AN- The chapter where you can promote your stories will be called "SHOUT OUTS" or something like that. Just so y'all know <3
The next day I find Dan in class. He's sitting at his desk, his cheek in his palm. He looks tired. I can feel the late night from before wearing on me as well.
I walk up to his seat, his eyes falling lazily on my face. He lifts his head, smiling as he sees me.
"Hey, girl. What's up?"
"Hey, Dan. I accidentally took your jacket home." I say as I hand it to him.
"Thanks." He responds, hanging it over the back of his chair.
"I know there's a test coming up soon. Are you free after class to study?"
"Shit I totally forgot." He gasps, his head falling back. He lets out a long groan in frustration. "Thanks for reminding me. I work tonight, but it's so chill, pop by any time and we can work on it."
"Where do you work?"
"Cloverleaf Lanes."
"The bowling alley on East end?"
"Yeah, you got it. I work right after class until about nine."
"Great. I'll come by around five."
The professor enters the room as if on cue, greeting us. I sit in my seat a couple rows down and take out my books.
~
Around four I start getting ready. I shower and get dressed. I grab my bag and my laptop before heading out. I stop at a local A&W and pick up some burgers and fries for us both. Hopefully he hasn't eaten.
I pull up in front of the old bowling lane, the neon sign out front showing a four leaf clover flickering madly.
I grab my bag and go inside. I immediately notice the smell of pizza and smoke. The sound of bowling balls hitting pins fills the air, along with rock music. I notice my white shirt begins to glow a florescent purple. There's a black light somewhere.
"Hey, (Y/n)!" I hear. My head turns, my eyes falling on Dan. He's leaning over the large counter, waving at me.
As I get closer to him, I notice the smell of weed. He must've been smoking. So he'll probably be hungry. Bringing food seems wise, now.
We sit at a table in the back room. There are old bowling pins and bowling balls lying around. Along the farthest wall is a counter with bowling shoes lined neatly along it. In the middle of the table sits an old pizza box, a small bag with weed, and a clear bong.
He tosses the box into a nearby garbage bin before he returns to me. He sets his bag on the table, pulling out his textbook and ratty binder.
"I brought dinner." I tell him as I set the bag of food on the table. "I hope you like A&W."
"You're a life saver. I'm starving."
I pull out my burger and fries before I slide the bag over to him. I unwrap my burger laying the paper on the table. I dump my fries out beside it before squeezing some ketchup from a little packet out beside them. I pick up some fries and dip them in the ketchup before I pop them into my mouth. I peer over at Dan, watching as he devours his burger. He has ketchup on his chin, but I doubt he cares.
"Food has never tasted more good thanks it does right now." He sighs.
We work on a section about Macbeth, rereading certain sections and finding references to mental disorders. We name the significance of different scenes. When we're reaching the end of our study session a group of teenage boys come up to the front desk, their bowling shoes in hand. Dan excuses himself to tend to them. He says goodbye, followed by their names. They must come in regularily.
When Dan returns he picks up his bong. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small plastic bag with a dried green substance in it. Just as he is about to open the bag his head pops up.
"Oh, yeah. Do you mind if I smoke? I go smoke out back if you want."
"I don't mind." I respond, scrolling through the notes in my textbook.
He pulls out a small amount of the dried, green bud, louding it into the bowl of his bong. He places it back into the opening on the side before he presses his mouth against the top. He picks us his lighter as he exhales deeply. I hear the flick of the lighter and the sound of him inhaling. He stops after a few moments, lifting his head, blowing a big cloud of smoke out of his mouth.
The sweet scent of the smoke fills my nose, It reminds me of last night when Dan and I smoked together. And just like last night, his droopy eyes meet mine.
"Do you want some?"
I feel my curiosity grow. I've heard of bongs being really harsh, but he seems barely fazed. Could it really be that bad?
"Yeah, I kind of want to try it."
"You sure? No pressure."
"Yeah, I'm sure." I respond.
He nods, getting up and sitting beside me on a different chair. As he did with himself, he fills the bowl with some weed. Then he hands it to me. I support it, one hand on the bottom, the other wrapped around the neck. It's surprisingly heavy. I can feel the water inside jostle around as I shift. The glass feels cold and smooth under my fingertips.
"So, you've never used one of these before, right?"
"No. But it doesn't look hard to figure out."
"You're smart, of course you'd say that." He grins. "Alright, all you gotta do is keep inhaling slowly, until I pull this thing out." He points to the little bowl which holds the weed. "It's hard to get it going, so if you want I can start pulling it for you."
"I'll try pulling it." I respond. It shouldn't be too difficult.
"Okay, little lady. I'm going to light it up. And when I do you needs to start inhaling. The smoke should come soon after."
He lights the lighter, bringing it down. When the flame touches the weed I do as instructed and begin to inhale. The flame catches the weed, quickly charring it black. It only takes a few seconds for the smoke to float up the bong and enter my lungs. Immediately I feel as if my lungs are on fire. I quickly pull the bong away, sputtering and coughing roughly.
"Hey, that was pretty good." He says, chuckling.
Tears fill my eyes, blinding me, and run down my cheeks. I cough hard, my throat burning.
"You're okay, just breathe." He says softly, his hand pressing against the small of my back.
Finally my coughs begin to cease, but my lungs still feel heavy and burned. Along with the breathlessness comes a new feeling, like last night, but stronger somehow.
"Here, let me help." Dan says, using a napkin to dab up my tears. He wipes gently along my cheeks. I blink a few more times, the last of the tears streaming down. He uses his fingers this time to clean them off my face. His movements are gentle, as if he's afraid of hurting me. It's a weirdly sweet gesture.
"There you go." He mutters. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, a little high, and burned." I'm suprised at how hoarse my voice sounds.
"Hey, you could be the new Darth Vader." He teases.
"I'd rather be JarJar Binks."
"No, why?! He's so annoying and ugly. And you're so... not."
"I'm not ugly and annoying?" I ask, picking up on his weirdly worded compliment.
"No, you're beautiful and smart and..." He trails off, realizing what he admitted to.
"Oh, really?" I feel my cheeks grow warm, but I laugh out of surprise.
"Well... Yeah." He mutters, his eyes falling away from my face. "It's no secret that you do well with school. Or that you put effort into your appearance. You're very put together. It's a good thing."
"Thanks, Dan." I smile. I wrap my arm around his shoulders. "Well, I think it's HIGH time we got back to studying."
He sits there for a long moment, my horrible pun sinking in. After a few moments of silence he throws his head back, laughing loudly. He teeters, and I know if my arm wasn't around his shoulders he surely would've toppled and fell on the floor. Something about his laugh is very contagious and I burst into laughter.
~end