I woke up, the surrounding space around me empty. I checked the clock.
6:45 it read. The alarm went off fifteen minutes ago. I briefly checked my notifications, stepping out the back door. I shut the door, running a hand through my hair.
I had a couple of missed calls from my dad. I called him back, pressing the phone to my ear and folding my other arm around my stomach.
"Hey, dad!" I smiled sleepily. "G'morning trooper," he responded. I heard papers moving around so I assumed he was in his office.
"I was trying to call you to let you know I switched your SUV and Tesla out," I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah that's fine, but may I ask why? Was it a color switch?" I asked.
"Walk out and see what's out there," he said. "I handled it this morning, coach already knew about it. I went ahead and got it done before heading to my office,"
I walked out of the gate leading to the side of the house and rounded the beautiful residence, freezing in shock upon looking at the driveway.
"Dad?" I choked. "Yes, son?"
"Why is there a brand new Rolls Royce Cullinan out here?"
"Do you like it? All your stuff from the old car should be in it,"
"I LOVE IT!" I cried, running into the driver's seat, glancing around the light brown interior. Everything seemed to sparkle in here as I turned on the light. I opened the glove department, seeing my belongings, except the key was for the Cullinan instead of the explorer. I quickly grabbed my keys and money clip, counting my cash and making sure it was all there, and thankfully it was.
"So I'm sure you're glad to hear I replaced your Tesla with a white Chiron,"
"A CHIRON?" I asked, widening my eyes.
"Yep, pearly white," he said as I heard a file cabinet close.
"Can I box this before the conference, dad?"
"If you can still drive I don't care," he said.
"Thanks, Dad, I'm gonna go get ready. And hey; I'm so, so, grateful you're doing this for me,"
"Don't turn this into a big deal; I couldn't have my other kids driving fancy sports cars and shit while you're in an explorer,"
"You spent millions this morning," I said.
"I also went auctioning last night because I felt like it. I bought about two hundred thousand dollars worth of paintings in cash and I'm not even gonna use them," he said. "It's okay, trooper,"
"Love you, Dad, I really do even though I'm not blood,"
"None of those spoiled brats besides junior are blood and I treat them all the same, I love every last one of them. And I love you, too,"
"Thanks, Dad, I've gotta get ready, but I'll be home tonight. Do you maybe wanna watch a movie with me?"
"Wow, one of my spoiled brats wants to spend time with me!" He chuckled. "Of course we can buddy, but you might be home before me. If you wanna beat me home you can," he said.
"I'll probably come home when I finish hanging out after the conference," I said.
"It's a plan, trooper," he said.
"Bye dad, thanks for the sweet new rides,"
"Anything you need," he said, hanging up. I sat there, looking around as a wave of realization hit me.
"OH MY GOD!" I cried, hopping out of the three hundred thousand dollar car.
I fled through the side gate and down the hill into the basement door leading into our room. I hurriedly changed into a blue fluffy hoodie, some light blue jeans, Nike socks, and some University Blue dunks.
I grabbed my bag and hurried into the magic room, where everyone was sitting, dressed, rolling up.
"Who's riding with who?" I asked. "Whoever's riding with me come out to my car," I said, not bothering to wait for a response. Chuck, Tony, Clover, and Silver got up, following me.
"Where you goin?" Roy asked me. "Gonna go box before we leave," I said. Roy nodded, the rest of them wanting to chill in the house and smoke.
"I got us with the bud," I informed them as we walked out the back door. "Bet," Clover said.
I watched them freeze in shock and began to crowd me, shaking my shoulders and letting out cries of excitement. "Let's box this bitch," I grinned, hopping in. I placed the bag below my feet, reaching over Tony in the front seat, and grabbed my keys out of the glove department. I turned on the vehicle, just so I could play some music.
I connected my phone and put it on the stand from my old truck and put on I must apologize by pinkpamthress as we sparked my nicely packed boov.
"It's pulling," I choked, trying not to cough as I blew a large cloud out of my mouth. I dug in my bag for my Novo as I took another hit. Finding it, I took my last hit and passed it on to Tony as I rolled another one. I stuck my e-cig between my lips, occasionally taking in a hit of it while I rolled. By the time the boov made its way to Clover, I sparked another fat one.
The blunt ended up in my hands as the song switched to Antisocial by Slump6s. We rotated, chilling out and getting higher by the minute as the car got foggier. Up da sco by bndo played as I got the first blunt. High enough, I took my three hits and put it out, putting the roach in the wrap pack. I let the others finish the other one before putting the roach back in the bag.
Get Active played as I quickly put everything back in the bag except my e-cig. "You guys wanna go on a ride before we gotta get breakfast?" I asked. "Hell yea!" I heard from Tony and words in agreeance from the others. I looked in the backup camera as I pulled out, That Go by Meek Mill beginning to blast through the bass-oriented sound system.
I drove through the neighborhood faster than I should, but upon exiting onto the main road I absolutely whipped this SUV. I easily careened through traffic at high speeds. I loved how this thing felt as if it were hovering above the streets.
I decided to take my boys shopping because I wanted some new shit. "Let's go spend some money," I cried, pulling into the downtown strip. "Whatever you boys want I gotcha,"
"You sure?" They asked. "Yeah I'm sure," I reassured them. We went into a Bape store and I got myself two pairs of shoes and a couple of hoodies.
Red, Purple, and Black shark full zip hoodies, a pair of red and white low tops, and matching green ones.
We ended up spending around 3 thousand, and I had 1.6k in cash and 6k on my credit card. My friends were excited, and I felt so good treating them to some designer.
Prada by BabySantana played as I pulled out and drove around some more until we decided it was about time to go back to Coaches.
We pulled up at Coach's just as he was leaving to get into his car. I didn't pull into the driveway, but onto the side of the road. I saw the heads of Roy and the rest of the group in his red Rolls Royce so I looked at Coach.
"Send me the WAZE," I said. "Already did!" He flashed his phone before stepping into his SUV and closing the door.
I pulled up the directions and played Pain by pinkpanthress as I took off before Coach or Roy. It was about a 30-minute ride out and that made me excited. I love long drives and rides.
"Stop at the iHop next door to the stadium," a notification from Coach suddenly popped up, so at the stop sign, I sent a quick "gotcha" as I took off again.
Just for me by pinkpanthress played as I turned out of the neighborhood and onto the highway, zooming off. It took a while, but we took a clover exit onto another highway and from there, I saw the skyline, including the stadium in view.
5 minutes in I took another exit, Break it off by pinkpanthress blooming from the sound system.
I pulled into the iHop next door to the stadium on the first floor of this tall, fancy building. We all parked, grouped, sat, and ate, again being served a special table because of our status.
We left and pulled into the stadium, and I was certainly high off my mind. I was chilled, mellow, and socially flexible now.
We sat at the meeting, met the other school teams in the offices, and played a high school scrimmage. We won nearly every time, Roy playing super aggressive, keeping his promise to destroy as many people as he could for his girlfriend. Afterwards, we watched what looked like pro college gameplay on the main stadium court. "You wanna get out on that court with the big dogs? I can make it happen," Coach leaned over and whispered.
If I was sober, I would've one hundred percent refused and sunk back into my chair. I didn't even have a uniform here, yet I couldn't stop the words before they escaped my lips.
"Hell yeah," I said, looking Coach in the eye. He nodded and got up letting us know he'd be back.
A few minutes later he came back up the row with another man with a keycard around his neck. Coach noticed me go with him, so I got up and followed him and the man down the steps. We went to the edge of the court and I realized what a mistake I made. All of the players were koopas and they were extremely good.
They led me into a large storage room with a bunch of boxes with sizes on them. "Alright, buddy, what size do you prefer?"
I pointed at the one up from my size so it'll hang a little more. He handed me the medium and I headed into the locker room to change.
Soon enough, hands were shaking, uniforms were on, encouraging words were said, and the next game ended with me coming out onto the court. The teams both looked nervous to have me there, and the enemies looked at each other in concern cause I was so small compared to everyone.
"Try your best," one of the front koopas looked at me from my spot in the middle. I smiled softly and gave him a thumbs-up, not wanting to slur any words and give myself away.
The buzzer rang, and everyone including myself was surprised and began to cheer as I ran up for a ball, hitting an initial strike with buttery smooth precision. At least 3 players from each team were eliminated the first throw and now claimed their spot on the bench.
A ball hurdled toward me and I side-stepped it, ducking as another one flew in my direction. I flung my arm up to catch it, and uncurled from my ducking position. I spun around one of my teammate's shells, briefly peeking and getting another player out.
The numbers of the teams put us at an advantage, and as I dodged another hurdling ball the crowd went wild.
"Watch out!" I cried as I saw a ball flying toward one of my opponent's faces. He ducked, and I slid behind him just in time to catch the ball. Soon enough, it was 3-5 and I caused nearly every one of the enemy's outages. But that only fueled them to go harder. My movements were smooth and I thought quicker, but my intoxicated state put me at a slight speed and coordination disadvantage.
I grabbed a ball from the floor and threw it as fast as I could, but it hit no one. One of my teammates found himself to be out, and I recognized him from earlier in the game when he told me to try my best. The muscly college Koopa looked at me in slight admiration and gave me a crooked smile before leaving the court to sit on the bench. There were only two people on the other team, and they seemed to be really put together. They got all my remaining teammates out, and it was just me left.
My heart crashed inside of my chest and I heard and felt it with sickening quality. I knew I could bring this home for the North if I tried, but I just couldn't move as fast as usual.
Two balls hurdled my way at the same time and I managed to dodge both. I picked up a ball, shuffling my feet to one side, and just barely missed because I tripped trying to sidestep a ball while throwing mine. I missed by mere inches. I backflipped over a ball aimed to trip my legs, sending the crowd into a frenzy. I picked up the ball, duck-spinning as I sent it flying toward the two remaining players.
One of them was hit, and a massive wave of confidence washed over me as he dapped his last teammate before jogging off the court. It was a 1v1 situation, and I felt incredibly pressured.
The enemy went for a ball but tripped because he was moving too fast. He fell flat on his shell and he moved his head up as I flung a ball at him to win the match.
To my absolute horror, he ducked his head dangerously close to the stadium floor to avoid my ball by mere centimeters. He hurriedly got back up and grabbed a ball.
I had so easily just flubbed the winning shot after all I'd done, and as the crowd 'oohed,' I felt immense embarrassment and shame rock my bones. I could've won and made a huge impression on everyone. But now that he was up this match wasn't looking good for me at all.
He threw a ball in my direction, and I baseball slid to the right towards a ball. I picked it up and threw it at him, to which he easily sidestepped. A ball flew in my direction, and it was such an easy catch. It was a curveball, and it was pretty safely distanced from me. I could do a flashy flip and gain speed to catch it before it hit the ground. I quickly decided against it as another ball flew my way.
I was too stuck on my decision, and late as ever, tried doing a twist flip dodge. But the time I took deciding the move resulted in my execution being too late. Instead of me being high enough to dodge the ball, I jumped and the ball crashed directly into my face at dangerous speeds mid-spin.
I let out a cry as my flip disbanded and I crashed to the ground with an embarrassing thud and yelp. "Dammit!" I hissed to myself quietly. I could've easily won that match. A frustrated tear found its way to the laminated hardwood floor. I wiped my face and looked up to see the crowd roaring.
The enemy team member ran over to me and pulled me up off of the ground, pulling me into a tight hug. "You did so great man, I'm proud of you. You put up a damn good fight," he pats my shoulder, letting me go. "Wanna grab a snack and introduce me to your coach after I get back into my clothes?"
I smiled, glad he was at least a good sport. "Sure thing dude," I said, just in time for the two teams to come over and celebrate. The North team applauded me and told me I did a great job, as did some of the other members of the enemy team.
"You play for the North Islands Private Academy, right?" The man that led me to the locker room ran over to me frantically. "Yeah, yeah I do!" I smiled enthusiastically. "How would you like to come out and play for us when you graduate?"
"Seriously?" I cried excitedly. "No," another manly voice echoed from behind me. I heard heavy footsteps, a muscly, well-dressed Koopa approached us.
"He's coming out to play for us when he graduates. He belongs on the south side for cryin' out loud," the Koopa said smoothly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
"I- uh.. do I have to choose now?" I asked nervously. "No, you've got until you graduate,"
"Okay... well I'll think about it. I'd love to play for one of your teams!" I beamed. "Do think about it, we really do need a player like you, I'm Coach Brantley by the way. You can call me Brant," he said.
"You're a beast out there bud, the North would love to have you. I'm Coach Rory, but you can call me Coach R or just Rory, whatever's fine," he said, patting me on the back. He left, walking back over to my Coach, leaving me with Brant.
"I'm gonna get in contact with your father, and we can get you and my son to do some training, that's if you want. You can have dinner with our family, get to know us, and whatnot, but on top of that, my son and I can turn you into an unstoppable player. You saw him, he's on the big and tall side for a Koopa but that doesn't stop his speed. You should be hearing from our family soon, son. Have a good one," he took his arm from around me, presumably heading to the locker room to give his team a celebratory pep talk. Something about him made me feel comforted, so I was excited to see what his home and family would be like.
Instead of going to the locker room to change, I went and waited outside the South Islands locker room and waited. The team piled out, yelling a chorous of greetings as they passed, in their normal clothes. Most waved but I got a few fist bumps and shoulder taps on their way out. Last ones to come out were the coach and his son. Brant ruffled my hair, cracking a small smirk.
"Dude!" The dark skinned brute emerged with a smile, shutting the door and locking it. "Dad!" He called, throwing the lanyard up to his father. He stuck his hand behind his back and caught it without looking back.
"I'm Bruce," he turned to me as I leaned on the wall. He went to bow, but I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Casual," I said quietly.
"Oh, my mistake," he said, reaching his arm out and bringing me off the wall as we began to go the same way his team had.
"Im Taemin, but feel free to make a nickname out of that," I said. I really didn't like my first name.
"How about Sir T the Third?" He joked.
"Bruce," I groaned, trying not to smile.
"Okay, okay," He chuckled.
"How about Little T?" He proposed. I shrugged. I was little, and I was also T.
"Sure thing, I like it!" I smiled. He laughed. "It's a winner!" He cheered.
We headed upstairs and to a hotdog cart, and I waited as he ordered his food. I went up to order my combo, but before I could get out my money he slid an extra ten on the counter.
"Hey," I said. "You don't have to do that, I've got it," I said, giving him a sincere smile. "Dude it's chill, my treat," he shook his head, putting an arm around me. I couldn't help but grin into the ground. I couldn't believe how nice the people were here. It was something I couldn't ever wrap my head around.
"Thanks, Bruce. I mean it, man," I said as our combos came out. "Of course Little T, no sweat," he pat my shoulder reassuringly. He gave the cashier a tip and a handshake and we sat down in front of the large front window wall to eat.
As we dug in, I couldn't help but eat like the hungry teen I was, though I stayed as clean as I could, I couldn't say less than that I was devouring my meal. He looked at what I was wearing and suddenly stopped eating. Breaking the comfortable silence with a frown, his eyes rose again to meet mine. "Aw man I should've let you go to the locker room first. I'm sorry buddy, I wasn't thinking,"
"Oh this?" I pulled on the bright jersey. "I like wearing this. It's a college jersey, and I'm still in high school," I chuckled. "But," I continued, "I'm gonna end up giving this back anyway, so it's fine. Don't even worry," I reassured him, taking another bite of my food. He nodded, taking a bite of his as I brought my drink to my lips.
"So, did you know your dad knows my dad?" I quizzed curiously. "Yeah, of course. He's a good family friend. He's known my dad a while now, and a couple of his sons stop by every once in a while to hang out," he said.
"That's pretty cool!" I mused. I enjoyed the idea of having family friends. "I actually live right up the hill from you guys, now that you moved into the presidential place. I ride my e-bike around a lot and saw it everyday back when it was still empty," he told me. I nodded, interested to hear. I was also delighted that such a chill dude lived so close. Not only did I have Tony to hang out with right down the hill, now I had Bruce, a few houses away.
"Wow that's not even bad. Right up the hill where the curve is?" I asked. "I live right on that curve. Right in the middle of that curve is my driveway actually," he chuckled. "Nice, man! I'm definitely gonna have to come get to know you guys," I nodded happily. He smiled brightly, contradicting his mean appearance. "Sure little dude, that would be cool," he said, taking the last bite of his food. I ate my last few fries and finished my drink.
"Dude thanks for this, seriously," I said, throwing my trash away and making sure I'd cleaned the table. "Of course," he said. I offered him a hug and he chuckled, bringing me in tightly and patting my back good naturedly. He waved at me as he headed for the front entrance, and I waved back as I headed deeper into the stadium. I went down the stairs and through the way I came, picking up my pace into a brisk jog.
I hurried into the North Side locker room, moving past everyone and changing back into my clothes in an empty corner. I put the uniform back in the storage room for the coach to collect, and returned to my team still chatting in the bleachers. I was met with a bone-crushing hug from coach as he picked me up and swung me around. My friends all crowded me, swinging their arms around me and loudly congratulating me eagerly.
"Little buddy that was great! I recorded the whole thing for your dad, he's gonna be so proud!" Coach cried. "You're fucking bomb dude!" Morton cried, giving me a knuckle sandwich from behind. "Yeah, you did so fucking good, Lil bro!" Roy slapped my back. I grinned, thanking them. Silver and Clover lifted me in a chair and carried me up the stairs as the rest of the team cried my name in a triumphant chant.
It's crazy how on the court I defaulted to thinking everyone would be disappointed in me, yet it was the complete opposite. I smiled, letting the negative thoughts in my mind drift away. I was pretty sobered up now, which allowed me to realize I was thinking good about myself without the help of weed.
We ended up blasting Rhymes Like Dimes on the way back home. The songs shifted through my liked songs on Spotify, the air light, and carefree with the way the conference went.
POCKET ROCKET by Cochise played as we rode back to the house, the song ending as we pulled in. We all met up down in the basement and I made sure I had all my shit, leaving my bag in the car because I planned on heading home soon.
"Let's smoke a couple of blunts before we head out," Roy said, pulling out his massive bag of bud. We all agreed, so I pulled out my e-cig and hit on it until Roy and Morton had a couple of fat blunts rolled.
"Let's let victory boy have this shit to himself," Roy said, passing me one of the fattest ones he rolled. "Bet!" I cried, snatching that shit out of his hands.
"No seriously though, I was clenched that entire time," Chuck said.
"That was crazy as fuck to watch, for real," Tony added.
"I had no damn clue you could move like that while high," Marko said, nudging my shoulder.
"I did have a fucking huge speed disadvantage," I said, sparking up. I took a long puff, ghosting it, scrunching my face in satisfaction, leaning back dramatically.
"Damn," I muttered, nodding approvingly at Morton's roll. It was a really nice pull.
We blasted some Miki, Tyler, The Creator, and various other artists as we smoked. After we had finished up and cleaned our mess we went outside and hopped in Coach's pool. We all wrestled playfully, playing music and being teens, rewarding ourselves for playing so good at the conference. We were a top team for a reason. Tony jumped out of the pool, heading through the sliding doors. He came back with some wine coolers, two cases of them. I took a grape and everyone picked their flavor. We all cut loose, downing the entirety of the cases and getting wildly cross-faded. We hopped out to dry off and do some cleaning, changing back into our clothes and running some video games.
Soon enough after sobering a little, we all started heading our separate ways, and Marko, who lived in the same neighborhood walked. I made sure to squeeze everyone tightly before gathering my stuff and leaving.
Coach wrapped me up in a one-armed hug, slapping my shoulder abrasively. "See you in practice tomorrow, boys," Coach said as we all headed out his front door. We all told him goodbye and I decided I would take Tony to his new place since it was on the way and the twins, since I was admittedly curious about them.
We all hopped in my SUV and I took out my e-cig. I pulled out before Coach, him taking the direction further into the neighborhood, and my brothers following me up the hill to leave the neighborhood. I planned on dropping the twins off first since Tony and I are gonna be in the same neighborhood.
Tony deserved all the help my dad gave him. What was once a low-income family now has a fully paid-off mansion in the hills. I could only imagine how nice and homey the rest of his family would be.
"What's the address?" I paused at a stop sign and turned to the twins. Silver grabbed my phone, putting his address in the navigation.
I looked at the minutes and saw they were about 20 minutes out.
I let my foot smoothly clash with the gas as I turned onto the main road. I made a face as my phone lit up with notifications. Not really worrying about driving, I multitasked, opening my phone to its messages on the stand and letting the directions play in the background. "Merge into Highway 66," the GPS chimed, interrupting Hell Shell by Young Nudy.
I turned and sped up a little as I turned my phone back to the directions. I'd check it later as long as it didn't buzz again. We all fell into goofy conversation as we laughed at anything that was slightly funny. Oh, how I loved being faded. It made me more of a lead foot than I already was, but my skills felt refined, and my stress was constantly at bay as I made sharp turns flawlessly at high speeds.
We pulled up on an old house pretty far out. The neighborhood they lived in ensured tons of land for each of the sprawling traditional homes. I could see the four-wheelers in the massive carport of the rotunda driveway attached to the side of the beautiful brick home. The home looked like it was renovated recently.
"Thanks for the lift," Silver said. "Come in and meet our mom, she thought I was joking when I said we made friends with a prince," Clover said. "So it's for the status huh," I sighed dramatically, faking hurt.
"Nononono," Clover cried in concern as Tony burst out laughing and Silver began to tease Clover for his response.
I hopped out, letting Tony hold my e-cig, and walked with Silver and Clover into their foyer. "Are those my boys?" I heard a womanly voice call out.
"Yup!" Clover called out as Silver perched his elbow on my shoulder. "Oh, my goodness is that-"
"I told you I wasn't joking,"
She went to bow as her feet met the end of the stairs. I stopped her, "No need for formalities ma'am, I'm just their friend," I smiled. "He's really chill," Silver commented.
"Well I'm Mary," I shook her hand. "I'm Taemin, it's very nice to finally meet you," I greeted with a gentle smile.
I turned to the twins. "I gotta be heading out guys, see you at school," I went to turn around but Clover swept me up from behind, spinning me around. "Clover!" I shrieked, laughing as he sat me down. Silver slapped my hand and we locked it in a handshake, him pulling me in. "I'll check y'all out," I said. "Bet," they both echoed. "Feel free to come to hang with the boys anytime," Mary said. They all waved at me as I left.
I hopped into the SUV where Tony looked like he was fading in and out of his body. He sat up abruptly as I shut the door to the car. He tossed the Novo into my lap and I left it there. I pulled around the rotunda, putting the SUV in park, laughing to myself.
"I met their mom high, dude," I turned to Tony, who just stared back as the SUV sat in park at the end of the motor court. We both burst into laughter, laughter so hard that we were dry-heaving. We desperately tried to stop, but after a few minutes of sitting there, we were able to cool our faded asses back to reality.
I put on I must apologize by pinkpanthress and drove off, setting up the directions as I drove carefully. I put the phone on the stand after a few seconds as it began to direct me to my house, the mellow, bassey music oozing out of the sound system.
I headed wherever the directions told me, and I and Tony kept up a decent conversation considering our mental status. To put that in retrospect, Tony would quite literally laugh at birds flying in the sky. I'd laugh along because the fact that he was laughing at birds was funny enough to crack me up. The multi-repeated song hit its climax as we entered my neighborhood, pulling into the first mansion on our road which my dad was having updated for Tony and his family. It looked to be almost complete.
"Wow, this one is nice!" I cried, looking at the sparkling manor. It was dressed in white, black shutters contrasting against the siding. It had a long 4-car carport protruding from the side of the beautiful home. "Isn't it just a dream?" Tony said in wonder. "I'm so glad you get to live the carefree life you deserve," I said honestly. You could still see trucks parked around the property. Some are moving trucks, carrying in furniture, new and old combined. They carried his family's belongings in large boxes.
Some trucks to do other things were outside as well, such as the landscapers, and the people who painted the house and the shutters its pearly color setting up to leave.
From where I was parked I could see inside slightly into the large foyer. "Your dad's getting pretty close to my family now, we can't thank him enough for what he did," Tony said. He turned to hug me, us being slightly sober and able to process it better. I wrapped my arms around him, glad he was grateful, but I wasn't the one who had it done. It was my dad.
"Show that gratitude to my dad, you have his number, call him when you get inside," I beckoned. "I can't thank you guys enough, I'll do it, man. See you Monday," he said, stepping out of the car. I shot him a smile, waving at him softly.
I leaned back, my heart beating as I watched him walk inside the house. He looked back at the car one more time before looking around the interior of the foyer as if he had never been there before the door shut.
I started the SUV back up, pulling up to the road, looking both ways briefly before turning to go up the hill, passing more glorious homes before reaching the top. There sat the biggest of all, shining and sparkling. I felt immense relief that I was now in sight of my house. I really couldn't wait to finally spend some time just chilling in there.
I pulled up in the motor court, opening my phone for the garage. I pulled in between Dad's escalade and Ludwig's bentayga, stepping out. I headed for the basement door, pausing as epiphany somehow shook me to my core. The garage door began to close, so I sprinted toward it and slid through the gap before it closed.
"Oh my God," I whispered to myself, breaking down into a kneel in front of the multi-million dollar car parked amongst many others. I hurriedly took a picture of it. I don't know why, but I was in an earthquake within my body. Preventing myself from shaking was impossible as I opened and sat in the pearly new car.
After a few minutes of just sitting there, mind swirling with thoughts on how I got here, I mustered the energy to exit the car.
I opened the garage door, entered the large estate, and maneuvered through the basement and up the foyer stairs. I headed upstairs, immediately taking my clothes off and stepping into my shower. I washed for what seemed like forever. The steaming water assaulted my pores, allowing for utmost relaxation on two feet.
After what seemed like hours I stepped out of the shower, put on some shorts and a t-shirt, walking to put some fuzzy PJ pants and another shirt in the dryer to get warm for my nap. Ludwig caught sight of me, wand wielded as he stalked towards me, casting a freeze spell on me with a devilish look on his face.
I could only move my eyes as he snatched the clothes out of my hands and put them in the dryer, setting the time. "Love ya, you little imbecile," he slapped my neck pretty hard as he walked away, laughing. As he reached his door, he turned around, running back to me and picking me up.
As he lifted me effortlessly, I was stuck in my position like a toy as he sat me down not-so-gently face-first onto the ground before un-freezing me. I hurriedly scooped myself up off the floor, water droplets splashing the halls as my soaking hair danced while I catapulted down the hallway after my big brother.
He tried to slam the door but I caught it, sliding myself in. He was waiting beside the door to grab me and without hurting me too bad, swing me across his floor. I was sliding so fast I careened through his room, nearly hitting his bed on the way to his library.
I stood up, looking at him in disbelief. "Come here you bumbling idiot- I'm just playing," he strode over, wrapping his arms around me and patting me on the back.
"So you don't hate me?"
He let a massive sigh rock his body, and I felt the rise and fall in his chest.
"I never hated you, I guess I was just envious," he said, letting go.
"Well?" I asked.
"What?"
"Lemmy..?" I bit my lip. He brought his hand to roughly show itself through his fluffy blue curtains in frustration.
"I wasn't expecting him to agree with me," I widened my eyes. "I'm still angry at myself because I feel like I turned him against you,"
"Luddy, there wasn't a recital or a rehearsal. If he said it then, he would've said it eventually with or without you," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at it awkwardly before I let it drop.
"No one's called me that since I was little," he mumbled. "Well, I guess I'll start," I said. He looked up at me with a sad smile.
"So... you don't hate me?" He chuckled nervously.
"I couldn't," I replied.
He walked up to me and leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. His fuzzy blue locks bounced down, allowing the colors of our hair to mix playfully, creating a swirl of blue, black, and blonde.
He engulfed me in another hug, to which I returned. "Glad we're good again," he said.
"We were never not good," I said, smiling as I left his room. I paused. "Can I borrow your soundbar?" He glanced at the dusty speaker under his TV. "Go ahead and unplug it. I never use it, so you can just keep it," he waved a hand in dismissal. "You're a fucking lifesaver man,"
He cut off his lights with the remote, drawing his curtains and cutting on his fairy lights with yet another remote. He cut on his TV, plopping on his bed. "You wanna watch something?" he asked as the blue LEDs behind his TV cast an entrancing glow. "I'm about to roll a blunt and take a nap," I said. "Maybe later tonight I could," I amended. "Oh, yeah that's okay," he said, cut off by a brief pause. "You smoke?" he raised an eyebrow. "Guilty," I chuckled, raising my hand slightly. "Come hotbox the Bentayga later tonight. I widened my eyes. "Are you for real?"
"Yeah, look under my bed. Look for the black Jordan shoebox," I reduced myself to a crouch, lifting his bedskirts and pulling out the box. I look inside and see 2 ounce bags, one-half full, and a bunch of rolling paper, disposables, wraps, and lighters. "Holy shit dude," I don't know who I expected this from, but Ludwig?
"Gotta cope with school somehow. I'm gonna grab a new bong tonight when we hop in the car, we'd be in and out," he said. I nodded and shoved the box back under the bed.
I sat in my room, grabbing my bag from the side of my bed, and began rolling a blunt. I plugged the soundbar in, connected my phone, and played Kill la Kill by Trippie.
I sparked it, using the remote on my nightstand to cut off my lights, and turned on the LEDs to a light purple in a clockwise motion around my ceiling. I continued to hit my blunt, scrolling through Instagoomba. I finished that one, setting the roach on my nightstand, remembering to get an ashtray later tonight. There was ash all over my nightstand.
I rolled up another one, feeling nice and relaxed. I felt so, so good and happy. I mentally thanked Ludwig again for this soundbar. I was so glad to listen to some music out loud right now. I'd rather not use my AirPods. What if someone called my name?
I sparked up the next blunt, putting everything back in my bag and pulling my pen and my vape out of it. I zipped it up, scrolling through my phone. Just then, Wendy walked into my foggy room.
"Ooh, can I hit it?" she asked, prancing over and sitting on my bed.
"You get high?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Uhh- yeah. What do you think I did with my girls this weekend?"
"And dad didn't mind?"
"King Dad knows that just about all of us smoke except Larry and Junior. Even Ludwing smokes," she scoffed as I handed her the blunt.
"Ludwing?" I asked.
"Yeah. Ludwing. It pisses him off so bad that I always call him that because it's funny to post his reactions on my story," Wendy said, letting a smoke ghost breeze across her lush, lipsticked lips. "My lipstick won't stain the blunt, don't worry because God knows I've thought about that," She said.
"Eh, it doesn't matter to me," I said.
"You would if you hit the blunt and your lips came off looking like mine," she pursed her obviously oversized lips and let them fall back to a smirk. She took one last hit and passed it to me.
I hit the blunt as she continued to online shop, both of us communicating through the beautiful silence that struck the foggy room as we passed the blunt and simmered in our high.
Soon enough, Wendy left to go check on Larry as the dryer's timer rang. The faint modern jingle behind the door drew me to the dryer that announced the conclusion of its cycle.
I stood up, a foggy, slightly deluded version of myself, and pushed the large, white door open.
I ran a hand through my hair and swaddled the toasty pajamas within my arms. I carried them across the hall and upon the closing of the door, stripped quickly and replaced the shirt and shorts with the warm, soft napping attire. I sat crisscrossed on my bed, reaching over to my nightstand and setting my vape on it, and making sure my phone was on the charger.
Yawning, I swept the covers over my body, settling down and letting silencing slumber do the rest as my Spotify liked songs played softly.
———
"AHHH WHAT THE FUCK!" I found myself awoken in a flurry of harsh orbee bullets full-auto into my face. I flung myself off my bed and onto my floor. My face immediately began to well with red dots. The bruises I accrued seemed to dance in a furious joy of vibrations against my pores.
My light was turned on, and heavy footsteps were heard dash in across the room to the other side of my bed. To my surprise, Junior was lifting me off the ground by my arm. Compared to me, I completely forgot that he was 5'3, nearly taller than me.
As a seven-year-old would a broken toy, he cuddled me to himself, crushing me against his bright yellow Gucci sweater. I groaned, the vibrations on my face annoying me beyond belief. "You hurt him!" Junior cried.
"I forgot his skin was more sensitive than ours,"
"Yet you used a Koopa toy on a human boy!" Junior furrowed his brows, even more, livid than before. He began to lift me with ease as he began to carry me out of the room in our crushing hug position. His tight squeeze on me didn't allow for much air, but I didn't want to hurt the little man's feelings by asking him to put me down, so I let him carry me downstairs to dad's office, responding with a smile whenever he kept asking me if I was okay
he'd look at me with his wide, young concerned eyes. I found it too adorable.
He gently sat me awkwardly position in a chair in dad's office. For his sake, I didn't move. I wanted the poor tike to think he did it right.
"I didn't know it would hurt him!" Roy bellowed, nearly tripping on the threshold as he bumbled through the office door. "It's fine, it only stings," I groaned, rolling my eyes.
"Get out of here brats!" Bowser waved his hand, signaling for us to leave. "Not you, dumbass," he smiled as I got up to leave with the other two. The door clicked softly as Junior shut the door.
"How about that movie?" Bowser said, putting his stack of folders he was working on away. "I'd love that," I smiled, completely forgetting I was just woken up from my nap. I was beyond ecstatic. I would finally be able to watch a movie with my father. Just father and son bonding and the thoughts of it had an unnaturally wide smile spreading across my face.
"Let's go grab some junk food," he said, getting up. He lifted me from the chair and rapidly spun me around with his incredible strength. No matter how hard I tried I could stop the fresh rounds of laughter that escaped my lips. He put me down and I hit on my vape as we walked into the kitchen. "You wanna get stoned with me real quick?"
"Do I wanna?" I asked. Hell yeah I wanted to! I was already sobering up too.
"What? My kids never wanna get stoned with me," he said. "Well I do," I said, helping Bowser grab loads of snacks. Larry walked in, nearly making me drop all the snacks I was carrying. He wrapped one of his arms around my neck in a chokehold, and with the other hand pressed his phone to my head like a gun.
"The Oreos- drop 'em!" he cried.
"You are so damn corny," Bowser said, raiding the fridge for drinks.
"All yours," I dropped the large pack of double stuffed cookies.
"Good," he disconnected his body from my back, letting his arms drop as he kneeled to grab the cookies. I set all the other things on the counter. He took nearly a row of them, putting them on a plate. He tossed the rest of the pack back onto the island with the rest of the stuff. Bowser looked in one of the bottom cabinets and grabbed a large bowl. "Put the junk in here," he said, moving next to me. We accrued an entire bowl worth of junk. Satisfied, Bowser grabbed the two 2-liter Sprites and we headed down to the basement. We maneuvered through the hallway, the arcade hangout, and the bar. We arrived at the back of the basement near the garage door to the left of the bar area.
"As soon as I got home I put my stash down here," he said, going to open a closet door.
When I say bags on bags, I'm talking about pounds. He took one of the bags as my jaw began its mad descent to the floor. "Woah- what the hell!"
"I don't plan on running out," he said, taking out some Backwoods. He tossed one of the bags of magic on the couch and reached further into his closet to grab a lighter.
He sat down next to me and opened his arm for me. "You can twist with one hand?" I questioned. "You're so tiny I can reach around you, boy. Get in here," he laughed. I leaned on him as he closed his arm around me, still being able to use two hands. "Alright, smartass," I chuckled, then immediately widened my eyes and slapped my hands over my mouth, looking into Bowser's amused eyes. "I'm sorry," I muttered quickly.
"As long as you're not genuinely being disrespectful you can cuss at me. Cause I'll cuss at you in a heartbeat," he said, gently knocking his head against mine. "Loosen up trooper," he said. He finished his roll, and he took his arm from around me, setting the backwood on the armrest.
"Put on some music while I get us some real drinks," he said, handing me the remote for the many speakers engraved into the ceiling. It reminded me of a school P.A. system, but instead in my basement for music.
I put on Shaveni by kolodon and began to softly dance. I stood up on the couch as Bowser peeked his head out of the wine cellar behind the bar, bobbing his head playfully before going back in. I grabbed the backwood and began to dance wildly with it on the couch. The sound system was so good. The sound quality was supreme to any other speaker I've heard. And since it was basement wide, you heard the song everywhere.
He came out with Paul Masson, Don Julio 1942, and Hennessey.
He sat everything on the table and grabbed his lighter as I played Morning Bump by Elijah Who. We smoked in silence, me leaning on my Dad's side and his arm wrapped around me, just us. This is exactly what I wanted.
We finished the blunt and I was absolutely out of it. Dad turned on the TV, so I paused the music and disconnected from the sound system.
"What do you wanna watch?" Browser asked. He sipped out of the bottle of Hennessey, and passed it to me, which I slowly reached out and swiped from his claws.
"It's up to you," I shrugged, taking a large gulp of the drink.
He put on a random new release, and the intro played and immediately locked me in a state of enhancement.
We sat through the movie, with the flick ending on the brink of me asleep. My head was laid on his chest, and my body was still pressed against his side. Browser still had a tight grip on me. The sandmen marched in my eyes. I was incredibly tired yet it was only around 8.
Upon hearing his snoring and feeling the rise and fall of his chest even out, I knew he was asleep, so I let myself drift off too.
I woke up, glancing at the TV's screensaver. It was 11, but I woke up with a lot of energy. I removed myself from my father. We had cleared a blunt and a bottle. I didn't drink as much as my father did. I silently thanked myself for avoiding a bad hangover, congratulations to me!
I sleepily got up, but my dad didn't budge, continuing his onslaught on the air with his obstreperously loud snoring. I let out a stifled laugh and snapped a picture quickly before shoving my phone in my pocket and heading back upstairs.
Ludwig flinched as I entered his bedroom without knocking. He was curled up in bed scrolling through his phone. I watched as he yawned, sitting up and patting the spot next to him. I moved to sit on the velvet, cushiony, circular bed. The blue covers and sheets were in disarray from recent use.
"Wanna finish this episode with me?" he asked, gesturing to some sort of TV show he was watching.
"Sure," I said, grabbing one of his many blue velvet pillows and holding them to myself. He leaned back, starting the show. He reached into his nightstand drawer and grabbed his dab pen and turned it on. He took a long hit, exhausting the battery, causing the small device to blink. He produced a massive cloud and handed the expensive item to me. I pressed it gently between my lips. I inhaled and in intense throat strain glanced at the airflow.
Of course, it was all the way up. I slowly began to let out the massive cloud that could've been from the sky. I hacked, feeling mucus rush up my throat as a bull would rush towards its prey. I peeled myself from his bed and spit repeatedly in his trashcan.
"Should've told you how hard this thing hits," he gasped, out of breath for laughing so hard.
"Fuck you," I sat back down, smirking, hitting it again much lighter and ghosting it. It was really smooth and milky. I went in for another hit, ghosting it again, trying my best to ignore the urge to cough. Suddenly, the documentary we watched seemed entrancing, captivating even. The bright tv illuminated the room along with dim LEDs placed around the room.
"This pen is good as fuck," I mumbled, hitting it again and passing it back to Ludwig. "You ready to head out?" he asked. "Yeah, let me put something on real quick,"
I headed back to my room, grabbed my pen and vape, and closed the door on the way out. I put on the animal pack dunks, some grey sweats, and a Death Row Records hoodie.
I headed down to the garage, where Ludwig stood near his bentayga hitting blinkers. I took my pen out and hit it as I got in the car. He took his showbiz and set it on his lap. He took out some Bluntvilles and began to put the bud in the grinder. He put on Mac Demarco as we rolled up. We sparked the blunt and Time With Me by pinkpanthress played out of the speakers.
We both lit our blunts, neither of us getting any breath as the car got foggier. As soon as I was passing, I was receiving. We smoked out the entire SUV, and we smoked a total of 6 blunts together. I was cooked, laid back in the seat.
Ludwig set all the stuff back in his box. He used his phone to open the garage and back out, pressing a button on his phone to close it back. Once it was closed he turned around and drove through the exit to the motor court.
The Wake Pt. 3 & 2 by Slauson Malone played from Ludwig's phone as we drove through lit-up luxurious mansions. I took a particularly long glance at Tony's mansion. I hit my pen repeatedly as Ludwig exited the affluent neighborhood. I must apologize by pinkpanthress played as we drove through the main road. "You had anything to eat for dinner yet?" Ludwig asks. I shake my head, so he pulls into a Coco Burger. He hops out and asks me what I want, and words that I never thought I would speak flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.
"Let me get two original coco burgers with lagoon sauce, a large fry, a shake, and a sprite," I listed. Since when did I ever ask for burgers? A coco burger at that. I had never even had one.
"Alright," he said, turning and leaving. I decide against sitting in the car because I had never actually been in a stand-alone coco burger before. I shut the door and the door locks as he clicks a button on his keys. We stand in line, waiting through the bustling burger joint.
I slung my arm around Ludwig's shoulder and he pulled me closer by my side. We got recognized and let in the front of the line, a perk of status, and got the food in record time. We headed back to the car and destroyed the fast food. I finished it all, nothing was left. Nothing cut the silence between us except the occasional crunch, paper wrapper crumble, or the quiet sounds of us chewing. No words, no awkward phrases of amendment, no jokes, no comments about being high, just us eating. Ludwig set the trash in the backseat, pulling to the trash can and throwing it away.
"To the dispensary!" Ludwig cried in his triumphant voice. We both barked a laugh as Shaveni by kolodon played in the background.
Seasons Change by Quasimoto began to softly play, which inherited razor-sharp silence that swept the car. We pulled into the dispensary, and I looked at all the beautiful bongs I would pick from. Ludwig picked his bong, a big, beautiful bowl with a snake curling up the side, made of all clear and blue glass. I went up to the counter, dapping up link, and bringing it in over the counter. "I'll take the Illadelph Black Light fetus coil, and a Charizard Pokémon pipe for my car,"
"I gotchu..," he trails off as he grabs the bongs from the shelf. "While you're over there can I get an eighth can of Grandaddy Purp, Berry White, Cereal Milk, Power Plant, and Serious Bubblegum?" I said. He wrapped the pipes, grabbed the containers, and put them on the counter.
"You're from the States, right?"
"Course, man,"
"Ever tried NI weed, little dude?" I paused. Thought about it hard. "I haven't actually ever tried it, I thought it was the same," I said. "Nah man, hollon, cause I noticed none of those were local strains," He said, jogging over to the section near the window. I squinted and read the sign above it. 'NI Originals' it read.
He came from behind the counter and set down five canisters. "These are my personal favorite strains and some I think a beginner starting with NI weed should try. Cause this shit will change your life," I nodded.
"These are Ghostbusters, Cinnamon Syrup, Weedwacker, Jelly Bean, and Purple Popcorn," he listed. I opened up the Cinnamon Syrup can and gave it a sniff. I rolled my neck back and scrunched my face in faded satisfaction, nodding slowly. "I've smelt all I need to smell, dude, I'll take all five!" I looked up at him with my wide, red, bloodshot eyes.
"Hell yeah dude! I'm giving you ten percent off!" He cried, wrapping his arm and leading me behind the counter with him. "Can I hit this?" I picked up his vuse, littered with tattered stickers. "Go for it, it's menthol," he said. I hit it long and hard, ghosting and puffing out the smoke. I took another fat toke and put it back behind the counter.
Link wrapped his arm around me again and gestured for me to put my %10 percent discount in. I burst out laughing. "Let me give you a %10 discount, I said, stuffing $1000 in his chest pocket, and running off, ululating random noises and tripping over song lyrics. I grabbed my bag, and ran out of the store before he could say anything. Ludwig was already in the car, hitting his pen. I took out my vape, puffing on it as we drove home in faded silence. Ludwig parked in the motor court in between Wendy's new pink Ferrari and Iggy's Dodge. "Successful hotbox," I said, nodding.
We both got out of the car, Ludwig rolling up the garage with his phone. "Aye, little brother!" I heard Roy. I looked around and my eyes landed on his Wraith, one of the windows down. I turned and headed toward the other side of the motor court. I looked in the open window. Roy had LED's going, and the ceiling stars lit. The car was nearly completely smoked out, and by the look in Roy and Morton's eyes, they hadn't had fresh air in a long time. "Wanna hop in?" Roy said, joint in hand.
"Hell yeah," I said, hopping in the backseat. A guy I didn't know was in the backseat, but I promise my heart skipped a beat when I saw him. "This is my homie, Kyle," he dapped me up, bringing it in. "I'm Taemin, but just call me Jace. That's my middle name,"
"Your middle name is Jace?" Roy asked as Morton passed me the joint from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, I think I'ma start going by it," I said. I took a long puff of the joint.
"It rolls off the tongue... Jace... Jace.," Kyle slurred confusedly. He looked as if he didn't know what he was saying. Being in this foggy car was like being in a spaceship, tinted windows, red LEDs, and the red starlights, all created an incredible scene, topped off with the beautiful view of our manmade lake and illuminated driveway completed with small moats.
I passed the joint to Kyle, and Morton passed me a joint. "Smoke this for yourself while we ride over to Kyle's beach house," Morton said, tossing me back a lighter. "Oh hell yeah, thank you," I said.
Roy pulled out as I smoked the joint. He sped through highways, I must apologize oozing out of his speakers. I began to snap people, joint in hand as I smoked. We all sat on our phones, occasionally bursting into excited conversations for a few minutes, then Roy would go back to driving and we'd be knee-deep in our phones. Me and Kyle got along great.
"Welcome to Casa Del Destefano," we pulled into a large, 3 story beach house. "This all you?" I said, rolling my neck again.
"You know it," he said. "I fucks wittit!" I cry. "I'm just glad I blew up, that's all," he chuckled. "Fuck if I know where I'd be, hell,"
"Roy, don't tell me you got me hanging with a rapper, bro," I said, whipping my head his way.
"What, you into pop music?" Kyle says from beside me. "Oh, hell yeah bro's a fucking rapper man!" I said.
"If anything I should be excited, you're a prince! To be honest I am kinda excited to show you around,"
"We'll stay here as long as you want if your drinks are stocked," Morton slurs, stumbling out of the car.
We headed into the massive beach estate, Kyle giving me a laugh-filled, joking-ridden tour of the sprawling household over some ice-cold wine coolers. He let me try out the audio tune in his studio, we watched a movie while smoking a blunt in his theatre room, and we smoked again out of Kyle's bong on his oceanfront balcony, watching the high tide. We sipped on Hen as we looked out into the beach.
Kyle and I took off our shirts, socks, and shoes, and cleared our pockets before going out into the ocean. The sand felt like heaven to walk on. The waves felt as if I were a deflating life raft and the waves would take me under at any second. I felt like a water monster as me and Kyle play fought in the deep ends of the sea. We wrestled, laughed, joked, and got to know each other under the cover of the blooming moon cast in a silver, buoyant glow.
All good things usually end though, and we found ourselves walking back up the shore, arms around each other, laughing endlessly through faded blurs of intoxication.
After a few more wine coolers and a couple of joints in Kyle's room, which was a beautiful room dressed in white walls, pot lights, and plantation shutter on each window. He had white drapes loosely lined over the windows as the open shutters allowed the drapes to dance gently in the wind. We sat on his bed and allowed the high to wilt us away. The 80 that Roy did on the highway felt like 140. The smooth wraith diced through the night breeze.
We pulled back up in the motor court to the house, and I was excited to grab my bag of goodies and bring them up to my room. That I did, and I ended up sleeping through the remainder of the night, alarm set for a new day at school tomorrow.