Clubland

By Tara Jenkinson

It was after four thirty in the morning, but Clubland was far from announcing last call. 

Clubland is the hottest club in town.

And as a member of the club's inner clique, eighteen year old Lexie Perkins' life is a never ending party. With a fun group of friends, an internship at her dream job and a gorgeous boy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tara Jenkinson
• Release date: Jan 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780648709213

Book preview

CLUBLAND

A // YOUNG ADULT // NOVEL

TARA JENKINSON

Copyright © 2019 by Tara Jenkinson

First published 2020

IngramSpark

The right of Tara Jenkinson to be recognised as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act (1968).

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, locations and events are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons (living or dead), locations or events is purely coincidental.

ISBN 978-0-6487092-1-3

For Diana, Emma, Lisa, Sara and Amy,

who showed me the true meaning of friendship

And for Scott,

who loved me when I wasn’t even likable

CHAPTER // ONE

It was after four thirty in the morning but Clubland was far from announcing last call.

The air was thick with sweat, stale cigarette smoke and the sugary scent of alcohol. Small beads of sweat glistened like emeralds and diamonds beneath the strobe lights that bounced off the oversize disco ball. The deafening doof doof doof of techno music pulsated through the ground.

At the edge of the dance floor, Lexie Perkins and Ashley Jones were trying to catch a glimpse of the faces among the writhing crowd.

‘Where the fuck is she?’ Ashley yelled over the music. ‘The others are fucking waiting for us!’

A pretty eighteen-year-old with chocolate coloured hair, pale skin and a smile that reached her eyes, Lexie plucked the lollipop from her mouth and pointed into the broken darkness. ‘I can see her, she’s coming.’

Tegan Parker pushed her way across the dance floor and bounced up the steps to her friends; she was sweaty, smiling and not the least bit sorry to keep them waiting. ‘Ready?’ 

Outside the club, the crisp summer night air hit them like a bucket of ice water, but the city was buzzing with the same restless energy as the dancefloor. Thousands of partygoers spilled out of darkened pubs and neon clubs onto the streets. All-night restaurants were crammed with drunks devouring greasy fries and burgers. On every other block there was a girl who’d had too much fun throwing up in the gutter or a guy not-so-sneakily urinating against the back wall of a pub while his mates kept watch for cops.

Lexie, Ashley and Tegan walked around Clubland to the parking lot, where a small group was waiting beside Lexie’s white hatchback.

‘Yay!’ Kent Lawrence cheered mockingly as the girls approached. ‘Look who finally decided to show up.’

‘As if you have anywhere better to be, loser.’ Tegan retorted playfully. With her long golden hair, low-cut tank top and layers of eyeliner, it was easy to forget that Tegan was only sixteen years old. 

‘Actually, I was talking to this promising young thing with a tongue stud -’

‘Can we go already?’ said Daria Delgado, who stood with her boyfriend Jake Davies and his cousin Pauly Michaels. ‘We’re going to miss it.’

‘Alright, alright, calm ya knickers babe,’ Tegan laughed as she sauntered towards the front passenger seat of Lexie’s car. ‘We’re going. And the last one there is a munted mofo!’

Exiting the carpark, the two cars headed west out of the city.

‘And how are you feeling, Kenny?’ Tegan twisted around in her seat to face Ashley and Kent in the backseat. ‘Ready to drop another one?’

Kent grinned manically, his hazel eyes dilated and as wide as a saucer. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small plastic baggie, cloudy with grey dust. Inside were four pills, round and fat, mint coloured. Kent upended the bag and two pills fell into the palm of his hand. As Tegan held out her hand to take one, Lexie was forced to slam on the brakes when the traffic light ahead turned from orange to red and Tegan dropped the pill into Kent’s lap.

‘For fuck’s sake, Lexie!’ Tegan screeched. ‘Watch what you’re fucking doing!’ 

Lexie opened her mouth to retort, but she knew that whatever she said wouldn’t be worth the consequences. Gripping the steering wheel, she caught Ashley’s eye in the rear-view mirror; Ashley rolled her eyes. Lexie smirked.

Cruising along the deserted highway with the windows rolled down and the stereo blasting techno music, they arrived at City Beach in a record fifteen minutes. Lexie and Jake parked their cars side by side in an empty car park along the esplanade. The girls and Kent climbed out of Lexie’s hatchback and Daria, Jake and Pauly joined them. 

‘This was an awesome idea, Lex,’ Daria said as she sipped from her bottle of water. ‘We should do this every weekend!’

Mostly everyone chirped their agreement.

‘Yeah, totally,’ Tegan snorted as she lit a cigarette. ‘Does your hall pass allow that, Lex? Or do you need special permission directly from the gatekeeper?’

Despite the fresh ocean breeze, Lexie’s face burned to the tips of her ears. She ducked her head, hiding the tears that suddenly threatened to fall. The lapping of waves against the shore in the distance filled the awkward silence that had dissolved everyone’s excitement. Ashley, Pauly and Kent lit up cigarettes.

‘These Green Clovers are insane,’ Pauly said, finally breaking the silence. His jaw moved in almost unnatural directions, almost as if his mouth was trying to eat his face. ‘I double dropped about three hours ago and I’m off my face.’

‘No shit, I wish I’d had them last weekend,’ Kent munched on his gum. ‘The Purple Crowns I had were fucking smacky.’

Jake was the first to notice the junkie approaching them from the far end of the empty carpark. Wild-haired with hooded, bloodshot eyes, the man was mumbling under his breath as he stumbled towards them. The others noticed him and the conversation quickly came to a halt. Once he was only a few metres away from them, the junkie shuffled to a stop and slurred, ‘I’m not a rapist.’

Lexie and the other girls shared alarmed glances and instinctively moved closer to the boys.

‘Any of yer got a spare ciggie?’ The junkie continued, oblivious to their alarm.

Ashley, Tegan, Pauly and Kent quickly hid their cigarettes behind their backs. Everyone shook their heads.

‘Aw sheit,’ the junkie moaned. ‘Ijuswannadurrie, hey. Got any cash?’

Again, they all shook their heads. The junkie didn’t react, he just swayed on the spot where he stood and scratched at his face, staring blankly past them. The girls glanced warily at the boys; the boys watched the junkie and after a long moment, Jake and Pauly began to edge them away. The group half walked, half ran out of the carpark, through the sand dunes and towards the water.

‘Wow. Kiddies, say no to drugs.’ Kent chuckled once they were out of earshot.

‘Who the fuck goes up to random people and says shit like I’m not a rapist!’ Ashley exclaimed. ‘Like, cheers for the fucking nightmares, buddy!’

Lexie glanced over her shoulder and squealed, ‘OhmyGod, he’s following us!’

Everyone turned around. The junkie was stumbling along a few metres behind them, barely able to keep upright. Jake and Kent stopped to block his path.

‘Mate, you’re off your head, how about you call it a night, yeah?’ Jake said.

‘Got any cash bro?’ The junkie slurred, oblivious to what Jake had said. ‘I jus’ need a durry, hey.’

‘No cash and no smokes,’ Jake said slowly but forcefully. ‘Stop following us. You’re freaking the girls out.’

‘Aw sheit, sorry man,’ the junkie mumbled. ‘Didn’ wanna scare no one, just wanna durry. Sorry man. Fuckin’ hangin’ for a durry is all.’

‘None of us has any durries mate!’ Kent snapped. ‘So how about you fuck off elsewhere to look for one, before we send you elsewhere. Got it?’

The junkie finally seemed to comprehend. Mumbling under his breath, he staggered back towards the sand dunes and carpark. Jake, Pauly, and Kent joined the girls, who had stopped to wait for them.

‘Wow,’ Daria giggled as Jake draped his arm over her shoulders. ‘That was... interesting!’

‘Well, we did want to go on an adventure!’ Lexie laughed.

They continued walking until they found a spot close to the water where the sand was soft and the waves were quiet. A feathery navy-blue sky with wisps of pink and lilac licking at the horizon hung above them.

Seated between Daria and Ashley, Lexie scrolled through the text messages on her phone while she shared a joint with Daria that she’d salvaged from the glove box of her car. Lexie’s best friend had dark, doe-like eyes and luscious black hair that framed her exotic, tanned face. She indicated Lexie’s phone and whispered, ‘Troy?’

Lexie nodded. ‘I’m already dreading the fallout tomorrow.’

‘Didn’t he know you were coming out tonight?’

Lexie thought back to the argument she’d had with her boyfriend earlier that evening, before she’d left him to meet up with her friends at Clubland. It was the same argument they’d been having for weeks, ever since Troy had spotted the nightclub’s distinctive entry stamp on Lexie’s wrist one Sunday afternoon when she’d told him that she’d spent the previous night sick in bed.

He’d sat brooding on his bed with his arms crossed, watching Lexie get ready.

‘You need to trust me. I can look after myself,’ Lexie had said, careful not to make any sudden movements while applying her eyeliner.

‘I trust you… I just don’t trust that other shit,’ Troy had mumbled.

‘Yeah, he knew.’ Lexie sighed and passed the joint to Daria. ‘We’ve just been arguing so much lately, I don’t think we’re fighting over the same problem anymore…’

Daria sucked on the joint, holding the smoke in her throat for a few seconds before she exhaled. ‘Babe, it’s been two years. If he can’t move on, maybe you need to.’

Tegan’s voice cut across the salty air. ‘What are you bitches gossiping about over there?’

‘How shockingly defective Pauly is on the dance floor,’ Daria replied loud enough for the rest of the group to hear, causing everyone, including Pauly, to laugh.

‘Just because I’m gay, doesn’t mean I was born with moves like Beyoncé!’ Pauly said, mocking offense at Daria’s comment.

For the next hour, Lexie and her friends sat chatting, sharing cigarettes and bottles of water as they waited for the sun to spill its pink and orange dawn over the horizon. Kent, Tegan, Pauly, and Daria took their last pills.

As the sun peaked over the most distant edge of the water just before six thirty, they sat with dreamy, contented smiles; for those few moments, the line between Earth and Heaven blurred and they were cradled in a blanket of dawn sky, ocean smells and the solace of friendship.

***

Turning the key slowly, Lexie pushed down on the handle and eased the door open. She took three tentative steps into the house before realising that her efforts to remain stealthy were in vain; through the archway to her right, she could see that her parents were already seated at the dining table in their robes, drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper.

‘Oh. Um, hi.’

‘Good morning. Big night?’ Her dad, Ray, replied.

‘Yeah, sort of… I met up with the girls after I saw Troy.’ Lexie hoped that her voice sounded much, much slower than the heartbeat thudding in her ears. ‘We had drinks at Daria’s and ended up crashing there. I had to drop Tegan home, otherwise I would have been home earlier.’

‘Is Troy coming over for dinner tonight?’ Her mum, Kathy, asked as Lexie planted a kiss on her cheek.

‘Um, I don’t know, maybe. I’ll call and ask him. I’m just gonna hop into the shower.’ Lexie quickly kissed her father on the cheek before making a hasty escape to her bedroom.

The moment her door was shut, Lexie exhaled slowly; she hadn’t even realised she’d been holding her breath. But as soon as she closed that blue door with Ye Olde Worlde map poster on the back, the pressure seemed to drain out of her, like air escaping from a balloon. She didn’t have to answer to anyone or pretend to be the perfect daughter, the perfect friend, the perfect girlfriend, the perfect employee.

Dumping the contents of her backpack and handbag onto her bed, Lexie began methodically sorting through the mess.

***

Troy Fallon was sprawled face-down across his double bed, the quilt twisted around his lean frame and his eyes glued shut with sleep, when he was startled awake by his phone ringing. Scrambling to answer it, he pushed a few wrong buttons before hitting the correct one. ‘Mm… hello?’

‘Sorry babe, did I wake you?’ Lexie’s voice was cheerful but cautious.

‘Mm-hmm.’ Troy stretched lazily. ‘What time is it?’

‘Um, almost nine thirty.’

‘And you’re just getting home now?’ Troy’s blue-grey eyes sprung open. He checked the time on his phone.

‘No. I’ve been home for a while, but I didn’t want to call you so early.’

‘Oh.’ Troy fell back against his pillow. ‘Uh, did you have a good time?’

‘I did.’ He could hear her smiling through the phone.

‘Did you take anything?’

A pause, one second too long. ‘Yes. Just one pill.’

Just one pill. She said it so casually, like she’d only had one drink. Just one cocktail, just one pill, just one lobotomy.

‘You say it like it’s no big deal,’ Troy sighed and ran a hand over his dirty-blonde hair, which was cut close to the scalp.

‘Well, Tegan and the other girls have, like, three pills every weekend, sometimes five, so one isn’t so bad, really.’

‘Well fuck! That makes it alright then, doesn’t it?’

‘Don’t give me your attitude!’ Lexie’s angry whisper cracked. He could picture her tearing up on the other end of the phone. ‘I’ve been honest about everything; I’ve done everything you asked! What more do you fucking want from me?’

Troy didn’t reply.

‘Babe, you have nothing to worry about,’ Lexie’s voice was softer, almost pleading. ‘I’m home now, in one munted but safe piece. I had a good night with you, and a good night out with my friends... please don’t make me feel bad. Please.’

Troy still didn’t reply.

‘Go fuck yourself! I’m not in the mood to play your stupid fucking mind games!’

Beep beep beep...

Troy threw himself back onto his pillow and let out a long sigh. He redialled Lexie’s number, but the call went unanswered. He tried again, but the call rang out again. She’s either super pissed at me or she’s in the shower, he thought. Throwing the covers off and making his way to the bathroom, he decided that maybe it was best to wait for her to call him back.

That way, he wouldn’t somehow be the asshole.

***

The curtains were drawn in the lounge room of Jake and Pauly’s apartment. Jake and Pauly lounged across the two small leather sofas, blankly engrossed in a muted game of Call of Duty. Daria and Ashley were squeezed together on an oversized beanbag, sunglasses firmly on their faces as they took selfies on Daria’s phone. Holding the phone high, Daria pouted while Ashley poked her tongue out. The phone flashed and the photo appeared on the screen. The girls dissolved into laughter.

‘OhmyfuckingGod, look at my face!’ Ashley was cute and petite, almost elfin. With green eyes framed by burgundy hair cut into a chic bob and a long, straight nose, she barely looked her nineteen years; however, she could let forth a stream of obscenities that could stop even a seasoned bikie in his tracks. ‘I look like a fucking constipated ostrich! My neck is straining so much you can see the fucking veins!’

‘I like these sunglasses, though,’ Daria said as she studied the photo. ‘They make our faces look so skinny.’

‘The pills make our faces look skinny,’ Ashley said. ‘Delete it.’

Daria reluctantly obliged before continuing to scroll through photos from the previous evening. ‘Oh wow, Lexie’s eyes are huge in this one!’ She giggled. ‘Imagine what her parents would say if she walked through the door like that!’

Ashley laughed. ‘Her mum would fucking kill her!’

‘I love this one of all us girls,’ Daria continued ‘Even though Tegan looks majorly pissed off.’

Ashley looked at the photo. ‘That’s just her off-tap face,’ she said. ‘She always looks like