Six Feet Under The Stars // ON HIATUS

2. A Couple Of Weeks Later

"So," Oakley took another drag of his cigarette, "Has anyone got a free house tonight? Or we could go to the park."

Badge looked at Jack. He shook his head. "Sorry mate, we don't." Oakley blew out a thin stream of smoke from his mouth. "Oh, I guess we'll just have to go to the park then."

I gulped. "Um," I started. "I do." (I was still fairly shy.) They all suddenly looked around at me suddenly. I expected one of them to splutter, "What? You?" I felt myself shrink slightly into the wall. Badge was the one to snap out of it first: "What time are your parents back?"

"Tomorrow evening," I said, smiling apologetically. They worked together and were off on a business conference. They had trusted me to the house, saying I wasn't to have friends over. Right.

They looked around each other. Jack was the one to speak: "Yeah, thanks Clara." Archie briefly grinned at me, as did Badge. I looked at Oakley, anticipating a similar expression of thanks. He didn't even move his lips. He just continued to glare at me.

Badge lit another cigarette. "Do you want a puff?" she asked me. She often did, and I always shook my head. But I was still a bit pissed off at Oakley: "OK." I took it and dangled it between my fingers, before taking a long drag on it.

The first thing I wanted to do was cough. But then, the nicotine came to my brain and I let it dissolve and it wasn't that bad really. It was almost...relaxing.

I passed it back to Badge. "Not that I'm encouraging you to smoke or something, because it kills you and all that shit, but I find it really helpful." I nodded: "It was OK, but I don't think I'm going to smoke. Too expensive."

"You'll find a way," Jack said. "We all do." Archie smiled at me. I grinned back. Oakley didn't smile at me, so I didn't even make an effort to look in his eyes.

"Can we come round to yours about six?" Badge babbled on. "I've got an essay to do that I really want to get done cuz I can't be arsed with yet another detention." I nodded: "Do you want me to get anything?"

"A bit of alcohol maybe. We can bring some, but can you have some too?" I nodded. I had yet to try the local shop to see if they asked for I.D.

Five hours later

I was holding a bottle of Vodka, standing in the queue at my corner shop. I was shaking a bit, because I was sort of scared I would be asked. The guy behind the counter smiled when I reached him and set it  on the top. "Just this?" he asked.

"Uh, no. Could I have a lighter and a pack of..." I looked around the shelves behind him. Which was the one to get? Might as well go for the first one my eyes landed on. "...Mayfair."

Both of those were placed in a bag along with my bottle. "That'll be nineteen pounds, ninety seven," the guy said. I handed over the money and almost skipped out of the shop.

I got home and checked the time. Five minutes to go. I pulled out some snacks and put them into a bowl. Then the doorbell rang and the letterbox clacked open. "Hey!" Badge's voice shouted. I ran to it and pulled it open. The four of them stood there, Jack holding a bag of something or other. I moved aside for them to come in. "Have you done your essay yet Badge?" I asked.

"Sort of," she gave half a smile. They all came in and after I offered them they slumped on the sofa. Oakley immediately pulled out a cigarette. "Do you guys want to go outside? It's quite a nice day."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then shut it because would he care about my opinion? The others nodded so they stood up and we trudged out to my garden. Oakley lay on the grass and therefore the others did.

He lit his cigarette and Jack tipped out the contents of the bag he had. A bottle of Vodka, five bottles of beer, three packs of cigarettes. And some strange bottle. "It was the cheapest stuff they had," Archie explained, "for if we run out." And then...condoms.

"Why are they there?" I asked, looking around at the four people sprawled on my grass. Jack looked the most sheepish: "I'm going to my girlfriend's later, I have to leave early, uh..."

Oh, by the way, Jack wasn't good boyfriend material anymore, because he had a girlfriend (I found this out a couple of days into my time at school). She didn't hang out with us, of course, and Jack didn't even want to spend loads of time with her. He used to say that he had to 'go to his girlfriend' very unwillingly, but when he was with her they looked happy enough, or they would if they would detatch themselves from sucking each other's faces off at some point. She was one of those girlfriends that was good to have to hang off your arm, for show. She had big breasts and a big bum and was as dumb as they come.

Badge cracked open the bottle of Vodka and took a swig from it. She pulled out her cigarette and passed the bottle to me. I lay down and took a swig of it. "This lighter has no life in it," Badge commented, dragging on hers. Oakley stubbed out his cigarette: "Mine neither."

We chatted idly for a while, swigging at more alcohol. We opened the beers and sat around watching the sunset as we drank them. Oakley made the move to light another cigarette. "Shit," he said. "The lighter's out. Badge...?" he looked at her.

"Mine's out too."

"Fuck. Does anyone else have a lighter?" he asked, looking at Archie and Jack. I spoke up: "I...I do."

"You don't smoke," they all looked at me incredulously. Why would I speak? How dare I?

"Look, do you want it or not?" I took it out of my pocket and threw it at him. He cupped his hand around the end of his cigarette and lit it before tossing the lighter at me again. I pulled a cigarette from my packet and lit it too.

"I didn't know you smoked," Jack piped up.

"It's relaxing," I quipped back, puffing. It really was though. I pulled out the snacks I had and we sat around until it was completely dark. We were steadily getting more drunk: we'd finished off the first bottle and had, for some reason, started the strange liquid. It was very strong.

Nine-thirty ish rolled around. Jack stood up and took the condoms. "I'd better go," he said, walking to the door. "Bye," Archie said.

"Enjoy the sex!" Badge shouted after him. He spun around to give her the middle finger, before leaving us. We lay down on the grass soon after he'd gone. I, for some reason, was lying next to Oakley. He had used up all his cigarettes so we were sharing one.

"There are no stars," he said. I giggled drunkenly: "Yeah, OK. There are never stars here."

"No, there have been," I felt the warmth of the alcohol filling my body as he spoke. I felt quite drowsy, passing the cigarette again to Oakley. It was practically a stub now. He dropped it on the grass: "Is there anything more?" he said. I yawned: "Not sure."

And then I lost conciousness and fell into a deep sleep.