Page 36 of Dyana
“Now that we’ve brought down the mood, why don’t we get the living room set up for sleep before we lose all the light?” Jack suggested.
They went upstairs to drag two of the mattresses downstairs while I searched for clean bedding in the hallway closet. As I pulled blankets off the top shelf, a cigar box tumbled out with them. I picked up the box, and when I looked inside, I smiled.
“Hey guys?” I called as I went back to the living room with my find.
“What’s up?” Bryce asked as he took the armful of blankets from me and tossed them down.
I pulled the baggy and pipe from the box and held them up. “Anyone interested in partaking in the devil’s lettuce?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Jack exclaimed as he yanked the baggy from my grasp. “Is this real?”
“I assume it is. I don’t know why anyone would hide a bag of oregano and a pipe in the closet,” I replied.
“Pack the bowl, Jack,” Evan said. “I’ll make sure all the doors are locked and we’re safe, and then we can fire it up.”
“I’ll probably sit this out,” Bryce said. “My parents were addicts,” he explained to me.
“We don’t have to smoke it,” I said quickly. I didn’t want to make Bryce uncomfortable.
“No, it’s fine. Have some fun, God knows we need it. I’m going to search the house for anything useful.” Bryce leaned down, kissed my cheek, winked, and headed upstairs.
“He’s fine,” Jack promised. “He prefers to be the sober buddy.” Jack grabbed the pipe and sat on the floor by the coffee table, which we had moved out of the way. He cleaned out the pipe before packing the bowl. “Tell me we have a lighter or something.” I handed him the lighter that had also been in the cigar box, and Evan came back into the living room just as he was firing it up.
Jack inhaled deeply and immediately coughed it all back out, making Evan and me laugh.
“You good, bro?” Evan asked
“Yeah,” Jack wheezed. “I’m not gonna lie, it tastes like shit, and I don’t think it’s very strong anymore.”
“Who cares,” I said, holding my hand out for it. “Weak weed is better than no weed.”
He handed me the pipe, and I lit it. I took a much more conservative pull than Jack had, wrinkling my nose as the smoke swirled through my lungs. I held it as long as I could, as I handed the pipe to Evan.
“I see what you mean,” I said as I exhaled. “It definitely tastes... old.”
We passed the pipe between us until the first bowl was gone. Bryce eventually joined us with his treasures, which consisted of Monopoly, Connect Four, and a deck of cards.
“Those are the most useful things you found in the entire house?” I laughed.
“Not the most useful, but the most useful to us right now,” Bryce replied.
He squeezed his body between me and Evan, forcing Evan to move out of the way as he sat. Evan glared at him as he moved over while Bryce pretended not to notice. “Let’s play Monopoly first. I’ve always heard that Monopoly is a good way to test a person’s character. Plus, I’ve never actually played before.”
“Wait,” I said, my mouth falling open in shock. “You’ve never played Monopoly?”
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry, how the fuck is that possible?” Jack asked.
“Well, when your junkie parents barely spare the money for food, they don’t usually splurge on family fun board games,” Bryce replied.
Shit. Now I felt like an asshole.
“Fair point, well made,” Evan replied. “Crack it open, then.”
“Doll, you should probably sit this one out,” Jack suggested. “I’m pretty sure you’re still banned from playing in this house.”
“Fuck off,” I replied, flipping him off. “The apocalypse rendered all laws and sentences null and void.”
