I had my first alcoholic drink when I was in my early 20s. Prior to that, I had led a nearly perfect life. I was obedient and studious. I did everything to make my parents proud and they were, indeed, proud of me. In fact, they were so hopeful about my future that they opted to take me to a private university even though I had been called to a public university. I managed to stay out of trouble for the first few years but in my third year, I met someone who changed my life forever. From there, things went spiralling downwards and I ended up in rehab for alcohol addiction.
I had just resumed classes after a long holiday break from school. My plan was the same as always – bury my head in books until the end of the semester. Coming from the library, I ran into a group of people I didn’t think anything of. They looked like any other group of friends. However, I noticed that they stopped talking and looked at me when I walked by.
“Hi,” one of the guys said.
“Hi.” I answered back and walked past them.
He ran to me and tried to get me to stop walking but I was in a rush so I didn’t.
“Where are you going?” He asked once he caught up to me.
“To my hostel.”
“Can I walk you there?”
“Okay.”
“What’s your name?”
“Violet.”
“Wow. That’s a pretty name. It matches you perfectly.”
“Thanks. What’s yours?”
He looked offended when I asked him who he was. I later came to learn it was because he was part of the popular group in school and assumed everyone knew him.
“I’m Will.” He finally said.
“Nice to meet you.”
He talked the whole time as we walked to the hostel. By the time we got there, he had convinced me to drop my bag, take a shower and meet him outside. I completely forgot that I was supposed to finish up my assignment. I got to my room where I found my roommate also getting ready to head out.
“Where are you going?” I asked her.
“To meet my boyfriend.”
“I also want to head out so carry your keys.”
“What?” She asked, then laughed thinking I was joking.
“Yeah, I’m going out with a friend.”
“I want to meet this friend because I’ve been trying to make you go out with me for years and you always refuse.”
She headed out and I went to take a shower. After nearly an hour, I came out to find Will still waiting for me. He was seated on one of the benches in the compound watching people walk by.
“I’m ready,” I said to him which drew his attention to me.
“You look great.” He said with a smile.
I don’t know what it was but he made me feel giddy. From the moment he greeted me, everything that he said made me smile.
We walked back to school but turned to head to an entertainment spot where students went to unwind and play games. I had passed that place a thousand times but I didn’t know what it looked like inside. It was like I was in a different world. Everyone was having a good time. It took me a minute to take everything in.
As I was still trying to figure out what was going on, Will came back with two drinks in hand. I didn’t know what it was but didn’t want to ask so I wouldn’t seem like a village person. He handed me one bottle which I took a huge sip of thinking it was soda. It wasn’t. It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever drank. Finally, I asked him what it was.
“What’s this?” I asked disgustingly.
“It’s beer.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Have you ever drank beer?”
“I’ve never drunk any alcohol. Is this what the hype is all about?”
He thought I was lying but after I insisted, he believed me.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Let me bring you something else.”
I didn’t want to drink alcohol but I thought that it wasn’t a big deal to try it once. Who knew that once was enough to get me hooked?
Will came back with two shots of vodka and a bottle of coke on the side. By the end of the night, I could barely stand up by myself. He borrowed his friend’s car and dropped me at my hostel where my roommate came to pick me up and take me to my bed.
The following day, I woke up with a throbbing headache. My roommate didn’t waste time filling me in on what had happened. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. It didn’t sound like me.
“You were refusing to go in the hostel and wanted to take your top off.” She said while laughing. “Your boyfriend is really nice. Most guys wouldn’t be bothered to take their drunk girlfriend home.”
I tried to get up and get ready for class but I didn’t have the strength to even take a few steps. My roommate brought me breakfast and a painkiller for the headache. I went back to sleep as soon as I finished eating, then my roommate woke me up a few hours later.
“Your boyfriend is here.” She said excitedly.
I dragged myself out of bed and went to meet him.
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
“Just take a shower. You’ll feel better. We’re going out tonight. Do you want to come?”
A part of me wanted to say no but I couldn’t.
“Sure.”
“Okay. I’m coming to pick you up in an hour.”
That was the routine for the whole semester. I could count the times I had gone to class compared to the times I went clubbing. Funny enough, I still got straight A’s despite my poor class attendance.
Unfortunately, it only made me more confident that I could lead a party lifestyle and still excel in school which I did. I became a functioning alcoholic. However, by the end of my course, I was a shell of the person I used to be. I stopped going to class altogether and would spend the whole day drinking. I didn’t even want to eat, which made me lose weight drastically.
Things got so bad that I became unrecognizable. My grandmother didn’t know who I was when we went to visit her during the Christmas holidays.
My parents found out that I hadn’t been going to classes when I didn’t graduate with the rest of my classmates. I finally opened up to them about my alcohol addiction and they found a rehab where I could go to recover.
After three months, I came back home looking like my old self. I enrolled back in school and was determined to complete my studies. A week later, I bumped into Will. I tried to avoid him but he ran after me just like he did the first time we met.
“Where have you been?” He asked.
I was hesitant to tell him what had happened but I figured he would understand me since we had been together for a while. Additionally, Will had been very caring throughout our relationship so I thought I could be vulnerable with him and he would give me a shoulder to lean on.
“I was in rehab for alcohol addiction.”
Once again, he thought I was lying to him and I had to convince him. I showed him pictures of me in rehab.
“What? Who even goes to rehab?” He asked in a condescending tone.
It took me by surprise since it was so unlike him. However, I saw his true colours that day. He constantly made fun of me and soon enough, everyone knew that I had been in rehab. I felt like people were mocking me and talking behind my back.
However, the isolation helped me put all my focus on my studies and I managed to complete everything including my research paper within less than a year. I graduated the following year and erased my memories from that school from my mind.
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