Simplicity

Chapter 8

Authour's note: From now on there's gonna be two narrators; Isla and Alex. This chapter is only from Alex's point of view.

 “Alex.” I could hear someone calling my name but I didn’t answer.

My head was spinning; the lights and sounds in the room were making me feel like I was in a whirlpool.  Slow, chill-step music played in the background. There was something so dreamlike and whimsical about it all; the smoke slipping out of my mouth like a living creature, bending and twisting as if it had a place to go- the smells coming from it so strange and musky. I wasn’t alone; there were about ten other people in the room- some of them I knew, others were strangers. Some were holding bottles while others- me included- had joints wedged between their fingers. It was our release; this room and these things. We used it to take a step out of our real lives and venture into some other strange land, a land more suited to us. 

We were all cramped in the basement beneath Emily Stewart’s house. It was a small, dark room with dull florescent lights hanging from the ceiling. Posters of bands and movies were plastered to the walls, damp with seepage. There were two large four-seater sofas, both white with multi-coloured paint splatters and alcohol stains on them. They were both pressed up against the back wall so it seemed like it was just one large sofa facing an old, silver Panasonic TV with an X-box connected to it. The games were spread out across the floor and the controllers on the glass table between the TV and the couches but no one played it, the TV screen was paused on an image of a red sports car crashing into the side of a bridge. 

  “Alex, want a drink?” “It was Emily. She’s a tall, skinny girl with short, cropped auburn hair and hazel eyes. She looks as if she’d come from some exotic country but her whole family had grown up in Brooklyn. 

She was looking at me with a mischievous smile, vodka bottle in hand. I looked up at her and smiled gleefully, shaking my head from side to side “Maybe later but for now I’m alright with my plants, thanks sweetheart.” I raised the joint and placed it between my lips, taking another drag.  I winked at her as she walked back into the crowd, bottle in hand. 

I’ve been at Emily’s house for….how many hours now? Doesn’t matter but I don’t have a car so that means I’ll have to take the bus. Better get moving.

  “Emily.” I called her over but she seemed to be busy making out with some guy with long, brown dreads- she just waved a hand at me and disappeared around the corner. I was going to tell her I was heading out but I doubt she’ll even remember me being here in the first place. I let out a sigh and blinked hard, my vision was blurry and I felt like I was looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. I felt great. 

I walked up the stairs, trying to focus on every step but they seemed as if they were moving, changing form and shape. I grabbed the railing and took in a deep breathe then let it out, trying to clear my head. I finally made it up onto the porch after tripping over a rug and struggling with the door knob.Now, what was I doing? I stood in the doorway, gripping the bridge of my nose and squeezing my eyes shut, trying to remember why I’d come upstairs. 

  “You’re leaving so soon?” I opened my eyes to see a girl standing in front of me and it took me a minute to realise it was Alyssa. She was leaning against the door frame, her long blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. She was wearing a large brown hoodie over a white top and jeans. 

  “I’m not leaving soon, I’ve been here for ages.” I nodded at her and I saw her smile.

“I’m not letting you drive like that.” She looked me up and down and I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. 

  “I wasn’t planning on driving; I was going to take the bus.” I stated.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door which seemed to bend in my vision. “There’s no way I’m letting you do that either.”