I groaned as my alarm rang signalling that it was morning time. Last night was awful because I only slept for like 3 hours. All night memories of my mum flashes through my head and it made it difficult to sleep, at one point I even turned to watching some TV on my phone until I fell asleep. I switched my alarm off before dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I splashed some cold water onto my face in the hopes of waking myself up a bit. I brushed and controlled my wild hair before I braided it. I then had a quick was before slowly getting dressed into my school uniform. Looking at myself in the mirror, I approved of how I looked so I grabbed my bag and hoodie before making my way out to the kitchen where Miya was making breakfast.
"Morning" She chirps.
"Morning..." I mutter sleepily, taking a seat at the kitchen island.
"Bad night?" She asks, placing a glass of orange juice and a plate of toast in front of me.
"Yeah...thanks" I say, taking a bite of the toast. We sit chatting for a bit as I eat my breakfast and drink my juice before I look at the time.
"I best be off. Don't want to be late on my first day back" I say, throwing on my hoodie. I grab my headphones and mobile and sort out my music before grabbing my bag.
"I'll see you later" I say to Miya, who is now holding Rikki. I slip into my shoes and open the front door and Rikki waves at me. I wave back before starting the 10 or so minute walk to school. I blast some music as I make my way to school. I stop and stand just outside the gates, not knowing if I can actually come back to school especially soo soon. It's Wednesday today and my mum's funeral is a week from today. I remove my headphones and stand back as all the other pupils walk through the gates, making their way into the school. In the distance I can hear the bell ring, but I still stand still. I must have been standing there for 10 or so minutes when I see Mr Byrne walking up towards the gate.
"You coming in?" He asks softly.
"I'm debating it...I don't know if I actually can yet" I say, remaining where I am.
"You don't have to...but it might help being around your friends. Why don't you come in and sit with Janeece for a bit and then we'll get you into your first period?" Mr Byrne suggests. I hesitate before nodding my head. We slowly start to walk back into the school grounds and within 5 minutes, I'm sat in the are outside Mr Byrne's office, talking with Janeece. Soon enough the bell rings, signalling the start of first period but Mr Byrne lets me wait a few minutes, so I can avoid the crowds. When the corridors have calmed down, he walks me to my first lesson which I science with Mr Mead. When we get there, I go and sit down in between Josh and Finn whilst Mr Byrne talks to Mr Mead.
"You okay?" Finn asks, as I get out my pen and book.
"I guess..." I say weekly, giving him a small smile. We continue with the lesson, me not socialising much, before the bell rings, signalling our next lesson. I gather my things and leave the classroom as quickly as possible before making my way up to English as I don't really want to talk to anyone. I was the first one to arrive to English, so Tom lets me in straight away.
"You okay?" He asks, as I sit down at my desk. I nod my head and sit fiddling with my hands until everyone else arrives. When everyone else arrives, Tom gets on with the lesson. Keep my head down throughout the lesson and don't really pay much attention most of the time and sigh with relief when the lesson ends. When we get let out I'm the first one out of the classroom. I walk down the stairs only to be stopped by Josh, Finn and Lauren.
"JJ, are you sure you're okay?" Lauren asks, making me angry.
"I will be once everyone stops asking me that!" I shout, gaining the attention of everyone around us. My eyes become watery.
"What's going on?" Mr Clarkson asks, rushing down the stairs having heard someone yelling. I look at him and then at the others before running off. I hear them calling my name, but I ignore them and keep running. I run into the toilets and lock myself in a cubicle. I sit down and pull my knees to my chest and just cry. I hear someone come in and knock on the cubicle door.
"JJ, it's Lauren..." She says calmly.
"Leave me alone Lauren..." Sigh.
"JJ, please. Just open the door yeah?" She asks again.
"I said leave me alone!" I shout. I hear her leave and just cry even harder. I couldn't do this...I missed my mum soo much. I waited until I heard the bell go, signalling the end of break and waited a few extra minutes before getting up and grabbing my bag. I put my hoodie on before walking out of the toilets.
"JJ" Great...it was Mr Byrne.
"Where are you going?" He asks, stopping me.
"Anywhere but here...I can't do this...not today" I say, wiping my eyes.
"Why don't I call your foster parents or case worker, come have them pick you up?" He asks. I think for a second before nodding my head. I walk up to his office with him and sit outside as he goes to make the phone. Janeece goes off to do something and I see this as my perfect opportunity to leave. I run out of the office, down the stairs and out of the gates.

I keep walking until I reached the dodgy off license. You see this place sells to anyone, regardless if you have ID or not as long as you give them a little extra. I walked inside and grabbed a bottle of vodka. I payed for it before leaving. I walked to the one place I knew I'd get help if/when I needed it. I walked to the Clarkson residence and sit down on their front steps. Removing the bottle from my bag, I look down at it in my now shaky hands. I need a break, even it's only for a while. I take a shaky breath as I unscrew the lid and take a swig of the drink. By now, the tears are streaming down my face yet again. My phone keeps ringing and pinging alerting me that people are trying to call me or text me. I keep drinking the vodka and before I know it nearly half the bottle is gone and I'm quite relaxed. Tipsy if you like. My phones rings again, and this time I decide to answer it.
"Hello?" I say happily.
"JJ, it's Josh...where are you?" He asks concerned.
"I'm at yours silly" I say giggling. I hear him talk to someone before he talks to me again.
"JJ, stay there yeah? I'm on my way" He says.
"Okkiiiiieeee Dokeeeiii" I say, before he hangs up. I continue to drink the vodka in small sips, until I hear a car pull up. Both Josh and Tom come running over and someone snatches the bottle out of my hand.
"JJ..." Tom says sympathetically.
"Why?" He asks softly, pointing to the bottle.
"I needed to have a break" I sobbed, making them both look at me sympathetically.
"Let's get you inside" Tom said, as they both helped me up and inside. I could barely walk so they decided just to put me on the sofa. Tom handed me a glass of water and instructed I drank it before I was allowed to lay down. I gulped down the water before I layyed down on the sofa. Josh put a blanket over me and I vaguely remember Tom putting a bucket down on the floor before I fell asleep.

Time Skip to the Next Morning >>> (NO-ONE'S P.O.V:)
Tom was sat in the kitchen, completing some last-minute marking. It was still quite early as it was only 6am meaning Josh wouldn't be up for another half an hour at least. He spent last night helping JJ out who had gotten herself quite drunk and would imagine that this morning was going to be a rough one. He called JJ's foster family the night before, explaining that JJ had fallen asleep watching a film and he didn't mind her staying over – of course that was a lie, but he didn't want any trouble for JJ. He knew that she was grieving for her mother and this was just another mistake that she had made. It was only 10 minutes later when he heard movement from the living room. He looked out of the kitchen door to see JJ running up the stairs. A few seconds later he heard her emptying her stomach contents into the toilet. He put down his pen and made his way upstairs to the bathroom. When he arrived, he found JJ curled up on the floor, holding onto the toilet.
"JJ..." He said quietly, but before she could reply, she was at it again. With his fatherly instincts kicking in, he slid down onto his knees and held JJ's hair back as she continued to throw up. He gently rubbed her back. He knew that right now was not the time to lecture the poor girl as the hangover itself would be enough for now. After 5 minutes, JJ was done. Tom managed to coax her up off the floor and handed her some mouth wash, so she could clean her mouth out before he walked her downstairs to the kitchen. No words were said as he made 2 cups of coffee. He handed one to JJ who was sat, slumped over at the table and kept one himself. Without saying anything, he left to make sure that Josh was getting up before he made his way back down to JJ. He stood opposite her, leaning against the counter.
"You okay?" He asked softly. JJ nodded her head slightly as she took a sip from her coffee.
"You going to get ready for school or do you want me top drop you off at home?" He asked, making JJ look up worried.
"Don't worry, I called and covered for you last night." He said.
"Thank you" JJ said sincerely. Josh soon joined the pair in the kitchen and made himself some breakfast to which JJ rushed back upstairs to be sick again. Tom followed her up to make sure she was okay. Tom then decided that JJ could not go to school so he got ready and made sure Josh was ready before they all got into the car and headed to JJ's foster home. When they arrived, Tom walked JJ in and explained to Miya that JJ was not well, yet again covering for the fact that she was severely hungover. Both JJ and Miya thanked Tom before he left. JJ spoke to Miya for a few minutes before curling up in bed where she spent most of the day, fast asleep.