I Went Through Withdrawal and All I Got was This Lousy T-shirt

A Story by Arianna Woods

Semi-fictional

It starts with a slight twinge in the back of my neck. A little pain, feels like it just needs to crack. I crack my neck. I crack my back. The twinge spreads to my temples. It starts to throb. Not a lot, but enough to notice. The lights start to hurt my eyes. Noises are too loud. I can hear my family breathing from the other room. The nausea kicks in. Not enough to ever make me really get sick, but enough so that I wish I could. My tongue feels swollen; I chew on some ice and put a cold pack on my head. My forehead starts to burn. Suddenly my whole head is on fire, but I can't take the aspirin to make it go away - I know it won't help. The sweating starts. Soon my shirt is soaked, and my hair is dripping. My mother asks what's wrong. "I'm just tired, and it's too hot in here." (Please stop screaming, I know you're not trying to, but that's what it sounds like to me...) I sit in the living room with the lights and TV off, the Air Conditioning on. The throbbing through my muscles leaks into my arms and legs. I stay here for hours. Writhing in ever-growing pain. Trying to eat, ending up gorging myself then feeling sicker than before. Mom only tries to help. She doesn't know any better. She brings me some ice-water. I down it in three huge gulps then pass out.

I hear a knock on my front door. It's "Iggy", with good news. She holds up an empty cigarette wrapper, crushed white powder smiling up at from the bottom of the makeshift bag. A rolled up dollar, a few lines, and all is right in the world again.