Three in the Morning (very slow updates)

one

"Casey! Have you heard the new Fall Out Boy song?"

That's the first thing I hear as I walk through the door of my form-room, after being instantly mauled by my best friend, Imogen.

"Hi, yes, hello, can you let me in?" I say, trying to barge my way through while pausing my music and taking out my headphones.

Imogen moves out of the way to let me reach my desk and put my bag down, but then tries to grab me again to yell at me about the new song by one of our favourite bands.

"Hello! Imogen! Yes, I have heard it, now get off me!" I try to shake her off me again as I take off my coat. I see one of our other friends, Maya, doing some French homework in the corner. "Maya! Help!"

Maya looks up from the endless exercises that she had been too lazy to do at the weekend and grins. "Hey, Casey. Imogen, get off Casey."

"What did you think of the song?" Imogen still persists, having let go of me.

I shrug. "It was alright, not their best."

"It was amazing!"

"I said it was okay. Can you stop clinging onto me, please, Imi?" She's started to grip onto my sleeve again.

Imogen sighs, and starts to sulk as I walk to my locker and take my textbooks out of my locker. I go back to my desk and start to have a calmer conversation with Imogen about Fall Out Boy and their new song and how we're going to try to get concert tickets when their album comes out. One of our other friends, Paige arrives and somehow, as if it happened naturally without anybody noticing, we're in the corner of the classroom, cross-legged on the floor, listening to the new Fall Out Boy song so loudly that another girl comes to complain to us.

Essie comes in as the bell rings, and only catches a few seconds of the song before our form tutor comes in and tells us to 'turn that racket down'.

I roll my eyes to Imogen as we walk back to our seats. Mr. Conrad should be used to our music by now, based on the fact that every time he walks in we're having a moshing session.

There was a time he sent us all to the school nurse because we were all singing along to a song which mentioned killing yourself, so we all had to go in one by one and come out after five minutes of a conversation which went something like this:

"So, Casey, your form tutor has been worrying about you."

"Why is that?"

"You and your friends have apparently been listening to very worrying music, which have songs about killing yourself. Mr. Conrad has been worried that these are showing your true feelings and influencing you to take your own life."

Please note that the school nurse is incredibly patronising and untactful.

"Um, Nurse-"

"Call me Susan!"

"Nurse Susan, I don't want to kill myself at all. I'm quite happy and I just like the tune of that song."

"Okay then, but you need to remember if you have any worries, just come to me, and if you are ever planning to take your own life, I will be here in my office to support you!"

"Um, okay."

"Here is a leaflet about suicide. I hope you start to listen to happier songs soon to express your happiness, rather than listening to songs about suicide!"

"Nurse Susan, I don't really need this leaflet because I'm not suicidal."

"Just in case, dear!"