White Pills

I was hungry today after my hike and didn’t feel like cooking. The heat today was oppressive and the last thing I wanted to do was stand over a hot stove. At the end of my journey, I stopped by the little Asian restaurant that is nearby the Piggly Wiggly. I ordered chicken fried rice and a glass of tea. A little Korean lady came shuffling out of the back room to talk to me.

“Chicken smell funny,” She said waving her hand over her nose. “You like shrimp?”

“Uh, no thanks,” I said. “Just cancel my order.”

“Hot wing good,” She replied.

“No thanks ma’am,” I said.

Their air conditioning wasn’t on and it was blazing hot inside the restaurant. I didn’t want to take my chances with dodgy shrimp if the chicken was bad.

I walked on around the sidewalk of the shopping center to the Piggly Wiggly. I went inside and bought a large bottle of Gatorade and some cheese crackers. I sat down outside on the bench to have a rest and to drink and eat. It was just hellaciously hot outside and the heat cast mirages across the parking lot making it look as if it were a shimmering lake.

I looked down towards the dollar store and saw George’s car. I saw him wave for me to come over, but it was to hot to go sit out in the parking lot. George cranked up his car and slowly pulled up to where I was sitting.

“What’s up with you mutha fucka?” He said. “You ain’t speakin’ to ole George?”

“Nah, man. It is just too hot to be standing out in that parking lot,” I replied. “I wanted to stay in the shade.”

George got out of his car and came over to sit down beside me. George lit up a cigar and offered me one. I declined. He also reached into his pocket and pulled out a zip lock bag filled with white pills and handed me the bag.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Dat shit will fuck yo ass up,” George said. “I can’t take em’. Dey tear up my stomach.”

“What I meant was what kind of pills are they?” I asked again.

“OxyContin,” George replied.

OxyContin is a pain killer and one of the hottest prescription drugs out on the streets right now. It is a clean high and you don’t get a hang over. It is also VERY illegal to have them without a prescription. I quickly shoved the bag back into George’s hands.

“Dude, your ass will get in a lot of trouble over those damn things if you get caught,” I proclaimed quietly.

George took a few pills out and tried to give them to me.

“Go on. You can have them,” George said.

“George, I don’t want your damn pills,” I whispered harshly. “You would do yourself a favor by getting rid of those things fast.”

George just laughed.

“Dey just be some pills,” He said.

“Yeah, those little pills will get you a few years in the state pen as well,” I replied.

By this time, the person George was hauling around came out of the dollar store. George quickly got up and headed to his car.

“See ya, my brotha,” George said.

“George, get rid of those things,” I said. “If you get pulled over and searched you are fucked.”

George just laughed again and drove off down the parking lot to pick up his fare. I stood up and walked on home glad to be out of that situation. I have shitty luck and the probability of the police showing up as I was around those pills was very high. George sure can do some stupid shit sometimes and he wonders why he has been in jail so much over the years. He sees it as bad luck. I see it as stupid decisions and doing dumb shit like that will get you in trouble. Luckily, George doesn’t do stupid shit like this often other than drinking and driving.