against all odds

chapter one

Hangovers From Hell

Everything about the situation was considered normal, at least in the case of Zara Pierce and Vera Alexeev.

They were stationed on the bathroom floor, with Zara struggling to hold Vera's hair back as she projectile vomited up the contents of last night. The events of the party left many unanswered questions, but like always, they didn't care. Their biggest concern was getting to school on time, even if it meant throwing on clothes in front of a random Uber driver.

"Fuck, the Uber is going to be here in two minutes," said Zara, as she hurriedly tried to comfort her best friend while texting the driver.

She attempted to support Vera and grab both their backpacks off the floor just as the car pulled up in her driveway. They were about to make their escape through the front door when the voice of Zara's mother stopped them.

"My goodness, what happened to Vera? Is she okay?"

"Yes, Mom," Zara muttered, racking her brain for a good lie. "Uh, it's her time of the month, if you know what I mean," motioning downward, trying to make it sound believable as she rushed out onto the patio.

Of course, she didn't believe her, especially when Vera was so obviously stumbling and practically tripping over her own feet.

"Beta, I want to talk to you about-"

Zara, already knowing its about Vera's supposedly 'inappropriate' behavior, cut her off by kissing her cheek. "Bye Mom, I'll talk to you after school."

She yanked open the car door and forcibly shoved Vera in, accidentally hitting her head in the process. After getting in herself, she glared at the middle aged Uber driver, who seemed frozen in shock at the sudden entry of the disheveled girls.

"Can you hurry the fuck up and drive?"

He quickly reddened and put the car in reverse, speeding his way through the neighborhood.

Zara shoved some extra clothes in Vera's direction and threw her own clothes on, brushing her fingers through her messy black hair after. She made sure the driver kept his eyes ahead, glaring at him through the rear view mirror as she helped Vera put her own clothes on.

"We have a fucking project due today," Vera groaned, finally coming to her senses as she pulled her shorts on. "Did you do it?"

"What the fuck, you were supposed to do it this time," Zara stated, her eyes widening. The guilty look on her best friends face made her even more nervous. The familiar feeling of panic was creeping its way into her mind as her breathing became shallow. She closed her eyes, willing for it to go away, but as tears clouded her vision, she knew it was too late.

Vera remained calm, used to her friends anxiety attacks. "Remember to breathe, Z. In through your nose and out through your mouth." She knew no amount of physical comfort would help her friend, so she attempted to rationalize the situation.

"Our presentation is only after lunch, so we have the whole day to come up with something."

Though this seemed to help, Zara didn't truly calm down until they entered the school gates later.

There was a sense of organized chaos as hundreds of students pushed past each other, making their way to their classes. Everyone was exhausted from the weekend parties and mountains of homework they were assigned on Friday.