Chapter one: Total blackout.

data-p-id=fe4762ab650409d3f17057fd66a16e72,

Sasha.

So pretty much everyone in Clinton high school knows who I am. If you don’t know who I am then you probably don’t exist. Being popular had always been my dream since coming to the states as it seemed like the only way to stop the constant bullying I was subjected to back in Mexico. If I made a name for myself, there would be no way anyone would dare to go against me, it took me a while but with a lot of effort and determination, the Panthers were formed.

 It’s quite ironic that the very thing I ran away from is the very thing that brought me the popularity I’ve yearned for all my life, but as the leader of the nastiest bullies in school, I couldn't bring myself to dwell on that for too long because right now, being a bully didn’t seem that wrong anymore.

Besides they were a lot of misconceptions about us anyway since everyone thinks we are just rich brats that believe they owned the world. Not the case as we all had our problems but that is what brought us together and held us strong as the fearless teenagers we were. 

We are currently at Club 360, named 360 because it never closes. We were there to attend a birthday party organised by my friends and me to celebrate my best friend, Amber Lane’s birthday. It was a private party with only the most popular students in attendance, not that it mattered cause most of them were too fucked up to count present.

"Cheers!"Everyone was cognizant enough chorused as a toast to Amber finally turning 18 and she was happy as well but unfortunately, she was finding way too much enjoyment in her boyfriend Kayden's jokes. Call me a bad friend but Lord knew my disdain for him knew no bounds.

 "So everyone, gather around it's time for our usual drinking contest!” Amber yells a little, calling the attention of the crowd.

“As you guys may already know, the first lazy ass to pass out is a fucking loser, you get that? And also if you're a slowpoke and you can't get down all ten bottles during the stipulated time or if your opponent finishes before you, then you fucking lose. Is that clear?" She yells the rules and I roll my eyes. 

 "Never forget there's a time limit and get carried away and it's only two people at a time so nobody gets confused." She adds quickly with a smile on her face, showing off her teeth and that made me uncomfortable especially since she was smiling at me and I'm pretty sure I could guess what she was about to say.

“No, no, no, no! I’m not getting myself drunk for your sake.” I bluntly told Amber after she had suggested that I volunteer for the drinking contest.

  “Come on Sasha, you’ll be fine. It’s just a few bottles of beer and I know how much you love beer so this should be easy for you.” She insists continuously like the pest that she is.

"Amber I can't believe you're trying to make me do this. Why do I have to be the one to get into the contest? You could have picked Tamara or Valarie but no darling, it just had to be me." I hiss back at her, trying not to sound mean bitchy but I still did not hide my displeasure.

   “I picked you because you like beer and you’re the daring one. Tamara doesn’t drink and you already know how Valarie is. Just do it and prove to these kids that we’re the best at everything.” She encourages me and I stare back at her confusedly.

“How does winning a drinking contest relate to proving anything to anybody? That’s too childish Amber but anyway that aside, I’ll do it but not because I want to but because I need you to stop stressing me over it and I don’t want you to call me a chicken tomorrow.” I reply boredly and she smiles broadly.

  “So we have our first volunteer and it’s none other than the queen of alcohol herself, the undefeated queen and my very own best friend in the world, give it up Sasha!” Amber announces, yelling at the top of her lungs and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how extra dramatic she was being. Was calling me the queen of alcohol even necessary? How embarrassing!

“So who wants to take on the reigning champ? Remember if you win, you get to brag about defeating one of the most, if not the most popular girl in Clinton high. So who wants to take a shot at the Queen?” Amber yells and immediately the crowd starts to cheer loudly as a way to encourage the next loser to volunteer.

After what felt like hours, my opponent comes out of the crowd and fuck it's a dude. I wasn't afraid of him winning but I certainly wish it was a girl so she'd be much easier to beat since most girls gathered here were the worst when it came to drinking quickly or even drinking at all. Most of them had the alcohol limit of a newborn baby and just one bottle would put them to sleep. Unfortunately for me, I had to deal with a dude but I’m still confident. 

Amber taps her palm together signalling us to get ready and immediately she gives the go-ahead sign, I hurriedly began to chunk down the bigger bottle. I pay full attention to my pace in drinking and tried not to concentrate on my opponent who in my opinion seemed to be taking his time and that confused me a little bit.

He slowly drinks one bottle at a time as if he had all the time in the world and I start to wonder what he was thinking entering the contest with the brilliant idea of going slow-mo. After gulping down three bottles within the first few minutes, I concluded that my competition was no match for me at all. He wasn’t difficult to beat or was he? 

Five minutes had passed and that was exactly when the realisation hit me hard. The freaking douche had played me all along by pretending to be a slow drinker. Eight minutes had already passed and I was still only on my seventh bottle whilst my competition was already two bottles ahead of me.

Still struggling to gulp down my fifth bottle and also calm my nerves, I tried scanning the club to see if I would spot either Amber, Valarie or Tamara for a little encouragement and luckily, I was able to spot Amber who was grinning ear to ear and still cheering for me.

Finally, time was up and to my surprise and disappointment I lost. I could not believe that I lost something as easy as a drinking contest and to say I was disappointed in myself was an understatement. It felt really weird losing because I've never lost to anyone like ever, but today I lost and I’m shocked.

 Amber pats me gently on the shoulder and helps me get up knowing all too well I was going to do something stupid since I was already drunk and I most definitely could not see anything since everything was already blurry for me.  

After repeatedly beating myself up for losing, I glare furiously at the fool who beat me and when he noticed I was glaring, he smirked with daring arrogance before looking away and I fumed in anger at the disrespect. Due to my drunken state, the best I could do was mutter a few curse words and follow Amber’s trail like a lost puppy. 

"I think you guys should take her home. I don't want her to do something crazy in this state." Amber says to Valarie and Tamara, still fully aware of my semi-conscious state. 

"But I don't wanna go home, I wanna stay here with you guys." I blurt out with a childish pout and I immediately regret it as Amber is quick to smack me hard on my head and I grab a nearby sit to maintain my balance. Valarie and Tammy still said nothing but the expression on their faces showed that they wouldn’t hesitate to repeat the process if I didn’t keep quiet and comply. Those sneaky bitches and bullying me whenever I got drunk.

After dragging me outside with great difficulty, Valarie realises that the car keys were missing and both she and Tammy panicked when they realised that neither one of them had any idea where it was. They hurriedly moved me to sit by the car and then they quickly went back in with to go find the keys, leaving me by myself in this freaking cold weather.

 Still feeling dizzy and nauseous, my silly mind decides to play catch the air and in the process of hopping around like a lost bunny, I bump into someone.

 At first, I just stood still looking at the dude in front of me with pure disgust but since I wasn't completely myself, I decided to start an unnecessary conversation with him before I could say a word, bam! A huge body collides with mine and then I realize that it was that stupid idiotic douchebag that ran into me unexpectedly and I immediately lose my balance since I was completely drunk and I wasn't expecting it.

My body hits the ground hard and as soon as my head meets with the ground, I pass out completely the last face I see is the face of the unnamed bastard who pushed me and he was wearing an ugly smirk on his face. This was not over between us.