Chapter Three- Bella's POV
"Ugh," I groaned, a piercing pain shooting through my head as soon as I opened my eyes. I rubbed my eyes wearily, causing black smudges to appear on my hands. A wave of memories hit me suddenly like a ton of bricks and I groaned even louder. How had I let myself get involved in something like that? Underage clubbing, dressing like a whore, underage drinking, snorting cocaine?! I must have been out of my mind. I sat up groggily, swearing loudly as soon as I laid eyes on the alarm clock. It was 3.00pm and I still had to finish my paper, go to the gym and meet up with Jessica and Emily for coffee. I was never going to get through it all.
I showered and dressed quickly, and I felt much better with all the makeup off my skin. I threw on a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, folding up the tiny dress so I could take it back to Rosalie later. I had to admit, my head didn't feel quite so bad after the shower, and I had a feeling that Alice's anti hunger, anti hangover pill had something to do with it. I still didn't feel remotely hungry, and I left to meet up with Jess and Emily as soon as I had finished drying my hair.
Both of them looked tired, they had probably stayed up late finishing their papers for our European History course, and they gratefully accepted the coffees I brought them.
"So, what did you get up to last night?" Jess asked, her penchant for nosiness all too obvious.
"Um, I went out with Rosalie and Alice," I mumbled, hoping fervently that Jessica would drop it. Of course it was a foolish hope.
"Rosalie Hale?" Jess asked, her interest peaked by the name. "Where did you guys go?"
"Just this place called.....Melrose, I think?" I replied, trying not to make it sound like a big deal.
"Melrose?! You got into Melrose?!" Emily squealed, nearly knocking over her coffee cup. "How the hell did you get into the place?"
"Rosalie's cousin is a bouncer there, he let us in," I shrugged, uncomfortable with their excitement. It really wasn't that big of a deal.
"You are so lucky!" Jessica exclaimed, her eyes flashing with envy. "I would kill to get into Melrose."
"It really isn't that great," I said in a last ditch attempt to dissuade them from the conversation topic. Unfortunately I had opened a can of worms, and they were still discussing it when I left, claiming that I had to get to the gym.
I worked out hard on the treadmill for over an hour and a half, using my workout as an excuse to try and forget the events of the night before. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I hit the showers, and I fell onto the sofa as soon as I walked into our dorm.
"You look dead on your feet," Alice observed from the floor, where she was lying on her stomach in front of her laptop.
"I've been at the gym," I explained, closing my eyes. "Shit, I still have to finish my paper! There's no way I'm going to get it done in time...."
"Why don't you take a couple of those pills I suggested? They'll have you awake in no time."
"I don't know Alice...." I trailed off, but the idea was already forming in my mind. I desperately needed some energy, and I could not afford to fail this paper. Surely taking just a couple couldn't hurt.....
"Come on Bella, you need to pass this paper right?" Alice cajoled, opening her palm to reveal two tiny white pills.
"I guess. But only this once," I said firmly, taking the pills and swallowing them with a glass of water from the sink.
Alice's magic pills definately did the trick, and I was typing away at my keyboard in no time. My energy levels were back up and I felt wide awake, more awake than usual. The words seemed to come easily to me and I typed manically, trying to get it all down before I forgot it all. Alice packed up and headed to bed at around 9.30pm, yawning widely, but I stayed up for another hour, perfecting my paper. I even went back and edited my earlier work, finding errors and ways to improve in almost every sentence. Even when I was tucked up in bed my mind was whirring at a million miles an hour, and it seemed to take me forever to finally get to sleep.
I woke up early the next morning and wandered over to the fridge, my stomach grumbling. I sifted through the old takeaway containers, looking for something decent, and eventually settled for a banana. I hadn't been that hungry since taking Alice's pill, but now the hunger pains were starting to grow again.
"Hey Bella! Did you get your paper finished?" Alice asked, emerging from her bedroom and still in her pajamas.
"Yeah I did. Thanks for those pills, they really helped," I smiled, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.
"What time does your class finish?" Alice curled up on the sofa, resting her head on her arm. "I was wondering if you wanted to head over to Rosalie's later."
"Oh yeah, I have to give her back her dress," I nodded, checking my watch. "I should be free by mid-afternoon, I want to go to the gym again after class."
"Sure, I'll see you later," Alice said, flicking on the television.
I handed in my paper confidently at the end of class, pleased with the effort I had put into it. Jessica and Emily looked a little less pleased with themselves, but I didn't worry about them too much. They would scrape through, they always did. I headed straight for the gym after class, working out for an hour before showering and going back to the dorm room. Alice was waiting for me, dressed and presentable, and she had the dress draped over her arm.
"How was class?" She asked as we walked, enjoying the warm afternoon breeze.
"It was pretty good, I zoned out for a little though," I admitted with a chuckle.
"I don't blame you," Alice laughed, swatting my arm playfully.
We arrived at Rosalie's to find the door slightly ajar, and Alice walked straight in without knocking. I followed her lead, feeling suddenly anxious. Surely Rosalie would think me an absolute idiot after Melrose. Rosalie was curled up on her bed, puffing on a smoke and giggling as she chatted to another girl that was sitting cross legged on the floor.
"Pass it over already Rose!" The girl exclaimed, reaching for Rosalie's cigarette. As we got closer to them, I realised that the cigarette looked a little.....strange.
"Is that....is that a joint?" I whispered to Alice, who grinned and rolled her eyes.
"Duh," She laughed, perching on the end of Rosalie's bed.
"Hey Alice, Bella," Rosalie smiled in greeting, handing the joint over to the other girl. "This is Angela."
"Hi," I said tentatively, thinking back to our night at Melrose. Rosalie had mentioned that Angela was a dealer.....Lovely. I guess that explained the joint.
"Hey Bella," Angela's voice was a little raspy, like she had a sore throat. "I heard you tried some of the white at Melrose. Good stuff huh?"
"Er, yeah," I nodded, ignoring Rosalie's smirk.
"Cool. If you want some more, all you have to do is ask. I'll give you a discount 'cause you're Rose's friend."
"Um, I'm okay at the moment," I replied politely. I definately wouldn't be buying any more of the "white" anytime soon.
"No problem," Angela shrugged, taking a deep puff of the joint and then offering it to me. "You want a puff?"
Rosalie and Angela were both staring at me expectantly, so despite my misgivings I took the joint and inhaled deeply. The smoke was sweet and pungent, and I coughed loudly before handing it back to Angela. They all laughed, and soon the joint was being passed from person to person like a never ending chain reaction. I refused it the first few rounds, but soon the sweet scent of the smoke became too tantalising and I accepted it the next time it was offered. Soon we were all relaxed, laughing and stretched out lazily around the room. My hunger pains began to grow, and my stomach rumbled loudly.
"Fuck, I'm so hungry," I said, rummaging in my purse, looking for an old granola bar or something.
"Here, have one of these," Angela handed me a pill, and I recognised it as the same one Alice had given me when we returned to the dorm after going to Melrose.
"Thanks," I replied, swallowing the pill dry. Soon the other three had all downed the pills, and the hunger pains soon subsided.
Alice and I left Rosalie and Angela's at around 8.00pm that night, and before we left Rosalie pulled a piece of paper from her dresser.
"Mike Newton gave me this today. Apparently there's a big party over at one of the frat houses in the weekend, and he said to invite as many people as possible. You girls in?"
"Sure, I'm keen," Alice said, and they all turned their gazes to me.
"Um, yeah, I guess," I said with fak enthusiasm. So much for just one night.....Still, a frat party wasn't the same as snorting coke at a club. I didn't have to drink, I could just go for an hour or two, make an appearance, and then ditch. Yeah, that sounded better.
"Cool, come over here at around 5.00pm, and bring your own alcohol. You know how frat boys hate to part with their stuff," Rosalie rolled her eyes, and we said goodbye. I could still smell the sweet smoke from the joint on my skin and hair, and the perfume I sprayed didn't help.
"Relax Bella, everybody here smokes pot. It's no big deal," Alice said lightly as we walked into the dorm, and I grimaced. Her words sounded very similiar to the ones I had spoken to Jessica and Emily the previous day, and my stomach lurched uncomfortably. This time, it wasn't from hunger.