Fake It 'Til You Make It

|14| Hangovers

"You look like you're either hung over or have been hit by a truck."

I closed my locker, tempted to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes, which burnt. My pounding headache was slowly reducing to a dull throb thanks to the pain meds I gulped down, and my stomach was on a rumbling rampage.

"Gee, nice to know, Ash."

He rolled his eyes, following me as I headed towards homeroom. "Don't call me that!"

I let out a sigh, biting back my response. It already was a terrible morning and I just wanted to sleep through every class I had.

"Seriously, what's got you so cranky this early in the morning? It usually takes a few periods for the misery to kick in."

I offered him no more than a dry laugh. I wasn't in the mood to fake being a sweet, nice person either. I couldn't believe I had drank myself to the point of no return and Vienna had to drag me home. But, how could her boyfriend be such a horrible, cheating person?

"How do you tell someone, to their face, that someone they really like is a complete jerk."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to me. "Hey, the person you like is a complete jerk. I've had to say it to Tal before. There's nothing wrong with the truth."

Something ran wild inside me, twisting and stabbing at my insides. The truth seemed to be my enemy ever since I was born. The truth got me banned from alcohol, the truth would make me look like a complete loser, and the truth is what was going to crush my sister.

"Just- I don't even know why you care. Go back to hating everything that walks, will you? I'm not in the mood to get counseled by the likes of you."

Hurt flashed across his face as I stormed off, accidentally bumping into Tala.

"Hey, Adi! Oh my gosh, guess who I hooked up with last night?"

I rolled my eyes, having bigger problems than Tala's sex life. But, for her sake, I pretended to be interested. Besides, I needed to get my mind off of what had happened the night before and the physical consequences I was suffering.

"Wait, I thought you were into that other guy?"

"I am!" She laughed as though I was stupid. Then, she linked her arm through mine and pulled me into the classroom and sat me next to her. "But, that doesn't mean I can't see other boys. It's not like we're dating. That's just not my thing."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's not your thing? Then how are you supposed to have a meaningful relationship with someone? Don't you want to get married one day, to find Mr. Perfect?"And, you know, not sleep with jerks who were already dating someone.

She shrugged, her expression swiftly changing. Her gaze was cast towards the dirty tile, her arms wrapped around herself. "At one time I did. But, let's not talk about it, okay?"

When she looked up at me, her eyes were glossy. Suddenly, nothing else mattered but helping this girl I was starting to recognize as a friend. She was just a broken girl in a broken world.

"You know, you can always talk to me."

She nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks. That means a lot to me. Everything. Even when you got me away from that guy at the party. You're a really caring person. That's why I wanted to be your friend. You seemed like someone I could get along with, that might even help me out with my struggles."

I solemnly nodded, touched by her heartfelt confession. "You're a sweet girl as well, but let people walk all over you, Tala. Why?"

"I'm not sure. I don't even realize it. Maybe we're all a little weaker than we think. But, some of us, I think we're stronger, too. Like you."

I shook my head. "I'm not strong at all."

She vigorously nodded. "Yes, you are! You need to stop underestimating yourself."

Her words rung in my head as the bell sounded, causing the symphony of voices in the classroom to clash to a halt. The teacher walked in, slammed the door, and slumped in her chair with a Starbucks coffee in hand.

Like myself, she got hangovers too. She was in her late twenties, taught some other class I wasn't in, and seemed to go clubbing every night.

"Alright, let me do attendance. Please keep the talking to a minimum. Most of you probably understand the pain of hangover headaches."

More than half the class, including Tala and I, nodded in agreement. Sad as it was, that was our reality. Or, rather, how we all escaped reality. With alcohol, you don't have to fake anything, but still have the time to your life. The bitter hold of reality no longer mattered.

Tala's 'best friend' walked in late and took her place beside her. J was in front of her next to his girlfriend, which Asher hated. Asher wasn't in homeroom with us, which kind of sucked sometimes. At least he would hold a conversation with me.

"Hey."

I looked up to find J himself looking at me.

"Yes?"

"Can't I just say 'hey' and be nice to you for once?"

I shrugged. Why would he want to be nice to me now of all times?

"Asher said you were pretty cool and that I should give you a fair chance. And, you look pretty lonely."

Glancing in the direction of his girlfriend, I found her glaring at me. He choose to talk to me, gee.

"Well, let's start over then." I held out my hand, not willing to miss an opportunity to befriend more popular people. "I'm Ada."

He laughed. "And I'm J."

"Just J?"

"Just J."

The bell finally rang and we all rushed to exit. The day was starting to get better. Maybe more people would open up to me. Maybe I could complete my 'Fake it 'til you make it' mission after all. A smile lit up my face as I headed towards my next class.

I'd have to tell Vienna the truth. No more running away from it. Besides, she would only get hurt even more later on. I needed it take Asher's advice and just tell her the blunt facts. And, the best part about my morning so far was that I got out of talking about Tala's sex life.