This Isn't Wonderland

Chapter Two

"What are you wearing?"

Holdon looked at me with a hurt look as he looked down at his outfit; a pair of khakis and a plaid sweater vest that went over his long sleeved cream colored shirt. 

"Clothes? Hey, don't judge, they're comfy." He said, narrowing his eyes at the ground as he tugged on his shoulder bag higher up onto his shoulder. I rolled my eyes. He was such a nerd, but he made it cute, I just gave him a hard time.

"Where's Jaclyn?" I asked, sighing as I leaned against the lower brick wall that made up the apartment building Jaclyn's family lived in. Holdon shrugged and reached into his bag, my eyes following his every move. Then he pulled out a tin can. I smiled as he continued to pull something out of that as well. He pulled out two rolled up pieces of paper, both filled with weed on the inside. I smiled as he handed one to me. "Thanks." I mumbed, putting the joint between my two sets of teeth. Holdon extracted his lighter and did the same as me, putting his stick in between his teeth before lighting it up, doing the same to me. 

I mumbled a quick thank you to him before inhaling a bit, feeling the smoke traveling down my throat and into my lungs, the feeling scratching at my insides but I pushed the feeling away as I small high took over. I took the joint out of my mouth and held it infront of my face as I exhaled the smoke, watching as Holdon did the same from next to me.

"That's nice..." I mumbled "I haven't had a smoke in a while, haven't had the supplies. But now I have money so I can get some more." I said, crossing one of my arms and putting my other elbow on the shelf I created with my arm. "Oh, what happened to the pack you got just last week?" Holdon wondered. I rolled my eyes and shrugged "I forgot to take my pills a couple of times so I was even more depressed than usual so when that happens, I smoke more." 

Holdon let out a soft "Oh." just as the door to the Apartment lobby opened. Holdon and I both turned to see Jaclyn rushing out of the building, bookbag in her hand and a shoe in the other.

"What took you so long?" I asked, taking another puff of my stick. Jaclyn looked at me with tired eyes. "Help me, would ya?" She said, pushing her bookbag towards us. I put my arms up in defense, leaving Holdon to take hold of it. He did so. Jaclyn sat down on the ground and began putting on her one shoe since she already had the other one on.

I took the joint out of my mouth and held it out to her, she took a quick puff before blowing, the smoke rising and dissapearing. 

"So, late, why?" I asked, watching as she stood up and dusted herself off. "Just, my siblings being arses. I had to get them ready and stuff. It's whatever, I'm here now." She said, taking her bookbag from Holdon and putting it back onto her shoulders. I was glad to see hear that she wasn't a mess because of that guy she met on the internet. I sighed and took the rolled up weed out of my mouth, crushing it into the side of the brick wall to put out the fire before putting it back into the tin can Holdon had; he was doing the same. 

I took out my mints and popped one in my mouth, Holon and Jaclyn doing the same.

"This sucks." Jaclyn said from the right of me. Holdon, on the left of me, turned his head to look at her. "What does?", he asked. She sighed and stretched out her arms, "This, life, people. It all sucks." She explained, crossing her arms. "You guys are the only reason I'm actually still alive."

I closed my eyes for a split second to comprehend that, then I opened my eyes back up, I didn't even notice how my hands had taken hold of my skin and that I was now squeezing into my skin with my nails, breaking the skin making my body tremble with a stinging sensation.