"No, I heard he just moved here with his family. That whole getting kicked out of his old school is bullshit." Cara said as she tipped the bottle up to her lips. Brian was able to get his older brother to buy us booze every week - and this week it was gin that he got. Not a personal favorite but it would do.
"He's in my english class. Pretty quiet guy until he starts talking." Campbell spoke up, gesturing for Cara to hand the bottle to him. It always looked so awkward in his hands but he drank anyways.
More comments were raised about Niall Horan, the supposed new kid at our school. From what I gathered he was 18 and had just moved here. Apparently he doesn't have much to say. And according to Claire he was "totally cute". Usually, I was fairly talkative on our Thursday nights, especially after my fourth turn with the bottle. But tonight I was more quiet. I couldn't help but be curious about the new kid.
Eventually, it came time for all of us to leave - we all still had a curfew to adhere to anyways. Usual routine, we said our goodbyes and prepared to leave. As I was walking up the pathway to begin my 15 minute walk come Campbell hollered to me,
"Hey Britt! Hold on..." He did a slight jog as to catch up with me as I turned to wait for him. "What's up?" I asked. When his long legs caught up to my significantly shorter ones, and his hazel eyes caught a hold of mine in the dark he spoke softly.
"Can I drive you home tonight?" It was an odd question - Campbell never drove me home unless Melissa insisted because of the some snowstorm, or if we accidentally stayed at the creek too late.
"Sure, but don't expect me to put out." Campbell laughed at my comment. He knew I was kidding. We became friends for Melissa's sake and that was that. We walked up to his parents Mercedes which looked so out of place given the dirty path it was sitting on. I climbed into the passenger seat before Campbell even made it to the door of his side. The gin warmed me up a bit, but I wasn't entirely ignorant to the fact it was freezing outside. As he hoped in effortlessly to his seat he looked over at me and sighed. Out of the nine of us that met up on our Thursday nights, he was always the one to put up the strongest front when dealing with Melissa's death.
"I'm going to invite a new person next week, and I wanted to ask you about it first."
"Okay. Why would you ask me first though? Who is it?"
"Well, I'm just asking you because since Melissa passed away, we all kind of look to you as the new head honcho of things. So I just wanted to make sure you were okay with my bringing in someone from the outside ya know? I think it's time. Plus, we are seriously the most depressing group of people. Like who else do you know sits around a smelly old creek every Thursday night and gets drunk and talks about death?"
I couldn't help but chuckle. Campbell never got drunk. He would have a few sips for our benefit really. It had been 15 weeks since the accident. Literally almost four months. "I think Melissa would probably smack us all if she knew how sad our lives have been without her."
"Exactly. So I'll ask Niall tomorrow - tell him about our routine. And then you can let everyone else know?"
"Oh so it's the new kid? I thought none of us knew him."
"Were you even there? He's in my english class. Super funny guy if you actually hear him talk. I think he will liven everyone up a little bit ya know?"
I shrugged. I didn't know the guy so why would I care. "Yeah, that's cool with me."
"Perfect. Now, lets turn on the seat heaters and head on home!"
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When I walked in the door, my mom and dad were both already in bed. This routine was obviously nothing new to them. Hall light on, with a note on the end table (the same one my dad used every Thursday actually) saying 'goodnight, love you'. I turned the light off and made my way downstairs into my room in the basement. I had three younger brothers who all got dibs on the tiny, non-air conditioned upstairs bedroom. That meant I was stuck with the spacious and private downstairs bedroom. In case you didn't catch on, that was sarcasm and I have the most excellent room a 17 year old could wish for - with my own bathroom.
My blue walls lit up as I turned on the light and tried to quietly close the door. I still had a bit of a buzz on, so after putting on my pajamas I crawled under the covers with my laptop and threw on a movie. Eventually I drifted off into a dream-filled sleep as per usual.
Waking up for school on a Friday is probably the most bittersweet experience a person can go through in an instant. Excitement for the impending weekend combined with the miserable overhang of 7 hours of school is the worst. Dragging my feet, I made my way towards the bathroom, horrified as usual when I looked in the mirror.
Last nights mascara cascading down my cheeks and made my eyes look so green they were almost yellow. Along with that - my hair looked as though some small animal decided to climb in and make a nest out it. Without further investigation of other beauty horrors hiding on my face, I turned on the shower and climbed in while the stream was still cold (the only way I can really wake up in the mornings). After a quick shampoo and rinse of my hair, and scrub down of my body, I hopped out and began the agonizing search for what to wear to school.
My dad always described this time of year as "if you don't wear a jacket you'll freeze your ass off in the morning; but wear a jacket in the afternoon and you'll get heat stroke." Brilliant really. I settled for my usual outfit - jeans and a t-shirt. My make-up routine was simple especially just for school, and after 15 minutes I was heading upstairs to grab breakfast.
"Ew!" My youngest brother yelled as I emerged from the door. I gave him a 'typical older sister' look and sat at my seat at the table where my mom had already laid out my breakfast - oatmeal and a bowl of fruit. I began to eat as the twins (middle children) started to fight over who had won some game they were playing the day before. This was usual. My family was typical and I liked it that way. I always thought simple was just the easiest and most convenient way to live.
