Nightlife ✓

09 | memories

A / N :

This is one of my favourite chapters in the book. If you've read The Geek Revolution, you might enjoy the little easter eggs that appear in this scene.

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NO-ONE COULD DRINK LIKE Jake and Jamie.

In terms of dichotomies, the Jays may well have outdone me. My switch between a glamorous, sexy model with more than a million fans to a scruffy, studious science nerd was pretty extreme, but it paled in the light of the twins' explosive self-destruction.

They went from balanced, well-rounded athletes to complete drunkards. One moment they were grinding in the gym and in their studies (Jake studied Pharmacy and Jamie studied IT Management). The next they were so out of it that they thought their own reflections had come to life.

Considering they also played varsity football, and the season had kicked off already, I was a little concerned for their well-being. They insisted on making the most of the weekdays by flooding their livers with alcohol, right up till their games on Saturday. There was another this Saturday, and I fretted over their performance like the Mom Friend I am, but Jamie claimed that they had done so many benders that they knew their recovery times perfectly.

"I changed my mind," I'd told Jamie two days ago, "Tonight, you're going to vomit first."

Every day this week, there had been some sort of drinking activity on the floor. The night that they had invited some of their football teammates around, there had been a higher concentration of women than usual. They were not so much throwing themselves at the footballers, but angling for one to approach them. Tonight it was quieter, with most of the floor and Sophie sat in a circle on the common room carpet. I had come up from the reception desk with a box of herbal teas sent from my mother.

I decided to join them tonight because I had skipped out on the last floor outing and felt bad about it. They really did go out of their way to include me, and most of the time I rebuffed their efforts.

Talking to Quen at Topaz, debating with him, had invigorated me in a way I didn't know people could do for each other. I was high on possibility. For once, I had energy to spare, when usually I was functioning on no sleep and willpower. My social battery brought me into the common room for a rare period of interaction.

We were playing Drunk Jenga, where each piece you pulled out had a dare written on it. Either you completed the dare or you took a shot. The person to topple the tower had to take five.

The communal tequila—every resident on the floor had each given Jake three dollars to splurge for it—sat beside the growing Jenga tower, and everyone clutched their paper shot cups. It was Sophie's turn and she was determined to leave the building sober. She was a pretty competitive person, I found out, much like her cousins.

She withdrew a wooden block and read its dare aloud. "Ask the hottest person in your contacts if they are down to fuck."

Jake and Jamie, sat on either side of her, hooted with laughter. Jake said, "Might as well take a shot!"

Sophie placed the block neatly on the top of the tower. Then she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, like she was gathering strength. Next she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. I saw her type out a message and send it remorsefully, flashing the screen at Jamie to prove her completion.

"Who was it?" Riley asked immediately.

Sophie smiled exaggeratedly at Riley, "Nope. Not saying."

"But—"