In 31 Days

Day 11: Sleep

As I sat down in Government class, I smelled something strange. I sniffed cautiously. 

I whipped my head towards the scent and saw Andrew making his way over, with a couple cuts on his lip, a bruised cheekbone, and a look that clearly said that he was high on drugs.

Ah, nothing like the smell of illegal drugs.

My mouth was wide open as he tried to sit down, but was apparently too uncoordinated to do so. I took his backpack from him and gently put it on the ground. He looked up and saw me, and tried to take it away from my hands.

"What are you doing?" Andrew slurred.

Okay, I thought. So he was drunk too. Fantastic.

I sighed at him and replied, "Helping you, you dimwit."

"How do you feel right now?" I asked tentatively.

He smiled a shit-eating grin that clearly stated that he was as high as a kite.

"Let me rephrase. On a scale of one to ten, how high are you in the clouds?" I gestured vaguely to the ceiling and he looked up at my hand, his gaze transfixed.

"A fucking bazillion hundred million thousand ninety and one," he finished, holding up his index finger, clearly proud of himself.

I grimaced and told him to take out his bloody pencil.

The rest of the day went by in a blur as I saw Alex in and out of the halls, waving to me, and flashes of Andrew's impaired state zooming through the hallways. 

I was about to board the bus to go home at the end of the school day, my mind thinking about the forest fun Alex promised me, when I heard shouting amidst the many groups of students chattering.

But this wasn't regular shouting. I knew the voices.

I walked over and saw my friend Sophia yelling at another guy, Yussef. Yussef and I used to be great friends before he joined the football team. He soon decided that he was too cool for us groundlings, and tried to fit in with the football crew. Sophia had liked Youssef for about a year now, but he was always an ass about it, and never really reciprocated the feelings. He would lead her on, then ignore her, then lead her on again, apologize, then let her go again.

I was often with her at school comforting her about him, and frankly, seeing the two of them together made my blood boil. She didn't deserve this kind of treatment. I walked over casually and took a good look at Sophia's tear-streaked eyes.

"Are you okay?" I immediately asked, my mind wondering if missing the bus was worth it. The bus was my only ride home; I'd have to call my parents if I missed it.

She choked out a sob, shook her head quickly, then ran to the nearest door to the school.

I looked back at Yussef, and decided that I needed to settle the dispute.

"What did you do to her?" I asked, hands waving in her general direction.

"Nothing!" Yussef said indignantly. "I told her to stop talking to me — it's so annoying. You have no idea. I have a life too, you know."

My nostrils flared angrily at him.

"And if you'll excuse me," he continued, "I have a very important football practice to get to."

"Whoa there. Wait a second," I shouted, running up to him. "Do you even care about her?"

He looked at me uncertainly, then disguised his face to look neutral.

"No. I used to, but she's too clingy. She's kinda ugly too. Not Yussef material," he said, pointing to himself and nodding his head cockily.

"What happened to you?" I asked, in wonderment. "What the fuck happened to you?"