Chapter Text
JUST ONE MORE SIP
Chapter one -by Harper Void
The moment was quickly ruined by Alex's phone going off. He was getting a call. This wasn't the first time our fun had been interrupted by that damn ringtone. Alex pulled back, moving off without even looking at me. He grabbed his phone, answering it as if the person on the other side was his lifeline. I heard a girl talking loudly on the other end of the phone. Rolling off the side of the bed, I ignored his phone call. I threw on my bra and underwear before walking to the bathroom to straighten up, knowing the fun of the night was over. I needed to get ready to go home before the time slipped my mind. After around ten minutes, I heard Alex knock on the door as I finished up. I swung the door open to see Alex standing there in a pair of blue boxers. I stood there with my hand on the door, and we just looked at each other. "Where you goin'?" he asked, leaning on the door frame. ”I've gotta get home early tonight to pack, remember?" I said, sliding past him and over to my bag on the floor. “Why do you have to go home tonight? You’ve never left this early before.” I turned to him, tilting my head to the side. “It's like one, early is far from the right word to use,” he huffed, turning around and walking into the bathroom. He picked at his teeth for a minute before mumbling with his finger still in his mouth. “What?” I said, looking over to him. He pulled away from the mirror, placing his hands on either side of the door frame to lean forward. “I just said I don't know why you're being so secretive about why you have to leave if you're cheating, just say that.” I stood up, looking at him like he had lost his mind. “What in your right mind would make you think that I’m cheating?!” I said, trying to calm my tone, but annoyance was still evident. “I’m just saying you never leave at this time, and now you just wanna up and leave for no good reason.” his voice raised, and he let his hands fall from the door as he moved forward. I mirrored his actions moving forward as well, “It's not for no good reason, I literally told you that I need to pack, I’ve been telling you for the past month that I'm moving today.” My patience thinning, and my voice rising. “You haven't told me once that you're leaving, and now you're trying to hide the fact that you've been caught.” “You never fucking pay attention, and you're always too busy [listening to the sound of your dumb ass v-!” Quickly, my voice cut, leaving a silence in the air. ‘This bitch just slapped me. ’ I looked back at him, his hand still in the air and his face reading just as shocked, before I knew it, my hand shot up, slapping him across the face. “Wait, shit, Alex, I’m sorry.” I stepped closer to him, putting my hand to his face, where I hit. He pushed me back, hard, and I stumbled back, my ankle hitting the frame of his bed, causing me to land in a sitting position. “Fuck Alex, I said sorr-.” Again, I was cut off when he threw a glass cup at me from his dresser. I pulled my hands up, covering my face just in time for the cup to hit my arm before rolling to the ground and shattering at my feet. “The hell is wrong with you?” I yelled, looking back up at him. He had gotten closer and grabbed my face, squeezing, “You fucking hit me, you cunt!” I pushed his hand away, only to have him grab my wrist, holding on tighter than before. “You threw a fucking glass cup at me!” Holding back my frustration was far from the choice I made in this moment. He hit me in the side of the head before pushing me back hard while holding my mouth closed. “Do you ever stop fucking yelling? Stop fucking yelling at me like you aren't the one in the wrong!” I bit his hand, making him pull away and wipe the saliva off. “ I’m not the one in the fucking wrong, you're going fucking crazy, and I can’t with you anymore, we’re done!” I hardly had time to finish my sentence before he pulled me off the bed and slung me into a wall. My back hitting the hard surface took the air out of me. I had about two seconds to breathe before Alex came over, grabbing my shoulders and kneeing me in the gut. I folded over, grabbing my stomach and trying to keep back the excessive amount of cheese sticks I had eaten for dinner. Alex kicked my chest multiple times, each kick getting harder. A ringing in my ear started as I felt every last bit of pain shoot through my body. He grabbed my hair, pulling up my face. He looked in my clouded eyes, my body hurting too much to focus on him. He dropped my head down and walked out of the room. I sighed, glad I could save myself from becoming a vomit faucet. I stayed on the ground, enjoying the way the ceiling looked through the pain. “Okay, time to get up and not spew cheese,” I repeated to myself as I stood up, my legs feeling like undercooked pasta noodles. I needed to stop thinking about food. I finished picking up my things and threw my bag over my shoulder. It seemed lighter than when I had brought it, but I didn't think much of it. I walked out of Alex’s room and down the stairs to the front door. I stopped for a few seconds as his dog came up to me, giving me doggy kisses like he was saying goodbye. He has always been my favorite thing in this house. I quickly gave him a good head scratch before walking out the front door. It was already pretty late at night when I started walking home. After I left Alex’s house, I decided I would stop for some food on the way home. I walked up to a Chinese buffet ready to live my life happily eating food until the employees kick me out. When inside, I was looking forward to the food that I was going to devour. I stayed there for around 40 minutes before I got bored of waiting for the employees to kick me out and left. The walk home felt like an eternity for some reason. The 15-minute walk just stretched, and not in a bad way; it was very relaxing. I walked up to the door while fishing through my purse for my house keys. Finally, I pulled out the key with a pink flower keychain, quickly turning the key in the lock, opening the door, and walking inside. Both my parents were in the dining room yelling at each other when I walked in. They both stopped and turned to look at me. I slowly closed the door behind me. “Whatcha talkin' bout?” I questioned slipping out of my shoes, “Grown folk business stay out of it,” my father snapped at me. “Don't talk to my daughter that way!” my mother intervened. “She's my daughter, too, and I’ll talk to her however I damn well please!”They went back to fighting, and I just walked past them and down the hallway to my room. I slung my bag down, watching it hit the bear wall before face-planting on the bed and almost falling off the side of it. I quickly rolled over, landing in the middle of the bed. My cat Buddy promptly let himself in, taking my laziness as an invitation to sleep on my chest. I sighed and pet him while he used me as a free pillow. “You know you have a cat bed for a reason.” he blinked at me slowly and continued to sleep peacefully. I had packed almost everything I needed for the move yesterday, so I was now just lying on my sad bed with no blankets and a rude cat waiting until it was time to leave. I quickly fell asleep with the warmth of Buddy on my chest.
( Hours later)
I woke up to my mom grabbing the cat from my chest and holding him in her arms. “ Harper, wake up, we're leaving in ten minutes,” she said, walking out of my room and taking the cat with her. Most likely to put him in an animal crate for the long ride. I put my shoes on, grabbed my phone, and headed down the stairs. My mom and dad were waiting by the door for me. “Finally, she’s down here,” my dad said, walking out the door with his bags to the car. We got to the car and I fell asleep shortly after we started driving. “Harper, get your ass up before you get left in the car to freeze!”I opened my eyes, startled awake by my mom's yelling. After wiping the drool off my face, I opened the car door, grabbing my stuff. I marched towards the door where my dad stood fumbling with the keys. After a couple of seconds, my mom got fed up with waiting, groaned, clawed the keys away from my dad, and opened the door, nudging him to the side. My mouth dropped in awe as I saw the sheer size of the house. It's not my place to ask about our income, but I wanted to know how we could afford something like this. While I stood gawking at the roof that could easily be compared to the Empire State Building, my dad pushed me out of the way with a harsh, “Step aside.” I followed closely behind as we walked in. I couldn't hear my thoughts over my mother's complaining. “I told the movers to let the delivery men in, but they didn't because the lack of wine in this house screams volumes.” She walked back and forth like she hadn't just finished her glass in the car. My dad made his bed while Mom made milkshakes for us in the kitchen. It was late, but Mom is always down for a milkshake. “Do you think you're gonna make friends here or is what happened gonna hold you down forever?” she said, handing me a harshly blended milkshake. “ I don’t know, Mom, what happened last time won’t happen everywhere.” She gave me a skeptical look. Just because it doesn't happen everywhere doesn't mean it won't happen again. Just keep an open mind and don't cuss everyone out again.” I looked to the side, thinking for a minute, “I didn't cuss out my favorite teacher, so technically not everyone.” “That doesn't count.” Mom said as my father came around the corner and called for my mother to wrap up the milkshake party. I helped her clean up and put the milkshakes in the freezer. It might be frozen by tomorrow, but we can always make more. I closed my bedroom door behind me and lay on my new mattress on the ground. I hadn't gotten my new bed frame yet, but soon it would be here, and I could start remaking my cozy old room. The next morning, I sat up feeling like the husk of a human. I pulled myself to the bathroom and took a skin-boiling shower, after. I finished getting ready, I walked downstairs, to my mother cooking pancakes, and my father lying his head on the table, looking half asleep.
“Good morning, fairly alive mother, dead father.” I took a seat next to his deflated form. My mother turned to me, holding a plate of food. “What happened to your face?” my mother asked, shocked, walking over to me. I looked at her, confused. “ What, what's wrong with my face?” Cool, now, I was freaked out too. She touched my face, and I recoiled in pain. “You look like you lost a fight in your sleep.” Now I know what she was talking about. I had forgotten that I had gotten into a fight; my mind stretched so thin, memories fell out like Scrabble squares spelling out ‘Alex’ on the dining table. “Oh, you mean the marks that have been on my face since last night, but you were too deep in wine to notice?” She looked hurt for a minute and let her hand drop to her side. “I made breakfast,” she placed the plate in my hands, along with a kiss on the forehead, before returning to her cooking corner. “Your father will drive you to school,” she said as she peered around the corner. “After we resurrect him, of course.”
Shortly after eating breakfast, my father and I loaded into the car, pulling on our seatbelts, each clicking into place in unison. The ride was uncomfortable to say the least. The soft sound of the engine hummed through the car, and Dad’s fingers tapped the wheel anxiously, the soft thuds tapping away all of my patience. “Why are you doing that?” I questioned, “Doin’ what?” His face read irritated, confusion. “ That, that right there,” I tapped his steering wheel in an exaggerated, annoyed manner. His hands stopped holding the wheel tightly, “I’m stressed, Harper, can’t I just fuckin’ be stressed for once?” His voice rose, and he tensed in his seat.
“My job is fuckin’ hard, okay, the people there want me to clean up every dadgum mistake they make, like I ain’t nothin’ more than the fuckin’ cleaner round there!” His hand hit the wheel in frustration. I jumped slightly, pulling back deeper in my seat. God, if I could just jump out of this car and walk the rest of the way, I most definitely would. “Not only that, they criticize everythin’ I do, like I ain’t out here puttin’ in triple the work for half the fuckin’ pay!” He let out a sharp huff and ran his hand through his hair. After his explosion, he settled into his seat, glaring over at me, like I’m the one who underpays him. Luckily, the rest of the ride was… silent. When we made it to the school, he practically shoved me out and sped off. Walking in was like walking into an anti-shower convention; the lack of soap was apparent. I spotted a room with a glass wall and doors, a small sign on the desk within read “Front Office.”
I walked over, pulling open the door and standing in front of a frail old lady who seemed to be running the desk. “Hello?” My voice sounded harsher than I intended, her head slowly came up, and her eyes met mine; her face told a story of grief and tiring nights. “ How may I help you, Sweety?” Her sun-soaked voice laid sadness over me. “I was recently enrolled, and I’m here to get my schedule,” she opens her mouth with a silent “oh” before she turns, grabs a folder from a cabinet, and places it on the desk in front of me. “Harper, right?” her eyes flick up looking for reassurance as she flips through he folder pulling out a green sheet of paper. She placed it down, facing me, and ran her pointer finger over the classes, giving me a quick mental map to follow. I thanked her before taking the paper and walking down the hall to where she had pointed. Walking through the hall was a nightmare, and honestly, the person who designed this place should be put in cuffs asap.
…
Taking a seat in the classroom was like being locked in a white building; hardly any students had poured in yet, and I still wasn't too sure if this was even the right room. The bell rang abruptly, and students sluiced in chattering and spreading around to find seats. The quiet of the room fills fast with talk of the ‘snap’ someone was sent last night, and the ‘newest Taylor phone case’ now being sold at $45, just for it not to protect from one fall. I sit watching the people around the room as they make small groups throughout the classroom. A girl sits in the back, drawing in her sketchbook, with a girl beside her doing the same. Two girls sit on one desk, facing opposite each other, both practically twirling their hair while they talk to what they both consider ‘total babes’. The boys just stand there with their heads in their butts, like it isn’t 100% clear that the girls want them. The more I look around, the more I see people on their phones, already setting up a mini class recording space for the newest TikTok™ they wanna dance along to. The door to the class slams shut, and I look up to see a man in his late 40s walking in; the class didn’t seem to notice the teacher's presence because they continued to stay in their own worlds, doing whatever. He had a medium build, not tall enough to play basketball but tall enough to reach the top shelf. He wore a black dress shirt with a gray English teacher cardigan that sported the words “I’m, man, hear me growl.” The gray really emphasized the lack of melanin production weaving through his hair. The man clears his throat in an attempt to quiet down the class. After this fails, he yells, “Class quiet!” Chairs scraped the floor as everyone made a hasty retreat to their desks. The teacher hummed in contentment as he now had everyone's attention. “Good morning, class, I’m your new teacher, Mr.Raphoskie. You can call me Mr.Ralph for short,” some of the girls in the back snicker at his name, probably preparing to turn his reputation into something short of pedo. “Something we’re willing to share with the class ladies,” he questions, making his way down the row and in front of them. The giggles stop real fast as they look up at him from their seat. Their faces showed wary annoyance. “Well?” Mr.Ralph questions the girls while they fidget with their hands. Mr.Ralph just stares at them, waiting for an answer. One of the girls sits up when she speaks, “It really ain't nothing, we’re just laughing at a joke we heard earlier.” He raises an eyebrow, taking a step back. “Next time, don’t interrupt,” he pushes up his glasses and walks back to the front of the class. After calling attendance, He starts handing out printed ‘Get to Know Me’ papers with the world's ugliest font, some of the questions seemed… Invasive. “How many siblings do you live with? Are your parents together? Do you switch houses throughout the week?” Might as well ask their income, it just seemed too much. I only answered the stupid ones that didn’t hold any real information, like “What’s your favorite color? Or, favorite day of the year?” After about 10 minutes, we all finished our packets and were let off for lunch. I don’t know much about this new school, but what I do know is that the halls are loud, they have lunch here waaaaay too early, and everyone has already copied each other's personality. I can’t blame them much; everyone has to blend in at some point. I’m sure I’ll do the same soon enough.
Shortly after class, I found a table to sit at. It wasn’t like a teen drama where I sat in the middle of the table, and everyone gave me nasty looks as they passed by. I sat at the end with a group of girls opposite me; they laughed, and I could only assume they hadn't been friends long. One of them would tell a joke, they would laugh for 3 seconds at the most, and go back to an awkward silence. I tried to tune them out the best I could, but the uncomfortable aura at the table was clawing at me.
Great, it was my first day here, and I had already molded into a corner of the library. I loved reading, but it never came naturally. I always had a hard time piecing the letters together and getting into the plot. Sitting in the library wasn’t for the literature; it was so I could get away with stalking Alex's page. Nothing he posted ever made sense, one day it would be an old picture of us at the mall, me standing in the back while he held up the latest shoes everyone wanted, “Me and my girl,” the caption, forefront and bold. I missed some of it, definitely not all of it. After a few scrolls, it had me missing his dog, his bed, his smell, his happiness, our happiness. Even though I could never full heartedly believe in that happiness.
“Excuse me,” a voice came from above me as I zoomed in on a picture of Alex’s smile, looking up while shoving my phone in my lap, I tried to keep a ‘pleasant’ face. “Yes?” The person standing above me looked like he had never seen a socialmedia platform in his life, much less Red 40. “ Do you mind not using the library for ogling photos of your crush?” Holy sheltered, Batman, this kid sounded like a wanna be brony. “Whatever you say, broke Zuckerberg,” I groaned, pulling myself from the seat and walking to the door.