Chapter 3 Last Day Of School

Samson stood in the corner with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took in a long suck and let out the smoke from his mouth which was carried by the wind. "A little too early for that, don't you think?" A voice said to him from the corner of his eye. "Peace! There you are. I've been waiting for you guys." Samson said and reached in for a hug but none was forthcoming. Peace only pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it in the ground and stepped on it. "Why?" Samson asked like a little child whose toy had been taken away from him. "Those things will kill you. And what will Jamie think if he saw you doing that stuff?" She asked, seemingly concerned about him. "That's why I don't do it in the house," Samson answered and brought out the cigar box to take another. "Don't even think about it or I will burn the entire box." Peace said. She sounded serious so Samson put the box back inside his backpack and said, "Later then." "How about Jamie? How's he doing?" Peace asked. "He's good, he's good. I just dropped him off at school before I came here. And you? How are your sisters after your parent's little battle this morning?" Samson asked back. "Little battle Indeed! They're fine. I seriously don't know how they'd end up if I wasn't in the picture. They're so young. They shouldn't be seeing that shit." Peace said, wishing she could do more to change her family's situation, for her sisters' sake. "They're lucky to have you as their big sis," Samson said sincerely. "Yeah...Give me one of those cigars." Peace suddenly said. "I thought these things kill?" Samson asked sarcastically. "Only if you make it a habit." Peace replied and took a stick. Samson gave her a light and she began smoking. Just then, Nelly showed up on his skateboard. He saw Samson and Peace and called out to them. They waved at him and he decided to entertain them with some skating tricks. He did a 360 ollie kickflip and landed flawlessly which made his friends applaud him. "Thank you, thank you," he said like a performer and stopped his board. He kicked it up and caught it in the air with his hand. "Where's Darryl and J-lo?" He asked. "Probably sucking each other's face somewhere." Peace said bitterly. "Looks like someone's still upset about pretty boy Darryl not noticing she has a crush on him," Nelly said jokingly in an attempt to tease Peace over her unrequited feelings for Darryl. "Had a crush on him. Keyword, 'had'. I'm over him." She admitted. "Well if you're so over him, then why do you always let what he does with Jennifer bother you so much?" Nelly asked. "I may not have feelings for him anymore but he's still my friend and I care about him. She's just using him and he's too infatuated with her to notice. He's just a trophy to her." Peace said, visibly upset. "Well, you can tell him that to his face because they're here," Samson said and pointed at Jenny's car in the distance. The car drove up to them and parked by their side with loud music playing from the speakers. "What's up, guys? Get in, let's go." Jennifer greeted them. "Here, I'm done with this!" Peace said to Nelly and handed him her cigarette. She opened the door to the car and went in. Nelly threw the cigarette away into a bush and went into the car as well and so did Samson. "Let's go, Babe," Darryl said to her and she drove off to school. In the car, the group began engaging in small talk and Jennifer turned off the stereo so they could talk. "What's up, Darryl?" Samson said to him and Darryl turned around from the passenger seat to exchange handshakes with his male friends. "I'm good Sam." he said while shaking hands, "Nelly, my man! How you doing today?" He asked and shook Nelly as well. "Never better," Nelly answered. "Hi Peace," Darryl said with a slight nod of his head. "Hi, Darryl." Peace replied with the least of interest. "Yo J-Lo! What's good girl?" Nelly said aloud to Jennifer. "Nelly, how many times have I told you not to call me J-Lo? I'm a lot younger and more fabulous than she is." Jennifer replied snobbily. "Ok hold up! I don't care how young you are, you can never be more fabulous than Jennifer Lopez." Nelly said. "That's facts," Samson said in agreement. "Don't listen to them, babe. You are the most fabulous babe on the planet." Darryl said to her. "Aww, thanks, babe." "Aww, thanks, babe." Peace mouthed the same words in mockery but didn't say it out loud. She was getting so worked up about how hard Darryl was trying to kiss up to Jennifer so she decided to make him uncomfortable. "Darryl! You mentioned that your Dad was yelling your name this morning. What was that about?" Peace asked, already knowing what it was about. Darryl never liked telling his friends about his life at home. They knew he was poor but they didn't know how bad his living conditions were because he always managed to hide it and always came up with an excuse not to invite them over. The only one who knew about it was Peace. She also knew that his father was physical sometimes but Darryl made her promise not to tell anyone. "Oh, nothing really. He just needed me to pick up some things on my way back from school and he was a bit cranky." Darryl lied in response to the question but Peace wasn't buying it unlike the rest of the group. "And what happened to your face?" She asked again. She knew she was pushing it too far but she just couldn't help herself. "Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that bruise on your jaw," Jennifer added. Darryl didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell them that his father hit him so he came up with a ridiculous lie about bumping into a pole. Darryl turned around and gave Peace a warning look, a look that suggested that she stop asking questions so she reluctantly did. "So guys, do any of you have any plans for Christmas? If not, we could do something together." Samson said. "Urgh! Christmas is still like a week away. Let's talk about plans for tonight, shall we?" Jennifer dismissed the talk of Christmas plans. It wasn't her favourite topic because her parents were always working which made her always spend Christmas alone, void of all the happy family traditions. "What plans tonight?" Darryl wondered. "My parents are out and I have the house all to myself. Mom said I could invite you guys over so...?" Jennifer said in a casual invite. "Sweet! I love hanging out at your crib. That place is dope yo." Nelly said excitedly, forgetting the promise he made to his mom about coming home early to look after his Pops. "I'm there." Samson accepted to come. "Well, count me in as well," Darryl said. He was in no rush to go back home after being hit by his father. "And what about you Peace? You coming?" Jennifer asked and looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Depends on how things are at home. I'll try to come but I'll probably be late." Peace said as sincerely as she could. They finally reached their school and the bells indicating the start of classes went off. They all stepped out of the car and walked in like a troop of odd-looking soldiers. They were a weird collection of people with so much in common, yet so different in many ways. Samson and Darryl were both seniors so they had a different class unlike the rest of the gang and so, they split up. "We'll meet up during recess and go over the details of the party tonight, alright?" Darryl said and everyone nodded in agreement before they separated. As Darryl began walking away, Jennifer grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. She was really going for it, not caring that they were in the hallway of the school and there were so many people around. Peace saw the kiss and rolled her eyes at them before she went her way. "You've been very affectionate today," Darryl said to her, wondering why. "Do you want me to stop?" Jennifer asked. "No, no. Quite the opposite. I kinda want more." "Well, maybe you'll get a whole lot more tonight," Jennifer whispered in his eyes. She kissed him again and bit his lower lip before walking away and leaving him horny as ever. He watched her walk away, swinging her hips and he winced in excitement for what tonight would bring. He couldn't wait to get the night underway. . . .

"Students! I know you're all eager to begin the holidays so I'll keep this short." The principal said on the PA system. "The year has been long, and we've all had our ups and downs but I'm glad to see how it all turned. The Brimwood Supernovas, our senior soccer team lifted the state championship title just a few months back. Timothy Sherwood represented Brimwood in the Inter-State School spelling bee and brought back home the gold. Mr and Mrs Goldberg, in their generosity, solely funded the availability of the new cafeteria menu, providing the students and faculty with healthier and more delicious meals and the one accomplishment I'm most proud of, the remodeling of the teacher's restroom. With all that being said, it has indeed been a very productive school year and I'm so sad to see it come to an end. See you all in the summer. This is Principal Bradley, wishing you all a very merry Christmas." With the announcements over, the entire student body burst out of their classes in celebration of the closing of the school and the start of the holidays. Everyone was exchanging hugs, kissing and saying goodbye and wishing themselves a merry Christmas. Samson came out of his classroom and spotted Nelly. They were both excited that school was finally over for the year. "Nelly my man, can you believe it? We're finally free of this hellhole." Samson said to him. "Thank goodness man. High school sucks. Let's find the guys and get to that party." Nelly said excitedly. "Tone it down man. We don't want people to know about our little get-together otherwise they'd crash it and turn it into a huge rager." Samson warned. "And we don't want a huge rager?" Nelly asked sarcastically. "Well, we do but Jenny's parents don't, so unless she's cool with it, let's keep it to ourselves." "Keep what to ourselves?" "Oh my God! Peace! You gotta stop sneaking up on people like that?" Nelly said with his hand on his chest. "Where did you even come from?" "Doesn't matter. I gotta go anyway. See you guys later." Peace said and began walking away. "Where are you going? What about the thing at Jennifer's place?" Samson asked her. "I'll be there later. I gotta go pick up my sisters from school. And don't you have to go pick up Jamie?" Peace reminded him. "Oh shit, you're right. I totally almost forgot." Samson remembered and began to leave as well. "Well, I guess I gotta go home too. I promised my mom I'd check up on my Pops after school. But I'm definitely not missing that party." Nelly said and they all left to do what they had to do. Meanwhile, Darryl and Jennifer were making out in the girl's bathroom. It was a good thing that the bathrooms didn't have beds otherwise they'd be naked on it. "We really need to go before someone walks in here," Darryl said and continued kissing her. "No one's coming in here. Everyone's leaving as we speak." Jennifer said and continued kissing him. "We also have to get ready for your party." "It's not a party. Just a little get-together with some friends and we can get everything we need on the way." Jennifer said and continued kissing him.

LATER THAT NIGHT . . . "Guys, where are you? Darryl and I have been waiting for you for hours." Jennifer wrote on the group chat. "I'll be there soon. My mom just got back from her night job." - Nelly "My parents are having round two so I might be a while." - Peace "My mom's working the night shift at the clinic so I just need to find someone to babysit Jamie and I'll be on my way." - Samson Jennifer was starting to feel like her friends were planning to boycott her party and it made her quite upset. "Everyone's dealing with their shit tonight of all nights." She complained to Darryl who was already there. "They said they'll be here. It might just take a little while." "Yeah. You're probably right. I feel dirty so I'm going to go take a shower." She told him. "Would you like some company?" Darryl tried his luck. "Sorry babe but you're not that lucky...yet." She teased and went to take a shower. While she was bathing and getting ready, Darryl sat down comfortably and was watching TV when his eyes caught sight of Jennifer's purse. He stared at the purse for so long, almost like he was contemplating going through it. He looked around to make sure that she wasn't coming back into the room and he got up and began walking towards the purse. He was about to grab it when the doorbell rang suddenly and almost scared him out of his skin. "Who is it, babe?" She asked from where she was. "It's probably one of the guys," Darryl said aloud and went to open the door. It wasn't one of the guys but all of them. "You all finally made it. Come on in!" Darryl welcomed them in. "This place is so freaking far." Peace complained. "It is but it's so worth it," Nelly said with a smile. "So, what did you guys bring?" Darryl asked and rubbed his hands mischievously. Samson smiled and took off his backpack and opened it. "Well," Samson began, "we pulled our money together and got a few of these." He said and brought out a paper bag filled with joints and pills. "That's dope guys," Darryl was impressed. "And what does our host, Miss Moneybags, have in store for us?" Peace asked. "I'm glad you asked," Jennifer replied from behind. "Babe, would you do us the honour?" "Of course," Darryl said and went to get a bag from the kitchen. He brought it back to the parlor and began to empty its contents. "We've got four bottles of Vodka, Jell-O shots and the holy grail, pure Coke," Jennifer announced. "Coke? Hold up, hold up, hold up. No one said anything about Coke! I mean, I'm okay with taking a few pills but isn't doing Coke a little too much?" Nelly said, unsure of the idea of doing cocaine. "Anyone else scared of doing Coke? Peace?" Jennifer raised her brow at her. "What are you calling me for?" Peace asked. "Well, you're a rule-breaker, aren't you? Or do you only break fashion rules?" Jennifer took a swing at Peace's clothing choice. "Load it up." Peace said in an attempt to prove a point. She had never done cocaine before but was willing to now. Jennifer poured a little on her hand and she sniffed it into her nostrils. "How did that feel?" Samson asked. "Really good." Peace replied and the party began. The kids partied hard throughout the night, drinking, dancing, smoking marijuana, doing shots, taking pills and sniffing Coke.

The next morning, Peace woke up in one of the guest bedrooms naked. She had no idea how she got there or what happened to her clothes. She managed to stand up, still rattled from all the drugs she had taken and found her clothes on the floor. She got dressed and went into the bathroom to sprinkle some water on her face. As she did this, little flashes of last night's activities played in her mind. She could see herself kissing someone but couldn't tell who it was. There was suddenly a knock on the bathroom door. "I'll be out in a minute." She shouted. Samson was in the kitchen brewing some hangover tea. He also looked out of it. Everyone else was lying on the floor of the parlor, barely conscious. Peace walked into the parlor and went to the kitchen to drink some water. "Does anyone remember what happened last night?" She asked, still unsure about how she got naked. "All I can remember is drinking and dancing but everything else remains a blur after the Coke," Darryl said from the couch. "The Coke really did a number on you, didn't it?" Samson asked and laughed at him. Jennifer was now also awake. She sat up and put her hands on her head, trying to fight back a headache. "Can I please have some of that tea, Sam?" She asked. "Coming right up." "Guys? Where's Nel?" Jennifer asked after not noticing him. "There he is, behind the couch!" Samson said after spotting him. "Yo Nel! Get up and come get some tea so you can push back the hangover. We need to recover quickly so we can clean up this mess before my mom gets back." She told him but Nelly didn't answer. "Nelly?" She called out again but still no answer. "He's probably still wiped out. I'll wake him up." Darryl said and walked over to him. "Yo, Nelly? Time to wake up." He said and turned Nelly over but he didn't seem to be breathing. Darryl checked his pulse and it was very weak. "Guys, I think Nelly had an overdose," Darryl announced. "What? Is he okay?" Peace asked worriedly. "He's out. He's not responding and his pulse is weak." "What do we do?" Jennifer asked, very worriedly. "We have to get him to a hospital." Peace said. "Are you crazy? We can't do that. They'll know we were messing with cocaine and we could get arrested." Jennifer retorted and dismissed the suggestion. "So what are we supposed to do, just leave him here to die?" "He's not going to die," Samson said and went over to him. "I need you guys to get me some water and towels. I also need some smelling salts, lime juice and a pack of ice." They all ran off to get what Samson had asked for. "You'll be alright buddy. You'll be just fine." Samson said to Nelly.