CHAPTER 26

**Chapter 26: Rain of Terror**

The club was decorated with bold, vibrant colours. The walls were painted in deep, rich hues, and there were colourful neon lights and strobe lights that danced across the ceiling. Splashes of colour were everywhere, from the upholstery on the stools to the bar itself. Everything was designed to catch the eye and draw people in, to make them feel excited and energised.

The music was loud and thumping, with a heavy bassline that reverberated through the room. The latest pop and dance hits filled the space, and people couldn't help but move to the beat. The club had a lively, energised atmosphere, and everyone was having a good time. Laughter and shouts of joy could be heard over the music, and there was a feeling of excitement and joy in the air.

"So, were you having anything, Fiona?" The barman asked Veronica, using her club name. The barman was in his early twenties and didn't look too shabby. He was averagely handsome and tall.

"Oh, cut the crap, James! Give me your Devil Springs Vodka." Veronica didn't have time to joke around with the barman (James) and wanted him to stop teasing her. James was actually teasing her because he knew her real name and age. Besides, Veronica was in no mood for jokes.

"Seems like someone is in a bad mood tonight," James said and picked a bottle of Devil's Spring Vodka from the shelf.

"What's wrong? You know you can always talk to me." James said while serving her drink in shot glasses.

"Thanks, but I don't wanna talk about it," Veronica replied only after gulping down the two shot glasses James had served.

"Hey, slow down. Don't you think you are going too fast?" James tried to stop her, seeing as she didn't slow down in drinking. "Just serve more." Veronica was already drunk. James didn't get a reply from her, so he decided to let her be. He served her two more, knowing that the drink was very strong. Veronica's face was flushed red, and her pulse quickened. James looked towards the dance floor and saw Rachel dancing with a guy named Michael, a senior from their school. Rachel was busy enjoying herself while Veronica was drinking in a stupor.

"But why didn't he like me?" James heard Veronica say drunkenly.

'Ohh, so it's about a guy huh.' James thought in realization. 'But what guy is blind enough to reject a girl like her?' James pondered.

"Who didn't like you?" James was curious, so he decided to ask. Besides, no one came for a drink.

"Oliver... Oliver didn't like me at all." Veronica responded drunkenly once again.

"Which Oliver?" James asked her.

"My Oliver... Oliver Blackwell." Veronica replied.

"Oh, that one. He's the low-key only son of Mr Blackwell." James knew Oliver but not too well. In fact, he had never met him in person before; he had only heard of him.

"Can... I get... get more?" As Veronica spoke, she rested her head on the bar counter and pushed one of the shot glasses onto the floor. It broke but didn't attract the people's attention because of the loud music. James immediately got someone to clean it up.

"No more drinks for you, young lady." James refused Veronica any more drinks and called his assistant, who was just standing around.

"Get Rachel here for me," James ordered his assistant named Louis.

Louis went to the dance floor and spoke into Rachel's ear and left. Rachel heard what he said and told Mark she had to leave quickly, but Mark insisted on coming with her. Mark was the senior from Unity High School that Rachel had been dancing with. It wasn't clear if they had anything going on yet.

Rachel and Mark went to the bar where Veronica was and saw that she had fallen asleep on the counter.

"Oh my gosh! She's wasted." Rachel facepalmed.

"Why did she drink so much?" Mark asked.

"I am not sure why. We haven't heard much about what happened yet." Rachel replied.

"I really think you should take her home." James offered.

"She just had to ruin my fun. And we just arrived." Rachel complained.

"I think we should be thinking about how we would get her home now," Mark said.

"Argh! That's a big issue." Rachel said.

"Why?" Mark asked.

"We both came in her car, and I can't drop her off. Her mum would practically yell in my face and call my mum if she finds out we came to the club together." Rachel explained to Mark.

"Ohh true. Can't you take her to yours?" Mark asked.

"No. I literally snuck out. How do I get her in without getting noticed?" Rachel was at this point frustrated.

"Then we'll have to get her to sober up then," Mark suggested.

"Do you have any idea what she took?" James asked.

"Don't tell me she had Bacardi?" Rachel asked. James laughed at her knowing Veronica had taken something stronger.

"Oh, my God!!!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Only if you knew what she really had," James spoke, which scared Rachel.

"Devil's Spring Vodka?" Mark asked.

"No way! She can't take something that strong." Rachel disagreed with Mark.

"What are you saying, Rachel? She actually drank Devil's Spring Vodka. That's why she's this drunk." James happily burst Rachel's bubble.

"What the heck?!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Okay, let's forget about getting her to sober up," Mark said.

"Why would you even give it to her?" Rachel asked James.

"Well... she looked like she really needed it," James replied.

"How many shots did you give her?" Rachel kept on questioning James.

"Four," James answered.

"Jeez!" Now it was Mark's turn to exclaim.

"I don't even think she'll be coming to school tomorrow," Rachel said.

"Nah. She's definitely not showing up." Mark agreed.

**RING!!! RING!!! RING!!!**

They all heard a phone ringing, and it turned out to be Veronica's phone. Rachel picked up the phone and checked who was calling. Turns out it was Veronica's mum.

"Oh no. It's her mum." Rachel fearfully spoke.

"You know what, let's do it like this. Let James answer the call and ask her mum to come pick her up. Since her mum already knows Veronica is fond of clubbing." Mark suggested.