Long Distance is a Bitch by shiprat

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Twenty minutes later, Dustin stopped the car outside my apartment. He reached into his pocket, took out the cigarette pack, and produced a joint from it. He looked around to make sure no one was walking by and lit the joint. He took a big puff, held it in for 20 seconds or so and exhaled. The smell of marijuana filled the car. He stretched his hand towards me, offering me the joint. I took a small toke, inhaled it, and held it in. The herb smoke seared my throat as it went down. I kept it in for about ten seconds and exhaled, coughing lightly.

"Fuck, that's strong!" I said, my eyes watering up slightly.

"Yup! Hydroponic and shit!" Dustin said and took another puff.

I felt this weed take effect a lot faster than the weed in India. My head felt light and I felt relief sweeping over me. When Dustin offered me the joint again, I took it and this time took a longer drag. Yes, this was some good strong weed, I thought to myself. Dustin and I both took about 5 hits each and the joint ran out.

"That is good! So good!" I said happily.

"It is not un-good." Dustin said and started giggling.

I joined in and we giggled for a while. The weed was now really starting to take effect.I felt the insides of the car gyrate a bit.

"Hey!" Dustin said. "You wanna hear some of my band's music?"

"I would love it!"

Dustin pressed a couple of buttons on his car's CD player and music combined with smoke to fill up the car. The song was about the bat mitzvah of some girl named Sarah. At first it seemed random, but then as I listened carefully, I could read between the lines.

"It's not about a bat mitzvah at all!" I said "It's about being in love with two people!"

"Exactly!" Dustin said, and raised his palm. I high-fived him.

The next song was about how the hero wanted soft-boiled eggs but got hard-boiled eggs instead. Another song was about jellybeans of different color. The next song was about the difference between goat cheese and regular cheese. I read profound hidden meanings into all those songs that I now forget. But Dustin and I were happily listening to the songs and discussing the subtext. This went on for about half an hour, although considering how high we were, it seemed like several hours.

"I should go. I have an early meeting tomorrow." I said.

"Okie-doke!" Dustin said and nodded.

"Thanks for the weed." I said.

"Thanks for the company." he said.

I got out of the car and started walking towards my apartment building. The walk to the main entrance, about 100 feet usually takes half a minute or so, but in my current state, it seemed like ten minutes. I got to the door and turned around. Dustin's car was still there. Silent. He had not started it. I stood there waiting for him to leave. But the car stayed silent. I don't know how long I stood there. It seemed like a long time, but must have been only a couple of minutes. I then saw Dustin get out of the driver's side and get into the back seat. That puzzled me. I made the seemingly long walk back to the car and peeped into the back seat.

Dustin was lying down with his eyes closed. I knocked on the window and he opened his eyes and rolled down the window.

"Hey Anar!"

"Hey Dustin.... what's up? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just....well....a little too high to drive. So I'm just gonna spend the night in my car here."

"What????"

"If I drive now, I could get into an accident. Or worse, pulled over! I'll be okay just sleeping in the back."

I stared at him and thought about something for a while.

"Dustin." I finally said. "Don't be silly. You don't need to sleep in the car. Come upstairs to my apartment. You can sleep on the couch."

"Oh no, it's fine. I have slept in my car lots of times!" Dustin said.

"Shhhhh!" I said putting my finger on my lips. "Come upstairs right now!":

"Okay...." Dustin said and got out of the car. He quietly followed me to my apartment building and then up the stairs.

I opened the door of my apartment and let Dustin in. It was just past 10 pm on a school night. Obviously, both my goody-two-shoes roommates were in their room studying.

"There's the couch. Make yourself comfortable." I said to Dustin. He rushed to the couch and collapsed on it. Within a few seconds, he was snoring. I guessed smoking weed all day will do that to you. I myself was feeling rather high, but wasn't close to passing out yet.