I walk around the corner and see something I never expected to see; one of my best friends doing drugs.
"Jude!" I exclaim and he tries to hide it behind his back, but the smoke rises up and quickly gives him away.
"Oh, sup, Nikki?"
"Jude, what are you doing?" I demand.
"Oh, you know, chillin'," Jude answers, trying act casual, but he has a nervous smile. He knows I caught him. He knows I'm upset with him.
"What is that?" I demand, pointing at the drugs.
"It's none of your damn business. Leave me the hell alone." His eyes widen as soon as it leaves his mouth. He regrets what he said.
"Jude..."
"I'm sorry, just go away and leave me alone. I need to calm down." He turns away from me and throws his joint on the ground before stomping it out.
"With the weed?"
He sighs, "Look, it's not as easy to look so relaxed as I make it seem. I'm honestly really stressed out, but weed really helps with that, you know?"
"I know, but it's illegal," I point out and he puts his face in his hand.
"I know, but it's so hard to deal with things without it."
"It's only going to get harder. We're going to graduate and eventually get real jobs outside the mall and have families and buy a house. That won't be easy, but you can't rely on weed to get you through it. You have to deal with some stuff on your own."
"I know, but why are they always fighting" What?
"Who's always fighting?"
"My parents. They can't even be in the same room anymore. They're going to get a divorce! Is it my fault? Did I do something wrong?" I lay my hand on his shoulder.
"You didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes people just drift apart and hurt the people around them without meaning to. Unfortunately it's part of life. I know its hard, but maybe they'll be happier after they split up. Do you want them to be happy?"
"Of course I want them to be happy; I just don't want them to split up!" I rub his back.
"I know."
"I don't know what to do anymore. I've tried everything I could think of. I can't keep them together and I can't accept that they're going to split up. My family is falling apart and all I can do is smoke weed and whine about it." He sighs and slides down into a sitting position, covering his face with his hands.
"There will always be situations that you can't avoid and that you can't do anything about. You just have to pick your head up and your shoulders back. If you smile and pretend everything's ok, then it will be. If it isn't, then that's ok, too. At some point you'll be ok again and today will just be a memory. You just have to take life on one step at a time and I'll be with you every second of the way." He looks up at me and smiles.
"Since when are you not cynical?" He asks and I smile and help him to his feet.
"Don't worry, as soon as we get to the mall I'll be my sarcastic, bitchy self." I know when it's a bad time to bitchy, and this is one of those times. "Let's go begore we're late for work."
A/n I don't own 6teen.