The hangover

Waking up (47 hours remaining)

"Dani..? Dani?" I heard a voice repeating with worry. Opened my eyes, squinting- barely making out the concerned face looking at me. 

As I lifted my head groggily and wiped dried drool off my cheek and jawline.

Looking around at my surroundings I found I was laying on the floor of someone's living room.

"Ugh," I groaned, trying to get up from the hardwood floor beneath me, suddenly feeling like a million pounds as I lay there holding my head. It pounded as I swayed in attempts to walk from my sleeping place to one of the plush chairs only a few feet from me. A normal task suddenly feeling near impossible.

"What happened last night? What's happening?" I asked unsteadily, trying to keep from falling back onto the floor.

She looked at me with minimal evidence of sickness  on her own face as I looked around at some of the fast asleep bodies on the floor. I guess after the last three years she's built an immunity for painful hangovers- or maybe she's just got a higher tolerance.

"You were whining about being bored so I brought you along to a party I was invited to and I think you left with some people for part of it and the rest is kind of a blur," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

"People? which people" I asked- suddenly paying closer attention.

"I think it was Alex Mayne and one of his friends but I saw LaToya go with you so I figured you'd be safe since she doesn't drink and super into self defence."

I only kind of knew LaToya- she was always trying to encourage girls to join her kickboxing group and was always posting about political issues on her twitter using lingo I didn't really get- but as far as people go she's definitely a safe bet for people to be around especially when intoxicated.

"You need something to drink, Chia, strawberries, banana and oat milk will help that hangover right along," Noelle said expertly.

She opened the cabinets and fridge, located all her ingredients and blended and made a couple smoothies, passing one to me.

"They don't have chia- so just pretend there is."

Despite Noelle being my best friend for years we still had little in common. Always her with some new health thing in attempts to achieve the perfect body while I stayed the same triangle shape- gaining and losing the same five pounds over and over. One year she was vegan and the next she was eating chicken and turkey at every meal.

It wasn't just our diets that clashed though, I wasn't much of a party person and couldn't string a proper sentence together unless it was over a screen whereas Noelle was the sociable and could belong anywhere- not that I'm complaining though- she always came in handy when it came time to order a pizza.

"Hey are you sure whoever's house this is would be cool with that?" I asked.

She turned to me and grinned, "what? You seriously think  Ashleigh Wright uses her kitchen? she doesn't step foot in here relax the staff won't mind."

That's right. This is Ashleigh Wright's house. A. Edward university's number one thespian four years running and daughter of two of the biggest medical researchers in the country. It was true she did have little need for 'menial tasks' and had staff to do anything unworthy of her time- but she was still a super nice and friendly person so I guess she's just hard to spoil. 

I thought about the statement for a second before accepting the drink and taking a sip.

"I guess not, Thanks," I replied, accepting the cup and took another drink. She knew her drinks, it really was good chia or not.

"No problem, it's the least I can do after dragging you here," she replied taking a swig of her drink.

"And nice shirt by the way," she commented.

I looked down to find a large Led Zeppelin shirt that was definitely not what I came in, mostly because I was 100% sure I didn't shop in the men's aisle and have never listened to Led Zeppelin

"Oh god did I hook up with someone?" I groaned in annoyance as she laughed at my irritation.

"No- you vomited on yourself after your first drink and some guy lent you his shirt- honestly I think it was just an excuse to take his shirt off but you looked like you were in no position to turn away something clean to put on."

"I didn't think you'd get that hammered so fast, I'm not sure whether to be concerned or impressed," she added.

"Wait what?" I asked, my back straightening up suddenly, minding no attention to the sharp pain it gave me.

She chuckled and put her mostly finished drink down next to her.

"Oh relax, you got a little buzzed and you said you'd be fine, I kinda lost you after that and to be honest, I don't remember last night very much- I looked for you though."

I nodded in agreement though I did feel an ounce of concern that I couldn't quite recall anything either. I was hoping at least to remember a couple things but the earliest memory I have post waking up was simply arriving.

She took my empty cup along with hers and put them in the sink.

"Alright well I think we should call an Uber to pick us up, and you seriously have to get your rest up miss valedictorian," she poked teasingly.

I swatted at her jokingly and laughed moving my hair out of my eyes.

"Yeah well it's still not a sure thing, I can still lose my spot and miss runner up Mia Reid snatches my spot," I sighed, rolling my eyes and annoyingly shoving my hair away from the corner of my mouth.

Mia- one of my classmates has always been ambitious, which I could respect if her only ambition wasn't always trying to one up and take things from me and other classmates. Scholarships, president of Debate team, even boyfriends, and for her Magnus Opus- valedictorian.

I don't let her get in my way though, I keep my copy of my speech on a thumb drive I keep with me at all times and away from competitive eyes with wandering hands- the other copy handwritten and tucked away safely at my dad's house.

I put my hand into my pocket and felt an immediate sense of panic as my hand felt nothing.

"Find your shoes, I'm gonna call us an Uber now; the vomit in the houseplants is starting to stink," Noelle stated, pulling out her phone.

"Sounds good- I need a shower and something to eat- maybe Cinnabon?" I suggested, reaching for the pocket of my shorts feeling an unwelcome absence in place of a USB.

"My thumb drive is missing," I managed to get out shakily, a wave of nerves hitting me like a truck.

You ever reach for your phone in its usual pocket and it's not there so you suddenly feel really uneasy? yeah that times a hundred was probably the most accurate way to describe the way I had felt in that moment.

Noelle's face turned from lighthearted neutral to her a look of panic most likely not far off from my own.

"Do you remember anything you or I did last night?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"A minute to three in the afternoon," Noelle replied pulling out her phone and glancing at the screen before putting it away.

My face fell to my hands. I have less than 48 hours to find my valedictorian speech before I have to get on a stage and read it to my peers, teachers, and countless other watching eyes and we have no idea what happened last night. Great.