chapter six! the study sleepover
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"I just can't get my head around it,"
Erin cried out, tears still streaming down her face as she looked down at the framed photo, "The fact that he's gone. Forever."
"It's so sad, it really is, it is so, so sad, but at the same time, you know, what's done is done, so let's crack on," Clare ranted, her body physically shaking from the energy drinks she had been downing every two minutes.
Aoife glanced at the short-blonde, she could see the girl's body vibrating from where she sat cuddled into James' side.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Clare," Erin snapped, tightening her grip around the photo frame in her hands, "Has his sudden, tragic death interrupted your studies?"
"It has a bit, actually, yeah," Clare admitted, taking another swig from her can.
"How can you be so heartless?"
"Don't cry Erin, he's in a better place now," Orla offered, pointing up at the ceiling, supposedly towards heaven, "Unless he's not, you know unless he's gone to hell."
Michelle frowned, rubbing at her temple in frustration, "Can we please talk about something else? I'm half torn, this is wrecking my head."
"What? Have you been drinking?" Erin snapped, disgust dripping from her voice as she looked over at Michelle.
"I tried to stop her," Aoife mumbled, not even looking up from her textbook, trying to remember the revision tips Caoimhe had taught her.
"Yes, I have," Michelle admitted, lifting the bottle from her bag, "And for future reference, if any of you invite me to a study sleepover again and I'm desperate enough to accept that invitation, there's a good chance I have a litre bottle of Pernod in my bag."
"I shouldn't even have to sit the exam," Erin decided, dropping the frame onto the bed beside her.
The girls looked up at Erin, confusion crossing their features as they waited for Erin to explain, "On you know, compassionate grounds."
"He was a dog, Erin! It's not like it was Granda," Aoife snapped, getting sick of her cousin and her mourning.
"Toto was much more than a dog! Toto was my best friend!" Erin insisted, turning the frame around for her friends to look at the picture.
Michelle groaned rising to her feet, and moving towards the window, ripping the curtains open, "Christ, I feel a bit boakey."
"Sweet sufferin' Jesus, it's the morning already!" Clare panicked, the bright morning sun making her flinch, "What are we going to do?"
"Well, maybe we could start with calming the fuck down," Michelle suggested, rubbing at her temple trying to ease away the oncoming headache.
"Calm down? We're still on William of Orange, Michelle, we haven't so much looked at the famine!"
"We've got the gist, they ran out of spuds, everyone was raging," Aoife yawned, pushing the textbook off her lap, finally realising there was no more she could do now.
"Well, I can't tell my rebellions from my risings," James stated, Aoife's study notes failing to help the English boy.
"Don't start Michelle," the redhead begged, a small groan leaving her lips.
Michelle spun around, narrowing her eyes at her cousin, "And who's fault's that? If your lot had stopped invading us for five fucking minutes there'd be a lot less to wade through! English prick."
"I don't think it's actually James' fault, Michelle," Aoife defended the boy, gently placing her hand on his.
"Nothing's going in. Nothing's is going in," Clare panicked once more, pulling her friends' attention to her, "What's happening to me?"
"There's quite a lot of caffeine in those, Clare," James stated, as Aoife reached out trying to pry the can from the blonde's tight grasp, "How many of them have you had?"
"I don't know. Five? Twenty-three?"
"We are fucked,"
• • • • • • •
"It's abuse. That's what it is, it's abuse,"
Erin ranted, moving further down the hill towards the bus stop,
"Does anybody have 10p? I'm ringin' ChildLine?"
"You can't ring ChildLine every time your ma threatens to kill you," Aoife grumbled, Erin tried this every time Mary threatened her in the slightest.
"Yeah, you can't waste Esther's time like that," Claire added, taking a swig from her energy drink.
"Esther has actual work to do," Aoife sighed, rolling her eyes at her cousin's dramatics.
"And, anyway, you're not alone. We're all going to fail," Michelle added, "We're all going to get our holes kicked and we're all in the same boat."
"I don't want to be in that boat! I want to be in a different boat, sailing down a totally different river!" Clare panicked once again, Aoife wrapped her arm around the blonde's shoulder with a soft smile.
"This boat is sinking," Aoife added, lifting the bacon sandwich to her lips once more. Joe had made it for her and wrapped it up in kitchen roll for her to eat as they walked for the bus.
"Guys, all we can do is try our best," James spoke up, much to the disgust of the five girls.
"Don't be such a fruit, James!" Michelle quickly snapped.
Erin came to a sudden stop, bringing the group to a halt behind her, trying to understand why they were no longer walking to the bus stop, "Oh my God! Look! Doesn't that dog look like Toto?"
"I suppose it does a bit, yeah," Orla agreed.
This was all Erin needed before taking off after the dog, who sat being stroked by an army officer. Erin's sudden bolt towards him, made it run away from the tartan-clad teenagers and further down the street.
"Here, boy! Come here, boy!" Erin called as they chased after the dog.
The group followed closely behind Erin, jogging to keep up with Erin's swift chase of the dog.
"What are we doing?"
"I dunno, I'm still pushed," Michelle admitted, with a soft laugh.
"We're gonna be late, Erin!" Clare cried, still following her friends despite her worries that they would be late for their exams.
"I need my inhaler," Aoife wheezed, stopping and doubling over before Michelle grabbed ahold of her and dragged her along so that she wouldn't get left behind.
"But it's freaky! Don't you think it's so freaky?" Erin asked, her eyes focused on the familiar dog as they neared the church.
The dog darted through the open church door, the teenagers entering very closely behind.
"No! It's just a dog that looks like another dog!"