Excerpt from MY POCKET OF PAIN
1 - Sweet Sixteen
“Wild Horses,” by The Rolling Stone
by Suzanne Warfield
“Look what I have,” I said as I reached in my bag and pulled out a plastic bag filled with weed.
“Shit! Where did you get that?” Marybeth’s long brunette hair was pulled back at her temples with little rubber bands instead of barrettes. She was wearing the dark blue cowl-neck sweater I loved. Marybeth reminded me a little bit of Mindy from the TV show Mork and Mindy, but much prettier.
“I know it’s crazy!” I said, my voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ve never bought it before. Molly told her boyfriend that I wanted some to bring on the trip. Did you know he sells drugs? I mean, just pot. I think. But god, if only her mother knew!” I pushed my hair out of my eyes and leaned in close to her. “I just thought we would meet more people if we had some pot. You know?”
We both looked up over the tall back of the seat in front of us, peering through the cloud of pot smoke that already lingered over the heads of our fellow conspirators. The sounds of laughter and voices singing to the Rolling Stones’s “Wild Horses” washed over us while we witnessed a bong being passed around as if floating through the air, guided by ghostly hands. We turned and looked at each other.
“Cool!” I said, and giggles spilled out of us, which mingled with the sounds in the bus. “I guess the bus driver and chaperones don’t care if we smoke pot! But let’s just stay clear of my brother.”
We had big plans: skiing every day, partying with our friends, and all with little or no adult supervision.
