Page 4 of Rat Park
Dominic snorted. “Fucking nerd.”
“Hey, watch who you’re—”
“Excuse me,” Mr. Keewell cut them off sharply. “And who dothosebelong to?” he asked, pointing to the cigarette butts at their feet.
“I think they’re the lunch lady’s. She’s got a bad addiction,” Mason said.
Dominic grinned. “Nah. She just smokes in the kitchen and puts them out in the food. Adds flavour.”
“Oh shit, you’re right.”
Mr. Keewell scowled. “Language! You shouldnotbe smoking, let alone here. You should know, young men, that smoking kills. It—”
“No way! It kills? Dude, did you know that?” Dominic gasped, turning to Mason, who opened his mouth in a similar facsimile of shock.
“Dude, I thought they were good for asthma. I have bad asthma, you know.”
“Yeah, Mr. Keewell. Mason’s got bad asthma.”
Mr. Keewell sighed slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Dominic and Mason grinned at each other.
“Anyway, Mr. Keewell, don’t front. We all know you smoke too. With those teeth?” Dominic grimaced.
“Yikes. They donotlook good.”
“Give me a Y. Give me an E. Give me an L-L-O-W. What does that spell?”
“You’ve got teeth cancer!” Mason crowed before they both dissolved into laughter.
Surprisingly, Mr. Keewell did not look amused. “One of these days, someone’s gonna smack that smart mouth right outta both of you,” he sneered.
Dominic just snorted. “Well, it ain’t gonna be you, is it?”
“Both of you, detention in—”
“Nope!” they shouted simultaneously before sidestepping the teacher neatly and pelting away.
“Gotta go Mr. Keewell. Sorry!” Mason called back, ignoring Mr. Keewell’s outraged shout.
Dominic laughed. “See you soon.”
They had plenty of hiding places in the school, and if none of them worked, they could just leave. It wasn’t like anybody really cared anyway.
**********
Dominic was twelve the first time he saw someone overdose.
There was a thumping noise from downstairs as he woke up, bleary and sleep-heavy. It was summer, so he didn’t bother with his slippers as he got out of bed, yawning widely as he made his way to the bathroom. He opened the door mindlessly, blinking a little more awake as it hit something on the other side instead of swinging open. Dominic frowned, pushing at the door, but it barely budged. His stomach tightened as he tried again, managing to open it just enough to squeeze through, almost falling on his face as he tripped over the woman on the bathroom floor.
“Jeez!” he said, grabbing the sink just in time. He looked back at the body. The sight wasn’t exactly unusual. He crouched down and shook her shoulder.
“Hey! Lady!” He watched her flop around, and when her mouth opened wider, it leaked drool and bile.
Dominic stopped shaking her. Not even her eyelids were fluttering.
“Shit. Shit, oh shit.” He didn’t know what to do. He pulled her away from the door, tilting her to the side so the drool dripped from her lips.
Dominic couldn’t tell if she was dead. His hands were shaking as he put a finger under her nose. He couldn’t feel anything.
