𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐄 ; 𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚁𝚈 𝙶𝙸𝚁𝙻𝚂

𝟎𝟕

-✮-

                    ᠆᠆᠆᠆᠆᠆᠆ "I just can't get my head around it... the fact that he's gone... forever" 

Sat upon her bed, Erin stared down at the wooden picture frame sat in her hands. Meanwhile, everybody else was scattered throughout the room. Clare, on her umpteenth energy drink, frantically switched between textbooks, while Orla sat beside her on a comfy looking chair. Michelle sat on the far right, reaching into her bag every now and then to get a cheeky swig of some strange drink, as James contently flicked through his own books. 

"It's so sad, it really is, it is so so sad. But at the same time what's done is done so," Clare quickly rambled, letting out a half burb between her words thanks to the copious amounts of energy drink. "Let's crack on!" She then tapped her pen against her book harshly, flicking to the next page just as quickly. 

Tucked away behind James and Michelle sat Robyn, snuggled up within her own sleeping bag and a bunch of pillows that had been chucked there to save a bit of space. While the others seemed very caught up in studying, she'd been fighting sleep for the past two hours. Mico-naps lasting about five to ten minutes were all she'd managed to get, usually being woken up by Orla poking her, or Michelle trying to tell her something. She was actually in the midst of one of those naps at that very moment. 

"Well, I'm sorry Clare. Has this sudden, tragic death interrupted your studies?" Erin lamented, rather dramatically. 

"It has a bit actually, yeah," Clare admitted shamelessly, taking another swig from her can.

Shaking her head and looking down, Erin quickly blinked away her few, ever so slightly forced tears. "How can you be so heartless?"

"Don't cry, Erin! He's in a better place now," Orla called, nodding to herself. "Unless he's not, you know, because he's gone to hell." 

"Can we please talk about something else? I'm half torn. This is wrecking my head!" Michelle then piped in, pinching at the bridge of her nose. 

With that, Robyn was woken up again. Slightly startled too as she blinked harshly and looked around. The bags that usually sat beneath her eyes were more pronounced, and her head felt thick and foggy. 

"What? Have you been drinking?!" Erin quickly retorted, a look of disgust washing across her face. 

"Yes, I have." Michelle shrugged. "And for future reference, if any of you invite me to a study sleepover again and I'm desperate enough to accept that invitation there's a good chance I have a litre bottle of Pernod in my bag!" She was quick to fish out that bottle, unscrewing the lid. 

"So your plan is to sit the exam half sloshed?" Robyn muttered, letting out a small yawn before rubbing some sleep out of her eyes. 

"Aye, why don't you join me?" The bottle was soon shoved into her face, swiftly waking her up thanks to the stench of alcohol. 

Pushing the bottle away, she shook her head and reached for a spare blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders. 

"I shouldn't even have to sit the exam, you know.. on compassionate grounds" Erin's shaky voice filled the room again as Michelle continued to down more Pernod.

"He was a dog, Erin!" Clare scoffed, finishing off her can, scrunching it up and throwing it into the pile. 

"Toto was much more than a dog! He was my best friend!" Erin snapped back, turning the picture around and pointing at the small pooch. 

Groaning in quiet annoyance, Robyn leant forward and rested her forehead against James' back, grabbing his attention as he glanced over his shoulder. The hiss of another can being opened caused her to sit back, sending a glare over to Clare. If she wasn't already full of energy and stress during the day, she was going to be much worse now.