She sits on the chair in front of her mirror and begins the process. First she takes her unwashed hair out of the messy bun she slept in. She puts it in a braid and begins her makeup. She quickly smears on her jet-black eyeliner and paints her lips with a pale glossy undertone. She’s done. She then slips her slim legs into a pair of high wasted leather pants and throws on an old nirvana tank top. The loud calls from her mother irritate her. “Frankie, come down and eat your dinner darling,” her mother insisted. Frankie reluctantly stumbled down the stairs.
“I’m going out mum”, Frankie snapped back.
“Well when will you be home darling?” asked her mother while slipping out of her $800 Prada shoes she wore to work.
“Whenever.” Frankie replied with sass.
Frankie headed out the door. She opened the gates that led out of her mansion and walked down the streets of east London; the most pretentious and wealthy area in London. As she walked on the cobblestone in her black boots, she put on her headphones and blasted Joy division.
“Guess your dreams always end.
They don’t rise up, just descend,
But I don’t care anymore,
I’ve lost the will to want more,
I’m not afraid not at all,
I watch them all as they fall,
But I remember when we were young,”
She sang these lyrics out loud, as though expressing how she felt. However, she wasn’t depressed, she just liked to listen to sad music. It made her feel free.

Frankie Bell was a happy 17-year-old kid, for the most part. With a loving family with tons of money how could she not be? She was extremely smart and intellectual. However she dressed like a grunge chick from the 80s, so to strangers on the street she looked like the average depressed kid, who listens to that crack infused music. As she approached the West End she saw a young girl in a short black skirt and a racy top with lace detailing. Her lips were smothered with bright red lipstick that was reminiscent of the color of a large fire truck. “Hey Rider!” Frankie called out while approaching her further.

Casey Riley is called Rider amongst her friends. She was given that nickname because of her promiscuous ways. She tends to “ride” many guys; many of them being years older than she is. Even her friends think she’s a slut, but they still love her. Rider comes from a wealthy family with tons of class, however she has no class at all.

Frankie and Rider walk down the streets of the West End until they reach Posh. Posh is a club where they and their friends go most weekends to dance, drink and just have fun. There they met up with their 4 friends Charlotte, Beau, Theo, and Blake.
“Who’s ready to have a good time?” Beau said outside the club.
“You bring the stuff this time, Beau?” asked Frankie.
“Yeah I got the tabs from that kid in my Chem class. I’m tired of swallowing the pills; thought it was time for a change.” replied Beau.

Beau Taylor is your average nice guy with tons of friends and an outgoing personality. Not the smartest kid, he often makes stupid decisions. Without the support from a caring family, Beau fell into the comfort of drugs and alcohol at a young age. He’s had an influence amongst his friends, introducing them to substances and pills.

As they entered the club, the sound of heavy bass banging through the speakers, and smell of glitter, a variety of expensive perfumes saturated on rich teens, and alcohol intoxicated their senses and danced in their vanes. Charlotte, Frankie, and Rider went to the lou to check their makeup. Charlotte, wearing a sequin skirt and chiffon white blouse, took a flask out of her Chanel bag. They drank out of the flask until it was finished. “Let’s go dance.” Charlotte slurred. They left the bathroom and met up with Beau, Theo, and Blake. They all began to dance to bass drops and the beats that the DJ creates with his giant music box. Charlotte makes her way to the bar where she re-fills her flask.

On the outside, Charlotte Birns looks like a nice and respectable young lady. She wears nice dresses and expensive heels making her look very classy and sweet, however she comes from a broken home. Once very close and secure, her family slowly began to fall apart when her father fell into the tragedy and catastrophe of alcoholism. He was a famous and successful music producer; making tons and tons of money to support his family’s needs and luxurious wants and desires. He is married to a sophisticated and somewhat stuck up woman. Charlotte’s mother has always put pressure on Charlotte to look her best and to be the best. Charlotte soon became fed up with her mother’s demands for her perfection. Their relationship gradually deteriorated. Charlotte’s shell depicts her as a well rounded, responsible, and goody good teenager, however the interior is troubled, dismayed, and haunted; provoking her to fall under the influences of drugs and alcohol.

As the music plays, their bodies closen. The elated feeling the music brings to their bodies eradicates all their unwanted thoughts, leaving them almost breathless on the dance floor. Beau opens Rider’s mouth and places a little paper square tab on her tongue, then places one on his. Theo, Frankie, Charlotte, and Blake all place these tabs on their tongues as well. They close their mouths and in a matter of seconds they escape their bodies. Jumping and swaying, they laugh and smile. They are stuck in a dazed trance of euphoric bliss. They see colors and shapes. Blues and greens, pinks and purples fill their pupils and allow them into another dimension. Things and objects in different forms tickle their minds, leaving them tranced and dazed. Their minds are on a magical ride that they can’t control. Theo goes outside to get some fresh air and to smoke a cigarette.

Theodore Sharpe is a big brawny guy with huge shoulders, intimidating stature, and a nice smile. Being the captain of the Rugby team, all the girls drool over his nice body and pretty face, but they cry because they know they can never have him. Theo is gay. He is very open about his homosexuality, and all of his friends are very accepting. Even his conservative Christian family has learned to accept him.

Theo goes back into the club. All the friends sit at a table in silence, lost in the music. They are trapped in an unreal trip, allowing them to feel infinite and insurmountable. They have tripped on acid before but this time it was different. They felt boundless; like they could do anything. With the pressures that come with being a teenager, and stresses of growing up, it felt good for them to just be free and not worry; to be fixed in a hypnotic state where everything is blissful and exciting. They are all experiencing a trip of their own. Seeing and feeling different things than one another, but at the same time feeling unified and oneness with each other.

Frankie’s trip is full of excitement and longing to find that peak of her high. She’s craving and yearning for something in the future; however she doesn’t yet know what it is. All she knows is that she has drive and ambition for something great. Theo’s trip consists of pure happiness and feeling of acceptance from all. He feels as though he finally belongs. All his feelings are intensified and strengthened. Rider’s trip is scary and riveting, but also raunchy and erotic. She sees gripping images of dark, crooked spiral staircases, and eerie passages leading nowhere. She’s aroused and stimulated. She feels stimulated and turned on by the music and the colors, but scared and chilled by the mysterious dark images. Charlotte’s trip is sheer and utter poison. However it’s good poison. It intoxicates her and fills her with jubilation and delight. Nothing can ruin her high. It is insuperable. Blake is affected by the trip in a different way than his friends. He is one with the music. He feels it in his brain and bones. He is the music. It runs through his veins as though it is the un-oxygenated blood ready to turn red once it’s exposed. His heart is the drumbeat and his body, the instrument. Beau’s trip is fun and total amusement. He plays with his thoughts and he creates images to see. He’s the leader of his trip. Although he may feel in control, he is out of control. Hearing colors and seeing sounds, his trip is unreal.

“I feel so alive!” screamed Rider. “Like I can do anything.,” she added again. “I’m numb!” called out Blake who was lying on the dance floor. Blake lied there in complete and utter ecstasy. He caressed the floor as though it was a soft blanket. His senses were intensified and he was intoxicated with the motion of the dancing teens and bright lights that filled the club. He took off his shoes and began to walk; hallucinating he was on a beach, feeling the sand between his toes. Blake jumped on to the DJ booth, still shoeless, and dove into the crowd as though it was the deep abyss of the ocean. The people caught him and threw him up into the air with the rhythm of the music. The crowd moved Blake back to the DJ booth. He jumped down and laid back down on the floor, pretending he was tanning in the hot sun on the beach.

Blake Barton is the short scrawny kid that everyone loves. He’s sweet and can make anyone laugh. Coming from one of the most affluent families in London, he doesn’t let it phase him. He wears worn out converse high tops, ripped jeans, and t-shirts. He rarely ever talks about his wealth and lives his life in moderation. His parents are exceedingly caring and supportive. Blake received a scholarship to go to Durham University; ranked as the 5th best university in all of the UK. His parents are extremely proud and rewarded him with a new car, however Blake isn’t sure if that’s where he would like to go, or if he even wants to go to university next year. He wants to move into his own apartment in the outskirts of London to work on his music and focus on improving and growing the skills and versatility of his band.

Beau, Charlotte, Theo, Frankie, and Rider join Blake on the floor. They lie there holding hands, engrossed and lost in the colorful lights that bounce of the walls of the club. They lay there for a while until Beau gets up and begins to cry. They all get up.
“What’s wrong Beau baby?” asked Rider.
“It’s just so beautiful, it makes me cry.” replied Beau.
“What’s so beautiful?” Charlotte asked while laughing.
“The lights. They’re so pretty.” replies Beau.
The friends laugh and grab each other’s hands and spin around and around and around staring at the beautiful lights. The wind blows in their faces allowing them to cool off.

As soon as the song changes, they drop each other’s hands. Frankie goes to the restroom to splash water on her face. She’s sweating and feels as though she needs a grip on reality. She loves the trip and the euphoric feeling it gives her, but she needed a break for a minute or two. The 5 other friends remained on the dance floor, enchanted and absorbed in the whole scene. All their cares and worries were swept away by the music and obliterated by the forceful beams of light ricocheting off their bodies onto the walls. Theo and Charlotte began to laugh of happiness. Their faces depicted the epitome of joy and rapture.

About an hour passed since Frankie went to the bathroom, and the others began to wonder where she had gone. They decided to leave the euphoria of the dance floor and go look for their friend. Beau, Theo, and Blake checked outside to see if she was just getting some air. They walked out into the cold air. The crisp wind kissed their faces, leaving them with rosy red cheeks. “She doesn’t seem to be out here. It’s too cold for her to be wandering in this weather anyway.” Theo said as he peered his head around the corner. They sauntered back into the club.

Charlotte went to check the bar while Rider went to check the bathroom. Rider reached the restroom. It was quiet and still. She saw the reminence of 4 lines of cocaine powder scattered on the bathroom sink. Her heart dropped and she heard the sound of heavy breathing coming from one of the stalls. Frankie was lying on the bathroom floor gasping for air. Her upper lip was covered with white coke powder. Her eyes were red and her mouth was dry and numb. She gasped for air, her eyes rolled back, her eyelids shut, and that was the end.
7 days later, no music, no lights, just 5 sad teenagers gathered around the shallow grave of their friend. The sad story is that they all realized that it was the substances they ingested that forever bind them together, rather than the substance of each of their inner beings and selves.