I’m 17 years old and it’s a Saturday night.

I’m driving my mother’s 1994 blue Honda Accord with two of my friends in the back seat. We’re about to get on the freeway to check out this party when we see two of our other friends riding in the opposite direction. So we both pull over and because I haven’t seen the other two guys since they dropped out of school, we have a little reunion on the side of the street.

We laugh, clown a little and try to figure out where we want to go. Everything is all good; the weather is warm, the women are out and it’s just a care-free atmosphere. Then we all stop talking as we notice a police car pull up behind us.

What lives in Oakland, features 53 local writers, took 6 months, 9 editors, and 6 photographers to create, and has a real ISBN?

The Oakland Public Library presents In Your Ear, a book release party for the Oakland Word program on July 8, 2010, 6 – 8 p.m. at the Main Library’s West Auditorium, at 125 14th Street. Event is free and wheelchair accessible.