The Academy

The rest of winter break was pretty uneventful. I’d helped Devin and them record a few songs for a demo while Claire, who seemed to be pretty good with photoshop, made an album cover for them. I told them I’d send it to my dad and have him take a listen. They seemed pretty excited with the possibility of getting signed though I told them that probably wouldn’t happen until the summer and that they wouldn’t even be able to work on an album until around next winter break. They seemed okay with that.

The rest of the school year was going the same way, surprisingly. It was the end of May and the school year would be ending in two weeks. I wouldn’t be spending much time in Beverly Hills this summer though. I’d decided to spend a few weeks in Laguna with my parents and then also go to Miami with them for a month long vacation. I hadn’t talked to Nicki, Katie, Nick, or Dylan since the New Year’s Eve barbecue fiasco and shockingly that upset me but I’m sure they’d find a way to patch things up before summer ended.

“Michelle’s been quiet lately,” Audrina noted, pulling a cardigan over her shoulders. It may have been May, but New York was going through a bit of a chilly spell.

“Yeah, she has,” Cassie agreed. “Do you think she actually backed off?”

“Not at all,” I laughed. “Girls like her don’t back off easily. Most likely she’s coming up with something big and doesn’t want to do it at the end of the school year. If she does something big and then we go away for the summer, it won’t have as big of an impact as she wants, so she’ll wait until it will have its biggest impact.”

“Are you worried about whatever it could be?” Claire asked. “I mean she could do some pretty low things to people. I wouldn’t want her to hurt any of the guys or come after any of us. It’d be horrible if something were to happen to ruin our friendship.”

“I’m not worried. She won’t do anything to hurt the guys because she cares about them too much in her own messed up way,” I explained. “She won’t do anything to hurt me because she knows I fight back and if she hurt any of you, I’d fight back as well. Even if it is some huge plan, it won’t harm any of us in any horrible manner.”

“Aren’t you the optimistic one,” Cassie laughed. “But seriously, ever since you’ve come to Kloss, Michelle’s changed big time. It’s like she scared of you.”

“It’s because I don’t quit. She’ll never get to me,” I shrugged. “I’m too smart to let that happen.”

We walked into the mess hall and grabbed dinner. It was a Saturday so we’d spent the last few hours in Cassie and I’s dorm room. It was nice to spend some girl time without the guys for a while and the guys felt the same, though we always met up for dinner. Today, they seemed to be running late.

“Usually it’s the girls who run late,” Audrina laughed, dipping her dinner roll into the spaghetti sauce. “And guys always give us shit for it.”

“They were probably playing video games in one of their rooms and are fighting about who’s more manly,” Cassie laughed.

We all laughed as the guys filed in and sat down, no food in hand; they usually ordered pizza and ate it in their rooms. “What are you laughin at?” Ben sat down laughing. I’d apologized to him after Nicki left the Laguna house since she’d been falling all over him and I felt bad.

“Which one of you boys is the manliest of the bunch,” I sat back in my chair, taking a swig of pepsi. “Which one is it?”

“Obviously, it’s me,” Danny grinned, rubbing his belly. “I mean obviously no one gets more manly than me, well except maybe Ben but that’s only because of his trucker mouth.”

“Fuck you, you fuck,” Ben punched him in the arm.

“I think you just proved his point, Benny boy,” Audrina laughed. “Half of the words in that sentence was ‘fuck’ and I’m pretty sure that ratio is also the same as your entire vocabulary.”

Ben shut up and sat back in his chair, playing with his lip rings. He never cursed at girls, at least not us. Audrina laughed and finished off her plate. The guys talked about what they were doing over summer break. Danny, Ben, Sam, James, and Cam were going back to England and apparently had some big project to work on. The last time we heard that Andy, Jinxx, Ashley, Christian, and Jake all left us to pursue a music career brought on by Devin, Jimmy, Andrew, Brent, Jeff, and Zach performing in the club in New York. I hoped the project wouldn’t end that way.

Devin, Zach, Andrew, Brent, Jimmy, and Jeff would be going home to Michigan to continue writing more songs, playing a few small shows, and always waiting for the call from my dad to tell them if they were getting signed or not. No matter what he’d give them a call, if not to tell them they were willing to sign them but give them pointers on how to get better. Though I listened to the demo myself and it was pretty badass so I doubt my father wouldn’t sign them. If he didn’t, he’d hear it from me, which means they’d get signed anyway since I was my father’s toughest critic.

We ended up staying in the mess hall until it was almost empty talking about summer. I couldn’t say I was excited, about vacations and Miami, yes, but not so much leaving my new friends. The downside that I’ve found to Kloss is not only that I have to leave my family and Beverly Hills behind in the fall, but that I have to leave behind them at the beginning of summer. Especially since I wasn’t sure what my California friends would be up to over the summer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The end of Summer was fast approaching. It was only about a week until I was back at Kloss for my senior year. I’d video chat everyone at least once a week but it was hard with different time zones, except for when I was in Miami and Cassie, Audrina, Claire, and I would have video chat sessions together. Danny, Ben, Sam, James, and Cam had a five hour difference so it was usually late night chats on my end at least whereas Devin, Andrew, Jeff, Zach, Brent, and Jimmy were on the east coast time as well. Cassie apparently visited California for a weekend though, but only to visit Christian.

My dad had decided to sign a contract with I See Stars to welcome them to the record label, though like I figured, they wouldn’t be allowed to work on an album until winter break and next summer. My dad’s crazy when it comes to education, at least until you finish high school.

I was back in Beverly Hills getting ready for an end of summer party at Katie’s house. I hadn’t talked to Katie, Nicki, Dylan, or Nick much since winter break but decided it wouldn’t be that bad of an idea to go. One last hoorah until I go back to the confines of Kloss, not that I was complaining.

I was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, heels, and an off-white silk tank top. My parents let me borrow their car but I had to promise not to drive home if I had been drinking, though I never did. Katie’s house was five minutes away from mine and our parents were best friends so it worked out really well. Katie’s parents weren’t home and probably wouldn’t be until almost 2 a.m., their usual Friday night routine. Katie, Nick, Dylan and Nicki were on the back patio, drinks in each of their hands.

“Riley!” Katie drunkenly squealed. “Come sit and have a drink!” I laughed and sat next to Dylan on the patio couch. Nick handed me some kind of mixed drink, it was pink and smelled fruity. Nick knew what my “poison” was.

“Where is everyone?” I laughed. “Usually your parties are full…and loud.”

“We don’t go to huge house parties anymore,” Katie laughed. “They’re boring.”

“Katie’s parties are so much more fun now,” Nicki giggled. “Show her why, Kate!”

Katie smirked and reached into her bag that was lying next to her. She pulled out a small baggie filled with white powder. She poured some of the substance out onto the table and formed it into a line, lowering her head and sniffing.

“Is that cocaine?” I questions, though part of me hoping they couldn’t be so stupid. Katie finished and nodded when she came up.

“Try some, Riley!” Nicki giggled yet again.

“I think I’ll stick to the drinks,” I held my glass up and smiled nervously. What had happened to my friends? This was the first time I had seen them in a while, really seen them. Nick, Katie, and Nicki’s eyes were sunken in. None of them looked like themselves. Dylan looked okay though, he still looked like himself. He mustn’t have gotten into it.

I sipped on my drink as Nick and Nicki snorted their lines. Dylan excused himself to the bathroom. I finished my drink and put the glass on the table. It was oddly quiet, none of them were talking.

“Here, Riley,” Nick said picking my glass off the table. “I’ll get you another.” I was going to protest but he was already half way to the house. I sighed and sat back. Katie and Nicki still were quiet and Dylan was still in the bathroom. I found myself questioning why I’d come tonight. I wasn’t going to do any hard drugs, not even if not doing them would jeopardize my friendship with these people. I wasn’t that kind of person. Nick came back out with my drink a few minutes later and I took a sip. It felt rude to leave and I’d had two drinks so I figured I’d stay for an hour until the effects wore off.

At least that’s what I thought I was going to do. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a brightly lit room, beeping all around me, some kind of breathing tubes in my nose. I realized I was in a hospital bed after I blinked a few times to help the blurry vision. I noticed my mom on the chair watching television, her leg shaking.

“Mom?” I spoke, my voice raspy and weak.

“Oh Riley!” She looked over at me relieved. “Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? I should tell the nurse that you’re finally awake.”

She ran out of the room to go fetch a nurse. I realized I had a slight headache and stomachache. My mom returned a few moments later though no nurse was by her side.

“What happened? How did I get here?” I put my hand on my head. “Are Nicki, Katie, and Nick alright?”

“They’ll be going to rehab dear,” She sighed. “Which is what I’d be doing with you if you had cocaine in your system. Apparently, one of your ‘friends’” She used air quotes. “drugged your drink which made them give you shot after shot and caused you to get alcohol poisoning and passed out. At least that’s what the police and ambulance crews think. Katie’s mom found you passed out on the couch, all blue, barely breathing. You’ve been out in the hospital for twelve hours now. Nicki, Katie, Nick, and Dylan were nowhere to be found.”

“I knew I should have left the party as soon as Katie pulled out the baggie,” I sighed. “I guess I’m in trouble, huh?”

She had her arms crossed, then sighed and relaxed. “You’re not in trouble. You didn’t do the cocaine you just got really drunk which I can forgive since you’re alive. But, you’re not allowed to see any of them ever again, which should be an easy transition since you go back to Kloss soon.” I nodded as she finished. “You’ll probably be starting late though since the doctors want to keep you here until you can keep more food down without throwing up since your stomach is weaker and even after you get out, you and I will be going to the Hampton’s house so that you can get your strength back up. You’ll be missing at least two weeks, am I clear?”

“Yes you are and you don’t have to worry about me seeing any of them anymore, I don’t want anything to do with any of them.” She smiled slightly and kissed my head.

My dad came up a little bit later. The nurse soon brought in some lunch, a ham and cheese sandwhich and a cup of ice water with a bit of pudding for dessert. I guess they wanted something that would be gentle on my stomach. Brittany had decided to stay home; she has a fear of hospitals, though I can’t blame her. They smelled like sickness. Braden, my brother, didn’t come either. I could probably count on one hand how many times I had seen him this summer. He was always either out with his friends or sleeping off a hangover, maybe playing video games in his room. I’d only ever see him when he was saying good bye and heading out the door.

My parents stayed for a little bit, though my dad kept taking business calls and going outside for at least a half an hour at a time. My mom was quiet but kept helping me with things I needed, saying things every once in a while. When visiting hours were over, they both kissed my head and said goodbye and my mom promised to be back first thing in the morning; my dad had work to deal with. I fell asleep soon after they left, trying to get comfortable in the hospital bed.