Friday Nights

Charlie
Ben comes in from the kitchen with a carrier bag of booze. He passes one each to me and Mike. They fizz and hiss as we open them. Ben stands in front of us and says ‘Cheer’s lads’ and we all knock tins before lifting them to our mouths. Cool harsh beer courses down our throats. Ben starts talking about the match on Wednesday.
‘Did you see Biggs later? He was battered!’
We all laugh. Biggs had tried to hail a taxi after he had got thrown out but someone pulled his trousers down and he just stood their on the pavement in his boxer shorts. Then he was sick on the roadside and someone took him home.
I wonder whether he will be out tonight. He probably will be.

Mike goes out to the balcony for a cigarette. I think about joining him but I don’t have any of my own and I don’t want to steal from Mike yet. He’s always giving me cigarettes. Ben talks to me about Becca for a bit; they’ve had an argument. Then she calls him so he goes into the other room to talk. I catch him saying ‘sure babes’ and then she carries on talking. I drink a bit more beer.
By the time I’ve finished the first can Mike’s returned and we start another. I think about putting the rest in the fridge to keep them cool but there’s only four left, we’ll soon have finished them.

Beatrice
I’m about to get ready when Sarah and Lucy show up. They are all giggling and have three bottles of wine. Lucy gives one to me; ‘in case you didn’t get to the shops’ she says. I smile and take it. How does she know I haven’t been to the shops? I pour a glass. Sarah and Lucy sit on the sofa. They sink back into it and the angle doesn’t do any justice to their short skirts. Standing in front of them I can see their bold coloured underwear. Lucy’s pants are red. I take a sip of the wine; it’s cheap and cold. Chrissie comes down from her room wearing the new top we bought on Tuesday when we missed the lecture. It’s cut quite low but she doesn’t have much cleavage so it looks elegant rather than slutty; it folds around her body and she looks good. One of the others passes her a glass of the cold white wine and she perches on the edge of the sofa with her back straight.
‘What time shall we leave’ she asks us.
‘Oh I don’t know’ says Lucy chuckling and leaning back into the sofa her pants flickering in my eye. I say I have to go and get ready upstairs but I forget to take the bottle with me.

Amy
At eight o’clock I’m sitting on the side of my bed in my bra and pants looking at the mirror on my dressing table. It’s a little bit too far away to see myself properly but I don’t have a chair and at least I can’t see any spots. The heating is not on but I don’t feel cold at all and the air makes my skin feel alive. I draw my knees in and sit cross legged. One of my flatmates is playing loud music in the room next door. It’s some cheesy pop tune and I can hear people laughing. I smile even though I don’t like the music. They change the track without letting the first one finish and I lie back on my bed and look at the ceiling. There’s a band I like playing somewhere nearby tonight but I don’t think I’ll go. I plug in my headphones and listen to the new songs I downloaded earlier. I try and remember the name of the place they are playing at tonight but I’m not going to go. The ceiling is white and featureless. I’d wanted to put a poster up there but I was scared it might fall on me in the night; I thought that would freak me out.
There is a knock at my door. I unplug the Ipod but no one comes in.
‘You ready yet babes’ someone says.
‘Nearly, I’ll be out in a minute’
I put the headphones back in and turn up the volume.

Bryony
I’m running late so I go to Sainsbury’s and buy a big bag of crisps and some hummus. I’m at the check out before I remember and run back to the wine section. I’m losing time so I grab two bottles of the cheapest red wine and leave. It’ll probably stain my lips but who cares. The man at the checkout smiles at me as he beeps my wine through. He has a skinny face. I put it all in a bag and pay with my card. As I walk home I hear my ‘phone ringing in my bag but I haven’t got a free hand to answer it.
I dump down the bags in my room and open the hummus and crisps. I eat a few big crisps dipped in hummus then I look for a glass. I find one in the kitchen and pour myself a big glass of wine. I think my ‘phone might be ringing again but I have to shower still. I eat some more hummus and drink the wine as I look for my big coat.

Chris
Dave shouts at me from the living room and asks me to bring him a beer from the fridge. When I open the fridge door a pot of yoghurt falls out and lands on the floor. It goes everywhere and runs into a bin bag that’s waiting to be taken outside. I pick up the empty pot and notice that it’s two weeks out of date. I put the pot in the bin but I don’t bother wiping up the mess on the floor. The white yoghurt almost looks cleaner than the floor anyway. I go to the sink to wash the yoghurt off my hands but it’s full of dirty dishes and a greasy frying pan so I have to twist the tap to one side. Then I wipe my hands on the crusty tea towel that has been left on the floor by the door. I open the fridge again and take two beers out of the carrier bag on the top shelf. They’re not even cold yet. I slam the fridge shut and pick past the yoghurt and into the living room. Dave is watching TV. He doesn’t look up. He is smoking and dropping the ash onto a dirty plate that’s on the floor in front of him. There is a pile of empty cans behind him but they’re not from tonight.
‘Here’s your beer’
‘Cheers mate’ he says without looking away from the TV.

Charlie
When we get to the bar it’s already quite full but the lads have got us a big table and I reckon they’ll be a space for me to sit. Mike and I go to the bar to get a drink. It’s really packed; three or four people deep on all sides. Mike thinks fast and thrusts me a tenner.
‘Get us a couple of snakebites’ he says and grins at me.
I nod and he goes. I don’t really mind though; soon I’m deep in the queue and wedged in amongst everyone. I cast my eyes about the room and try to spot people I know who don’t play rugby. The music is loud and everyone is talking and shifting in the light. At the end of the bar by the fire exit there is a table full of girls in nurse’s outfits. They look fit but it’s quite dark and they’re a long way away. I turn back to the queue. I’m still at least two or three bodies away from being served.
Then I notice Laura at the other end of the bar. I catch her eye and she smiles. She’s wearing a blue top which I haven’t noticed before. She looks good. I try to make the hand signals for ‘this queue is shit’ but I’m not sure she understands. She just smiles again. She signs that she’ll come and find me when she’s got a drink and I understand perfectly.
Then a guy moves in front of me and turns to let someone with five or six drinks come out; as he brushes past me some of the beer spills onto my jacket. I wipe it off. He doesn’t seem to notice. I slip into the vacuum and pretty soon I’m being served. I ask for six pints of snake bite. The guy suggests I get a jug so I order two and pay him with Mike’s money.

Bryony
I feel a bit silly wearing a nurse’s outfit at the bus stop. I pull the black coat tight around me and hope it won’t be long until the bus comes. I should have gone over to Tina’s to get ready with her Jenny and Camille but I hadn’t had the time. My ‘phone rings again as the bus comes but by the time I’ve showed my ticket, sat down and got it out of my bag its stopped. I’ve had four missed calls but they’re only from my Dad.

Ted
I finally get round to reading at nine o’clock. I’d meant to start at four but various things had happened and I had had to go and find something to eat. I think about making a cup of tea but decide not to. I’ve had a week to do this essay but I had to go out last night and the night before, and the night before that I had gone to Jerry’s house to get stoned. I forget about tea and start reading.
Jerry rings me and asks me where I am.
‘At home’
‘Doing what?’
‘Working’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah I really am’
‘But it’s a Friday. You should come out. everyone’s going out’
I can hear people in the background I expect they are in the union.
I tell him I have to work.
He calls me a bore.
‘I’m not a bore’
‘Yes you are. You’re a bore’
He starts laughing so I hang up and change my shirt.

Chris
Dave and I don’t get to the bus stop till gone half nine. He says he doesn’t want to get there too early. I tell him the bar will be full and it’ll take us ages to get served. The bus is empty so we sit apart as the seats are narrow. There’s a paper on the seat in front of me so I read that until we get off and walk to the union.

Beatrice
The girls are all quite drunk by the time we get to the bar and they seem to giggle at everything. A tall guy with two jugs of beer walks past and spills some on Lucy’s top. She smiles at him and then gives us a look to say she’s annoyed. Perhaps it’s a new top. It doesn’t look that expensive. I only had a couple of glasses of the wine so I tell them that I’m going to the bar. They start to shower me with money so I pretend I haven’t got any cash and tell them I’ll get a round on my card. I leave before anyone tells me what they want.
The bar is rammed but I get lucky and slip in at the side behind tow guys with spiky hair. They are talking about football and getting pissed. When I get to the front I order eight vodka red bulls. The guy asks me if I want doubles and gives me a freaky grin. I don’t really know if I do or not so I say yes. He asks me if I want cash back and I agree to that as well even though I’ve got twenty quid in my purse.
Chrissie appears and she helps me carry the drinks over to our table.
‘You look nice’ she tells me.
As we walk back I try to see if I can see Tom. He said he was coming but I can’t see him. Perhaps he’s outside smoking. Lucy is laughing uncontrollably when we get back. When she recovers she tells me Sarah just saw a guy she slept with once in the first year, he’s got a tiny dick. After explaining she collapses in laughter again. I leave her drink in front of her and look around the room.

Bryony
I meet Jenny outside and we go in together. I think she might have been waiting for me. She looks great the nurse’s outfit suits her more than it does me. We’re both a bit chubby but she’s got these huge breasts; they count for a lot when the guys are purving. The lift appears to be out of order so we have to take the stairs. My skirt’s far too short and I reckon the people behind me must be able to see some of my knickers. It doesn’t matter though because I’m dressed as a nurse. If I was wearing a normal skirt this short I’d be a slapper. I’m a nurse though so its alright.
Jenny starts telling me about Camille apparently she bought a top two sizes too small and you can ‘essentially see her nipples’. Jenny says the boys are loving it. They probably are. It feels good all dressed up as a group it makes these Friday nights seem more exciting. A couple of weeks ago we all went as cave girls and the time before that as Big brother contestants. I think some one said that next time we’re going to go as sluts but that might have been a joke.
Everyone looks great especially Camille who is bursting out of everything she’s wearing. She leans down to get her bag and I half expect her to shed it all and stand up naked. There are two or three pitchers of cocktail and loads of straws. Jenny and I take a long sip from the pitcher. It’s just fruit juice and vodka but it tastes good. Jenny’s breasts crash into the table as she drinks and one of them gets a bit wet.

Amy
My flatmate comes back with some drinks and we sit on some stools near the pool table. The other two are chatting about guys they know and whether or not that should go and check their make up. I just make sure my legs are out of the way of the guys playing pool when they come round to take their shots. The guys are both wearing loose fitting jeans and shirts that could be from Topman. They’re either drunk or shit at pool. The ice in my vodka and coke has already melted and its tastes all watery, somehow it’s taken the fizz out of the bubbles as well. I start looking round the room to see if there is anyone I want to see but I don’t see anyone so I carry on watching them play pool. They’ve started a new game but they’re still shit.
I’ve finished my drink now and I find a space in amongst all the plastic cups to leave my glass. The girls say they are going to the bathroom; they must want to do their make up. They look at me as though they are expecting me to come with them. I mutter something about needing another drink. I go to the bar and sit on the edge for a bit before a nice looking boy lets me in. He has a checked shirt on and wears glasses. He smiles uncomfortably and his teeth are a bit funny looking. At the bar I buy the other’s drinks as it’s such a long queue.

Charlie
At the table the jugs of snakebite are emptied fast as they are replaced. I have to down a pint when someone throws a coin in my glass. I stand up and everyone cheers. The pint is pretty much full but I throw it back. The prickly snakebite rasps against my throat and starts to burn. I finish it though and everyone is cheering. Someone slaps me on the back and I feel like I’ve just scored a tri. I wait for a bit and then throw the coin in this kid Alex’s pint. We all get in a huddle round him and start cheering. He’s a fresher so it takes him two attempts to see of his pint. When he finishes he’s gasping for breath and there is snakebite all over his chin. He looks really pleased with himself. I put my arm around him and someone takes a photo.
‘You’re a legend’ he shouts in my ear.
‘You too’
Then the captain returns from the bar and gives everyone a shot and a fresh pint.
‘We all do the shot and then we neck the pints in a circle’ he explains ‘When the guy to your left has finished his pint you start yours’
A few people have gathered around us to watch. Some of them are cheering and some are laughing. A couple of the guys from the hockey club come over and tell us we’re shit. I give them the finger and start drinking.
The whole thing takes less than five minutes. We do this every week now so I reckon we must be getting better. A couple of people tell me I’m a legend. I burp and pour myself another snakebite.

Chris
By the time we get to the bar it’s long gone ten and as I predicted it’s full already and looks almost impenetrable. I think that’s how Dave likes it. I see a few people I recognize and nod at them as I pick my way to the bar. Dave and I shamelessly barge our way to the front and order two pints each. Dave asks for two shots as well.
‘Of what’ asks the barman?
‘Anything’
He gives us sambuca which used to be exotic but which I’ve had too much of by now. It tastes alright though. I take a sip from each beer so as not to spill anything and squeeze out of the queue. Dave likes to perch on the edge of the room and look around for people he knows before committing to anything. We see a couple of girls we know from halls. They’re in a big group all dressed as nurses. Tina’s alright but Jenny’s a bit big for me. A lot of guys like her though she’s got massive breasts and she’s easy. We don’t say anything to each other as we neck the first beer. When it’s finished we toss the empty pint glasses towards the bin which overflowed some time ago.
‘You’re a good boy’ says Dave ‘a good man’
‘We make a good team’
‘We do’
We knock our second beers together and drink from them.
Tina and Jenny are doing shots. Jenny’s breasts bounce as she rises and falls with the liquor. I look at Dave and he grins at me knowing exactly what we’ve both been looking at.
We finish the second beer and go outside for a cigarette.

Amy
By the time my flatmates get back from the bathroom I’ve accidentally started on one of their drinks as well as mine. I lie and say I got them all for me. They don’t seem to mind. One of them goes to the bar and the other one sits next to me. She starts talking about Richard the boy she’s been seeing. I’ve met him a couple of times but he seemed really boring. Then she spots him and says we should go over. I tell her I’ll wait for the drinks. I watch her disappear across the room; she bumps into a guy carrying beer and gets it all over her arm. She’s wearing that ridiculous belt with a buckle that looks like a traffic cone. After a minute or two I realise that I’m on my own in the corner. I sip my drink and watch a group of guys cheering and pouring beer all over each other. They must be the rugby team. I don’t like them but I find myself laughing.
Then some people come to play pool. Two girls and one guy. It’s the guy from the queue the one with the check shirt and glasses. He looks up at me and I make a conscious effort to smile. He looks a bit nervous but he doesn’t drop his head and instead comes over to talk to me. He says hello and asks me what I’m doing and I guess he must be a fresher. He says he’s doing maths and that he secretly likes it. When he talks I can see his teeth they look really interesting. He says he hates the music in here and I agree. He starts to tell me about a club in Shoreditch that he thinks I’d like but it’s his turn to take a shot and after that the balls are always on the other side of the table. I watch his teeth while he plays and catch his eye a couple of times. He smiles at me.
I like his teeth and that he’s not afraid to tell me he enjoys maths.

Bryony
We give up on the cocktails and start getting vodka red bulls. We seem to get served quicker dressed as nurses. Some boys I don’t know come up to talk to us; one of them asks us if we’re real nurses. I tell him I study geography and he seems to find it quite funny. The other boy juts stares at Jenny’s breasts. I look down at my breast and they’re all out of proportion with my tummy which sticks out more than it should despite all this tight nurses’ stuff. The boys leave and someone hands me another drink. My ‘phone rings again but by the time I reach it I’ve missed it again. My Dad’s tried calling seven times now. I can’t think of what could be so urgent but I should probably call him back. I take my ‘phone out into the hall where the noise form the bar is just a rumble. I start dialling the number but catch sight of myself in the window. I look horrible. My body is all wrong for this nurse’s outfit. Suddenly I feel like I don’t want to go back inside and walk across the room on my own. Our tables right on the other side and I wish I’d never left them. It’s no fun being dressed as a nurse on your own.
Then Tina comes up the stairs behind me. She’s been out for a cigarette and couldn’t be bothered to wait for the lift. We walk in together and I’ve had two more drinks before I remember I never called Dad.

Ted
Jerry calls me again at ten to check I’m coming. I tell him that I’m no bore and that I’ll be there in ten. I’m pretty much there already so I stop outside for a cigarette first. I get talking to a guy I recognize but I can’t remember his name. I’d seen him out on Wednesday and I give him a cigarette. We’d all gone to a cheap sports bar and drunk pints of john smiths ‘cos it was on offer. It must have been out of date or something. He tells me there is someone upstairs dressed as a polar bear. I expect its Greg. He finished his cigarette and says he has to go and get fucked. I stay outside and finish mine. Then I go and do the same.

Beatrice
Chrissie and I take our drinks and got to the bathroom. It’s really busy so we share a cubicle, taking it in turns to pee. I stir the ice in my glass around with my straw while I wait for Chrissie.
‘Are you alright’ she asks.
‘Yeah I’m fine’
‘You sure’
‘Yeah’
‘You’re not upset about anything at all?’
‘No…not at all’
She looks up at me from the seat.
‘You would tell me if there was something wouldn’t you, anything however silly’
I tell her I would and we leave the cubicle.
We both stand in front of the mirrors to wash our hands. Chrissie’s blue top gets a little bit wet.
‘Oh Fuck!’ she says and grins at me.
I think I might want to dye my hair for a bit and then I change my mind then we go back to the bar.
Tom is there but he’s talking to Lucy. He looks up to say hi but before I can say anything to him Lucy grabs his knee and starts telling him something.
He’s wearing the same red polo shirt he always wears. I like it. I remember him buying it when he and I went shopping in fresher’s week. I didn’t know Lucy then.
Someone hands me a drink and I say that we should go upstairs. Tom looks up and says that we should. Lucy agrees and starts giggling again. We get up to go. I like Tom’s red shirt.

Chris
Dave and I find Greg. He’s dressed as a polar bear but he takes his head off so he can talk to us.
‘That is fucking incredible’ I tell him ‘where did you get it?’
‘Internet’ he said ‘eBay, cost me about two hundred quid’
‘You’re nuts’
‘I know’
He takes a long sip from a pint glass which he’s holding behind his huge white paws. There is sweat all over his forehead and his face is really red.
‘I can’t believe your dressed as a polar bear’ I tell him again ‘you’re nuts’
Greg’s always been a good laugh and I haven’t seen him for ages. We used to be tight when we were in halls together in first year but I haven’t seen him around so much this year. He’s a funny guy even when he’s not dressed as a polar bear. Dave and I take it in turns to try on the head. I have it on for about three seconds before I start to feel like I’m in a furnace and have to take it off. Greg is nuts.

Charlie
Upstairs the music is louder and there is less light. We’re some of the first up there but there is enough of us to fill the space. At the bar we all get more pints. The young guy Alex offers to buy me a shot and he passes me a sambuca.
‘I love this stuff’ he says.
We eye each other in a manly way and then knock them back. He leans in and hugs me. Then he calls me a legend again. I think we’re both quite drunk. I tell him he’s a legend too as I leave the bar and go to find Laura. I find her standing near the side with some of her friends. I walk over and say ‘Hi Laura’ but it comes out very loud. She whips round and looks a bit startled before she gives me a high five.
It feels wired and neither of us seems to know what to do next.
She asks me how the match on Wednesday went and I tell her we lost. I accidentally burp but I don’t think she notices. I suddenly need a piss and can’t really concentrate on anything else. I explain and run to the bogs. When I come back she’s gone.
Later I see a girl in a blue top who I reckon must be her dancing with a blond haired guy. He’s getting really close and she’s letting him touch her arse.
I find Alex and we get some more sambuca’s.

Beatrice
We have to queue up to get into the club upstairs. Lucy is all over Tom’s arm as she talks to him. I’m behind them so I can’t see his face. For some reason Chrissie puts her arm around me and gives me a little hug. I don’t know why she did it but I’m glad she did. I feel a bit better. When we get inside we go and dance.

Ted
By the time I reach the bar most people have already gone upstairs to the club or whatever you want to call it. I bump into Jerry outside the toilets. He tells me everyone’s already gone up. I tell him I need a drink first. He tells me to ‘jump on it’. I don’t know what that means so I grin and walk into the bar; I guess he’s already pretty drunk. The bar is pretty much empty; the lights are on and there is no music. Two or three of the staff are attempting to put all the empty glasses into plastic sacks. They are strewn across every available surface.
At the bar I order six shots of tequila and a Smirnoff ice. The guy laughs and says something about it not being my first year of uni. I think he’s trying to make a joke so I try and laugh; nothing comes out. I’m in my third year. He starts to arrange all the lemon and salt nonsense but I tell him not to bother and knock them all back on the bar one after the other. I take a sip from the Smirnoff ice and walk away from the bar. I feel good. This is better than doing an essay.
I look around the room. There are only a handful of people left none of whom I know so I go upstairs. Two girls walk past me and laugh. I think it might be the Smirnoff Ice but I don’t care it was fun to say. I walk up the stairs and into the club. It’s good to get drunk.

Chris
Dave and I go for a cigarette before we go upstairs. I’ve run out so he gives me one from his packet. I thank him and he says ‘anytime’ in a way that sounds like he really means it. I don’t realise how drunk we are until we actually get upstairs and walk into the club. They’re playing Dire Straits and we both leap into this air guitar dance routine right their in the door way. We slowly edge across the room. Not many people are dancing yet so we must look quite funny. I stop when the song finishes but Dave carries on. He throws his hips low and moves them from side to side, every now and then he puckers his mouth up and does this mock vibrato thing. Sometimes his eyes are closed. I watch him for a few seconds and then I join in again.
We dance like that for three or four more songs and then we go and get another drink.

Bryony
By the time we start dancing I’m probably quite drunk. We stand in a big circle of nurses and dance; when we know the words we sing along and laugh a lot. There is someone dressed as a polar bear and he looks really realistic. Tina and I run up to him and start petting him. Everyone laughs and someone takes a picture. He takes his head off and we all go to the bar. Tina knows him from somewhere and I don’t really have anything to say. I walk off but I can’t find anyone. Eventually I spot Jenny and Camille but there are loads of people in-between me and them. I find it hard not to bump into people as I walk across the room. I knock into one guy so hard he spills his drink on me. He says sorry but it’s probably my fault. When I reach Camille and Jenny they put their arms around me.
‘Are you alright love?’ They ask.
I tell them I’m good and suggest we get another drink.
They both laugh and look at each other across the top of my head.

Amy
In the toilets upstairs I find there is already sick on the floor. There are two girls in the end cubicle when I look in. One is being sick the other is laughing and pulling her hair back. It’s only just gone eleven. I should probably say something but I don’t. I just stand there and look at them for a bit. Then I go back out and try to find my flatmates.

Charlie
Someone gives me a drink when I get back from the bogs. I think its cider. I take a sip but loads of it slips out and rolls down my chin. I have to wipe my face on my shirt. Mike is with me and so is Alex. We are all drunk.
I keep thinking I spot Laura with her friends but it always turns out to be some other girl in a blue top. Why couldn’t she wear something more distinctive? Everyone is starting to look the same, faces are blending into one homogenous circle of flesh and I can only really tell the difference between girls and boys. We’re standing on the edge of the dance floor and I don’t know if we’re meant to be dancing or not. I look at Alex. He is swaying and looks vacant. He catches my eye and tries to tell me something but I can’t hear what he’s saying. The music seems to have got louder and I am finding it hard to see.

Ted
I find Jerry and he hugs me as I go to shake his hand. This means he is still drunker than I am and I need to catch up still so I ask him if he’s got anything. He says he’s only got weed.
‘Maybe later’ I say.
He suggests he come round mind afterwards. I think about the essay for a bit and then I agree. Then I go to the bar and get three more shots and two double vodka red bulls and put it all on my card. I find Jerry again and we sit down upstairs and talk about getting stoned later.
‘Have you got any kettle chips’ he asks?
‘Don’t think so. I’ve got Extras on DVD’
‘No kettle chips?’
‘No…Why do you want kettle chips so much’
He pauses.
‘No reason…We can get some on the way back’
We finish our drinks, do two more shots each, get a pint of snakebite and dance with Greg in his polar bear costume.

Beatrice
At the bar I find myself queuing next to Lucy. I want to walk away but she notices me and grins. We ask each other if we’re having a good time but we both know all the answers. Someone has given her a glow stick and she is running it between her thumb and fore finger as we wait.
‘Tom’s so funny’ she says without looking up.
I nod silently.
‘He’s just one of those people you meet and everything they say seems to make you laugh, even when no one else finds it funny’
She looks up at this point and I don’t know what to do.
‘I think I quite fancy him’ she says and gives me a sideways smile. She tilts her head and a bit of her hair falls onto the bar. It lands in some spilt drink.
‘I mean he’s really hot and everything, that red T shirt really suits him but I think there’s more than that, we get on so well, we have the same sense of humour’ she pauses ‘I think he likes me’
I don’t know whether this is a question or not but all I can think about is the red polo shirt. I start to tell her that I was with him when he bought it but the barman comes and serves her and I don’t think she can hear me.
I wait for her to go and then I order drinks. I take a sip from one but it doesn’t taste good. I give it to a guy standing next to me. He looks confused and then elated.
Then I take the other drink and wander off somewhere.

Charlie
I find myself dancing in front of a girl. I think she might be one of the nurses. I’m finding it hard to keep in time with the music. I try to steady myself but I end up leaning in to kiss her. We kiss for a bit and she puts her hands on my bum. Then I think about Laura so I stop. I tell her I have to go to the loo and walk away. I feel a bit weird. I stand and piss for ages; I have to steady myself on the wall. I try and remember what the girl looked like but I can’t picture her face. She was definitely a nurse though so I figure that’s points.
I finish pissing and dry my trousers on the fan. I think about looking for Laura but I bump into Alex and we go to get a drink. I think we told each other we were legends but I can’t be sure.

Amy
I dance for a bit with my flatmates but its hard when we’re all holding drinks. I don’t think my flatmates are very good at dancing they just move their feet a bit and wave their arms. Sometimes if they know the words they mouth them to each other while they dance before they collapse in laughter, but they don’t know the words to this song. There are two guys pretending to play electric guitars they are pouting and strutting about. All their friends are laughing at them but they don’t care. I laugh but I don’t know them. I leave the girls and walk through the club to go outside and have a cigarette I thought I might see the boy in the check shirt but I don’t.

Bryony
We all dance for a bit and then I go to the toilet and when I get back I can’t see the other nurses so I just dance on my own near the door for a bit. The music is always so good towards the end of the night. Suddenly this huge animal appears in front of me. It’s staggering about and for a bit I think it might be the polar bear. Then I notice it has human hands and a striped shirt and reckon he must be in the rugby team.
I can’t see his face because it’s too high up but he suddenly lurches forward and ends up kissing me. He tastes of snakebite and sweat. We kiss for a bit and I start to feel a bit dizzy. I don’t want to stop kissing him though so I put my arms around him to steady myself a bit. We kiss for a bit more then he says he has to go to the toilet.

Chris
I have to take a piss so I climb over the vomiting bodies that litter the toilet floor. The lino is covered in beer and piss and sticks to your feet a bit. I take a slash next to a guy who I recognize from lectures. I don’t remember ever speaking to him though.
‘You’re in that Ancient Greece lecture’ he says to me in a warm accusatory tone.
‘Yes’
‘Ah…Wicked…You having a good night?’
‘Yeah…you?’
‘Yeah…it’s been wicked’
He stops pissing and comes a bit closer.
‘I’m battered though’ and he grins at me. I grin back but we won’t talk to each other on Monday. We laugh about the boy on the floor for a bit and then we wash our hands and go back out. The boy from classics disappears and I find myself on my own. I go to the upstairs balcony to see if I can spot anyone I know. I look down onto the dance floor. It’s just one big pit of bodies writhing about in various states of disintegration. Either they’re moving too fast or I’m too drunk as I’m not able to focus on any faces. I go and get a drink and can’t find any cash so I have to buy two pints to use my card. I take them back to the balcony and start searching for faces again. I’m too drunk though.
Then Dave appears and nudges me in the ribs.
For some reason we’re both really excited to see one anther. I give him my spare beer and he tells me that ‘I’m the best’ and that ‘we’re a team’ and so on. We embrace and drink our beers. Then we must have gone outside for a cigarette.

Beatrice
At two thirty I decide to go. I tell Chrissie and she says she’ll come with me. I tell her not to worry. She would normally come even if I told her not to but she’s dancing with a guy I know she likes so she doesn’t. I don’t mind at all. She gives me a huge hug and tells me she loves me.
‘You’re a dream mate’ she tells me.
I say goodbye to Sarah get my coat and go.
I didn’t look for Lucy.
It’s cold outside and I huddle in my coat and look down at the pavement as I walk out. Someone calls out my name. It’s Tom.
‘Are you going?’
I nod. He is holding a cigarette.
‘Oh’ he says ‘…On your own’
‘Yeah’
‘Oh’
He concentrates on his cigarette for a bit and examines the smoke as it comes out of his mouth. Then he stubs it out and walks towards me.
‘Come on’ he says ‘lets go’
He’s only wearing his red T shirt and I ask him if he’s forgotten his coat. He says he didn’t bring one but I’m not sure if I believe him. At the bus stop I ask him if he is cold. He lies to me but luckily the bus comes. We sit together on the bus and I tell him I like his polo shirt. He smiles. I ask if he remembers buying it and he says ‘of course’. We laugh for some reason and then at the end he says we should go shopping again sometime seeing as I have such good taste. I agree and we laugh some more.
He lives quite close to us so he says he will walk me home. I tell him he doesn’t have to but he ignores me and I don’t object anymore. He looks really cold so I put my arm around his waist and he puts his around my shoulders. His T shirt feels like ice. At my front door I panic and wonder if I should invite him in but before I can say anything he leans over and kisses me on the cheek. He tells me we can go shopping on Sunday if I would like to.
I nod.
Then he turns and walks away. I can see him shivering in the cold air. His polo shirt isn’t thick enough. I think that I should make him choose a jumper on Sunday. Then I go inside and go to bed.

Amy
I have a few more drinks and dance with the girls but I don’t feel drunk at all. I still haven’t seen the boy in the check shirt and I wonder if he went to that club he was trying to tell me about. Someone is getting thrown out by the security guards and everyone is crowding around to watch. I suddenly feel really sober and decide to go home so I tell my flatmates and go downstairs. There is a girl being sick outside. She is falling out of her nurse’s outfit and I can see her pants.
I sit on my own on the bus. In front of me there is a couple talking quietly to each other. They smile a lot and look really happy. When they get off I watch them walking arm in arm back to where they live.
I get back home and shut my bedroom door. I take off my clothes and lie in my bra and pants. I put some music on but I’m not really listening to it so I turn it off. I stare at the ceiling and start to cry. Then I turn off the light and go to sleep.

Bryony
I find myself outside sitting on the steps staring at the pavement. I try to get up but everything swims and I feel terrible. Arms appear and usher me to sit down again. I try to focus on the floor but it is glistening into the light of the street lamp. Someone has spilt something on it.
Then I’m sick again.
I tell people that I need to call my dad in-between throwing up.
‘I wouldn’t call him now ‘says Tina ‘wait until the morning’
They start laughing. I join in for a bit but then I have to be sick again.
I ask them if I kissed a boy and they say yes.
Tania tells me I’m a minx.
I feel wonderful in between the heaves.
Someone hands me my black coat and I go home with Tina and Camille.

Charlie
At some point near the end Ben gets thrown out. I guess someone must have said something to Becca as that’s usually what kicks him off. I’m quite close and I can see him holding this guy in a headlock and trying to hit him in the head with his fist. I run over to help but I slip on something and land on the floor. By the time I get up both Ben and the guy he was destroying are begin hauled out by the bouncers. They know Ben really well. He’ll get banned soon. My body hurts from the floor and I find the club bewildering so I go to the bogs for another piss.
I find Alex in there vomming in the urinal. He looks up and grins at me. I find an empty cup on the floor, fill it up with water and make him drink it. He brings it straight back up. His sick is all orange chunks and snakebite clogging up the urinal. I can hear someone else being sick in the end cubicle.
I grab him round the shoulders and tell him I’m going to get him out of there. After a big heave we bomb past everyone in the hall and into the conveniently closing lift. He’s sick again on the floor and a couple kissing on the other side look alarmed. I explain that he’s a fresher and they look less concerned.
I get Alex outside and lie him down on the steps. Someone else has already been sick on the bottom step. He tries to tell me something but the words don’t come out. There is red vomit all over his jeans and loafers. It could be blood in the half light. You can see chunks caught in his nostrils.
Someone from his halls comes and says they’ll take him home. He’s still trying to say something but he keeps being sick. Eventually he looks up and says,
‘Ch…Ch…Charlie….Y’r a leh-ghend’
Then he’s sick again.
I tell him he’s a legend and then leave him to go and stop Ben from arguing with the security guard. I grab him round the shoulders and drag him to the bus stop. He tells me the bouncer is a cunt. He probably is.

Ted
I do a bit of dancing but there is no one here I want to pull so I don’t really see the point.
Jerry and I go outside for a cigarette and laugh at a girl vomming on the steps. She’s dressed as a nurse but she’s really too fat for the skirt she’s got on. I can see her pants.
For some reason she looks really happy. She’s smiling and laughing even though she’s vomming and can’t really speak and she’s fat.
Jerry and I go back upstairs again but it’s dying now. We do a couple more shots at the bar and get pints but we have to leave them when the lights come on and we are ushered out by a huge black security guard. Jerry calls him a twat so we have to leg it.

Chris
At the end when the music stops and the lights come on and everyone swarms to the door like Lego men up a Hoover the only people left in the middle of the dance floor are me Greg and Dave. Greg dashes off to retrieve his polar bear head from behind some curtains up on the balcony but Dave and I just walk around slowly. We find two pretty much full pints on a little table and start drinking them. Then the security guard spots us so we neck them before he comes to throw us out.
Neither of us have coats so we go straight outside into the cold and walk to the bus stop; there is vomit all over the steps by the way in. On the way home I find a tenner in my back pocket so we stop and get huge kebabs that are pouring out of the pitta bread, dripping in mayonnaise and chilli sauce. I pay for Dave’s as well. We take them back and devour them in the living room. It takes us ages to finish and there is sauce on our chins. We leave the empty boxes on the floor, fill pint glasses with water and go to bed.

Charlie
At the bus top we find Mike talking to a tramp about the Olympics. Mike hands round some cigarettes. We all take one. I do another huge piss on the side of a building and then the bus comes and we go home.

Ted
We get back to mine around four. Jerry rolls two spliffs while I make us pot noodles. Then we both lie in my double bed and smoke and watch Extras and eat the noodles. Jerry drops ash on my bed and asks if I have any Kettle chips. Then he falls asleep.
I’m not tired yet so I roll another joint. It takes me ages because I’m pissed but it smokes alright. Then I remember my essay and for some reason I turn on my laptop and start typing; I drop my ash into an empty coke can on my desk as I type.
When I wake up I’ve fallen asleep at my desk and the spliff has scorched a mark on the cover of one of the library books I got out. Its laminated cover has gone all brown and it’s melted into a weird shape.
I drop the butt in the coke can and go and lie on the bed next to Jerry. Then I fall asleep again.

Beatrice
I’m just about asleep when my ‘phone bleats to tell me I’ve got a message. It’s from Tom- Sweet dream.X. I text back- You too.X. And then I fall asleep.