Chapter 5: Taylen

The bell rang to end this horrific school day. Finally! Urgh, I hate school. It’s so boring and just a waste of my time. I felt so irritated, I just wanted to get home. Everything irritated me; the voice of my accounting teacher, the way my uniform felt against my skin, the pink pencil case full of permanent marker scribbles that the girl next to me had on her desk and the taste of my dry mouth. I craved a sugary drink. The cola refresh in the fridge at home was calling my name.

“Taylen, Taylen. Drink me! Drain my blood!” I imagined it saying. It would cheer as I took it from the fridge and twisted open the bottle cap to release the sweet fragrance.

I shoved my fat accounting book into my bag and got up to leave. My classmates broke into a loud chatter and all rushed out of the class.

"Social distancing please!" My teacher yelled then saw me through the crowd. "Taylen Nova, can I talk to you for a second please?"

No! I replied mentally. If I keep walking perhaps she will think I did not hear her and try to talk to me tomorrow. Good luck! I smiled, thankfully no one could see it due to my face mask.

"Bro? Hey! Taylen!" I heard someone call which made me stop and turn around. Fridge magnets. Urgh, Taylen you, idiot, why did you turn around?

"Dude, Mrs Pretorious called you." Cleo, a boy from my class stated.

"Oh, uh thanks," I replied. Darn it! Now I had to go talk to her. I stomped over to her classroom and plonked myself down by the chair near her desk.

"Mister, is everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, ma'am. Why do you ask?"

"Taylen, what was the lesson on today?"

"Urr, Uhm ... trial balances?" I hesitantly replied.

"No. See? You weren't even paying attention. We all have our off days and it's ok to zone out once in a while. Not every day. Your marks are excellent but you don't seem to participate in the class."

"My marks are good yet you still ask more from me?" I snapped and stood up.

"Mr Nova please sit down. I'm still busy talking to you."

"I'll talk to you when there is an actual problem," I replied and stormed out of her classroom. Teachers! They always think they know what is best but they don't. Okay yes, I zone out a lot but it never affects my school work. I just needed to get home. Today had literally drained me! I walked over to where my bicycle was chained and opened the lock. 1301. My birthday; the 13th of January. I had turned 15 this year.

I jumped onto my bicycle and drove out of the school gate. Wednesday always felt like the longest day of the week. When I get home I need to finish my English homework and try to figure out what lesson we had today in accounting. Then it's time to relax.

I drove past a group of boys in my grade and instantly regretted taking this path home.

"Hey, dork! On your way home to your boyfriend?" The one shouted while laughing.

"No, it's not his boyfriend. It's his Dad." Another replied.

"Moffie! Faggot!" They yelled and started throwing stones. I ignored them, but one hit my cheek which stun like hell. That's probably gonna leave a bruise. Great, just great!

I raced home and ran inside. My parents weren't gonna be home for quite a while, and the nanny never came to check up on me. Screw homework, I needed a fix. I lifted up my duvet covers and grabbed my special tin that was shoved into the hole I cut in the mattress.

My boyfriend, well he didn't believe in titles but technically he was my boyfriend, had given me this just for emergencies. Crystal meth.

"Here, dear. This is way better than weed, try it out when you need an escape." Jibin smirked and gave me the tin. He was high as a kite at the time, so I just took it from him and shoved it into my school bag.

I opened the tin and saw these clear capsules filled with white powder. I picked one up and examined it. Hmmm, looks like a normal pill. I shrugged. How bad can it be? I'll just be high for a few hours, then feel better. Uh yes, cooldrink!

I sprinted downstairs and stopped by the passage mirror. There was a purple bruise on my cheek. Uhm, I fell. Yeah, yeah. That's what happened. While playing touches! Perfect. My parents would definitely believe that story. I then went to the kitchen and grabbed my favourite glass. It looked like all the others, except there was a small chip on the rim. Just like me, a little broken.

I filled up my glass and ran back to my room. I felt excited for some reason. I locked my door and sat on the bed. Here goes nothing, I popped the pill into my mouth, took a sip of cooldrink and swallowed.

Nothing happened; I felt normal. Ugh, man Jibin you probably gave me your flu pills by mistake. I laughed. He was always making silly mistakes while high. Oh well better finish off that English homework. I had about 6 questions left based on Romeo and Juliet that I had to answer.

"Explain what Juliet meant when she said oh don't swear by the moon, the inconstant moon." I read out loud.

Juliet tells Romeo to not compare his love for her to the moon. This is because the moon is constantly changing and even disappears during the day. She wants him to always love her and for his love to remain constant. I quickly wrote then moved on to the next question.

It took about 10 minutes to finish my English. I grabbed my accounting then decided, Nah I think it's time for lunch. Maggie's noodles. Yes! I think we even have cheese flavour, my favourite.

In the kitchen, I pressed down on my noodles to break them up and switched on the kettle.

I felt happier than usual, which was odd since I was just hit in the face with a stone. There's always the little things in life we have to be happy about. Like noodles! The kettle finished so I poured the boiling water into my bowl and placed it in the microwave for 4 minutes. Here's a hint from chef Taylen, put the spice in last. It makes it taste even better.

"Hey, you!" I heard someone call. I looked around but I was alone in the kitchen.

"Here in the fridge." The voice shouted. Huh? I opened the fridge and there he was. The refresh cola. His little hands waved at me while his mouth flew into a smile.

"Mr Cola?" I asked and grabbed onto his body.

"Yeah, kid! Aren't you thirsty? You bearly drink me."

"Actually yeah I am," I replied and twisted off the cap.

"That tickles!" He laughed as I took a sip.

"What about us!" I heard a bunch of voices say. Everyone in the fridge had come alive.

"You guys can talk?"

"Duh. Of course, we can. You just never listened for us before!" The cheese replied in a very British female accent.

"Wait a minute, why are you British?" I asked. Oh, snap! My noodles. I put Mr Cola gently down on the table and reached for the microwave. My arm stretch over and opened it up. Woah what! I'm like an elastic man. Cool!