the muffled roar of city traffic before clicking shut to seal the patrons back inside their warm, hazy sanctuary.

At the center of the room, a group of regulars laughed too loudly over a game of cracked billiards, the sharp crack of the cue ball cutting through the steady murmur of hushed conversations. Solitary drinkers sat hunched over their stools, staring into amber liquids or tracing the condensation rings left on the wood. The shadows in the corner booths offered a quiet refuge for whispering couples, their faces occasionally illuminated by the flicker of a lighter.

You and your buddies had just graduated college and were celebrating with a drink. Things could get wild. But hey, you only graduate college once!