Goes out after school clutching soft drink (8)
I believe the answer is:
schnapps
'goes out after school clutching soft drink' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'clutching soft drink' is the wordplay.
'clutching' indicates putting letters inside.
'soft' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for piano, 'soft').
'drink' becomes 'schnaps' (schnaps is a kind of drink).
'p' inserted into 'schnaps' is 'SCHNAPPS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for schnapps that I've seen before include "Holland gin" , "Strong gin-like drink" , "German alcoholic spirit" , "Various strong spirits drunk in N Europe, consonant heavy" , "Booze" .)