Sundown palace pt.3

I reached near her, she held a cup and looked pissed, I had never seen her like that before.

" Hey " I shouted so that she could hear me.

She looked up to me and smiled foolishly.

There was a strong alcohol smell coming from her.

Was she drinking ?

Does she drink ?

" Isn't it too loud here ? " I shouted again.

" I like it here " she smiled foolishly and moved her head to the music.

" You. . . " and then the loud beep started.

I shrugged it off and decided to first talk to Tess.

" You should maybe go over there " I pointed where I was sitting with Sydney a while ago. The loud noise wasn't helping and neither was all the shouting I was doing. It was just making everything worse.

" I like it here " she smiled again this time cuter.

" Are you. . . are you high ? " she shook her head.

" I didn't know you drink " the loud beep was getting louder.

" Surprise " she stretched her hands and spilled her drink all over me.

" Opps " she giggled.

" Who gave you ? " I said and stooped her from falling off the table she was sitting on. She was sloshed, hard.

" Stupid Raphael, he's eighteen he has an ID " she smiled and showed her white teeth.

Shit, she was falling over again and again.

Stupid Ralph gave her alcohol and left her alone.

" We should go over there " I said and pulled her from the table.

The beep hit hard and I closed my eyes. It cooled a bit and I breathed a little hard.

" I don't wanna " she whined threw herself over me.

Alcohol, it does things to you.

" I hate him. . . so much " she kept saying as I dragged her to where Sydney was.

He seemed to be in a deep conversation with the girl I'd left him with.

" Woah, what did you give her ? " he said when he noticed me dragging a sloshed Tess.

" Not me her boyfriend " I said and sat her at the couch. She pulled me really close to her.

" Stupid Raphael " she whacked my head.

beeeeeep. The beep arouse.

" She's aggressive " the girl commented.

" What. . . what should. . . I do with her ? " I asked.

" There she is " I heard a farmiliar voice.

I turned and saw Amanda and behind her was Jerome.

" She's wasted " Sydney said.

" I see that " Amanda said and they lifted her up with Jerome.

I figured Jerome was here because Amanda knew about this place from Tess she'd got a cheerleader pass.

They carried her away.

I was still trying to deal with my beeping problem.

" Are alright ? " Sydney said.

" Yeah, yeah I'm fine " I said and stood up.

I had to find Jenny.

I tried looking around, without any results, the pool table, she wasn't there, the swimming pool, not there, the dance floor was a little too crowded to find her there.

I spotted her talking with her cheerleader groupies near the DJ area. Coach had left a few moments back.

The beep started to fade away when I started walking in her direction.

" Yo Mike " Zack pulled me by the hand.

" Wherrre you going ? "

" I was. . . " I was still explaining but he didn't care about it anyway.

" Come on the guys are this side " he said and draged me.

The area was down below after the swimming pool, I'd thought the swimming pool was the most end of that place but the place had more to it.

And what I saw there next, scared, excited and got me asking did I belong there.

That area wasn't as big and had less people, who were doing whatever they wanted unmindful who was watching.

Kids my age kissed and made out hands were wherever they weren't meant to be, they seemed horny and others seemed to be high, wasted. I remember passing over two more unconscious guys. At first I thought they were dead but they grunted and growled.

" Relax, the guys are this side " Zack said and smiled. I had thought it was my alcohol stained shirt that reeked of alcohol but Zack too.

" Have you been drinking ? " I asked him.

" Yeah, haven't you ? " of course it explained his excited mood.

I spotted the guys sitting in a circle and from the smell of it. There seemed to be a pot of shisha in between them.

" Hey, hey come sit, sit " Gideon said and extended.

Zack sat and pulled me with him. Ralph was there, Brad, Noah, Elvis, Fin wasn't though.

They passed it to me.

" Take a drag. " Gideon suggested.

At that moment I knew I wasn't in the right place but I was already there.

I hesitated.

" Hey, hey Sydney come, come " Gideon said and Sydney came. He was clearly shocked at what was going on over there.

" Have a drag " Noah suggested and I felt he'd pass out any moment. He looked tipsy.

" No thanks I'm good " Sydney said calmly.

" Come on don't be a pussy " Ralph said and they all bust into laughter, it wasn't that funny.

Sydney looked at them, no, all of us seated near that pot clearly disgusted.

" You guys are sick, you are getting wasted in the middle of the week, we have school tomorrow you know " he said.

They laughed again.

" You won't handle the hangovers. " he said and I felt he had a point. But the guys were too wiped to get it.

" He's just scared, he's a pussy " Ralph said and they laughed and even howled.

Sydney walked away disapprovingly.

" Mike take a drag " Ralph said almost immediately.

" I'm goin. . . " I was going to decline but everyone's eyes were on me. I wasn't supposed to be there.

Jenny was right. I took the pipe.

I shouldn't have.

I inhaled the gas and it flooded my lungs for a moment it felt warm but then choked me.

I coughed twice, hard.

" Yeah " they clapped.

I was apart of the group now.

I somehow managed to dodge taking a drag whenever it was my turn they were anyway too sloshed to notice. But there was this creepy way Ralph was looked at me.

I've got some other stuff. Gideon said and sat back down. " I'm gonna get some hard stuff " he had said.

" It was hard to get but it's here " he rubbed his hands together and stuck them in his jacket.

He got out a bag of greenish brownish smashed stuff I could identify with just a smell.

" Yeah that's the stuff " they stuck out there hands and Gideon distributed.

" Marijuana baby, I love this stuff " Zack said and he put in his mouth.

I can't.

No I can't. I kept saying to myself but still stuck my hand out.

Throw it away. Some voice in my concious said.

You need it. Just once.

You don't, fight it.

Just taste it, a little bit you know you want to.

I did, I wanted to.

I opened my mouth so that I could stuff it in my mouth.

" No " I shouted and ran.

" He's gonna puke " the guys laughed.

Jenny can help me.

I grasped it and tried not to think about it.

I didn't want to go down that road, again. I had to resist.

" Jenny can you help me " I said after tapping on her shoulder. I had this throbbing headache and my breathing wasn't normal either.

" What ? " she was startled a bit.

She sniffed on me and said.

" Are you drunk ? "

" No. . . I'm not. . . not drunk I need. . . your help " I sounded drunk I smelt drunk but I was sober.

" Just leave Troy " she said and looked at me disgusted.

" Jenny I need. . . you "

" Troy, you are drunk " she said sternly.

" No. . . I want you. . . " I wasn't yet finished with this sentence. And it definitely came out wrong and gave the wrong idea.

" Are you serious right now " she looked at her friends who were now looking at me like I'm some kind of mad man.

" Jenny please " I grabbed her hand.

The craving was getting to my head and she wouldn't listen.

" Let me go " I was breathing hard now.

" Come. . .with me " I tried to drag her with me but she wringed her hand out of my grip.

I grabbed it again. She looked at me terrified now.

What the fuck was wrong with me ?

Slap !

Before I could let go of her she slapped me straight and fair on my left cheek.

It stung.

I let go of her hand.

" Jenny, help me " I said softly.

Then her friends came in and shooed me away.

I had screwed up shit, I tried to make friends but they only made my problem heavier, the only friend I had, I had just lost her. I walked away all those thoughts in my head.

I passed through the small hall and got out of that place. The guard had already left. Or he was getting high, I guessed. Or probably musturbating.

I leaned on the wall and screamed. I grasped the marijuana in my hand tight.

I had to let it go, loose all the weight on me.

What lay in my hand would grant me that. . . .

*****to be continued.....