Insomnia
— Five years later —
“Ms. Keyrouz! Ms. Keyrouz! Liandra Keyrouz, wake up this instant!”There was a loud bang on her desk and suddenly Liandra was very awake. Her teacher, Mrs. Waulker, didn’t look very happy though.
Mrs. Waulker: “We are about to take a test. I imagine you’d like to join us?”Liandra wiped the spittle from her lower lip and nodded.
Liandra: “Yes, yes. Sorry about that.”
Mrs. Waulker: “Quite. Just make sure to get your recommended allotment of sleep before you enter my class. Now sit up and prepare yourself.”As always, sleep was the issue, as it had been these last five years, only now it was worse. She couldn’t go a night without being assaulted with feelings and vague images that she didn’t understand, that physically hurt her every time she fell asleep. Because of it, she had taken to avoiding sleep any way she could. She blazed through the test and turned her paper in early, getting a suspicious look from Mrs. Waulker. She asked the teacher for permission to use the bathroom and was excused.
She walked the halls looking for her favorite restroom, all the way past the restrooms closest to her class and up to the third floor. She skipped the girls’ toilets and went right into the guys’. There were two boys in here, smoking near the windows, but she only needed to talk to the shorter one.
Liandra: “Curtiss, how are ya?” she asked in a boisterous voice, with an English accent that snuck into her after all these years in London. Her volume made the short stocky lad nervous.
Curtiss: “Keep it down, will ya?”He rubbed his short dark hair and forehead out of habit.
Liandra: “Sorry, it’s just good ta see ya, bloke. Mind if I get a fag too?”
Curtiss: “Yeah, sure. It’s on the house.”He handed her a cigarette, butt first, and lit it after she stuck it in her mouth. She puffed it a few times and exhaled the smoke towards the window.
Liandra: “Thanks, bloke. I have money by the way.”He shook his head.
Curtiss: “And I have product, but you’re going to be right red.”
Liandra: “Don’ say that! I need this stuff, mate!”She was in his face now.
Curtiss: “Shhh! Keep your voice down. I’ll give ya what I got, but it’s not a lot. Reduced price too.”She knew she didn’t have a lot of options, so she took the three amphetamine capsules and paid Curtiss his reduced fee.
Liandra: “These are dexies, right?”
Curtiss: “Yeah, should help you study and stuff.”
Liandra: “Any clue when you might get more?”
Curtiss: “Don’t know, probably not soon though.”She puffed most of her disappointment out of the cigarette and gave the rest to the other boy near the window. She exhaled and walked back to class.
On her way back she began to strategize how she would ration the dexies. They were the only thing keeping her horrid night terrors at bay, and with only three pills to ration for who knew how long, she needed to figure out other ways to stay awake. Her chances were low. Caffeine only gave her a small buzz of energy, certainly not enough to last a full night.
She’d have to pick the nights to encounter her night terrors.
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