Best Friend For Life

Chapter Ten: Best friend for life

Why this dream is alarming is that, I know that bottle too damn well. Infact, I've consumed it before. It was the same bottle I've seen on Leely's bedside drawer at our hostel dorm, the same bottle I've seen on Fahad's table the first time I was in Score Pub. That bottle is no medication like I've been calling it. It's the drug that Leely and the people around that table were abusing.

I went to Score Pub on Friday night and came home Saturday morning. Today is Thursday and four days after I commenced my holiday.

Here's how I had taken the syrup on Friday night.

After Leely got our drinks from the bartender, we walked back and took our seats at that same spot we left after I told Leely that I needed the restroom. She picked her mojito which was blue and gave me mine which was pink. We were sitted close to each other this time around because Fahad was up to something with his friends so they clustered up.

I saw Leely grab that bottle of syrup and fill up the small measuring cup which was on the bottle cap. I knew that bottle was familiar as soon as she picked it up. I know I've seen it in our room once or twice, on days she had probably forgotten to hid it away from me properly. She then poured the blue syrup into her drink and stirred it with her straw. The boys saw her do that but went on with their discussion, totally unbothered. Of course, it's all normal like Fahad said.

I saw her pick up the measuring cup again and measure like quarter of it. Then I saw her grab my glass of mojito. I had released a gasp out of horror because I didn't remember telling her I was interested in taking it. It's clearly a drug, but who informed her that I was interested in taking drugs...I wondered if she thought so because I listened to her lecture on drugs diligently earlier.

"Come on Baila, it's just a harmless medication. It's the most harmless of everything you'd find people around here taking. All it does is alleviate your mood, that's all." She pleaded with me.

"You trust me right?"

"And look, I didn't even fill up the measuring cup as much as mine."

"Nothing will happen to you Baila. It doesn't even have any weird taste"

Leely just went on and on until I said fine. I saw the boys smirk as if they were having fun watching her persuade me to take that hideous syrup.

The way my heart rammed in my chest as she closely watched me gulp my drink after she mixed it up the same way she mixed hers, I really thought I'd enter a cardiac arrest. But I didn't. I gulped my mojito and waited to feel a weird taste in my mouth.. I didn't taste anything indifferent.

Leely slurped her drink bit by bit too until she drank all of it. She waited a little bit for some minutes, as if waiting for whatever we had taken to settle. Those minutes were the longest minutes of my life. I was waiting for my heart to stop functioning because I had taken drugs for the first time in my life.

"Let's go dance" she said, cocking her head towards the dance floor after like ten minutes. I threw my eyes at the dance floor ahead of us. It was scantier now and a much softer music was playing.

"I don't..." I opened my mouth to protest. I don't have enough confidence to do that...

"Remember, in this place, no one cares. Come on let's go" she grabbed me before I protested again. I heard Fahad complaining that she's choosing another dance partner apart from him tonight.

After we stepped on the dance floor, I nervously looked around. Really, no one was staring. No one cared. Leely excitedly grabbed my hands and began swinging my arms slowly.

"You see, it's not that bad right? So, let's dance!"

I was slowly entering a daze. I could feel Leely swirling me around and swaying my arms along with some subtle dance steps, but then, the feeling was inexplicable. I felt light headed and carefree. I felt like I was flying in the sky and my head felt like it was in the clouds.