At Richmond High, a new student seemingly arrives unnoticed but the attention of a certain boy shifts all eyes on her. Two naive adolescents make their way through friendship, love and heartbreak. Relationships can be a destructive force that lead...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Jack was never fond of the intoxicating smell of alcohol and the violent effect it had on whoever consumed it. He never drank, even at the frequent high school parties he attended.
But it had been a week since Davina's disappearance and he couldn't help but wallow in pain as he continuously blamed himself for what had happened. He was so naive, so oblivious to his best friend's suffering and the torture she had to go through that he managed to be the sole cause of it, a participant in the devil's game.
When he entered Richmond High after missing a whole week of classes, he was appalled that everything had gone back to normal. He hated that as he walked through the gates, students mindlessly went into the crowded halls that were full of chaos and laughter, the same halls that had shamed his best friend into leaving without a trace.
His anger ignited as he saw the person walking towards him in the halls, a grin plastered on their face as their flaunting eyes stared right into his. Jack was amazed at the way she carried herself, how unaffected she was and how she had the audacity to even show her face in these halls after the incident. There was a little voice in his head, you need to make sure she knows the pain she caused Davina. He wanted to make her miserable, but he remembered that he couldn't do it, because he knew that Davina didn't want him to turn into that kind of person. If she was here, she wouldn't allow it.
And so, he continued down the halls. When he neared non other than the devil incarnate herself, Elliana, his shoulders bumped into hers, causing her to stumble on her feet and spill curses. He passed her as she called his name repeatedly, but he had no intention to look back nor even acknowledge her presence.
Jack didn't pay attention in class, nor did he listen to his friends as they made teased and made jokes about each other. His Maths teacher, Mr Golding was clearly getting frustrated at their disrupting behaviour and was finally done with all the racket as he stopped his lecture and death stared the group of boys next to him.
"That's enough talking. You boys need to focus." He glared at their restrained faces as the boys were trying so hard not laugh. Mr Golding then looked at Jack, "Be more like Jack, he seems to be behaving today."
Jack's friend Kevin elbowed him in the side, grinning at him and whispering, "Ey, seems Mr Golding likes you now that you're all depressed and shit." Kevin laughed, hoping for the same reaction, but all he got was a death stare from Jack and he definitely would have punched him if it wasn't for Mr Golding still staring at them.
As the bell rang for lunch, Jack was not in the mood to be in the cafeteria with his loud and obnoxious friends. But Akeno, the senior football captain, wanted to talk to him about the game that night.
"We have to be on our game today. We have to beat Lakewood, no exceptions." Akeno raised his eyebrows, expecting a response from the other players. In unison, they all yelled, "Yeah", however, Jack was very unenthusiastic and Akeno noticed this. "Are you in or what, Jack." Still, no response. "Are you even paying attention? I know you had some stupid freshman drama a week ago, but now's not the time to be lacking." That statement got Jack to stare right into Akeno's hazel eyes. Anger lit in his own as he clenched his jaw.
"It wasn't stupid freshman drama." His voice was laced with venom.
With an intimidating gaze, Akeno inched closer to Jack, taking his stance, "If you want to stay on this team, you better get over this little heartbreak of yours."
And that caused the tipping point of his anger. He clutched his bag in his left hand and stood up from his seat. He turned around and was about to walk away, but he just couldn't as he heard the snickers of Akeno and the other seniors behind him. He threw his right hand and it landed straight on Akeno's face. The other seniors looked at Jack with amazement, but also pity, knowing Jack would be heavily punished not only by the principal, but Akeno himself.
Akeno put his hand up to touch the corner of his mouth and stared at the blood on his finger tips. He looked up at Jack and then spat on his shoes, blood running down the leather. "You're dead, Avery."
And with that, Jack was benched. In that same moment, he didn't seem to care. There was no excitement in him as he entered the field and the roars of the students did not spark the adrenaline he would feel when he starts a game.
He watched as Richmond High scored the first touchdown and the crowd screamed in celebration. He stay seated on the bench next to Wes, the player on the team that seemed to ride the bench all season. Wes' face lit up as Richmond scored another try and at that moment, Jack really didn't care if he played at all.
The students from Richmond booed as Lakewood scored their first try. The air was tense and Lakewood was catching up. The Richmond players had a good start, but progressed to be too cocky and was slowly starting to doubt themselves as Lakewood scored their second try, tying the score.
Jack stared as a Richmond player limped over towards their direction. He noticed the senior to be Julian, one of Akeno's troops. Jack looked down at his leg and knew that something was wrong. Akeno spotted this and ran straight over to figure out what was wrong.
"Coach, I think I tore something." Julian was out of breath and he spoke with uneasiness, just as any athlete would if they ever get injured.
"Woah, what happened." Akeno intervened.
"Julian can't play." The Coach stated and looked at Wes and Jack. "One of you has to fill in for Julian."
Wes' eyes lit up as he finally had the chance to play his first game of the season. He knew that Akeno and Jack were on bad terms, so he his chances were more than likely. Akeno glared at Jack, "Wes, you're on."
He excitedly stood up, but was stopped by Coach's arm, "No." He stared at Akeno, "Jack is going on."
Jack's head shot up. "Coach, it's fine. Wes should go on."
"Yeah, exactly. Wes can do it." Akeno agreed. His jaw clenched and looked at the Coach with pleading eyes. But Coach just glared and Akeno knew he couldn't disobey him. "Fine, Avery can do it."
Wes sighed and sat back on the bench as Jack reluctantly stood up, putting his helmet on his head. As Akeno and Jack walked up to their positions, Akeno gritted his teeth, "You better win this, Avery."
Jack looked up at the stands and his eyes seemed to search for a familiar brunette. His heart yearned to see the only face he waned to see, the person who would scream and shout his name in support for him, the person who would spark the adrenaline and motivation to win. But, his head knew that she was long gone and that he would probably never see her again.
And so when the game started again, he was out of it. He was unfocused and when he ran and was passed the ball, his sense of direction failed him and he was instantly knocked out.
Richmond High lost that game.
Kevin threw his arm around Jack's shoulders as the game ended, a grin plastered on his face. "Good game, Jack." Jack pushed his arm off.
"Shut up, Kev." But Kevin returned his arm on his shoulder.
"You need to cheer up and I think I know what you need." Jack stared at his best friend and shook his head. He was not in the mood for a party. "Come on! It'll help you loosen up. Even get rid of that little heartbreak of yours."
And that was how Jack Avery was taking shots at a High School party for the first time. Each shot he took suppressed the pain and heartbreak he felt and fuelled the high and carefree feeling he would come to be addicted to.
