12 Weed Oath

A young man was checking packs of cigarettes in a fine leather duffle bag, a premium model designed by the famous designer Flavia Nero. Finally, he could find twenty packs remaining. Compared to the number last time, it was clear that none had been stolen.

“Why did I fucking do this? I can’t use any anyway.”

The bag was specifically used to collect his treasure ‘Best Ami’ cigarettes. They were the best cigarette brand of the world (with cannabis, of course.) These precious was the best partner of his handcrafted lighter made of pure white gold decorated with small oval diamonds. On its elegant body had the letter ‘B.R.’ engraved. He craved lighting it. He wanted to see it gradually burnt while the sacred smoke got through his lung but when recalling the recent outcome, he had to resist and collected the lighter in the shirt pocket. Perhaps, there was a way to smoke…perhaps, not for the rest of this life. With this thought in his head, the young man breathed out in regret.

If he had a choice, Ben wished to see the packs running out rather than seeing them lying untouched. They were not deserved to be kept in his private museum, because it was not a virgin damsel, but medicine that must be used.

He checked himself in the mirror before stepping out of the door. It automatically opened. Where he stood was an enormous building without a hole to see the outside world. Only the extremely shiny white wall surrounded his body. Everything was almost white, the unnecessary white floor and the bloody white ceiling. The distance between the floor and the ceiling was about thirty meters. And the lighting that was buried in the wall shone the light.

White doesn’t make you a virgin, Ben thought.

He knocked on the door next to his room. No one replied. Again, exhaled a long breath, his friend might be somewhere here or already sitting in the cafeteria. Therefore, Ben headed there, alone. It was a large hall without restaurant booths but only the automatic machines that would respond to the voice order. Because it was too early, the place was quite empty. His eyes were up at the large menu screens that informed which dishes were available for that day.

Croissant, French toast, banana pancake, egg benedicts, sandwiches, nope, nope, boring, croque champion…no meat? No, thanks. Create your own menu? And what’s the point of having today's menu!

“Hmm…Waffle sprinkled with powdered sugar, the omelet…Hmm, I prefer diced ham, chopped onions, chopped green peppers, cheese, and tomato sauce. Hash browns on tops will be perfect. Don’t forget the sausages, fresh fruit salad, and mineral water. That’s all.”

He was tapping his fingers on the counter and just a few minutes, the order was served through the small window plate. The dish was freshly hot and looked yummy. He always questioned who was the chef, a machine, or a man behind the machine?

Ben looked around to find the lost friend but no one was similar to him. He wandered his sight and stopped when spotting a lovely doll sitting between two plain boys. He had never met her before. Perhaps she was one of the new faces that came every day. Some days they came two or three people and some days, a large group.

The girl caught his gaze. Those big blue eyes shot a glance back and she seemed to wonder why he looked at her. Ben revealed his uniquely charming smile. But instead of seeing her red face or receiving any signal in return, she just smiled politely. His eyes were sharp and quick enough to catch the bruises on her chin and neck. This flower got some injuries but still looked lovely to be grown in a nice elegant vase. The blond next to her narrowed his eyes at him so Ben jerked his brow in the challenge but the boy just moved the seat to block his sight.

“He’s just being nice,” The redhead said.

“I just want to sit here, that’s all,” that boy replied but Ben could catch the displeasure tone. He was upset that a young man looked at his friend.

Ben returned to his meal, smiling to himself when spotting a new blooming flower growing in this cage. It revitalized his soul and he could find a way to kill some time. With this thought, the ‘dormitory’, the word most residents preferred to call his place, became freshened up than the previous day. And then, he started to clean the dish.

“Morning, Ben,” a voice of a young lady behind his back. When he looked back, she had already taken a seat next to him without asking for permission and her friend choose the one next to her. This girl was one of a few flowers he had picked up and never wanted to see again.

“Ah…yes, morning,” he replied shortly.

The girl leaned on the chair, switching her leg intentionally to reveal the smooth skin on her tight. Ben might be fancy it but once he had touched it, the desire was no more. At the same time, her friend laid her mammoth boobs on the table, and poked her head towards him asking, “Do you know where’s Alex?”

He shrugged. If I knew I won’t eat alone.

The girl next to him did not pay attention to her friend’s problem; she kept staring at him. “You’re quiet, Ben. For two days you keep silent from me. Anything to say for your excuse, huh?” She frowned and hugged herself tightly.

He was certain the girl missed him so bad. Ben tried not to laugh. This situation frequently happened to him, especially when he had been a charming little lord in the elite social circle of Futuristic Metropolis.

“Oh, really sorry but I’m trying so hard to recall your name. Both of you. Anyway, my apology, my brain gave me no data.”

The two girls took a few seconds until they understood what he meant. They furiously made the farewell with the word “Asshole!”

Not the first person who cursed me, darling. Ben swallowed the dice hams without thirst for water and any care of the curious eyes around.

Curses from women’s mouth was a blessing for him. The guys usually told him he was mean. Perhaps, they were right. Perhaps, they were absolutely right. Well, all he could remember about that girl was how she lied like a stone and kept saying he gave her the best night she had never experienced. Her moan was amateur, not arouse anything. For him, he had the worst night ever. The girl behaved like a sex doll, lying naked, letting him do the job and finish it. Ben did not mind pleasing his partner or playing the lead but this activity required good collaboration between two persons. There was a difference between ‘being shy’ and ‘being a stone’. The first type could be a master someday but the second type was hopeless. This girl belonged to the second one. He gave her an orgasm. She gave him nothing.

What the hell where is Alex? He thought but not nervous but a little bit annoyed since he had to sit alone.

Ben secretly glanced at the new flower. She just finished her meal and the whole group walked out of the cafeteria. They seemed confused about the direction of this place. He heard they talked about searching for an outdoor space. Ben shook his head at their innocence.

No chance.

Ben had never seen the real sky since his first stay here. After putting the dish in the box written ‘Bin’, his feet moved forward; of course, he was aiming at making the first impression on that girl.

In front of the cafeteria, there was a gigantic black screen attached to the wall but there was no information announced on the screen at that time. To be correct, nothing displayed on it since he came here.

Here was the place where the government claimed it was the rehabilitation program but the residents called it ‘dormitory’. No treatment, no staff, no schedules, they lived freely, well, seemingly. It was bizarre freedom actually. They just could do what they want but could not go out.

This dormitory was like a small community where people could find good public facilities such as a swimming pool, spa, gym, sports field, pub, disco, lounge, or a small-sized cinema that played grandma’s romantic movies, everything they could find in a luxury hotel except the library and open space. Everyone would own a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom but Ben called it a box. Certainly, he could say that it was better than what he thought before being sent here. He had even imagined a horror hospital like in the movie. And to prevent boredom, he brought the economic textbooks that he had studied for the case of doing business in prison. Now, those textbooks were abandoned somewhere in his room or Alex’s room.

Freedom…it did not sound right. Ben was certain people could perceive the existence of a timer but they were incapable of finding the answer to the authority’s purpose. With the time offered, they enjoyed the life they had as much as possible. For Ben, he had enjoyed with the luxury for all of his life so it was quite boring.

Every day he looked at the same old white wall without any real interest, watching newcomers being amazed at the lavishness that some of them had never experienced in their lives before. Some might think they won a lottery. For about three weeks, Ben had no idea what he really wanted to do apart from killing time by flirting with pretty girls and going to bed with them. Sadly, there weren’t many beautiful flowers like in the capital.

One thing that made Ben the most upset was the digital watch on his wrist. Everyone had to wear it. The device had a silver square shape declaring what the time was. Ben knew it could do better than being a watch but no one revealed the secret of it. Once, he tried to take it off, after thirty minutes, it would signal the most annoying siren to the watch of the person who stayed nearest to him and he must hurry to put it back on his wrist to stop that noise. It meant he must not take a shower longer than the time-limited too.

That’s suck. He hated to wear it but because of that vexing sound, he had to collect the most beloved watch and 100 times more stylish than this toy. It was left at the bottom of his bag instead of showing its delicate design.

Sighed again. He wondered if his best friend had eaten something yet. Even though he died to greet that girl, Ben decided to take a look at the cinema room in search of his friend. There was time. The chance was waiting.

“You’re all new, right?”

The young man delayed his pace and sniffed his nose. The girl with medium-long hair greeted the new group and one of them was that lovely doll. Whatever, that dark-haired girl, Tessa, stole his opportunity. Tessa and her siblings came together and they were from The Waste, the district where a lower class struggled to earn a living. Like the title, the city portrayed the best picture of the post-apocalyptic world. It was deteriorated, poor, and had a lot of criminals. However, Tessa was attractive enough to capture his eyes. But when Ben made the move, he fell into her stupid trap. Acting like a victim she pretended to be, Tessa accused him of harassing her. Her brother appeared and confronted him in the public. They called him, ‘a pervert’. His reputation was corrupted because of this sly bitch.

Now, please listen to his version. That day, in the dancing crowd and music, Tessa intentionally slid her nice ass towards him. With that seductive gaze and body language, he thought it was her invitation. In this place, the expensive shirt was not effective as in the capital and the lower class grabbed the opportunity to have a show. Ben would not take an advance step if there was no green light. This bitch needed a scene and planned to trick him from the start. Which reason? He was not really sure. They had never talked before but it might be about his reputation among female creatures. Perhaps it was the vengeance (of a mad fem-nazi) or envy, or both, Ben just guessed.

And the Thomas took that girl with them. Ben rolled his eyes. He should not have to be slow. He should greet her first!

“Hey! You’re here.”

Now, the one he was searching for appeared.

“Where were you?” He turned to his friend who was eager for something.

“Found a nice place. Fucking amazing. You must come with me,” Alex told him. The smell of Best Ami diffused around his dark messy hair. It seemed like his friend had already forgotten how to brush and never used the hair dryer but let them dry naturally. Sadly, the young man forgot to care about his look.

“You exploit our treasure! I have only twenty packs left…Wait, you don’t get wet?”

A smirk appeared on Alex’s face and one brow lifted. “Yep, and I still have some of mine left, don’t worry. Sarah?”

“I don’t see her since last night,” Ben answered with a hidden smile at the corner of his lips.

Alex bit his lips and laughed in his throat, “last night…whatever, that’s good.”

This time Ben laughed. Sarah was Alex’s ex-girlfriend. They broke up on the third day of their stay here and the cause was him, Ben.

“She still asks you to go back?”

Alex did not answer but looked the other way, which meant Ben was correct.

“Weird.”

“She’s lonely. That’s the reason. Let’s go.”

Ben knew that he should feel a little bit of guilt but there was no such feeling stuck inside. It was goodwill with a good reason. Ben could swear million times that he had done the right thing. Alex deserved someone better than this woman. Or, he might deserve none because the best woman he knew had died long ago and the seconds to her were rare to find.

If there was one person who could root the worst guilt in him, it was her, Natalia. He would never forget her name, her face, how kind she was, and how she died.

“I think it’s not just about loneliness. She knew you slept with the other girl. You know what? Women’s envy…jealousy. And there aren’t enough good men for her to pick.” The other girl he meant was that one with huge boobs whom he still did not remember her name and also her friend’s.

“Julie?”

“Good for you. Wow! Can remember her name! How good is she? You haven’t told me about her yet. She’s not good at it, right? Like her stony friend, what’s her name? She’s a nightmare. I mean I gave her the best night and she returned the worst. Not fair.”

Alex scratched his shaggy hair without any keen interest but just a sleepy face. Ben knew his friend did not like the way he talked about women and this facial expression meant he was so bored that Ben had a low skill to memorize a name.

“Your girl is called Trista. Well, she’s not that bad but…Julie changed after that night. Curious about everything, especially my family’s business, my cars, my chamber…boring stuff—she asked if we can go back. So…I stop talking to her. I don’t think she likes me like…you know. She asked for me too?”

Ben nodded, “Yep. Cool, we left them. This is why we’re friends. But honestly, those boobs are amazing…if I have the chance to care for them.”

“No, not that way.” Alex pulled him in the right direction.

Then he looked up seeing a mysterious door he had never seen before. “It didn’t exist yesterday, didn’t it? I never saw it before.”

“It didn’t.”

They stopped in front of the black metal plate. It’s black that why it was outstanding from other rooms. Ben started to like it though he could not see what was inside because black is cool and black is style.

Alex opened the door and stepped inside. Suddenly his eyes gleamed brightly like a child found his favorite toy. It was a small round planetarium. The projector was positioned at the center of the room and ten small chairs were around. The night artificial sky displayed thousands of sparkling stars. Unlike Alex, Ben had no interest in it. The silent sound and the twinkling little star things, he preferred the other rooms, even the cinema with the old romantic drama stories more excited. It did not mean he despised the sky but he needed the real sky. His friend walked around with his head lifting. He seemed merry.

“Is this…the amazing place you claimed?”

“Wait. Be patient.”

Ben watched Alex pick up a cigarette and lit it with his handcrafted lighter. It could resist air and wind and it was made of gold. The smoke floated through the air and there was no smoke detector preventing them from doing it.

“I see now,” he hurriedly lit his own cigarette. They laughed together, celebrating Alex’s discovery with the fume of smoking weeds. “Cheers!” They bumped their hands.

Alex started to play the magic. He knelt a little then jumped into the air as if he was flying into the artificial universe and landed perfectly on the floor. He seemed to be revived when he got the chance to consume the smoke.

Ben activated his power by telekinetically lifting the chairs, making them float, and forming a shape of a ladder and he put his feet on them—the stairways to heaven. He might be unable to fly like Alex but he could stand in the air longer.

“Ben, I think you should talk to Sarah. I really mean it. I’m not angry with her but we can’t be the same. This is because you make her fall for you. You know it well.”

The way he mentioned her name and asked him to do this thing was no surprise to Ben.

“I can’t go back to her and you should not treat her like a toy. As a friend, she’s not that bad,” Alex said from below.

“As a girlfriend, she’s the cheater. Why do you think I treat her like a toy?” Ben lowered the chair and he gradually went down to face Alex.

Alex hugged his chest. His face looked serious. “I saw you and her many times and last night too?”

“We want it. No feeling included,” Ben replied. If not because of that Tris…He just wanted to release properly.

“Really? Other nights too?”

Ben examined that sleepy face but found neither reproach nor jealousy. Then he nodded. “Just that thing.”

When Alex forgave, he truly meant it. Poor Sarah, she had no privilege like him. Ben knew wholeheartedly that Alex would forgive him for everything he did wrong and the feeling between them would be the same. He forgave her too but he could not pretend to be the boyfriend like he maintained the brothership with him. Their bond was eternal and stronger than anything could break. Even he slept with his girlfriends. Alex still pardoned him.

As if Alex could read Ben’s mind, he said, “don’t even think that I treat you better than her. I can’t go back because there’s no love between us.”

Maybe it’s not love from the start.

“It’s not love between me and her too.” Ben sighed. “Don’t mind about Sarah and me. She’s a sex-machine. You know she fucking hates me after I told her the truth. But her desire surrendered to everyone who can respond to it. We can respond to each other. It’s not love, Alex. I might lure her but if she’s a good woman, how could she fall for it? The night with Trisha (“Trista,” Alex corrected.), I just checked on Sarah if she could fix my bad experience with that stone and she accepted. This is why she doesn’t deserve you. I show you how she is, like the others that desire any rich man. I just told her about my shares and she took off her clothes at once. See?”

“She’s not a gold-digger, Ben. Come on, She’s already rich.”

“But she needs a good profile. She left you because you’re one of the heirs and I am the only heir.” Ben closed his eyes. It was his word that triggered the pain within. “Well, I should say I was.”

He saw Alex out of speech. Ben inhaled the weedy smoke before trying to end this topic. “You know this kind of woman. I include the big boobs on this list.”

“You lured her first.” Alex took a long breath. “Stop checking woman’s quality for me. Find your own.”

“But you’re not angry. You thank me, I know.”

“Shut up. I hate when you seduce all my girlfriends!”

“No, not all, I didn’t sleep with…Wiona, Lola, and Claire. They’re good girls but you can’t keep them.”

Alex groaned. Ben could remember their names correctly. Those three were the women who passed his test but Alex could not save the relationships. It was his shameful fault.

Ben decided it was time to change the topic. “Anyway, I met a girl this morning. This one is very…lovely.” Even thinking of that angelic face made his heart beat harder, this flower needed to be taken and cared of. And if Ben was not here in this stupid future-like world, he might be able to win her with gold and diamonds like he won the others.

“Hope she’s not the second Trista.” Alex mocked him.

Ben inhaled the last smoke into his lung, the feeling of weed’s blessing. “With just that face, I know she can eliminate all my memory with the stone Tina.”

“Trista, fuck you.”

He grabbed Alex’s cigarette in his hand and stole the last smoke.

The other man shook his head. “You know what? I don’t think you don’t remember her name. Why? Because you’re a fucking asshole. She shamed your skill you’re so proud of. Maybe because you’re really suck, not her.”

Ben shook his head but the volume of his voice rose, “Of course not! Once they open their legs to me…”

“…They don’t even exist in your dysfunctional memory. I heard million times.” Alex ended the sentence before Ben could finish it.

“Dysfunctional? I’ve never used that word!”

“Why? I do. Dysfunctional beyond repair.”

Ben exhaled, too exhausted to argue. Just smoking made him feel better. Even though its effect did not impact him as it did to ordinary people, just the tip of it, he loved it.

“I just want to take care of that flower,” he told his friend before lighting the second cigarette.