The Addict And The Shadows

Chapter One - Craving peace

After arriving in California, I soon figured out that my oh so gracious aunt had been planning to send me away since she got custody of me. Feeling the love. The uber slowly pulls up to a large security gate and after a short conversation with the women on the other side of the speaker, he drives up a long stone path. A modern-looking building comes into sight when the car suddenly stops. I swing the door open and finally relax a bit after escaping that death trap.

Since the accident, I have avoided going in cars as much as possible. It freaks me out. A short woman comes skipping down the stairs and gives me a large smile. Not in the mood. Fuck off.

'Welcome! You must be Faith Campbell' she greets 'I am the headmistress of Kingston High and am excited to get you settled in' she grins.

Not as excited as I am to get my fingers on the bag of weed in my back pocket.

'Your Aunt has been in contact with me for several months now and prepared me for your arrival' I scoff. Prepared? 'she warned me of your substance and alcohol problems since the passing of your parents. We cannot have these items on school property so, therefore, your dorm will be searched once a week for the first couple of months to make sure nothing enters' shit 'We also have therapy and councillors on site for you to talk to 3 times a week' she smiles at me before handing me a thick folder 'this is everything you should need to get settled. If you need anything, don't be shy to ask' she says before walking away.

I sigh, looking down at the folder, I notice my dorm is room 456 in the mixed hall. Fab. At least there will be a dealer. I grab my bags and pull them behind me as I make my way to mixed hall. I underestimated the size of the campus and now regret denying the ride my uber driver offered. After many wrong turns, I find myself at the entrance of my very modern hall and push the glass doors open.

White floors spread out before me as white walls tower above. When I say everything I see is white, I mean EVERYTHING, 3 corridors full of dorms sit on all 3 floors. Luckily, I'm top floor. After finally finding the elevator, I am stood in front of room 456. I look through the folder and find a key card which I swipe and unlock the door. I step into my new bedroom and can definitely say I'm shocked. A double bed sits in the middle of the room with drawers lining the walls and a desk in the corner. Another door leads off into my own ensuite with marble flooring and a beautiful looking shower.

The first thing I do is kick off my converse and lay on the bed. Just for a couple of minutes...

6 hours later

My eyes flutter open as I look around the room and see it exactly as I left it. I take my phone from my pocket, rubbing my eyes from sleep and see the time of 1:09 am on the screen. I internally groan and decide to go on an adventure.

Early morning is always the best time. Something about it seems so peaceful and makes me feel slightly at ease. Most people are snuggled up in their beds, finally at peace with their brains shutting off. The thoughts stop running around and are replaced with sweet dreams, dreams that I can only hope to have.

Since that night, I was lucky if I slept 3 hours, I could never shut my thoughts off at night, I was always more awake when I should've been sleeping. You could say I was nocturnal. I was active in the night and sleeping in the day. Of course, that wouldn't be the same at Kingston as I have to actually attend my lessons. When I was living with my Aunt, my mother's sister, I never went to school. My GPA dropped massively and my Aunt told me that no college would want to take a kid as fucked up as me. Like I care.

I quickly changed out of my travel clothes that consisted of blue mom jeans and a white crop shirt, I slipped on a pair of grey sweatpants and a green sweatshirt. Not runway-worthy but who am I trying to attract? Pft. I finish the outfit off with my favourite pair of black converse and grab my 'goody' bag.