Blake's Academy ♣ 2

Blake's Academy ♣ 21

“And if I only could, Make a deal with God, And get him to swap our places....”2

***3

“Take those headphones out of your ears Blake,” Alexis yelled ripping them out of my ears: before I even had a chance to do so myself.4

I felt my ears ringing. The faint sound of music fading out my dreams. Dreams, I could not remember.5

Great. I had fallen asleep. 6

“You're just like your mother, do you know that? Both of you. If it's not sickness it's sleep deprivation. If I had of known I would have brought my own music to mellow out to.”7

One minute, one minute with my eyes closed as I listened the Placebo rock me me into a dull soporific state and I was out instantly. What a road trip. I was sure Alexis was thrilled.8

“Didn't you get much sleep last night?” he asked irritated, irrationally swerving onto the curb to dodge a car that was briskly heading out way.9

Sleep. The forbidden word in my language. Sleep was something I did to pass the time. Something that I did only when my body was near giving way. Sleep? Writer's didn't sleep.10

I shook my head, clinging to the door handle. My knuckles turning milk-white in an attempt to position myself safely: In preparation for an approaching crash.11

“No,” I squealed waiting for Alexis to drive away from the curb and back onto the safety of the road. This was sure not the way I had intended the road trip to be. Especially not with the new realization of Alexis' road rage.12

“I thought with all the excitement there was no point,” I said in my defense, loosening my grip on the door handle. My heart know racing faster than a filly at spring carnival. 13

Alexis turned to me. His expression of utter annoyance.14

“I thought we were past this stage,” he groaned.15

I thought I was past the “stage” as he called it too. I had tried nearly every technique to better my sleeping, but my mind remained the same. Active, passionate, a fuel that never wanted to be extinguished. Sleep was my enemy. 16

“I did too,” I responded, the only thing I could hear now being Alexis deep, heavy, breathing and Placebo on repeat.17

“And if I only could, Make a deal with God.”18

“Are you okay?” I asked, questioning my own life. Now more worried about making it into the car park of Blake's Academy let alone inside the complex. 19

Alexis nodded, gripping the steering wheel. His own wrinkled fingers, power white and twisted over the steering wheel. 20

I had only even seen him this close to madness on the easter holidays. When driving down the highway with Mrs. April, all the while her new born had been shrilling for a nappy change and her husband had been none better.21

It was just what I ordered. 22

More stress. More tension. More frustration.23

Though at least it had worked.24

I had, for a short time, been allowed to think about something other than surviving my first day at Blake's Academy and that was a savior in itself. Even if it had cost me my sanity, temporarily. 25

“Yes I'm fine” Alexis stated calmly. His eyes fixated on the road ahead. His eyes widened in amazement, peering out the windscreen to the campus shortly ahead of us.26

“Looks like we're here,” he shrilled, perking up. His frown rising, his whites glistening in the review mirror. 27

I looked through the windscreen. My own eyes widening in shock.28

“Are you sure?” I asked bewildered by the architectural beauty. It looked more like an estate than a campus. The kind that I would be lucky to see in a broacher, let alone this close.29

“There has to be some kind of mistake. There is no way I could afford to go to a place like this.”30

Alexis chuckled, pulling into the shopping mall sized car park. His finger pointing towards a college sign that answered my question.31

“Believe it Blake. We're here. This is Blake's Academy. There's no turning back now.”32

***
“And if I only could, keep running up that hill.”