It wasn’t his best performance. The sweats had kicked in halfway through his hour session. Glenn had smoked most of his cigarettes and downed a couple of pots of beer to take the edge off on his halfway break, it hadn’t helped much. He should’ve just got some beforehand. He was going there anyway, and he functioned so much better when he was on it. Glenn had hung round for a while after finishing. He needed to keep on the good side of the Garf, and the best way to do that was being Gav’s drinking buddy.
Glenn sank into his beat up station wagon with a sigh. He just wanted to go home, but there were some things he needed to do first. The money he made playing at the Garf helped him scratch by, centrelink payments only got him so far. The only way this was going to work was if he had no reason to leave. Going out for food or smokes was all the excuse he needed to go score again so he planned to stock up on them. This time then done. He had told himself that before, but this time he was committed.
Glenn sat on an old leather couch covered in cigarette burns in a small apartment. The place was dirty and uncared for. The place smelled of cigarettes and marijuana. Electronic music blasted from speakers in the corner. Alexi lounged in front of his computer, the bright screening lighting his face in the dim room. Glenn watched the waves move on the screen. He’d never really had an interest in making beats, he preferred an instrument over a computer. Alexi had the full set up, everything you would need to mix and master like a pro. Shame he had no talent.
“Alexi?” Glenn said finally losing patience. His stomach was cramping pretty hard and his muscles ached.
“What?” Alexi was pretty drug f*****. He often forgot what he was saying mid sentence but the deals were casual and he hadn’t ripped Glenn off yet. It was something you had to keep in mind. Eventually you were gunna get rolled or have your s*** cut. It was just a matter of time.
“You said he’s coming?” Glenn said.
“Yeah man. Hunters gunna be here any minute now, Then I’ll hit you up.”
“Hunters coming now?” Glenn asked, “S*** man, that guy hates me.”
Glenn had only met hunter a few times and things hadn’t gone well, he was a complete fuckwit. He was happy to let Alexi be his middle man, It cost a bit more but it was worth it. Alexi took a hit from his bong and offered it across to Glenn.
“Have a cone man,” Alexi said. The bong looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks, a thick layer of grime lined inside.
“Here have a listen to this, tell me what you think,” Alexi said turning up the track he was working on. It turned into many tracks.
“Turn that s*** down you junkie c***” Hunter screamed over the music. Glenn hadn’t noticed him come in. A tall guy, gym junkie in his early 20’s with a shaved head and neck tattoos. Veins popping like he was on steroids. “What have I told you about that s***. No one wants to hear it. Whats this c*** doing here?” Hunter said rounding on Glenn.
“He’s just chilling man, it’s no problem,” Alexi said getting up from his chair gesturing to the back room, “come in the back.”
Hunter eyed Glenn then turned and followed Alexi. Glenn hadn’t been in the back room, but he knew that was where Alexi kept all his drugs and scales. They were in there for a bit, Glenn helped himself to another bong. They came out and Hunter turned to go and Glenn pretended to check his phone.
“I don’t wanna see you again c***.” He said to Glenn, his eyes hard, and left slamming the door behind him.
“F*** he’s an angry bastard, sells the best s*** though,” Alexi said, “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing,” Glenn said.
“You’d better not be here next time he comes.”
“No s***,” Glenn said smiling, “You got my stuff?”
“Oh yeah, give me a sec,” he said heading back to the back room.
He came back with a scale and a small baggy.
“A gram yeah?” he said as he put the small bag on the scales, “Hang round as long as you want but shoot up somewhere else, I don’t want that s*** done here.”
The drive back was a bit of a blur. He had smoked too much. At least he had remembered to stop at a service station. He’d spent what was left of his dole money on tobacco and instant noodles.
Glenn’s apartment was a run down old three storey house walled off into ten tiny apartments, they hadn’t done a great job of it. You could hear everything though the walls but he couldn’t complain. They put up with his guitar. He didn’t have much in his cramped one bedroom unit. A little table where his tv had been, an empty fridge that he kept turned off unless there was stuff in it. It was off now. A mattress for a bed sitting lonely in a corner. At first he’d used sheets but now it was just a blanket on top of a bare mattress. He’d lined his walls with posters, it was against the rental agreement but the walls were f***** anyway.
He settled down on his mattress. It was really going to be the time he quit, he was sure of it. He had tied his arm off. His last trip. It would be his last.
He searched his arm for a good vein. A sharp pain as the needle went in. Cool liquid flooded through his veins. First the tingle in his legs then it spread to his back. The familiar feeling washed over him like he’d slid into a warm bath. All his problems faded. Euphoria.
