Chiara [PUBLISHED] ✔️

Nine

I grabbed Chiara by her waist and pulled her up. The uniform she had on was soaking wet and I cringed at the smell of alcohol surrounding her.

"Please, take me to my room." She mumbled as she clung to me. Her hair tickled my neck. Fortunately, the play meeting was before the first period and there was a possibility no one would see us tread through the school.

"You're going to have to navigate me." I said. She stumbled over her feet and almost pulled me down with her, but I grabbed the wall nearby.

"The same hallway where your room is." Chiara's voice became even weaker. "The end of it."

"You know where my room is?" I opened the door and checked whether there were people out. Fortunately, it was still empty.

"Of course I know where your room is." Chiara said, making me stop for a moment.

I got a hold of myself and we stumbled together through the school. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I couldn't believe I was so fast to accept anything she threw my way. Perhaps Bryan was right; I learned nothing from Maeve.

It took us a while to reach Chiara's room, but I made sure no one saw us. I guessed her reputation would go to shit forever if someone saw her sweaty and drunk on my arm in seven in the morning.

She gave me the key and I managed to unlock the door. Chiara was barely awake. Her door was so much bigger than mine and she didn't have a roommate. A huge, double bed awaited in the middle, a table and a closet on both sides. Everything made out of dark wood.

Her bedsheets were violet and they smelled of lavender. She collapsed on the bed; her golden hair falling all over her face.

"Thank you, Jackie." She whispered, but her eyes were already closed.

And I had no idea what to do with the gratitude.

So, I walked out and texted Bryan. He'd know what to do. He answered quickly; he was enjoying a wake and bake behind the bleachers with the world's elite. They all loved him. Or, they were afraid of him. The two might intertwine.

But Bryan had something I didn't – the confidence. When he walked through the school, everyone knew he gave zero fucks about who they were and what they thought of him. It worked, no one touched him, no one messed with him.

I exited the school through the backdoor and found Bryan next to the football courts, behind the bench seats. He had his uniform on, a plain white shirt with an embroidered AA and grey plaid pants. He passed the joint to the girl next to him, Reina, a gorgeous Latina and Chiara's friend. She looked over me with her huge, brown eyes and smirked. The first two buttons of her white shirt were open. Her boobs were inconspicuously positioned right in front of Arlo, one of the richest members of Astley Academy. The sun reflected off his pushed-back dark hair and his blue eyes scanned me from head to toe.

What a lovely bunch.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked Bryan.

"Sure," he smiled, "I was just telling Reina and Arlo about my future blogging plans. It concerns them."

"We'll leave." Reina flipped her deep brown hair over her shoulders and shamelessly looked over me once more.

"Bryan," Arlo turned to him, handing him the joint, "we'll be in touch."

"Uh-huh." Bryan smiled and waved them away.

They weren't in a total hurry to leave, they probably wanted to find out what was so important that Bryan would shoo them away. I wondered whether they knew my name. Once they left, I leaned onto the wall and sighed.