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Authors: Chrissie Manby
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Izzy texted her parents, she finally got a text from Jessica. Jessica said that she and the other girls were going to watch Creepers on the main stage and Izzy should meet them there.
‘Is that from Jess?’ Saul asked when Izzy got the text.
‘Yeah.’
‘Is she still in a mood?’
‘I think so. She says she’s going to watch Creepers.’
‘Are you going to meet her?’
Izzy shrugged. ‘I don’t think so. I don’t really like Creepers,’ she added.
That was a lie. Izzy loved the band. She’d been looking forward to seeing them enormously. But earlier that day, she’d heard Saul say he thought they were derivative , the kind of band you got into if you weren’t old enough to know what was really good. She didn’t want Saul to think she didn’t know good music when she heard it. So she was going to miss a live show by her heroes.
‘I’d rather stay here and listen to the didgeridoo,’ she claimed.
A man three tents down had been playing the didgeridoo non-stop for what seemed like hours. Just two notes. Over and over and over. He could only have found that kind of stamina on drugs. Izzy secretly wished he would shut up but Saul claimed that the noise of the ancient instrument connected with the human soul at its very deepest level. He insisted that Izzy lie on the ground and feel the spiritual vibrations.
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I totally get what you mean.’
Really she just felt dizzy from all the cider and the weed.
Saul had been waiting for the right moment to take a tablet. There was no point taking one when you were in the wrong mood, he explained. The reason why people had bad experiences with drugs wasn’t because of the drugs but because of their own brain chemistry. If you were in a bad place to begin with, then the drugs could only take you to a worse one. If you were in a good place, however, you’d have the time of your life. And, as they listened to the didgeridoo, Saul said he was now getting towards that good place. Arguing with Jessica had put him into a bad mood but having talked to Izzy he was feeling much better. Together with the ancient rhythms of Australia, she had brought him back to that buzzed state he spent most of his life trying to achieve.
Izzy was flattered.
Saul dug in his jacket pocket for the little plastic bag.
‘So are you going to have one?’ he asked, as he shook some pills out. He held his hand out towards her. There were two tablets in his palm. Izzy stared at them. If she was honest, she had rather hoped this moment wouldn’t come.
‘Perhaps I could take half?’ Izzy suggested.
‘No, you don’t want to do that,’ Saul told her. ‘If you only take half, you can end up having a really bad time.’
‘Really?’ Izzy wasn’t sure how that made sense but Saul certainly had more experience of ecstasy than she did. She took him at his word. Still she hesitated. She started to say ‘I don’t know …’
‘I’ll be with you the whole time,’ he said. ‘I’ll look after you.’
Then Saul got a text from Jessica: Since you can’t be arsed to come and find me, you can consider us over , it said. And tell Izzy-Wizzy she can fuck off too.
Saul gave a bark of a laugh and showed Izzy the text.
Fuck off? Izzy-Wizzy? Izzy would ordinarily have been mortified to get a text like that from her friend, but in the gathering dark, buzzing from the booze and the marijuana, with Saul beside her, she instead saw it as a crack in the door to a different life. Saul was single now. She was single too. Jessica wasn’t talking to her. She might as well have some real fun.
‘I’ll take one,’ she said, delicately picking one of the two tablets out of Saul’s hand. Saul smiled. Izzy popped the pill straight into her mouth.
Chapter Sixteen
Annabel
Annabel and Richard had let their guards down. They had allowed themselves to believe that on the basis of Izzy’s first successful night away from home in a tent, her second would be equally uneventful. There
‘Is that from Jess?’ Saul asked when Izzy got the text.
‘Yeah.’
‘Is she still in a mood?’
‘I think so. She says she’s going to watch Creepers.’
‘Are you going to meet her?’
Izzy shrugged. ‘I don’t think so. I don’t really like Creepers,’ she added.
That was a lie. Izzy loved the band. She’d been looking forward to seeing them enormously. But earlier that day, she’d heard Saul say he thought they were derivative , the kind of band you got into if you weren’t old enough to know what was really good. She didn’t want Saul to think she didn’t know good music when she heard it. So she was going to miss a live show by her heroes.
‘I’d rather stay here and listen to the didgeridoo,’ she claimed.
A man three tents down had been playing the didgeridoo non-stop for what seemed like hours. Just two notes. Over and over and over. He could only have found that kind of stamina on drugs. Izzy secretly wished he would shut up but Saul claimed that the noise of the ancient instrument connected with the human soul at its very deepest level. He insisted that Izzy lie on the ground and feel the spiritual vibrations.
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I totally get what you mean.’
Really she just felt dizzy from all the cider and the weed.
Saul had been waiting for the right moment to take a tablet. There was no point taking one when you were in the wrong mood, he explained. The reason why people had bad experiences with drugs wasn’t because of the drugs but because of their own brain chemistry. If you were in a bad place to begin with, then the drugs could only take you to a worse one. If you were in a good place, however, you’d have the time of your life. And, as they listened to the didgeridoo, Saul said he was now getting towards that good place. Arguing with Jessica had put him into a bad mood but having talked to Izzy he was feeling much better. Together with the ancient rhythms of Australia, she had brought him back to that buzzed state he spent most of his life trying to achieve.
Izzy was flattered.
Saul dug in his jacket pocket for the little plastic bag.
‘So are you going to have one?’ he asked, as he shook some pills out. He held his hand out towards her. There were two tablets in his palm. Izzy stared at them. If she was honest, she had rather hoped this moment wouldn’t come.
‘Perhaps I could take half?’ Izzy suggested.
‘No, you don’t want to do that,’ Saul told her. ‘If you only take half, you can end up having a really bad time.’
‘Really?’ Izzy wasn’t sure how that made sense but Saul certainly had more experience of ecstasy than she did. She took him at his word. Still she hesitated. She started to say ‘I don’t know …’
‘I’ll be with you the whole time,’ he said. ‘I’ll look after you.’
Then Saul got a text from Jessica: Since you can’t be arsed to come and find me, you can consider us over , it said. And tell Izzy-Wizzy she can fuck off too.
Saul gave a bark of a laugh and showed Izzy the text.
Fuck off? Izzy-Wizzy? Izzy would ordinarily have been mortified to get a text like that from her friend, but in the gathering dark, buzzing from the booze and the marijuana, with Saul beside her, she instead saw it as a crack in the door to a different life. Saul was single now. She was single too. Jessica wasn’t talking to her. She might as well have some real fun.
‘I’ll take one,’ she said, delicately picking one of the two tablets out of Saul’s hand. Saul smiled. Izzy popped the pill straight into her mouth.
Chapter Sixteen
Annabel
Annabel and Richard had let their guards down. They had allowed themselves to believe that on the basis of Izzy’s first successful night away from home in a tent, her second would be equally uneventful. There
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