The Highland Kids: Closet Space

Chapter 8

The rest of camp went by pretty quick. The eight of us grew closer and we made promises to keep in touch. Towards the end of the second week of camp, Nico and I officially became a couple and had our first proper date at the Pâtisserie. It was during the last week of camp where things really shook things up. It was the second last Saturday before camp was over, all eight of us were in the girl's hotel room hanging out when Taylor wanted to show us something.

"Guess what I got?"
She pulled out a small bottle of vodka and held it like a trophy. Nico took the bottle from her and examined it.
"Where did you get this from."
"Not telling. Here's what I'm thinking we drink it and then play spin the bottle."
"You didn't seem like a girl to break the law."
"Yeah Tay, all of us have known you for a while, this is so unlike you." Alizée chimed in.
"I know, it means nobody will suspect you if anyone finds the bottle. Now, I'm chugging, then I'm spinning. Anyone else care to join?"

That's when Alizée spoke up.
"I'm down to play Spin the Bottle, but I don't want to drink it. I'm waiting until my eighteenth to drink vodka."
"Same here. I'm down to play if Jordan wants to," said Nico. He turned to me and mouthed "want to?"
"I'll play Spin the Bottle. But, no vodka for me thanks. I'd rather not drink."

Elliot, Hazel, and Kai passed on drinking. Only Carson agreed to drink with her. So, Taylor pulled him beside her and opened the tiny bottle.

"Alright Carson, as you're the only daring one you drink first."
"O-okay, b-bottoms up I guess."
"Carson, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Kai spoke up. "You shouldn't feel like you're being peer pressured into drinking."
"Alright, Taylor if you want to, drink it."

"Fine, you guys aren't any fun."
She got down on one knee and chugged bottle like it was the end of the world. I pulled out my phone and looked up the alcohol percentage of vodka.
"Uh Taylor, vodka is forty percent alcohol. Drinking it that fast could kill you. I'd stop if I were you."
"Come on, I'm Scottish, I'll be fine."

________

She wasn't fine. She collapsed. Hazel started doing CPR, I had called Fabio who then called Mrs. Morrison who went with Taylor to the local hospital to get her stomach pumped. Fabio rented a car to take Alizée, Hazel, and myself to the hospital with the promise to update the guys if anything happened. On the way, Fabio asked the dreaded question.
"So, what exactly happened."
Hazel and I went quiet, so Alizée spoke up.

"So, we were spending time in our room when Taylor wanted to show us a bottle of Vodka she somehow obtained. She never told us how she got it or who she got it from. She asked the rest of us if we wanted to drink it and we refused as we wanted to wait until we were eighteen. She was the only one who wanted to, so she got down on one knee and started to chug. Then Jordan looked up the percentage of alcohol in the vodka, and before we knew it, she passed out, we didn't know what to do so I knocked on the room next door while Jordan said she was calling you. Hazel started to do chest compressions until the guys showed up."

"And I showed up shortly after. You ladies did the right thing by not drinking and by trying to revive your friend. You girls shouldn't be getting in trouble for her bad decision. You should know you probably helped save her life in the end. What Taylor's punishment will be is yet to be determined as she broke the law by drinking hard alcohol before she turned eighteen. She most definitely will get sent home, but I'm not sure what will happen next."

We pulled into the hospital parking lot (well, we actually parked across the street at a boutique where the parking was free) and headed inside. The receptionist was really helpful. Mrs. Morrison texted Fabio the room number and we headed upstairs.
"Mrs. Morrison said she's currently being treated in room eight-thirteen. The doctors told her that Taylor got her stomach pumped, and everything went well as she was still in the four-hour window of time where she could be treated."

Mrs. Morrison was outside presumably talking with the other instructors. She quickly ended the call as soon as she saw us.
"Girls, what happened?"
"They filled me in in the car," Fabio began. "I'll explain it to you later. How's she doing?"
"She's currently on an IV line receiving fluids and she has since been placed on oxygen so she can breathe. We aren't allowed to see her yet but she is awake. Feel free to sit down for a bit. Fabio, can you tell me what the girls told you? They've been through enough today."

The three of us played chopsticks and Rochambeau for a bit until Mrs. Morrison and Fabio came out of an empty room. Fabio went to find the doctor while Mrs. Morrison walked over to where we were sitting.
"Okay girls, I just have a few questions. You aren't in trouble, actually you're the opposite. I just have a few questions. Do any of you feel comfortable answering?"

"I'll answer them." Alizée stated. "Ask away."

"My first question is how long did you know Taylor had the vodka?"
"She only showed us today. She also didn't tell us who or where she got it from."
"I'll ask her later. What did you do after she collapsed?"
"Jordan said she was calling help, Hazel started doing chest compressions, I went next door to get help too."
"Who was in that room?"
"Kai, Elliot, Nico, and Carson. I'm sorry we broke the 'guys and girls can't be in the same room' rule."
"That's not important Alizée, did anyone else drink? I just want to know."
"Taylor was the only one. We can all do a breath test to prove it if we need to."
"No Alizée, I believe you. She will be sent home early and her parents have been notified."

It was at this time that Fabio returned with the doctor.
"I can take the girls back to the hotel to gather up Taylor's things. Mrs. Morrison, I assume you want to stay and ask her questions when you are allowed to see her. I'll have the girls pack her stuff and I'll bring her bags back and stay with her for a while until her parents or a guardian shows up."
"I like that plan, you take the girls, they pack her stuff, you bring it back and wait for her guardians."

"Alright girls, time to go."
"Can we at least peer through the doorway to say goodbye?"
"Doc, what do you say?"
"They can look and only say goodbye. She isn't allowed visitors yet."

The three of us said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. It was at this time that I finally texted Nico.

Me: Taylor's getting sent home. We're heading back to pack her shit up
Nico: good to know, thanks for the update
Nico: how is she?
Me: We could take a quick peek, she's on oxygen and an IV but she's okay.
Nico: I'll tell the others.

The four of us headed back to the hotel and we headed to the lift.
"I'm not going on more stairs than I need to." I stated, "One of us in the hospital is one too many."

We took the lift up and quietly headed back to the room. Hazel pulled her bag out and opened it up as Alizée cleaned out the bathroom and I cleaned out her drawer of all her books and clothes. Nico and the others showed up to help us pack and deliver lunches for us since we missed it.

"It's not much, but I don't know if you ladies ate yet or ate while you were out. It was lettuce and turkey sandwiches; we'll just leave them on the table for you."
"Thanks Nico, we'll grab them when we're finished."

We packed up all her stuff and triple checked everything to make sure we didn't forget anything or any of her books. Once we were sure we packed everything, we headed back downstairs to give Fabio her stuff and he drove off. The three of us headed back to her room to wind down and eat the sandwiches the boys brought us. We decided to browse the hotel TV options until we settled on a stunt fail reaction show. We didn't really pay attention to the show and just browsed through our phones until dinnertime.

Tonight's dinner was nothing too fancy, just Caesar salads with our choice of protein. None of us felt like eating but we all got small portions and ate in silence.

After we gave our empty plates to the kitchen workers, we headed back up to the room. I decided to kill time by taking a shower. I dimmed the lights because I found I could always clear my thoughts in the dark. There was just something about the darkness that I found comforting.

It was at that moment that I got a message from Aidan:

Aidan: Hey Jordan, It's Aidan, there's a surprise for you when you come home. It could be a good one, but it could also be a bad one. Meredith found her walking along the road. That's all I'm telling you. See you when you get back!

The way Aidan said it sounded like Meredith had found an animal on the side of the road and decided to adopt it. I had been begging Meredith to let me get a dog for years now. Too bad I would have to wait a week to meet her.