Herophine - Short Stories

Exchange Student

It's Friday which means one thing for me and the lads, drinks, drinks and more drinks. It has become our weekend ritual, Friday hits and we let loose. Normally congregating at one of our houses, seeing in the early hours if the morning together. The hangovers are lame but the nights make up for that.

Felix and I are at the store picking up a selection of booze to take to Jack's. I opt for my usual E & J, along with two bottles of Coca-Cola. Felix is being indecisive, running along the shelves with his eyes but eventually lands on a bottle of Ciroc.

'Thank fuck, I was staring to grow facial hair with the amount of time you took you dickhead' I tease but he just barges past me and up to the counter placing his items along side mine. I lost a game of Fifa so I have to pay.

'Do you have any ID sir?' the guy behind the counter asks and I laugh loudly pulling out my passport. I'm 21 but get this crap anywhere I go. Maybe I should let my facial hair grow in. Might help me with this this repetitive shite. Felix looks amused but keeps his mouth shut as the guy examines it and nods handing it back. After I pay and grab the bag I storm out, I'm sure he checked last weekend, fool.

'Bro, that was tight. I thought we was gonna end up sipoing lemonade' he goades.

'Fuck off man. That dick knows I'm 21. He checks me every damn week. Clearly has it in for me' I say whilst trying to forget about him and his clear obsession with checking my passport.

When we get to Jack's I hear the music through the front door, I go first and Felix follows behind. This is the norm for us, the usual faces sat in the usual spots around the kitchen. I enjoy these nights, my guys and I have been friends most of my life but sometimes, it gets abit old. Same routine, same games, same headache the next day. I pour a drink and greet everyone, taking my spot at the table.

'So Bro's quick fire round, loser downs his drink' Morgz announces as passing out the cards to each of us. The game goes quick, most of us down our drinks and the refills. I'm slightly buzzing now and feel better about the night to come. I hang off this next round and choose to scroll Instagram to catch up on what's happening. As I look through the uploads I spot my friend Tully with some random girl. Said random girl catches my attention straight away, she has the straightest teeth and big blue eyes, I stare over the image and caption.

My Aussie Exchange for the week!

Aussie Exhange? Like an exchange Student maybe? I mull it over, deciding that shit is wierd. What parent sends there kid across the country to a stranger willingly. Life isn't always kind and that seems pretty fucking stupid to me, especially these days. I laugh at my morbid reality, growing up in London has been great when it comes to understanding dangers and the shit people do day to day. I have good life experience growing up here, some of which has saved my life a few times. I hit the heart icon, I don't normally but I want to know more about this situation. Tilly is sure to be interested in my like. She is so nosey, not annoying as such but very intrusive. We call her Tilly Tell All because you don't get to have any secrets around her. As if by magic I get a message seconds after hitting it.

✉️ Tills - 🤔

I laugh not really sure what to reply but before I get chance the guys start moaning at me for being unsociable so I lay the phone down and rejoin the immature game. Several hours later we are all pissed, dancing around like twats whilst others are mid Fife game. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I struggle to read the text, deciding to squint to help my blurry vision.

✉️ Tills - Bored, need to party! Show my new friend London. Where's hot?

I shake my head, we don't normally message much and if we do it's not to hang out together. She is a friend of a friend that we went to school with but she made an impact on one of the lads and never really went away after that. Jack walks into the kitchen and I hold the phone to his face, a smirk spreading across it as he reads the text.