A few months have passed since Pearl's first encounter with Sadie and marijuana. She was now fifteen, and had a part time job at a small grocery store. She was also able to keep this job because after her finals, she had been instructed by her teachers that they had requested Pearl skip passed tenth grade straight to eleventh. Though, she didn't want to leave what little friends she had behind, so she asked to hold off until next year to skip while she worked. The school board accepted these terms wholeheartedly. She believed that ever since then, her life has gotten much better.

She was able to take her mother's punishments more easily, but they grew to be less and less frequent. They were less frequent because Pearl was all too happy to do whatever she was told. She made dinner without complaint, ate what she usually hated with a smile, took on dirty jobs such as cleaning her parents' bathroom, wash the car, unclog sinks of hair. Pearl did all of this without any hesitation.

Pearl's job was easy to handle as well. All she had to do was sweep the floors during closing, very occasionally man the cash register, count money to make sure none was being stolen by any of the other staff. Simple stuff.

Most of the money she earned was taken by her mother. The woman claimed it was to help her husband, ease some of the burden from his shoulders. Pearl knew that was a fake reason though. Her mother just wanted the money for herself.

But the money her mother doesn't know about, the money that Pearl hides in her worn down shoes, goes to Sadie. The weed she gets from the blonde woman is what keeps Pearl sane.

It's not much every time she pays for it, not much at all. A few grams here, an eighth there. Pearl only gets so little so as not to become suspicious to her mother. Just enough to get her high, but not enough to impede her actions. Just enough to make her giddy, not enough to redden her eyes. Too much would alert her mother, too little would return her to the hellhole she called her life.

Another thing about having a job was that she was able to stay away from her home for a while, with a good excuse, too. Her workplace was a lot more forgiving than her parents. Especially since drug tests weren't required.

At the moment, Pearl is whistling while scrubbing the bathroom toilet of the little store she worked at. She wore a black tee shirt and some jeans from a thrift store as her uniform. Her mother wouldn't pay for anything more than that. Her boss, Kofi, had instructed her to clean the bowl after every customer who used it, to decrease the possibility of any diseases being spread. You never knew who could have gonorrhea, and Kofi did not want to get sued. He could barely keep his store running as it was.

"Pearl!" Kofi yelled after opening the door to the bathroom. He was a tall, dark skinned man, and wore a black button up shirt tucked into khaki pants, his long, black hair pulled into a bun.

"Yes Kofi?" Pearl answered without turning around. She was almost finished cleaning the toilet.

"You're getting a raise."

Of all the things Pearl was expecting, it wasn't this. She did turn this time, a shocked expression on her face. "Really?"

Kofi nodded, smiling widely. "Ever since you started working here, your amazing personality has brought more customers to my little business than ever before. You've earned it."

"Wow.." Pearl whispered under her breath, not able to hide her smile. She quickly stood from the ground, leaving the toilet brush in the bowl. She was just so.. happy. She wanted to do something, anything to show her appreciation, but she had no idea what to do. Pearl stood there, twiddling her thumbs as she tried to think of a way to thank her employer.

"Keep up the good work." Kofi stated, turning to leave the bathroom.

Pearl didn't want to leave it at that. She looked up to see the door closing, and panic rose within her. "K-Kofi!" She called.

Kofi stopped before the door completely closed. He poked his head back in the door. "Yes Pearl?"

What was she going to say now? Pearl had no idea. She decided that thinking wasn't going to help her. So instead, she let her instincts take over. "May I hug you?"

The man's eyebrow raised, and Pearl wondered if she had said the wrong thing. Would he berate her? Punish her? She suddenly felt scared, averting her eyes with a blush.

"Just so we're clear.." Kofi started, stepping back into the bathroom. He crossed his arms as Pearl looked back at him to listen to him speak. "..relationships between employees are strictly forbidden, not to mention your age. If you have some romantic interest in me.."

"Oh, no no no!" Pearl rejected Kofi's accusation quickly. "I don't like you like that, I just.." She paused, sighing as she gripped her arm. "I thought it would be a nice way to thank you."

Kofi laughed, his foreign accent making his laugh seem even more cheerful. "Is that all?" He asked, opening his arms for the teenager.

Pearl immediately brightened, practically running into her boss' arms. She sighed as she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. When Kofi's arms held Pearl, his touch tender, kind, she sighed again.

This is what having a father feels like. She thought.

Pearl's shift came to an end. The fifteen year old still had a couple of hours before she had to return home, so with extra cash in her pocket, she made her way to Sadie's apartment. She also decided not to tell her mother about her raise. More money for weed, she reasoned.

Walking down the street, she looked around. A person was taking a jog while walking her dog down the street. A couple was displaying public affection in an alleyway. A man held his son on his shoulders as the boy ate his previously bought ice cream. Pearl smiled. This world outside of her own was truly a happy place.

Pearl found herself at the steps leading up to Sadie's apartment complex before she knew it. She climbed the steps and opened the panel beside the door to reveal a number pad. She typed in the number Sadie had given her and waited for a response.

Almost instantly, a buzzing was heard, then came Sadie's voice. "Miller here."

"Hey Sadie." Pearl greeted cheerfully. Then she bent down to whisper into the box. "I got a raise. Big Donut." That was the password Sadie decided on whenever Pearl wanted to purchase from her. As soon as these words were spoken, the door buzzed, and Pearl was allowed into the building. She entered and began climbing the stairs passed the reception. Sadie wanted to stay away from as many people as possible in case she were to ever get caught, so she lived at the top floor. Pearl didn't mind. It was good exercise.

When Pearl reached Sadie's door, before she even raised her fist to knock, it opened and Pearl was pulled into the room.

"Congrats, kid!" Sadie said, having wrapped her arms around Pearl in a crushing hug. Pearl laughed and let the shorter woman let it out.

"Thanks, Sadie."

Sadie let go of Pearl and took a step back, smiling up at her teenage client. "Big Donut, huh? You sure you wanna be spending that extra cash so soon?"

"Oh, don't worry about me." Pearl said, walking further into the apartment. She sat on a small couch, pulling off her right shoe as Sadie closed the door. From her shoe, Pearl pulled out a rather large wad of cash, earning an impressed whistle from her dealer.

Sadie sat beside Pearl, eyeing the money in Pearl's hands. "Damn, where'd a girl your age get that kinda cash?"

"You remember all those quarters I used to buy my blunts until I got a job?" Pearl asked, and Sadie nodded. "I can save money better than you can suck your boyfriend's dick."

"Ooh, such a potty mouth." Sadie teased, lightly punching Pearl's arm. "Next thing I know, you're gonna be teaching me how to swear."

Pearl smirked and placed her money on the coffee table. "I can only dream. What do you have for me?"

Sadie picked up the money from the table and counted through the bills. It was mostly fives, but there were a few tens and even a twenty thrown into the mix. Sadie pulled the twenty from the mix, holding it for Pearl to see. "Your raise?" Pearl nodded. Sadie smiled and counted a couple of tens from the cash, tossing those bills in Pearl's lap. "You keep those. Gotta give your mom something, right?"

"Oh shit, you're right." Pearl snatched the tens Sadie let her keep, placing one in her pocket and the other in her shoe before putting it back on her foot. "Thanks, Sadie."

"You're a regular, P." Sadie counted the rest of Pearl's cash. She smiled at her client and stood from the couch. "Tell you what. Let's go get high together."

"What, you're serious?" Pearl asked with a half hearted laugh. Since they've done business together, Sadie has never once smoked in front of Pearl. "I thought you were just a dealer, not a user."

"Girl's gotta party some time." Sadie laughed and pulled Pearl from the couch, leading her to a different room. Her room.

When they entered, Pearl was surprised to see how baren it was. White walls, no bed, just a couple of big bean bag chairs in the middle of the floor. Beside these chairs was a single glass bong, already ready with some crushed weed in its bowl. Pearl smiled at the sight. "I've heard about those." She told Sadie, pointing at the bong in the floor.

"Oh they're great. Cleaned it just yesterday, too." Sadie lead Pearl to the bean bags and practically shoved her down into one.

It took Pearl a second to recollect herself after being pushed to a sitting position. Sadie plopped herself down in the chair across from Pearl, pulling a lighter from her black sweatpants. "You want the first hit?"

"I've never used a bong before." Pearl stated, but she was sure that Sadie knew that. The older woman was just teasing. Pearl could tell by the way Sadie smirked.

"I'll walk you through it." She offered, grabbing the bong from the floor and holding the mouthpiece close to Pearl's mouth. "I'll hold it and light it for you. You'd probably drop it since it's like, an instant high."

"What do I do?" Pearl's previous nervousness all but vanished. If Sadie was going to help her, she had no need to worry.

"Don't put your mouth on it." Sadie instructed. "Put your lips in it. Act like you're trying to open your mouth, you know, to keep the smoke in. Start inhaling as soon as I light it, alright? But do it slowly, and breathe out as soon as I pull it away."

Pearl nodded, all too eager to see what the big deal of the bong was. She had read online, when her parents were both gone and she could sneak on the computer, that the water in the bong cooled and filtered out most of the harmful side effects one would normally get smoking a joint. That was just fine with Pearl. That's the reason she was so hesitant to smoke in the first place, but now.. she was excited. So in her excitement, she puckered her lips, placed them in the mouthpiece, and gave Sadie a thumbs up.

"Alright." Sadie was excited for her client. She knew this was going to be a hell of an experience. With her left hand, she held the bong. With her right hand, she ignited the lighter, and Pearl did as she was instructed. Slowly, she filled her lungs with the smoke that accumulated in the bong. It was already getting difficult for her to keep breathing in, but she didn't care. The effect was instant.

Pearl's eyes glazed over, feeling the pleasure that came from the smoke. Her vision changed dramatically, and quickly too. She could appreciate what she normally wouldn't in the texture of the carpet, she could hear the light bubbling of the bong. She almost laughed at the sound, even. But she had to keep inhaling.

It felt like forever before Sadie finally pulled the glass away from Pearl's mouth, and like instructed, Pearl let out the smoke she had inhaled. Slowly, she steadied her breathing, sinking back in her bean bag chair with a goofy grin on her face.

"You're cute when you're high, kid." Sadie commented, lighting the bowl for herself now. Pearl watched Sadie inhale her smoke, the odd compliment going right over her head. Not long after she started, Sadie pulled the bong away from herself and set it in the floor, blowing her smoke out in rings. Pearl giggled at the little show she got, easily amused under her high.

"How old are you?" Pearl asked Sadie, who was mimicking Pearl's position in her own chair.

"Like.. Twenty-six." Sadie answered, counting up the months in her head. Her birthday hasn't come around yet. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." Pearl replied nonchalantly. "I guess since I told you my age, I'd ask you."

"You still mad I thought you were twelve?"

"I got over it."

The two sat there for quite a while, just enjoying each others company. Pearl rested with her hands over her stomach, staring at the ceiling. It was just so interesting to her now.

Sadie stood from her chair. Pearl looked up at her dealer, who's eyes were bloodshot. "Gonna get some chips. You want some?"

"I don't like eating." Pearl answered. Sadie looked appalled, but it was true. Whatever Pearl ate, it just felt like goop in her mouth. She probably grew to feel like this because of all of the disgusting food she was forced to eat during infancy.

"You're not like, bulimic, are you?"

Pearl laughed. She brought a hand to her forehead, laughing at Sadie's absurd accusation. Sadie would have been mad, if the laughter weren't contagious. The older woman doubled over herself, falling in the floor. Much like the internet slang, she rolled on the floor, laughing her ass off.

The two laughed and laughed and laughed, for something that seemed like an eternity. Pearl loved this. She loved laughing with her friend, she loved being high. As her laughter died down, and she watched Sadie continue to convulse in laughter, Pearl realized something.

She wanted more.

Author's Note:

This story is starting off a bit slow, I know. It'll definitely pick up the pace in later chapters, though.

Be on the lookout for the next chapter of "Hell Hath no Fury."

As always, so long for now.