The Party Scene Saga: Stories Yet To Unfold

Part 2

April 2002 - Age 14

"Go on, Lily. Don't be a pussy." smirked Joey McKinley.

"Do it, do it, do it..." his friends chanted, egging me on.

The lit spliff was hanging out of Joey's hand, practically begging for me to take it and smoke it. I'm 14, I don't want to do drugs! But Joey and his friends accepted me. He took me under his wing when no one else would even though he was two years older than me, when everyone was calling me for listening to my 'emo music', when all the girls judged me because of my skinny jeans and band t-shirts. This was Joey's way out, his way of coping with pain. I, however, had my own ways. Let me explain...

My name is Lily Maria Merrick. I live in Baltimore, Maryland with my mum, my dad, my sister Sam and my brother Zack...well, my twin brother. But I hate it in Baltimore. Okay, dad loves me and Zack was always my only friend, but mum and Sam? They pretty much hated me. Because of the hate they gave me and all the bullying in school, I turned to a sharp object when I was hurting most. The scars littered my right arm, from my wrist all the way up to my shoulder, with some a lot deeper than others. Cutting, at first, made me feel happy - the only other thing that did that was playing drums. Joey knew - he's my closest friend, I can tell him anything - but no one else did. I was proud I'd kept it that way.

"Come on, Lily. Do it for me." smiled Joey.

I bit my lip; is this really the right thing to do? I hated cutting and I always looked for another way out, but was pot really it? Okay, it gets rid of your pain, gets you high so you forget everything bad in the world for a while...but is it really worth it? Joey's my idol. He's listened to all of my troubles and knows everything about me. I'd do anything for Joey. I finally smiled and nodded at him, earning a few cheers from his already high friends as he passed it over to me. I took a minute to brace myself, then took my first drag.

"Woah..." I exclaimed lazily.

It felt amazing. I felt dizzy, light headed and just...better. All my physical pain felt as if it was literally being pulled freely out of my body, like it was just disappearing. I felt my mouth form into a clumsy smile as I looked back at Joey; he was smiling proudly at me. I'd pleased Joey, and that was all I aimed to do in life. We heard the bell ring, signalling the end of the school day, and we all waited until everyone dispersed out into the corridors then came out of the disused classroom where we always went on a Thursday to miss French class.

"You've done me proud today, Merrick." smiled Joey.

"Oh...thanks, Joey." I blushed.

"Don't thank me...thank Neil for getting the gear!" he chuckled, pulling our friend Neil Johnson into a headlock.

Neil was a sweet boy. He was the total opposite of Joey: Joey was loud and cocky, whereas Neil was quiet and kept his head down - although I'll never understand how he manages to get his hands on pot. The other five guys were Joey clones though. They looked up to Joey, like me, but they took it to the next level. Whatever Joey did, the boys felt they had to copy him exactly. It was really annoying and even Joey agreed it was. He and Neil left me and I went off to my locker to retrieve my bag, which I'd left in there at lunch. I started to panic, however, when I saw Zack stood there. I forgot we have to walk on a Thursday, seeing as mum was too 'busy' to pick us up. I pulled my mirror out of my pocket and glanced into it; my eyes were bloodshot to fuck. Zack would obviously realise, he's not stupid. Some kid was walking through the corridor with a pair of sunglasses hanging out of his bag, so I quickly stole them and shoved them on my face right before Zack turned around.

"There you are! I thought you'd gone already!"

"Yeah I uh...got held up." I lied, scratching my neck.

"Oh...home we go then!"

And that was it. My transparent brother, Zack. Who always believed my lies as long as I smiled whilst I was doing so.