Caitlin had always been told that she was attractive, but every time she'd heard it, it made her feel awkward inside. Despite the constant compliments, the pretty, blonde-haired, brown-eyed now fifteen year old girl tried not to let it go to her head. She'd never really thought of herself as attractive before, but as she looked in the mirror one last time, she began to actually feel pretty. Surprised by how she felt, she smiled and went downstairs to her fifteenth birthday party.
Her mother, Liz, had put a lot of thought into the party. She'd snuck into her daughter's bedroom one day to take a peek at Caitlin's address book. She'd invited everyone she found, which (due to Caitlin's popularity) meant that there was quite a gathering on this Wednesday evening.
Caitlin tried to not seem disappointed when she saw Heather, one of her classmates. Heather and Caitlin were in many of the same classes, but Caitlin never really associated with Heather for one reason. Heather smoked.
Caitlin had never smoked anything in her life, entirely because she had grown up with her mother smoking what seemed like constantly, and Caitlin had grown to hate the smell. Because of Caitlin's objections and Liz's resentment, there was a feeling of distance between them. It was because of this distance that Liz had quit smoking when Caitlin was 11. As far as Caitlin knew, it had been four years since her mother's last cigarette. What she didn't know, was that at the last company Christmas party, her mom had consumed a few too many drinks, and smoked a Marlboro red. As much as she loved smoking again, Liz decided that she'' quit for a good reason, and did not want to start smoking again.
"Caitlin," Liz started, "I left the matches for your candles in the kitchen on the counter. Could you be a dear and go get them for me?"
"Sure, mom," Caitlin replied.
She had noticed that Heather had disappeared, but figured that she'd just snuck out for a cigarette while everyone was busy with the cake.
When she entered the kitchen, her suspicions were confirmed.
Heather was walking in the door, their eyes meeting in an awkward moment.
"Hi," Heather said.
"Hey Heather, outside poisoning yourself?" Caitlin replied sarcastically.
"You know, you really shouldn't be so cold to me just because I smoked. You've probably never even tried it, so you don't know what you're talking about!" the angry girl declared.
Caitlin knew that if she agreed, she'd be in a position that she really didn't want to be in, and it would probably lead to further arguing, so she decided that she'd have to lie.
"No, Heather. For your information, I have tried it, and I didn't like it at all," was the best she could think of.
Heather seemed shocked.
"Wait just a second. Are you saying that you, Caitlin Scott, head cheerleader, have actually smoked a cigarette?"
Caitlin tried to play it cool.
"Yeah, who hasn't?" she said.
It was clear to Caitlin that Heather was scheming, and she didn't like it one bit.
A grin fell upon Heather's young face, as she said, "I don't believe you."
Heather stuck her hand into her purse, and pulled out a pack of Marlboro Lights. Caitlin wasn't sure why, until Heather began to speak.
"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do," she began.
Caitlin had no idea what she was going to do, but she was sure she wasn't going to like it.
Heather looked more mischievous than ever as she flipped the top and pulled out an all white cigarette. She held it out towards Caitlin.
"Take it," she demanded.
Caitlin immediately objected, "I don't want it."
"Just take it for a second and listen to me, okay?" Heather answered.
Caitlin was confused, but did as her red-haired classmate said.
The cigarette felt foreign in her hand, but Caitlin knew that she couldn't let her friend know exactly how weird it felt.
"Here's what I want you to do. Sometime when you get a chance, I want you to smoke that cigarette, and then return the filter to me so I know you did it."
Caitlin laughed.
"There's no way I'm going to do that!" she replied.
Heather shrugged.
"It's up to you. But if you don't, I'll have to tell everyone that you've smoked, which I'm sure will ruin your 'goody goody' image!" Heather said with an evil smile.
Caitlin realized she was caught. She couldn't very well turn around and tell Heather that she'd never really smoked, because then Heather would be even more persistent. But at the same time, she also knew that she couldn't let Heather spread the word that she had smoked before. If Liz had heard that after all the trouble Caitlin had given her about smoking, only to turn around and smoke a cigarette herself, there would be hell to pay.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Caitlin asked.
Heather chuckled.
"Because I don't believe for one second that you've ever smoked a cigarette in your life, and I don't think you know what you're missing."
"But I have smoked before, once, and I hated it!" Caitlin protested.
"Well if you've really done it before, then this time won't be that bad, and you've got nothing to worry about," Heather said.
Caitlin thought of the one thing that might change Heather's mind.
"But how do I know that if I do it, you won't still tell everyone?"
Heather thought for a moment. She hadn't really had a lot of time to think her plan through, and had never given that part a thought.
"If I do that, then I'll let you tell everyone something about me that no one knows. How's that?" she asked.
Caitlin wasn't sure if her defense was working or not.
"Yeah? What would that be?"
Heather stuck her hand back into her purse and pulled out a small plastic sandwich bag.
"What's that?" Caitlin asked.
Heather laughed again.
"You've never seen pot I suppose," she teased.
"No, I haven't," Caitlin said, surprised that Heather had marijuana in her purse. "Do you really smoke that stuff?"
"Well, I don't paint the walls with it!" joked Heather. "You ever try it?"
Caitlin was quick to say no.
"Here," she said, handing the small bag to Caitlin. "You can hold onto this so that if I do tell everyone, you can have proof that I smoke pot, and you can tell anyone you'd like."
Caitlin seemed shocked that Heather would trust her so much, but took the bag anyway.
"And don't go smoking it all. It's not that easy for me to get, so I'll be pissed if it's gone. Plus, you just can't handle it."
Heather's words seemed somewhat insulting to Caitlin. Of course she could handle it, she thought.
"Well don't worry, I'll never have to prove whether I can or not," Caitlin replied.
Before Heather could respond, Caitlin continued.
"So all I have to do is smoke this cigarette, and I'm off the hook?" Caitlin asked.
"Yep," Heather answered. "That's it!"
Caitlin wondered when and where she'd be able to get away with it, since all of her friends were in the living room with her mother.
"I'll give you a week, but bring me the filter after so I know you're not making it up. And remember, if it's not brown, I'll know you're lying, so don't go trying anything cute!"
With that, Heather walked back into the living room, leaving Caitlin standing there holding the cigarette and a bag of weed, unsure what had just happened.
She was a little curious about the pot, so she opened the bag and gave it a quick sniff. It didn't smell as bad as she'd thought it would.
Suddenly, she heard her mother coming into the kitchen. Scared, Caitlin threw the bag and the cigarette in the pocket on the front of her purse, which lie on the kitchen table.
"Are you coming, honey?" Liz asked.
"Yeah mom, I was just talking to Heather," her confused daughter answered.
"You know," Liz started, "I haven't heard you talk much about Heather. She seems like a good kid. Why haven't you introduced me to her sooner?"
Caitlin didn't know what to say. She knew she couldn't tell her the truth, because then Liz would be reminded of the arguments that she and Caitlin used to have. They were always about the same thing - smoking.
"We're really not that close, Mom. She's okay though."
Caitlin hoped she wasn't overdoing it.
"Oh, ok," said Liz. "I wanted to make sure I didn't invite someone you didn't want here. Her name was in your book though, so I figured it was okay."
It all made sense to Caitlin now. She hadn't been able to figure out how Liz had known who to invite to her party, but now it was clear. Liz had gone through Caitlin's address book. What Liz didn't know, however, was that the only reason Caitlin had put Heather's name and address in the book was so she could send piles of anti-smoking propaganda to her house as a prank. Prior to now, the two teens had barely even spoken.
As the party ended, and the last of the guests departed, Liz looked at Caitlin.
"God, you're so pretty. Happy birthday, Caitlin, I love you."
"Mom," Caitlin began, "What's up?"
Liz was nervous. She had made plans for the weekend, but hadn't mentioned them until now.
"Caitlin, this weekend?there's a big concert in Philadelphia. No one you'd know, just a bunch of bands my friends and I used to like when we were kids. I'm going to go down and meet up with them there, so you'll be home alone all weekend."
Caitlin was excited. This was the first time she'd been left home alone overnight.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes, really. I've given this a lot of thought, and now that you're 15, you're old enough to be home alone once in a while. You can have two people over if you'd like, but there are two rules. No boys, and no parties, okay?"
"Yeah, mom, I promise!"
Caitlin couldn't believe that she was going to be home all weekend by herself. That night, she could barely sleep. Friday couldn't come soon enough.
Finally, it was Friday. Caitlin spent all day in school daydreaming about how she would enjoy her 48 hours of freedom. She decided that she'd spend the first night alone, so as to fully appreciate the experience of being on her own. The second night, she figured, she'd invite her friends Megan and Erin to watch some movies and have pizza.
Caitlin stepped off the bus with her heart in her chest. She knew that her mom was by now well on her way to Philadelphia. She walked in the front door, and instinctively called out for her mother.
Silence.
A sense of relief overcame Caitlin, and she immediately ran to the living room to blast the radio, something she never could have done with her mom home.
She grabbed a cold soda from the refrigerator, sat back on the sofa, put her feet on the coffee table, and listened to the latest Britney Spears hit.
Caitlin knew immediately that this was going to be one hell of a weekend. As long as she didn't break "the rules", she thought, everything would be great.
She decided she'd barbecue some hamburgers for dinner. The only problem she was having was getting the barbecue to light. The electronic starter wasn't helping much. She decided she'd have to use matches.
As she struck the first match, she remembered the cigarette still hiding in her purse. For just a fleeting moment, she considered going to get it, putting it in her mouth, and smoking it, just to get the deed over with. She quickly dismissed that thought as the flames began to appear in the barbecue.
When she went to the refrigerator to get another soda, she noticed a bottle of mudslide mix in the back. It was about half full.
Caitlin had never drank alcohol before, but figured she might as well try it to see what it's like while she had the chance.
She poured the brown mixture into a glass, noticing how much it looked like chocolate milk. She took a small sip.
"Wow," she thought. "It even tastes like chocolate milk!"
She drank this glass rather quickly, and even quicker decided she wanted more.
By the time she was halfway through the second glass, she was starting to feel a little buzzed.
"Oooh, I like this!" she giggled.
After the end of the second drink, however, Caitlin was plain drunk. Again, her thoughts wandered to the cigarette in her purse.
"Maybe I should just try it," she thought.
She decided that she didn't want to smoke it, but she could pretend, just to see what she looked like with a cigarette.
While she was retrieving the cigarette, she noticed the bag of pot that Heather had given her at the party. She still had no desire to smoke.
She went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror.
Caitlin felt nervous as she held the cigarette the way she used to see her mom hold one, between her middle and index fingers on her left hand, with her hand propped up near her face.
Without even thinking, she brought the cigarette to her lips, and sucked air through the filter. The flavor was similar to raisins as it coated her tongue.
She was surprised at how sweet the taste was. It was nothing like she'd expected. In an odd sort of way, she liked it.
She took another pretend puff. This time, she inhaled air inside her and held her breath before exhaling an invisible stream of imaginary smoke at the ceiling.
She looked much older than 15.
She took one more faux drag. As she did, she wondered what it would be like to actually smoke it. She wondered what she'd look like holding it while it was lit.
"I'm not going to smoke it," she assured herself, "I just want to see what I look like."
Caitlin went downstairs into the kitchen, and rummaged around the drawer she had returned the matches to.
With her heart pounding in her throat, she found the matches. She returned to the bathroom and took her place in front of the mirror.
She put the cigarette in her lips, and struck a match. It took a few tries for the match to even light, due to her trembling hands, but eventually, it lit.
She brought the flame towards the tip of the cigarette, but hesitated before lighting it. How was she going to light it without smoking it?
There she stood, looking into the mirror, with a cigarette in her mouth, and a lit match just millimeters from the tip. It would be so easy for her to just place the flame to the tip and actually smoke the cigarette.
As much as she didn't want to, she was surprisingly tempted to smoke it.
Finally, curiosity got the best of her, and she decided she was at least going to light it. Now she wasn't sure if she wanted to smoke it or not, but she wanted to at least hold it.
The only problem now, was the match was nearly burnt away.
Before lighting another one, she had a thought. She wanted to see what she looked like with a lit cigarette, but she wouldn't get the best views in the dim lighting of the bathroom.
With the cigarette cautiously in her fingers, and the box of matches in hand, Caitlin had another idea.
She went into her bedroom, and headed for the closet. Inside, she retrieved the video camera and tripod that her mother had bought her for her birthday. She hadn't used it yet, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
She took the camera and tripod down to the living room. She hooked the camera up to the television, allowing her to use the television as a monitor. This meant she could clearly see herself as she sat on the sofa. Caitlin wondered if she should video tape the experience, and before she could decide for sure, she found herself putting a blank video tape in the camera.
Now, her heart was really racing.
Caitlin took another pretend puff on the cigarette. She really wanted to light it, but she didn't want to smoke it. It was then that she noticed the candle sitting on the table.
With the camera recording every move, Caitlin lit a match, then lit the wick that sat atop the candle. The flame jumped to life. Caitlin was mesmerized. She blew out the match and set it in the candle holder. Smoke billowed slowly from the tip.
Caitlin noticed the smoke, and leaned forward to smell it. Smoke slipped up her nose and made her cough.
"Why would anyone want to smoke?" she asked herself, not realizing she'd said it aloud.
She still wanted to see what she looked like holding it though. She took a deep breath to calm down.
She nervously stuck the tip of the cigarette into the flame of the candle. Thick black smoke began to rise from the flame as the paper around the tobacco blackened. When only one side of the cigarette was lighting, she twisted it in the flame to make it light more evenly.
Suddenly, Caitlin realized that she was doing it. She was holding a lit cigarette. She was still pretty drunk, but felt like she needed another mudslide to relax a little more. She'd also need an ashtray to tap the ashes into as they burned away.
Taking the cigarette with her, she went into the kitchen, got an ashtray, and set the cigarette in the indentation. She poured herself another drink, picked up the ashtray, and returned to the sofa.
She took a big drink, and felt more comfortable instantly.
Caitlin was surprised at how mature she looked with the cigarette, which hadn't burnt away as much as she'd suspected.
It was then that she remembered what Heather had told her.
"And remember, if it's not brown, I'll know you're lying, so don't go trying anything cute!"
"Dammit!" Caitlin cursed aloud. "She's going to know I didn't smoke it!"
Caitlin took another big gulp of her mudslide, immediately feeling the effects of the alcohol.
She daringly brought the cigarette to her mouth, and placed it in her lips, being careful not to actually smoke it. Smoke snuck up her face and into her eyes, stinging them. She moved the cigarette from her mouth quickly.
"Phew," she thought. "That was really close!"
She looked at herself again on the television.
She again brought the cigarette to her lips, opened her mouth, and sealed her lips around the filter. Without any thought at all, Caitlin closed her eyes, and started to pull smoke into her mouth.
She exhaled a small cloud of smoke across the room.
"Ohmigod!" she exclaimed. "I did it! I just smoked a cigarette!"
That's when she realized it tasted awful.
She was drunk, though, and she wanted to see what she looked like smoking.
"I'll try it one more time," she thought.
She brought the cigarette to her lips, and took another, slightly longer, puff. She was careful to watch herself on the television.
She was amazed at what she saw. The girl on television looked so mature, so grown-up, so sophisticated.
"It must be the buzz," she thought.
As she took a third drag, Caitlin noticed that it tasted nothing like it smelled. She decided that it really didn't taste that bad.
She figured she might as well smoke as much of the cigarette as she could without getting sick.
She was in the middle of her longest drag yet when the telephone rang, startling her. She jumped, and when she did, the smoke slipped quickly down her throat, into her lungs. Her first reaction was to cough, but she didn't want to be coughing on the phone, so she held the cough in, unknowingly holding smoke inside her at the same time.
She picked up the phone.
"Hello?" she said, as whips of smoke escaped her mouth.
She blew out a stream like the first few she'd taken.
"Hey, it's me," Erin said.
"Oh, hi, how are you?" asked Caitlin.
"Pretty good. Enjoying your freedom?" Erin inquired.
"Erin, you have no idea!" Caitlin replied with a giggle, tapping ash into the nearby ashtray.
"Why? What's going on?"
"Oh nothing, I'll tell you about it tomorrow night. Are you guys still coming?"
Erin responded, "Hell yeah, I talked to Megan earlier and we can't wait!"
"Cool, we're gonna have a blast!"
Before Erin could agree, Caitlin told Erin she had to go.
Hanging up the phone, she returned to the sofa, and put the cigarette in her mouth. She took the longest drag she could handle, and took her first intentional inhale. This time she held the smoke inside a little longer before exhaling. It felt amazing, but Caitlin knew (even if she was drunk), that she didn't want to start smoking. This was just a one time thing.
She finished the cigarette, inhaling each remaining puff. When she was done, she turned off the video camera, and rewound the tape.
She pressed play, and watched the whole experience over again. She watched it repeatedly for about an hour, each time becoming more and more amazed that she was watching herself smoke a cigarette. She never thought she'd ever try it. She definitely didn't expect to even remotely enjoy it.
After watching herself smoke for an hour or so, she decided that maybe she'd try it again the next night with her friends. The only problem was she didn't have any more cigarettes.
She thought for a while, and then remembered that Megan's mother smoked. Caitlin wasn't sure if she wanted to take that plunge.
"What the hell?" she figured. "A few more won't hurt me. It's not like I want to start smoking!"
Caitlin picked up the phone and dialed Megan's number. When Megan picked up, Caitlin's nerves took over.
"Hi," she started. "Are you coming over tomorrow night?"
Megan said she was.
"I've got a favor to ask you, and I don't know how to say it," Caitlin confessed.
"What's up?" asked Megan.
"Have you um?ever?you know?." Caitlin asked.
"Have I ever what?" the confused Megan asked.
"Have you ever smoked a cigarette?" There, she had said it. Her plan had been placed into action. The rest was up to fate.
"Oh, no, I've never done it, why?" questioned Megan.
Caitlin was too nervous to tell her friend that she had just smoked her first cigarette, so she changed the subject. Megan noticed, and objected immediately.
"No, you can't just ask me something like that and move on?what's up, Cait?" she asked.
"Well, your mom smokes, right?" asked Caitlin, knowing she couldn't avoid the topic, but maybe she could stall.
Megan sounded unsure of the reason Caitlin was asking these questions, but answered affirmatively.
"Yeah, she does, why?"
Caitlin continued, "Well, tomorrow night when you come over, what do you think are the odds of you stealing a few cigarettes from her?"
"What?!?!?" Megan asked, stunned.
"No, forget it. Forget I asked, it was stupid," Caitlin said.
"No, that's ok. I'm just surprised, that's all," explained Megan.
"Is that even possible?" Megan inquired.
"I dunno, I mean, I've never tried. I'm sure I could though. When did you start smoking?" she asked.
"No, I haven't. I just think that we're all going to be alone, no one to watch over us?.we can do whatever we want, and I thought?.well, who knows, ya know?" said Caitlin, trying her best to sound innocent.
"I'll see what I can do," said Megan. "I can probably get a few. How many do you want?"
"I don't know, just get what you can," Caitlin replied. "If you can't, it's no problem, and don't tell Erin!"
Megan giggled.
"I won't."
The two girls hung up, and Caitlin started to feel tired. She put the matches in her purse, slid the ashtray under the sofa, blew out the candle, put the camera and tripod away, and passed out.
Saturday morning, Caitlin woke around 10am. The sun was warm on her tired, but youthful face. She had a terrible headache, but once she showered and ate breakfast, she felt better. She'd completely forgotten everything about the night before, including the fact that she'd smoked a cigarette. With the window open, the smell of smoke had completely escaped the confines of the living room.
After watching television and doing some much needed laundry, Caitlin was ready for lunch.
She made one of her favorite foods, macaroni and cheese.
While loading the dishwasher, there was a knock at the door.
Caitlin went to the living room and opened the door to find Megan standing there, grinning from ear to ear.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Caitlin.
"I got them!" said Megan as she walked in the door.
"Got what?" Caitlin replied, confused.
"What you asked me for, silly," was the reply.
Caitlin had completely forgotten about her drunken conversation with Megan the night before. She was experiencing her first encounter with excess alcohol.
"Oh, those. Sorry, I was a bit drunk last night," she laughed.
Megan was surprised at what her friend and fellow cheerleader was saying.
"You were what?" she asked.
"Oh, come on, I had a few drinks, it's really no big deal," Caitlin objected.
"No, I'm not saying it's a big deal, I'm just surprised at you, that's all," replied Megan.
"Haven't you ever drank before?" Caitlin asked.
"I haven't done shit!" Megan joked.
There was another knock on the door.
As Caitlin walked towards the door to answer it, she said, "Well, tonight we're not going to be able to drink. My mom will probably already notice that I had some."
She opened the door to find Erin standing on the porch looking confused.
"We can't drink?" she asked.
Caitlin laughed.
"No, sorry."
Erin giggled.
"That sucks, I'm going home then!" she joked.
"Get in here!" yelled Megan.
Erin was by far the more daring of the three young cheerleaders. She'd had some beer while at her cousin's wedding a few years back, but wasn't too fond of the taste.
She was also the only one who had ever smoked.
It had happened a year earlier, while the three walked home from school. They came across a half smoked cigarette thrown to the ground by one of the older girls a few hundred feet ahead of them. Megan had jokingly asked if anyone wanted a cigarette, and Erin accepted the offer.
Erin took a few puffs, and she'd even inhaled two of them, before offering the cigarette to Caitlin and Megan, who both refused. As far as the two knew, this was the only time Erin had ever smoked.
The three girls sat in front of the television drinking sodas when Megan figured it was time to mention the topic of smoking.
"So are we gonna do this or what?" she asked.
"Do what?" asked Erin and Caitlin simultaneously.
"You know what I'm talking about, Cait," she said.
"Yeah, I know," Caitlin admitted. "Go get them."
Erin was lost.
"What are we going to do?" she asked.
"We're going to smoke," Caitlin said.
Erin's eyes lit up.
"Are you serious???" she asked excitedly.
"Yes," said Megan. "As soon as we find an ashtray and a lighter."
Caitlin spoke up.
"There's an ashtray under the sofa and a box of matches in my purse."
Before she could say anymore, Erin jumped from the sofa and said, "I'll get them!"
The two girls just giggled at her enthusiasm.
When she returned, her face didn't show enthusiasm, but rather mischief.
"Hey guys," she started. "We may not be able to drink, but we can smoke!"
Without looking, Megan said, "No shit, dork. That's what we're going to do."
"No," objected Erin. "Look what little Caitlin's been hiding from us!"
Caitlin and Megan turned around to see Erin holding the box of matches in her right hand and the baggie of marijuana in the other.
"Nooooooo way, Erin," said Caitlin. "We can't touch that!"
Erin just laughed.
"So it's okay for you to get high but we can't?" she asked.
"It's not mine!" Caitlin defended.
"Sure it's not, come on, let us just try a little," Erin begged.
"Caitlin responded, "No, it's really not. It's a long story really, but you can't smoke it."
Megan had never said anything about it before, but she was a little curious about what it felt like to be high.
"Couldn't we have just a little bit?" she asked Caitlin, who was extremely surprised by the question.
"Can you guys get more to replace it?" Caitlin asked.
Megan said she could not, but Erin said she knew people who she could get more from to replace the weed.
"You guys can have a little bit if you want, but you've got to replace it by like Monday," Caitlin said, hoping Erin wouldn't be able to replace it by then.
"I can do that," Erin said.
"Damn," Caitlin thought.
"You don't have anything to smoke it with anyway," Caitlin inserted, hoping this would deter them from getting high.
Erin asked, "Do you have a two liter soda bottle?"
Caitlin rolled her eyes and asked what else she'd need. Erin gave her a short list off the top of her head, and Caitlin got all of the items.
Within just a few minutes, Erin had fashioned a crude water bong, ready to smoke.
"How'd you learn to do that?" Megan asked curiously.
"I saw it at a party once," replied Erin.
"Have you two ever smoked it before?" Caitlin asked.
Both girls said no.
With that, Erin took a pinch of weed out of the bag, put it in the aluminum foil bowl, pressed it in firmly, and put her mouth on the other opening. Her heart was racing, but she was excited.
"Ready?" she asked.
Megan nodded.
"Can't you just smoke cigarettes?" inserted Caitlin, trying to stall.
"Yeah, maybe we should start with something not so strong," agreed Megan, as she pulled a pack out of her purse.
"You got a whole pack?" said a surprised Caitlin.
"Well yeah," Megan started. "It's not like she leaves open packs lying around the house."
Handing a cigarette to Erin, Megan said, "You go first since you've done it before."
Erin asked for the ashtray, and Caitlin sheepishly pulled it out from beneath the sofa.
"Looks like I'm not the only one!" she said.
"Yeah, but I was drunk and I don't remember it," explained Caitlin.
Erin put the cigarette in her mouth, and struck a match.
When it was lit, she removed the cigarette, and inhaled a good sized ball of smoke. Then she smiled, as she exhaled slowly.
"You're too good at this. Are you sure you've only done it once?" asked Megan.
"Who said I've only done it once?" laughed Erin as she took another drag.
Megan and Caitlin just looked at her as she turned her head and exhaled, still smiling.
"Oh, relax. It's not like I smoke all the time. Sometimes I'll sneak a puff from my mom's cigarettes when she leaves them in the room, that's all. I only take two or three drags a week at most," Erin replied. "Your turn, Meg."
"Ok," said the nervous brunette as she put a cigarette in her mouth for the first time.
Erin lit a match, and held it out for Megan, who sucked slowly on the filter, allowing just a little smoke to fill her mouth.
She coughed it out quickly, tears starting to flow from her eyes.
"That's terrible!" she said.
Erin just laughed. "Relax, you'll get used to it. By the end of that one, you'll hardly even notice you're doing it."
Megan took another puff and exhaled. This time it was much easier. She passed the pack to Caitlin.
"Here ya go!" she said before trying to take a puff the same size as Erin's.
Caitlin slid a cigarette from the pack and put it between her lips. She was eager to experience this cigarette while she was in the condition to remember it, and decide for sure what she thought of it.
Once lit, Caitlin found herself trying to impress her friends by inhaling and holding the smoke deep in her lungs. The result was something she didn't expect?.an amazing head rush.
All of a sudden, her head was spinning, as if she had stood up too quickly. As she exhaled, she felt far more relaxed than the alcohol had made her.
The three girls sat on the sofa, each smoking one of the long, all-white cigarettes.
A few minutes later, the cigarettes were gone, and all three girls just smiled.
"It's nice, isn't it?" asked Erin.
"Yeah, it really is!" exclaimed Megan.
"Wanna try the pot now?" Erin asked Megan.
"Sure," she replied.
Erin again put her mouth over the opening of the bong, and Megan lit another match. Erin signaled for Megan to put the flame over the pot, which she did. Erin sucked in, bringing the rising cloud of smoke closer to her waiting mouth, along with the sound of bubbling water.
She inhaled as long and deep as she could, then held the smoke inside her until she thought she would burst. When she was done, she put her hand on top of the bong to keep the extra smoke from leaking out.
After an eternity, she exhaled a small stream of pot smoke that Caitlin could smell all the way across the room, where she'd gone in the hopes of avoiding the pressure of smoking it.
"What's it like?" Megan asked.
Erin just smiled. "Try it and find out."
Megan nervously took the bong, and put her lips around the opening. She breathed in the sweet smoke and held it as long as she could, which wasn't very long at all.
She too, exhaled a tiny cloud of smoke.
"Ohmigod, it tastes so good!" she giggled.
"I know, I'm really surprised," agreed Erin, taking another hit.
"Cait, you've got to try this," Megan said as Erin blew another cloud across the room.
"No, I'm okay, thanks," objected Caitlin.
"Seriously, Caitlin, just take two hits, it's great!" encouraged Erin.
Caitlin was feeling confused. This weekend was supposed to be fun, and now she was sitting in her own living room with her two best friends as they got high for the first time together. She felt left out. She felt pressure. She didn't want to do drugs, but she wanted to be accepted. She also knew she liked being drunk the night before.
Erin stood up and walked towards Caitlin, who was sitting on a chair across the room. She knelt down beside Caitlin and put her hand on her friend's.
"Cait, I know you're scared. We've never done this before either. We're just trying it out to see what it's like. You don't have to do it, but you're home alone for the first time, why not live it up a little?"
Caitlin thought for a moment. Erin had some valid points. Maybe two tiny hits wouldn't hurt. She'd never heard of anyone dying from smoking pot.
"Two hits then I'm done?" she asked.
"That's fine," Said Erin, who had signaled to Megan to bring her the "equipment".
Caitlin took a deep breath.
"Okay. I'll take two hits, but that's it."
Megan giggled at the rhyme Caitlin had inadvertently made.
"What do I do?" Caitlin asked.
"Just put your mouth on this part," started Erin. "When the pot is lit, just breathe in slowly and as deep as you can."
"And whatever you do," interjected Megan, "fight the urge to cough!"
Erin and Megan just laughed at the statement, but quickly returned their attention to Caitlin.
"You ready?" someone asked. Caitlin wasn't sure who it was. She was too nervous to even care.
Caitlin took a deep breath. She was about to take an enormous step. She was about to take drugs.
"Yeah," she said cautiously.
Caitlin put her mouth over the opening, and Erin lit a match. She touched the match to the pot, and as it began to crackle under the heat, Caitlin closed her eyes and slowly started to inhale.
The smoke tasted better than that of the cigarette, and went down her throat much easier.
She held it in as long as she could before exhaling a faint white cloud.
"One more," said Erin.
Caitlin returned her lips to the bottle, and took the longest hit she could handle before sucking the creamy white smoke deep inside her lungs.
She held it in until she felt like her head was going to fall off, then exhaled a decent size stream of smoke.
"Wow, that's pretty cool!" said Caitlin, surprised at herself for following through with it.
The three girls just laughed. They stayed up all night, finishing not only the pack of cigarettes, but the entire bag of weed.
Erin replaced it just in time, and Caitlin returned the filter and bag to Heather who never suspected a thing.
Megan began getting stoned at parties, and smoked cigarettes if she was drinking. She tried ecstasy a few times, and snorted coke twice while in high school. She kept them primarily social indulgences, though.
Erin began getting stoned every day, and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day by the end of high school. Erin had even convinced her mother to get high with her on a few occasions. Her mom, who had never done drugs before either, loved it, and in turn taught Erin's younger sister Beth to enjoy the substance as well, who was now 16.
As for Caitlin, she never smoked anything else while she was in high school. Three years after getting high with Megan and Erin, the three graduated, and moved away to college.
All three maintained their status as very popular cheerleaders.
Submitted February 02, 2017 at 09:43PM by smokinglessons http://ift.tt/2k4q52h darksidesmokingfetish
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