Drunk Run

I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine. Her name is Drunk Run. She frequently visits me after a night out. Sometimes, she stands under my window and calls to me to come out and play. I never oblige. You see, the thing about Drunk Run is that once you become friends with her, there’s no escaping her best friend, Alcohol.

Alcohol has been around campus for as long as anyone can remember. She is very popular and is friends with almost everyone at university. She is also beautiful and all of the boys go crazy whenever she walks by. I once heard a rumour that she can stimulate relaxation and euphoria with just one kiss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beverage#Flavorings

Drunk Run and I met during O-week. We hung out a couple of times because we lived so close to each other but Dean of Students, Vivien de Klerk, warned us about hanging out with Drunk Run’s best friend Alcohol. Now, we smile and wave politely at each other from across the road, but we aren’t as close as we used to be.

When I walked into my residence room for the first time, I beamed with pride. My room, the place I had to look after and could call my own, signalled the start of the wave of independence that first year would bring. Or so I thought. You see, my room was on the top floor of the residence and it overlooked the street. And while the view was more appealing than CPU, it meant that I would be running into Drunk Run a lot more than I would have liked.

Although Drunk Run is bubbly and friendly, not everyone likes her. The Daily Dispatch said that she was the link between the university’s students’ poor academic performance and the high alcohol consumption rate on campus. http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=249752

De Klerk, or Viv as I like to call her, has also said some horrible things about Drunk Run. She said that “peer pressure and the false sense of security that comes from living in a small town” was the reason Drunk Run behaves the way she does. http://www.aa-uk.org.uk/alcoholics-anonymous-reviews/2008/09/boozy-pupils-are-poor-achievers.html

With all the warnings and negative comments about Drunk Run floating around, I’m sure you’re wondering why I call her my friend. I admit that she is a bit reckless, and she has this annoying habit of making me feel as if I’m missing out on all the fun. But then again, my cheeks always flush with a hint of green whenever I see her. The more irritable she seems, the more I realise how serious I’m becoming. Maybe, secretly, I wish I could be a little bit more like her.

And, in the words of Donna Roberts, “A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” http://thinkexist.com/quotation/a_friend_knows_the_song_in_my_heart_and_sings_it/202834.html. Drunk Run not only knows that song off-by-heart, but also how to sing. And boy, does she sing well…

So, when I’ve been particularly forgetful, I go along with Drunk Run on her nightly expeditions, even if it’s just for a little while. Because, let’s face it, we all need a good friend once in a while. Even Viv.