Eradication // On Hold

o n e

"Darla, hurry or we'll be late for school," spoke a raspy teenage girl voice, belonging to my best friend Missy.

Like every other morning I ignored her, junior year could wait for just a few more minutes.

"Darls, wake up," she screamed a little more urgent.

Moments afterwards, I heard heavy footsteps, due to Missy's rather heavy Doc Martens against the old wooden stairs. I should be afraid because Missy is never late for school and can be rather ... persistent. The familiar clonk soon stopped.

"She gave up," I said to myself in my head, feeling triumphant.

It suddenly got really cold due to the daily Delaware fall weather. I felt blindly for my wool blanket, but grasped nothing. Annoyed, I shot up in my bed and looked around for it. When I finally found it, it was in the pale hand of Missy.

"Get. Up."

I moaned dramatically and literally rolled out of bed, causing my face to hit the old wooden floor with a loud thump. Missy's annoying laughter filled the air in moments. I shot her the meanest death stare that I could conjure.

"Not funny," I huffed.

"Just hose off so we can leave."

I rolled my eyes and entered the bathroom.

After being completely satisfied with my look, I stepped out of the bathroom. But because the bathroom was so humid, my silky, black, shoulder length hair was a horrific frizz mess.

"Nice hair," spoke a somewhat masculine voice.

"The same to you, Chase." His sandy brown hair was in a frantic mess all over his olive skin, long enough to cover his emerald eyes.

Missy smiled at Chase. She's had a crush on him since the eighth grade, but he never got the hint. Although, how cliche would it be if my two best friends fell in love; I like it just the way it is.

"Ready to go ladies?" Chase asked mimicking a gentleman that he definitely was not.

"No," I answered quickly as I head towards the kitchen.

"Darla, today is the first day of school, we can't just ditch," Missy whined, eagerly ready to attend school.

"Missy, you don't know anything about ditching and school is the only thing you're fond of in life so Chase and I would never make you do such a horrendous thing."

Chase gave his sincerest smile, which made her blush uncontrollably, but of course he didn't notice.

"But I seriously don't want to go," I muttered so low, I could barely hear myself.

8:05 a.m.

"Right on time," Missy said as she headed towards the door.

"Hey, Darls, when do your parents get home?"

I gave Chase the 'what a stupid question' look, which made him crack a small smile.

"You know that face is really disturbing right?"

"That's the point."

I smiled at him this time.

***

The first day of junior year wasn't as lame as I had predicted, but the on going pressure of being perfect is overbearing. I just want to give up my dreams of leaving Little Creek, Delaware, to move to Texas and study at SantaFe University. Missy cared a lot though. I wish she would relax once and a while, but because her dad had such high expectations of her, she had no time to have fun. I honesty don't know how we became friends we're just so different.

The first week of school came and went and it was soon Friday night. My parents have been out of the country in Barbados for two weeks now, doing who knows what for however long. I just know that they won't be back any time soon. So being the rebellious outcast, Darla Perry, I whipped out phone and invited a couple of 'friends' over. We all know how the cliche teen party goes, you invite a couple of friends, but by mid party the house is infested with drunk teenagers. Well that's exactly what happened.

Our old wooden house on the pier reeked of liquor and perspiration. You had your classic party attenders. The drunk jocks, slutty cheerleaders, cool kid cliques, ect. But who I didn't expect to come was my friend, Missy Lavigne.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, completely shocked at her arrival.

"Thought I needed to wind down a bit," she said moving her ridiculously long chestnut hair behind her ear, her breath possessed by booze.

I cringed, but smiled heartily.

"Have fun then, kiddo."

She soon disappeared and I didn't see her for the rest of the evening.

After hours of wild dancing, bathroom runs, and juicy games of truth or dare, I finally managed to get the myriad amount of guests out of my small house. Completely beat, I crawled to bed.

***

Waking up, completely hangover free, I pranced through the house with Chocolate by The 1975 on maximum volume.

"Hey now call it a split 'cause you know that you will

Oh you bite your friends like chocolate

You say, we'll go where nobody knows, with guns hidden under our petticoats

No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no"

I belted in a strange key.

Missy was supposed to sleep over last night so I went on a mini exploration to go and find her. In the spare guest bathroom, you saw her sprawled out on the floor like a exhausted toddler. The comparison made me giggle. I examined her skin, a lot paler than usual. I concluded that it was a result of all the puking she did last night. I knelt down besides her and gently tapped her cold shoulder.

"Mis, wake up," I spoke next to her ear.

She didn't move at all so I pushed her over, and saw I large blood stain near her stomach. Panicking, I felt her frigid wrist, waiting for a pulse, but there was none.

She's dead.

I cried.

Cried for hours.

My best friend is gone.