Cloud 69

53:

june 29, 2019:

It tasted bad. Horribly bad.

It tasted like burnt tea or spicy leaves. It tasted like- well, she didn't quite know what, but nonetheless it was a horrible taste.

As soon as the taste of the spicy tea leaves hit the back of her throat, she started coughing, her choking drowning out the laughter that was breaking out around her. Her throat grew irritated from hacking up half her lung and she cringed as the taste of blood infiltrated the back of her throat.

"You're doing it wrong," Mel said to her once her coughing fit had ended. The rest of the group was still chuckling, some were imitating her poor attempt, but Mel had stifled her laughter long ago, and her pink lips had settled into a tight-lipped smile. She reached her hand out and swiftly took the joint from Madeline, an amused glimmer in her eye. 

"Watch," She said, as she drew the joint closer to her, pausing to make sure the other girl was watching.

Maddie hadn't needed to be told to watch Mel; she had practically been entranced by the other girl the entire night. From the way she carried herself, to the calamity in her voice, and the grace in her laughter, Maddie had begun to forget why she had sought this group out in the first place. She hadn't even had a moment to consider what Dylan would say if he knew where she was right now. Not that it mattered.

Madeline kept her eyes trained on Mel as the taller girl moved the joint between her thumb and index finger. She brought the joint up to her mouth, letting the end just barely touch her plump lips before taking a long drag. As she pulled the joint away from her mouth, Mel closed her eyes and tilted her head back, extenuating her prominent jaw line as the long, black braids that had acted as a curtain fell from her shoulder and danced behind her back in the wind.

A few moments later, Mel let out an ethereal sigh and parted her lips, allowing a cloud of smoke to stream out into the air above her.

Mel's eyes fluttered back open and immediately locked on Maddie's, a smirk stretching across her lips. She held the joint out toward Maddie, offering it to the girl for a second time. "Wanna try again?"

Madeline nodded eagerly, and took the joint back from Mel, keeping her eyes on the other girl. She tried to mimic the girl's actions, putting the joint up to her lips, doing her best not to wince at the horrible taste infiltrating her mouth once again. She took a long drag and managed to fight down a fit of coughs. Madeline angled her head up, the same way as Mel had done, and slowly let the smoke slip between her lips.

She heard a few people making noises of appraisal, but she only looked for acknowledgement from Mel. The girl was smiling, her pristinely white teeth shining and her brown skin glowing a golden color in the dim, yellow lights that decorated the gazebo.

"You're a fast learner," She remarked.

Madeline shrugged, pushing down the flutter in her stomach. "I try." 

"A cheer for the fresh meat!" One of the guys declared, holding up his own joint, sandwiched between his fingers and a red solo cup. The rest of the small, quaint group let out one mess of half-enthused cheers before resorting back to their quiet muttering amongst each other.

Maddie hadn't bothered to learn all of their names– half were passed out or too high to make coherent noises, and the majority of the other half just didn't speak. She had only bothered to learn the names of the important people, though she only justified which ones were important based on how much Mel laughed at one of their jokes. 

Mike seemed to be Mel's favorite of the guys, or at least the one she was closest with. He sat across from them and was probably the most outgoing of the small group. He had deep-set black eyes that sat above rosy cheeks, and he radiated with excitement and laughter. His hair was hidden by a black beanie, which matched with the rest of his dark clothing.