The Happening

By Rheya Leigh

Have you ever felt like life as a teenager was just too much? Obstacles and challenges thrown at you each and every way, like society was designed to be against you. In The Happening, Rheya Leigh recalls her exhilarating experiences as a young adult, the people she encountered, and the lessons learned. Filled to the brim with heartbreak, anguish and reconciliation, this novel touches upon the struggles that many young women have to overcome every single day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TDUB Publishing
• Release date: Aug 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223548997

Book preview

Foreword

My friend Yasir and I spent much of the summer of 2022 together. Warm nights smoking weed at the nearby train tracks, then strolling around the dark neighborhoods nearby. I always have a new story about my past, a tale that would encapsulate him from beginning to end. After telling him about my crazy experiences, he told me one night that he was always entertained and I should write a book. I had written books before, but nothing like this, nothing so personal that I took the darkest parts of my life and articulated them onto paper. I thought about what he had said for a few days before picking up a black Bic pen and College ruled notebook and sitting down to start it.

After I began, there was no stopping. I would wake up every morning and write a chapter, sipping my mint tea between aggressive scribbles. Some chapters were more challenging to write than others, but once they were finished, I felt free.

I wasn’t in the best place with Leo when I wrote this book, but I was finally ready to release him once I reached the novel’s conclusion. Writing this book has done many things for me, just like the people in it.

So, thank you to my friend for inspiring me to turn my fucked-up experiences into a heart-wrenching, emotional tale for all to experience. And thank you to Fia, Mai, and Vika for bringing light into my life and being the bestest friends I’ve ever had. This story is about me and all the people I’ve experienced along the way. While writing this book, I’ve reached awareness and liberation. And I hope you, dear reader, enjoy the ride. Good luck.

Introduction:

I had nothing in my system but Mike’s hard lemonade and the cum of my lover. My pale knees were caked with dirt, and I had choked twice. Champagne Supernova by Oasis played softly in the background as I gazed up at Leo. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t describe, and he smiled, muttering,

Good job.

The summer heat didn’t hold back for anyone, and we were both sweating. He took off his t-shirt handing it to me, and I wiped my chest and mouth on it, tossing the soiled garment back to him. Jade green trees curled around us, and he sat coolly on a lawn chair as I stretched. It was 11:36 am, and I had already indulged in a few intoxicants. 

I sighed and took my dark hair out of a bun letting it fall down my shoulders. We were quiet until Leo said,

So, what are you doing today?

I couldn’t help but smile and walked closer to him, straddling my legs around his waist, and nuzzling into his neck.

I have lunch with my mom at 12.

He gently stroked my hair as I kissed his neck lovingly.

The closest sushi place we were meeting at was 15 minutes away, so I should’ve left. I pulled away and kissed him hard on the mouth. He kissed me back. 

♫♫♫♫♫

I gagged hard, clear liquid hitting the toilet water. My hair was tied back again but not for such a fun purpose. My back was matted with sweat, and I sat back on the restaurant’s tiled floor, taking deep breaths. Nausea had subsided now. All I had to do was get some food in my system. I slowly stood up and faced the mirror, splashing cold water on my skin and staring at my reflection. Slightly sunburnt cheeks with light grey-blue eyes, a golden nose ring, and mediocrely sized lips.

That was me! I stepped back, adjusting my orange tank top and pulling up my shorts more. I realized how long I was taking. I probably need to get back to lunch with my mom. I glanced again at my 18-year-old self and flipped off the lights before exiting the restroom and enjoying the brief void of darkness.

♫♫♫♫♫

I slowly eased a bottle of gold schlager out of my pastel blue backpack, snug amongst an array of notebooks and a thin psych textbook, twisting off the cap. The cinnamon liquor hit my throat, and I was going to cough but held it back and swallowed hard.

Oh shit, Mai exclaimed, snatching the bottle away.

Pregaming 2 minutes away from the party, I see, Fia smiled at this and got handed the bottle next.

We all gulped it like champs and stopped for a second to breathe. Yazeed invited the three of us to a party tonight, and who were we to refuse? I turned my gaze to the street ahead. There it was a winding beach town suburb with a fat orange sun slowly disappearing over lightly colored houses.

We heard the music blasting a few blocks away. This group of friends never failed to start the party early. The party wasn’t just Yaseen’s but Ehab and Khalid’s too.

They weren’t brothers, but they might as well have been. Growing up in Dubai, they have known each other since first grade and have stayed close ever since. The three came to the US as exchange students in Belmar and met through different classes. Khalid and I in sex Ed, Mai and Ehab in calculus, and Yaseen and Fia in English. 

The house they rented was blue with white shingles, a green lawn, and two cars in the driveway. It was surprisingly clean, considering the inhabitants were three 18-year-old boys without parental supervision.

Today it was messier than usual. As we approached the house, cars lined the street. Their front lawn was scattered with beer cans and liquor bottles, people chattering and slowly trickling into the open front door. A Roy Woods song pounded through the air, and the three of us smiled, pushing past strangers into the house. As soon as we entered, the smell of marijuana filled the air. The front room and kitchen were packed, so finding any of our friends in turbulence like this would be impossible.

I began to chug the gold schlager, my liver beginning to ache until Mai snatched the bottle away, grinning.

Take it easy, Rheya, the party’s just starting. Though contradicted herself and did the same thing. The liquor was beginning to hit me, and my brain was becoming foggy and happy.

Fia slid her sunglasses on her head and examined a J she had rolled an hour earlier, holding it gingerly between two fingers. Then she popped it between her lips, puffing on it to get it going.

Fia looked cool tonight with a leather jacket and dark top with her titties out, light jeans, and Doc Martins. She had some mosaic-style earrings in. The J got passed to me, and I gratefully hit it, putting my arms up and swaying to the music. We danced for a while, and eventually, Khalid found me, and we ended up on the back porch in two chairs, passing hemp wrap back and forth for a bit. Some ginger girl threw up off the side of the porch, and her friend held her hair back, but we just ignored her. I took a deep drag off the weed, gazing at the sunset in