The Project

Chapter 12

Kate's Point of View

Within a few hours, Benny and I had separated and I was by myself in the kitchen, awkwardly sipping from a water bottle.

I tried to look for him everywhere I could except for the basement and upstairs bedrooms, where I assumed he wouldn't be.

As the time hit 10, I knew I had to stop sitting around and find Benny so we could head out before I get in trouble.

So I leave the water bottle on the granite kitchen countertop and leave the kitchen to search for the boy I arrived here with.

The only two places he could be is upstairs or downstairs and I don't believe he would be in a bedroom upstairs or downstairs with the drugs.

But since I had to choose, I went upstairs.

There were multiple closed doors and I opened each one, calling Benny's name as I stuck my head in.

Most of the time when I opened the door, it was a couple doing things in bed so I shut that door quickly. The other doors was a bathroom and a closet. So Benny wasn't upstairs.

I went back down the stairs so I was on the first floor again. Then, though I didn't want to, I trudged downstairs to the basement.

To my surprise, Benny sat on the couch with a group of other people from our high school, smoking from a lit joint.

Now I didn't know what to do and I was panicking. Was I supposed to go over there and get him so we could leave? Or do I just go home by myself?

"Benny," I mutter, walking over to where the group sat.

Benny drops the joint, and before it could hit the floor, one of the girls sitting next to him catches it, smirking at him.

"Kate," he mumbles. "Is that you?"

"Yes," I reply, pulling him up from the couch from his wrist. "Are you high?"

I force his face to look at mine and stare into his eyes, which were bloodshot red and confirmed my question.

"I'm high and drunk," he corrects.

How was I supposed to deal with this? I couldn't take care of a drunk and high person!

I didn't bring up the fact that Benny lied to me, he was probably too out of it to even care.

"We're leaving," I inform.

Benny mumbles words that were incoherent and I drag him up the narrow staircase.

When we're back at the top of the stairs, I'm practically shoving people out of the way so Benny and I could get to the front door.

He's barely able to walk, and while I thought he only had one beer, he must've had more because he was completely wasted. Maybe he had more alcohol while we were separated. That, or he's just a lightweight.

We made it out of the house, and practically all of Benny's dead weight is on my shoulders as I had to drag him all the way back home.

There was no way I was sneaking him in to his own house, so when we get back to the general area of our houses, I decided he'd be sleeping at my place tonight.

I prayed that my mother was either in the office working or asleep.

To my luck, she was asleep and all the lights were off when I walked through the front door.

"Don't make any noise," I whisper to Benny, who looked like he was on the verge of passing out.

"I'm hungry," he responds.

"Ok, let me just get you to bed," I murmur, pulling him by his bicep up the stairs.

He whines as I force him into my bedroom, pull of his shoes and tuck him into my bed.

"I'm gonna get you some water and aspirin," I decide. "Don't go anywhere."

The teenager just tiredly nods, eyelids heavy and exhausted.

I hurriedly walk back downstairs and to the kitchen, filling a glass with water and getting out pain reliever aspirin from the cabinet.

With that, I put crackers on a plate before brining all of it back up to my room, where Benny luckily still was.

"Take this," I command, handing him the small pill with the glass of water. "And eat these."

Benny weakly takes the items from me, swallowing the pill and eating the crackers.

He sets the empty tray back down on my nightstand and rests his head on my pillow, exhaling.

He shuts his eyes.

I felt like a stalker watching him as he began to fall asleep but what else was I supposed to do?

Instead of continuing to watch him, though it was entertaining and cute, I get a blanket from under my bed and one of the many pillows I had for decoration on top.

I set it up on the floor and get myself comfortable.

It was hard to sleep on the hardwood bedroom floor while Benny was sleeping away on my bed, but what else could I do?

-

"Okay class, now that you've made it through the most difficult part of the school year, we will be calming things down and starting a novel!" Mrs. Peters informs.

She begins passing out a decent sized soft-cover book to each student. Judging by the cover, this book wouldn't be too interesting.

The classroom door opens then, and while Johnny is usually the one walking in late to class, he's in his desk already and it's Benny who walks in late.

"Ah, here you go, Benny," Mrs. Peters says to the boy, handing him a book.

He nods at her, and walks to his desk behind mine. I start the note passing, and jot down a quick message.

"Still recovering from your hangover?"

I pass the note back to him, and he sighs.

"I didn't know hangovers lasted all weekend. I am never drinking again."

I wanted to mention the weed also, but decided to just crumple up the note and leave it at that.

"So you will be reading this book in groups of 3," Mrs. Peters starts. "I'll be letting you choose your groups so choose wisely!"

Johnny and Benny look at me at the same time, and I smile between them. "Guess we three can be a group."

-