Whiskey, bollocks and the aftermath

Thanksgiving week is the only time of the year when an international student catches a break in a foreign university. The vacation is perfectly positioned between the last day of classes and final exams and spans ten days. Auburn University is no exception to this, offering the students a week and a half of winter solace. 

A red-haired, nineteen-year-old Indian woman was sitting on the roadside snuggled in a zebra-print blanket. She was struggling to keep the cigarette in her hand lit long enough so she could use it to light another without having to use a lighter. It was so cold that taking your hands out of your jacket would give you frostbite -- frigid. Since it was the first day of the Thanksgiving break, the streets were empty. Auburn is a small college town in Alabama, USA. During Thanksgiving break, the locals are busy sourcing Turkeys and arranging rides to the airports, while college kids from out of town go home, leaving foreign students smoking cigarettes on roadside nestled in their comforters. Left alone, they binge-watch the shows they missed out on during the semester before they realize there’s not enough time to prepare for the finals. 

She had caught up with everything she had missed over the semester with her roommate. Her roommate was a four years older, hotter, Indian-origin Singaporean woman with the confidence of a Bengal tiger. She would often put on an American accent while talking to people to blend in. The bars were empty during Thanksgiving break, but not closed. This seemed to present a perfect opportunity for some alone-time. They had both been wallowing over their breakups. Well, one broke up and the other got rejected by her long term crush. They decided to break the monotony by visiting the bar to reminisce their last time there. 

 “I can’t believe you almost got deported the last time we were here”, Jade groaned. “And I can’t believe you got hospitalized for alcohol poisoning on the same night!” exclaimed Rumi. The last time they had visited Skybar was a couple of days ago, the last day of class in the fall semester. They were exhausted and excited since the final day of the class meant everyone was going to be at the bar -- even their crushes. Rumi had just been dumped and needed to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. Jade wanted to impress her crush one last time, after all, it had been five years already!

The Indian chick, Rumi, put on a black Kim Kardashian dress while the Singaporean Jade wore a white and blue skater dress. They looked pretty enough for the bouncers to waive off their five-dollar entry fee. Skybar was at maximum capacity by 11pm. It was a part club, part rusty country bar catering to a diverse audience. Electronic music blasted on one end and live country music on the other. It sure was the perfect blend of whiskey and ice. Rumi and Jade scouted the floor and chose a well-lit corner to begin their party. Rumi was an ambivert while Jade was an introvert, both equally socially awkward. Jade was a miniature version of a human, reduced perfectly by 30% in all directions. The night progressed and things got hazy. They drank enough, they drank a lot. When the DJ played Justin Bieber, they cringed and danced their way off. Jade went on a side quest to impress her crush while Rumi found a cool guy who hated the same things as her. The latter couple slow-danced and kissed. After sharing numbers, he went to grab a drink for the two of them which is when his boyfriend showed up. As Rumi’s night was turning into a flop show, Jade had tried to kiss her crush who unfortunately hadn’t kissed her back. He had made a face at her. 

The roommates joined forces to wallow in pity together. They were bought drinks by a couple of gentlemen which they accepted -- what was there to lose? The men had a similar plight and were pleasant. Rumi went to get shots for everyone. One of the guys accompanied her. “Four shots of Fireball, please,” Rumi requested the bartender. “Make it eight!” screeched Jade. “Four more shots of Fireball, please.” As Rumi went to get the extra shots, she instructed Jade to not drink hers before she returned. In the time it took Rumi to get the shots, Jade had drunk two Fireballs. Upon her return, she saw Jade passed out on the table while the guy looked horrified. They all decided to carry her out of the bar and the men decided to help them get home. Rumi had major trust issues and chose not to take their help but asked the bouncers for help, instead. It took five people to carry Jade out of the bar. Jade was drunk out of her mind and couldn’t stand on her own. Rumi carried her halfway home before they chose to sit on a bench to rest for a bit. Jade was gaining consciousness and was muttering how she wanted to go back to the bar that she had just been thrown out of. An American sorority girl was puking next to them who had also chosen to take some rest on the bench. She noticed how Jade was being held against her wish to streak the streets and called the cops on Rumi. Being legally underage, Rumi ran home. She would have been deported for underaged drinking. She waited ten minutes before she ran back to the bench to get Jade. The bench was empty, the road was empty and both Jade and the other girl were gone. Rumi looked around, asked people before she informed her friends about Jade’s condition and sudden disappearance. 

On her way to her apartment, Rumi met a group of eight American men who were trying to throw their shoes over the electricity transmission lines. “Do you know where my roommate is?” The men looked at Rumi quizzically. The question made no sense. “Have you guys seen a 5-foot skinny brown girl with an American accent and puke on her clothes?” They looked at each other again before they unanimously said “no.” “Have you guys ever smoked weed?” a unanimous “yes” followed. “Do you have some?” 

“Yes!” Rumi’s eyes widened and the leader of their pack said, “follow us”.  Rumi followed the guys, excited to try drugs with strangers. One more thing to cross off her bucket list. The leader was trying to set her up with a freshman who had been ogling her the entire time. He told her she was safe with them and she was, she did feel safe with them other than the creepy freshman trying to jump her pants. He handed her a bong, she was holding a bong! ‘This is just like in the movies’ Rumi’s subconscious was giddy. She inhaled a small puff before she coughed her way to oblivion. She saw stars and faces that were outlined with a red marker. Her subconscious was in a DeLorean with Doc Brown zapping back to the future. She was startled by a phone call from one of Jade’s friends, which is when she recalled she was on a mission -- she was looking for her drunk roommate who was lost. She picked up the phone and got a scolding. When she told them her whereabouts they feared the worst and rushed to pick her up. She looked around and noticed other than the leader of the pack, everyone was stoned. Rumi thanked her newfound friends for being her drug enablers and promised to come to visit them sometime soon, preferably sober. They forced the freshman to go drop her off. She scared him away by telling him how her friends might beat him up because Indians are crazy. She fed him lies and he scurried back to his friend’s house. While on the phone coordinating with her friends, Rumi passed their car thrice before they got out and dragged her inside. ‘These red taillights are... awesome!’ Her subconscious was having the best time of her life. ‘Weed is nice.’

Rumi was dropped home where she waited for her roommate. They had tracked Jade down to the East Alabama Hospital. She was admitted in an emergency for alcohol poisoning. Rumi had never heard of it. She was blamed for the mishap. After all, she had been drinking since she turned sixteen and it had been a non-issue. She dozed off on the couch worrying for her roommate and enjoying the remnants of the weed high. 

Auburn had turned into a ghost town by the morning. Rumi woke up with red eyes and no hangover, it was fascinating. ‘Weed is magical’ exclaimed Rumi’s subconscious. She got herself a cup of water before she noticed a bag next to her shoes. Upon inspection, she found out it was an East Alabama Hospital patient bag. Patient no. EAH19860. Patient name: Jade Stilinksi, Age 23 was scribbled on the bag in hurried handwriting. She opened the bag and saw Jade’s favourite dress was puke stained. She winced and closed the bag immediately. But it meant Jade was in the house!

Rumi rushed upstairs to her bedroom in their duplex apartment and found Jade in an EAH gown. She looked frail. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault” Rumi apologized to Jade for ditching her and running away. Jade was miffed but empathized with Rumi. Jade filled Rumi in on her adventure. How she was picked up by an ambulance and taken to the emergency as she had alcohol poisoning. Rumi teased Jade how she had destroyed her favourite dress. “How did they find you?” “I was too drunk to make sense of it, but I knew his number and I was muttering it under my breath” “Whose number?” “My crush’s phone number” Jade expressed how embarrassing the night had been for her to be found in a pool of her puke by the crush who had rejected her a couple of hours ago. They sat in the sun and Rumi made them some tea. “What did you do?” Jade asked Rumi. “Okay, so there is this car that runs on water... it runs on water man! Also, I smoked weed.”

That fateful incident had taken place three nights ago. The tremors of their collapsed awkwardness acted as a basis of a newfound friendship. The roommates sat beside each other in the same empty bar, now cheering to the time they could have been raped, murdered or definitely overdosed on alcohol. They weren’t just roommates anymore. They were family.