Participants:
| Scene Title | A High Schooler |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Amadeus introduces Anna to pot. |
| Date | November 10, 2010 |
Even from the outside, this store clearly caters to specific crowds. Cardboard standees of Spiderman, vie with Gandalf and one of the many manifestations of Dr. Who, and small posters declare release dates for various comics. Once inside, it is clear that comic books are the main sell. Everything from the most well-known to the obscure are present, lined up on the walls and on metal racks, every single one bagged and boarded individually to protect them from damage until they are sold. The store is updated weekly, so all the newest titles are available. Off to the side in a corner are other merchandise, action figures, board games, and figurines that make this place a haven for geeks. Right by the entrance is the counter with a display of the many manifestations of dice, with packets of cards sold behind it keeping the cash register company.
Most guys don't make it a habit of picking up teenaged girls in a van, but Amadeus is not most guys. What he's willing to actually do with a teenaged girl, well, who knows if he has ethics or not, but he does have a crazy girlfriend, and he does like having his testicles intact, so today's trip is completely chaste. He grunts when he realizes she's not outside, then slips from the blue van and heads into the comic shop. He looks around, wrinkling his nose, then peers directly over at her. "Even I don't read books with pictures anymore. Get your ass in gear, ready to go?"
Anna was just finishing up, but anyway, when Amadeus comes up, she shrugs at his insult to her hobby annex job, and nods. "Yeah, I'm ready." She peers at the van parked outside, "Where are we going, Ama?" And then she picks up her bag and her jacket, putting the jacket on before slinging the bag over her shoulder.
As they leave the store, Anna asks, "So you were going to teach me 'real shit to smoke', weren't you?" She doesn't seem overly concerned… perhaps overly naive would be an appropriate descriptor, however. And, as soon as they're outside, the girl flicks out her lighter and her pack of cigs.
"Yeah, cigarettes are bad for you, I tried that shit a few times and just said fuck it. Come on." Amadeus exits the shop, climbing into the driver's seat of his van, then lounges back as the engine lowly rumbles. "If you're gonna do the whole bad girl thing, do it smart. When I was your age, I boned enough chicks your age to know that most of you are fuckin' stupid. I'm gonna make you not stupid. We're goin' somewhere the fuckin' military won't shoot us in the head for smokin' pot."
Anna climbs in the van behind Amadeus, taking the other seat and flicking a cigarette out of the pack, "Do you really mind if I smoke?" She asks with a tone that seems incredulous. "I mean… you smoke pot, that's a tad worse than smokes."
Or at least, that's what the government tells kids like her at school, and she's naive enough to believe it straight. "So, anyway… pot, you said? Isn't that shit expensive? I have a job… but it's not like I haven't got plenty to spend it on…" Like cigarettes.
"Pot's not worse than cigarettes, who tells you that shit? Pot's better than cigarettes, and it doesn't have all the bad shit like cancer to go with it. I grow my own shit, if you want some then just ask for it. I'll sell you a bag for however much you pay for cigarettes, if you promise to stop smokin' that shit." Amadeus sticks his tongue out in mock disgust, starting to drive toward where ever their destination may be. "Fuck, man, you're the first teenager I've talked to in fuckin'… forever. Not countin' the dumbasses I buy beer for sometimes. So like, what, you watch Hannah Montana and believe the bullshit that straight-laced jocks tell you?"
"Those guys who told us all about drugs at school." Anna responds, "They started talking about pot and 'shrooms, then went on to coke, heroin, refrain, that kind of stuff." She shrugs, "Personally, I think refrain is great stuff, let's get everyone on it, and then those bloody Evos won't be a hindrance anymore, and the people will be safe again."
If only it was that simple, huh, Anna? It also doesn't account for the fact that Anna is an Evo herself, but well… she's not gonna admit that. "So anyway… I guess I could try, no promises, though. If I don't like it I don't like it, you know?"
"You actually believe those dumb PSA fucks?" Amadeus reaches over and pokes her in the forehead. "Empty that pretty little head of yours. World would still be fucked without Evolved. You were like, what, ten before Sylar exploded? Hate to break it to you, but the world still fuckin' sucked before that. I lost my ability to the flu, and I'm still out here rippin' people off, fuckin' anything that walks, and breakin' kneecaps for money. It ain't abilities that make people bad, some of us are just born that way."
"Things have only gotten worse since those bloody Evos showed up." Anna responds with a bite, "Besides, if it wasn't for them, my parents would still have been alive, you know? And I wouldn't have needed a fucking job.
"And you might call yourself a bad guy, but you're not the one driving over people with a tank, that was an evo. You're not the one who caused a nuclear explosion in the middle of the city, that was an evo." Okay, so she has put some thought into this.
One weak point in her rationale is, of course, the part where that's only a minute minority of all Evolved. Another weak point is the part where her registration card neatly says 'Evolved'.
"So, anyway… we almost there yet?" She asks, "Or are we gonna drive halfway across the country?"
"Non-evolved have done just as bad or worse shit. Until you realize that people are just fucked up, you're gonna go through life gettin' hurt and disappointed." Amadeus finally drives into an old abandoned junkyard, parking inbetween a few other old vans deep within a maze of cars. "There, ain't anyone comin' in here." He lounges back as the engine is turned off, then reaches into his pocket and offers the joint. "Smoke it slow, hold, then release."
"Whatever." Anna doesn't quite feel like arguing about that right now anyway. As she looks around the place, she raises an eyebrow… "Okay, yeah… I guess we won't be disturbed here…" She shrugs and accepts the joint, lighting it and sticking it into her mouth.
She inhales, filling her lungs with the pot smoke, and holds for a bit before releasing. The pot seems to take effect immediately, and the girl leans back into her chair. Then, she draws another bit from it, going through the same process.
"Not bad…" The stoned fifteen year old says, "But… I can't do this while walking home from work… can I?" Her voice is somewhat distant, as though she isn't fully there.
"Do it before you walk home from work, in an alley or somethin', you'll be fine." Amadeus has his own joint inbetween his lips now, just relaxing his head against the window, since the only thing next to both their doors are vans full of junk. "You're the first chick I ever got high who I didn't plan to bone, congrats."
After a while, Anna puts down the joint. She still sounds distant when she says, "I think I prefer normal smokes, sorry." And with that, she hands the half-finished joint back to Amadeus, "If you want… you can finish it… I'm done with this."
That last comment of Amadeus earns him a giggle, however. "You'd have to be some sort of Pedo if you wanted to bone me…" She says to him, "I mean, you're what… twenty five? I'm fifteen."
"I don't fuck little girls. I fuck dumb girls, but not little ones. Call me in three years and I'll change your fuckin' life… nah, call me in two years, I ain't that patient." Amadeus shrugs, taking her joint and putting it out in his jeans, then slides it into his pocket. "Smokin' is fuckin' disgusting, but have at it."
Anna just rolls her eyes at those comments, "Anyway… can you bring me home now?" She asks, shrugging, "I got stuff to do, and I need to sleep as well, you know?" She shrugs, "I might call you in two years, we'll see…. maybe I'll have a boyfriend by then."
"Anyway, Smoking might be disgusting, but it's legal, that has its advantages, you know?" She grins before she continues, "I can tell you the way to my foster parents' house, it's not that difficult a route."
"A boyfriend ain't never stop me before, just means I don't gotta go teachin' you shit." Amadeus' code of ethics leaves much to be desired, but soon he's backing up and heading out of the yard, putting his second joint out into his pants and into his other pocket. "Show me the way, then.