Chapter 1

I sighed looking at my watch. "Where is he?" I moaned over to my friend Mike sitting on the couch.

"Who knows man, calm down." Mike said laughing. "He'll be here when he get's here...you're too paranoid"

I just got up and looked out the window of my apartment down to the street. Wiping some sweat off of my brow I lit up a cigarette. "He's ten minutes late."

"Calm down Chris, just sit down." Mike said. "You're starting to annoy me."

"Sorry." I said, and hearing the buzzer bolted across the small apartment and hit the button on the wall. "See, I knew it'd all work out."

Mike just began to laugh hysterically. "Man you're priceless."

A few seconds later there came a knock at the door and I opened it up, welcoming my friend John into the apartment. "Everything go ok?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it?" John smiled, waving a small plastic baggie in front of my face. "Smell that shit" he said smiling.

Mike walked into the other room as I smiled, sweating nervously. I carefully and tenderly peeled the bag opened and took a deep breath in. "Smells good." I half said, half questioned.

Mike came back into the room with a cigar and a small trashcan and sat back down on the couch. "Trust me bro, you'll learn to love that smell." he smiled as he broke open the cigar and emptied the tobacco into the trashcan. "And maybe it'll help you quit those cancer sticks, this is the only place tobacco belongs." he said laughing.

I smiled sitting down on a chair across from Mike watching him work his magic in nervous anticipation. John came from the kitchen with a bottle of water and sat down next to Mike. "Don't worry." he said smiling at me.

"I know, I can't help it, weren't you nervous your first time?" I said, I looked down at my leg and noticed it tapping. I tried hard to make it stop but it seemed to be working by itself.

"Of course, but trust me when I say this, there is no reason to." John said smiling. I just nodded and walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water for myself, my mouth was already dry and I hadn't even started to smoke yet.

When I came back into the room Mike was already finishing up, licking the blunt and blowing on it to dry it off. I dragged the chair close to the couch and sat down next to them. My mind was racing, with anticipation, anxiety, excitement, all kind's of things, I just tried to ignore it.

"Ok, we only used half the bag, this is a very skinny blunt, we're going to do a 2hp, or a two hit pass, but you can start off taking one and passing it back, you won't need that much on your first time." Mike said passing it to John.

I nodded taking a sip of the water and smiling. "I'm ready." I said half-heartedly. All those years of anti-drug ads and teachers and parents had certainly taken their toll on me.

I watched as John sparked the lighter and held it to the end of the blunt in his hand. As smoke began to emerge from the tip he brought it to his lips and still holding the flame to the end pulled on it. He then took a few quick puffs and blew out the smoke.

"Those little puffs don't count as a pull," Mike explained to me "its just a way to make sure the blunt is lit and will stay lit." I nodded and continued to watch John as he inhaled his second hit and passed the blunt over to Mike.

Mike then proceeded to take a deep hit as I heard John coughing. "Good shit" he said and took a sip of the water. Mike nodded exhaling and took another hit, then passed it to me.

This was it, the moment I was waiting for, the moment that excited me and terrified me at the same time. I took the blunt and pulled on it. The paper tasted nice, like chocolate, and the instant I took my lips away from the blunt my lungs felt as if they were about to explode. I coughed more then I ever had before, my two friends laughing and being the courageous guy I am I took another pull, and held it in for two or three seconds before I went into another spasm of coughs, and passed it back over to John.

"Oh man." I said sipping on the water and still coughing as Mike continued to laugh and Mike promptly took his second hit and passed it back to Mike. I wasn't paying much attention to them now, as I now became more aware of my heart beating.

I snapped myself out of it as they passed me it again, and I found it easier to take a hit, but couldn't take as much smoke in, and couldn't hold it in as much, I managed not to cough as much, and took another small hit before passing it back off.

I tried to notice anything out of the ordinary but couldn't. My heart seemed to beat a little harder, and possibly a little faster, but I couldn't really tell, I concentrated on it, and it seemed that the more I concentrated, the more harder it would pump.

"Well?" I shook my head and snapped out of my trance.

"Huh?"

"Do you want more?" Mike said laughing.

"Oh, sure." I said smiling and took the blunt. I was surprised to see how small it was. If I wanted to get high I'd better take two good hits, it'd be my last chance, and I was beginning to think that I would be a victim of not getting high the first time I smoked.

I took a big hit this time, as much as I could, and held back the coughs as long as I could. I then took another one, possibly even bigger then before, and held it as I passed it back to John. I reached for my water bottle coughing and smiled.

After a nice drink I sat back and watched my two friends. I felt light, like there was something protecting me from the outside world of reality. I felt as if I were floating, and wondered if this was what it felt like to be high, that I'd have to smoke when I woke up.

"No man, I told you I'd hook you guys up." Chris said.

"Yea, I'm sorry I doubted you." Mike said smiling.

"No man, I told you I'd hook you guys up." Chris said.

"Yea, I'm sorry I doubted you." Mike said smiling.

"No man, I told you I'd hook you guys up." Chris said.

"Yea, I'm sorry I doubted you." Mike said smiling.

I blinked, and shook my head. I had to wake up from this dream so I could smoke with them. They looked over at me and smiled. "He's gone."

"Wait a second, I just smoked..." I thought.

"Yes you did." Mike said laughing hysterically.

"I said that?" I said.

The two looked at me then at each other and burst out laughing even more.

"Holy shit, am I dreaming?" I asked.

"No man." Chris said laughing. "You're high, really high, I told you to take it easy."

"You did?" I asked. "Did he really?" I thought. The two just laughed even harder. What is so funny? I asked them. They just calmed down and turned on the TV. "I asked what was so funny?" I said.

"No you didn't." Mike said.

"No, not TV." Chris said smiling and moving over to the c.d. player. "He needs music."

I do? I said, "Why do I need music?" I thought to myself.

"You're just going to have to trust me on this one." Chris said. Mike just smiled and turned off the TV and leaned back on the couch.

I began to laugh, I didn't know why but it felt great to do it, it was as if I was fulfilling my greatest earthly desire just sitting there laughing for no reason in particular. This caused a chain reaction of us laughing hysterically for a few minutes, or maybe a few hours, I couldn't tell.

Suddenly the room was filled with a beat, I recognized the trance song, but it sounded different. Somehow, the song had changed, I didn't know how, but it was different. My eyes closed automatically and I laid back in my chair.

My thoughts ceased, and I automatically focused on the music. It seemed so beautiful and elegant, it was beyond words. I realized that I wasn't just hearing the music, I was feeling it, with each beat and each key a different part of my body felt a positive reaction.

My body felt covered in this wonderful warm blanket, my legs felt numb and tingly as if my soul was being pulled out of my legs. I couldn't believe I had waited this long to try it.

Who knows how long passed but the CD ended and we decided to watch some TV. Luckily just at that time the Simpson’s were starting, which was one of my favorite shows, and I couldn't stop laughing, even as the beginning credits began to show.

The guys checked up on me to see if I was feeling ok time to time, which didn't bother me at all, and just set me off into more laughter, but pretty soon I did get a little hungry, and we decided to make a fridge run.

We didn't have much so I offered to share a pizza with them. They offered to pay but I refused, they had given me this experience, and I had to repay them. We went back to the Simpson’s, and continued laughing and talking to each other. Everything I said seemed to make so much sense; and have so much clarity; it was amazing.

The pizza arrived right at the end of the Simpson’s, as if on cue, I got a little nervous that he would know that we were high, but Mike offered to pay. I tried to stay calm and not burst out laughing as he opened the door and payed the man, and surprisingly I was able to control myself.

I nearly mobbed Mike out of the pizza box, and just grabbed out a slice without a plate to put it on or anything. It tasted so good, the best thing I had ever tasted in my life, my mouth seemed to work on it's own, leaving enjoying it the only thing that I had to do.

A few seconds later the pizza was gone, I inhaled the thing without even noticing it, crust and all, I reached for another slice but the guys warned me not to eat too fast. "A stomach ache is the last thing you want, it'll ruin your high."

So I sighed and sat back, and as I focused on the TV show my desire for food soon disappeared as I laughed hysterically at the show. I didn't even know what was going on, but every little thing seemed so funny. I was having such a great time and I didn't want it to end.

Of course it did, a few hours later, when they had to leave. The pizza was gone, and I was getting tired. Before Chris left he left the number of the dealer, in case I wanted to buy some tomorrow, and he also left me the rest of the bag, as well as one of his pipes to borrow. I thanked him and Mike so much for everything, and they just laughed and said their good-byes, to them it was just another day, but for me, it was the day that changed my life, I had found my drug of choice.