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Imogen Halstead (age 15)
Word count: 2590
TW: drugs, alcohol, smoking, strong language etc.
*set before season 1*
Imogen's POV
"Heyyyyyyy" I'm greeted by my best friend, gabby. She practically jumps on my back, "wait, is that black eyeliner I'm seeing right now?" She stops me in my tracks. I shrug, "uh yeah..." I sigh, looking around. Gabby scoffs, "it isn't because of what Sydney said, is it?" She pulls a face. I shake my head, "no, of course not, I just wanted to try it" I make up an excuse. Gabby huffs, "good, because I don't want to come back from Australia to my best friend being a completely different person" she warns me. I pull a face, "never" I shrug.
~
"Don't forget to call me!" I yell at gabby as she walks in the complete opposite direction. She's going to Australia for a few months over the summer break to see some family, which means I now need to find people to hang out with. Although I don't think I'll find anyone like her...
As I'm stood waiting for the school us to arrive, Sydney walks up to the curb and takes a long look at me, "I see you actually listened to my advice for once" she sighs, eyeing me up. I look down at the curb, "y'know, me and the girls hang out at the old skate park every Friday night if you wanna' come" she opposes. I smile, "uh yeah, I think I will" I nod, feeling a little nervous. She smiles, "greattttt, see you at 8" she hops into the next car that pulls up alongside the sidewalk.
I internally scream to myself as the school bus comes into view. Sydney and the rest of her group are the most popular girls in the school, even above the juniors and seniors. It's crazy! But now I get to hang out with them? This is perfect...
~
At around 8:15pm, I turn up at the old skate park to see a large bunch of girls hovering around a bench. I walk over to them as Sydney spots me, "oh uh, everyone this is Imogen. She'll be hanging out with us from now on" she announces. I smile weakly as Sydney harshly pushes one girl off of the bench to let me sit down. I stare at the table as a tall red head empties her bag into the spade in front of us. A bag of weed, a bag of pills, and numerous bottles of booze falls out. Uh...
"What's the matter, Imogen?" Sydney frowns, "you never smoked before?" She snickers. I shake my head, "uh no, no I haven't" I shift in my seat. Everyone stares at me like I'm some kind of monster. Sydney laughs, "here... have a try" she hands me a joint. I'm hesitant. I mean... I've always been clean, I don't mess with this stuff.
But... my brothers aren't here anymore, they left. My mom recently passed away, and my dad barely pays attention to me. He's too busy drinking to cope with his loss. I look at the faces of the girls, "okay..." I nod, accepting the joint. I take a few puffs on the joint before coughing and passing it over to Sydney. They all laugh, but congratulate me on being brave enough to try it.
I don't feel guilty. I don't feel anything. And that's what scares me...
~
I don't know what time it is. Hell, I don't even know where I am. It's just me and Sydney now. I don't know how many of those red pills I had. I don't know how much weed I just smoked. But I do know that I had a whole small bottle of vodka to myself. I feel free. The world looks different now. It's spinning. There's flashing lights and I can't walk straight. Sydney grabs my hand and laughs as we stumble down the side walk, "why didn't we become friends sooner?" She giggles down my ear. I muffle a laugh as I stop myself from falling, gaining a few stares fro passers by.
