addicted: judd birch & stass

CHAPTER 10: physical education

my first lesson on a thursday, week 1, was biology. a boy who kind of trampled on my heart and trust was in that class, and i naturally hated going. everyone else in there was also boring and cunty. i strode to my table and tried to construct a plan in my head of when i would be able to abandon my morning sober.

i sat down in my seat and sighed. the girl who was paired with me on the thin slab of table was a fucking weirdo. she always asked me questions about my appearance and stuff like that. i pulled out my biro and was about to ask her what the date was when she opened her mouth.

'hey-' she hissed, leaning her elbow so the teacher couldn't read her lips. 'you have anything i can smoke?'

i pulled back from how close she was to my face and raised an eyebrow.

'since fucking when did you smoke? i have something but it's for me. i'm not willing to share unless you give me something in return.'

she rolled her eyes and pulled a £5 note out of her pocket along with a few mints, and a drumstick lolly. i grunted and took it off her.

'pretend to have a panic attack. trust me. we can both get out this lesson and smoke it in the spot i go to.' i whispered, trying to act normal.

she nodded like i was her mother and began her little act. i tried not to laugh when she heaved deeply and started gripping the table.

'miss! my poor partner is having a panic attack! i'm taking her to the office!!'

my dickwad of a teacher almost dropped her laptop and readjusted her glasses.

'of course. go now.'

the boy who'd screwed me over didn't lose eye contact with me as i walked out the room. my ass looked good in these flares, to be fair. but he wasn't the boy who i wanted to be staring.

me and my trusty biology accomplice eventually got to the sports hall and walked around the far side when there were no students in sight. i pulled the zoot out of my bag and placed it between my lips. i felt a bit anxious, smoking after my overdose, but i carried on and lit it, nevertheless. i took a few puffs before passing it to the girl between my ring and middle finger.

she took about 4 hits and started losing her ability to stand straight. i giggled and straightened her out by clamping her shoulders.

'steady on meryl streep, can't have you wobbling to second lesson.'

'i won't lol, this shit just makes me giddy. can i have another hit?'

i rolled my eyes and beared my teeth at her. i stared down at my contrasted airforce and remembered that this was where i met judd. he wouldn't be here now, i don't think he ever snuck out of lesson to smoke anyway.

eventually we finished the zoot and i drowned the both of us in my body spray, and chucked her some gum.

'you're actually not as bad as you come across in lesson.' i told her, whilst she bit down on the gum. 'we could do this more often if you like.'

'sounds cool' she grinned, flicking her hair behind her ears. 'let's get back to bio before miss gets her knickers in a twist.'

i chuckled and followed her back through the corridors, where we heard the bell ring.

'jesus fuck, how'd we manage to smoke away the whole lesson.' i said, trying to grip the walls whilst my head became more and more fuzzy.

'no clue, but i've never been more hungry in my life.'

i looked back at her and widened my eyes, as we were just outside the classroom. we waltzed back in as everyone was packing up, and i did my classic puppy eyes and sobbed to my teacher, just to miss a few minutes of my dreaded pe lesson, which i had next.

'she's fine now miss, but god i was so worried. i cant thank you enough for letting us leave early!' i blubbed, pretending to dab my eyes with a dry ass tissue. my teacher awkwardly patted my shoulder and sent me on my merry way.

i couldn't fucking stand pe. all the stank girls in the changing rooms reeked of fake tan and stared me down when they saw the faded scars on my legs. it was none of their fucking business what i'd been through, and more importantly, how i dealt with it. i wanted to bunk but i couldn't get myself in more trouble after school than i already was. i ate my bag of crisps whilst walking to lesson in an attempt to sober up a little.

'bruv your eyes are so red!' a girl called sophie commented, as i walked past her to my unconfirmed changing spot. i nudged her in the stomach harshly and put my finger to my lips.

'shut the fuck up soph, you know i couldn't make it to this lesson sober.'

sophie wasn't that bad of a girl, to be honest. she had a completely different style and mind set to me, but she never stared at my scars, or made me feel insignificant for the way i spoke or the clothes i wore. our mums used to be friends when we were little, so we used to hang out a little bit. she wasn't my favourite person, but she was certainly better than the rest.

after informing sophie on my sobriety, i looked down into my bag and realised i'd forgotten my kit. shit. i opened the exit door of the changing room a slither so i could waddle out, and let the girls have some actual privacy, whilst i told my nonce of a teacher that i did not have my kit.

'congratulations anastasia, this is your 4th time in a row. detention tonight.'

i kicked the ground and looked into his god forsaken aging eyes.

'i already have detention tonight for messing up my mufti day. can i have a lighter punishment?'

'no. in fact, since you've already been spiteful today, i'm going to increase your punishment, since it's impossible to have double detention. you will be sweeping the classroom floors instead, until 6pm when the school is locked up...'

i interrupted his speech and sighed deeply, i kind of accepted my fate. it didn't even sound that bad, i could just listen to music and get it over and done with. but that was until my pe teacher finished his sentence:

'...and you will be accompanied by another student who can't seem to follow rules, judd birch, my year 12. hopefully you two will get along whilst you make this school squeaky clean.'

i swear to god, the world stopped.