"So how old are you anyway, Pearl?" Mr. Smiley asked as he lead Pearl and Sadie down a long hallway. Pearl had expected the interior to be metallic, just as the door at the entrance was. But the hallway was actually wooden, and the lighting made it seem rather cozy. Pearl got the feeling that she was walking down the hallway of a hotel.
"Fifteen." Pearl answered automatically. Smiley let out a low whistle.
"Wow, you are young!" Smiley exclaimed with a laugh.
"That's what I said when she started being my customer." Sadie explained. "She's really smart though. Keeping her habits away from her folks pretty well."
"Don't kid yourself." Pearl scoffed. "You thought I was twelve."
"You thought this girl was twelve and still sold her drugs?" Smiley asked, turning his head toward Sadie.
Sadie shrugged. "Money doesn't make itself, Mr. S."
"Alright, that's fair."
The group came up to a set of doors at the end of the hallway, one metal and one wooden. The metal door was set at the end wall while the wooden one was on the side hallway. Mr. Smiley pulled a rather large key from his pocket, one that looked as if it belonged in a museum. It looked worn, and had a rather large circle where it is held, so one could twirl it around their finger, Pearl supposed.
"This wooden door is where I do all my business work." Mr. Smiley said, using the large key to unlock the larger oaken door. Opening it, he lead Pearl and Sadie into his humble abode.
As she walked inside, Pearl looked around the room. Really, it looked pretty formal. A normal desk with a laptop, pen and paper, a router for the internet. Nothing unusual about that. There was even a mini fridge and a bed on the far side of the wall. It seemed like Mr. Smiley not only did his business here, he lived here.
"Welcome to my place of business." Mr. Smiley said, arms spread wide as he turned to face the girls. "Everything in here is mine. Everything outside this room is no longer my business. You pay me, you get the stuff that makes you feel good, you get out. Clean and simple."
"What about the big metal door?" Pearl asked, poking her head back outside the room.
"Oh you don't worry about that." Mr. Smiley said, gently grabbing Pearl's wrist and pulling her fully into the room, closing the door behind them. "That's just where I execute the folks that screw me over."
"Oh.. Uh.." Pearl really didn't know what to say. Should she run? A sudden wave of sheer terror washed over her as she looked up at Mr. Smiley, his face void of emotion. That is, until he started laughing.
"Oh relax, girl!" Smiley exclaimed, patting Pearl on the shoulder. "That's just where we mix all the chemicals to give you the good stuff. It's a metal door, so if something goes boom, it'll hold up and won't hurt anyone else. The whole room is metal."
"That's... awfully considerate of you." Pearl said, a small smile on her face after her little scare.
"One life instead of many." Smiley said, turning to walk to his desk. He sat in his small office chair and opened his laptop computer. "So what'll it be?"
"Well, um.."Pearl found herself speechless. What'll it be? Did Smiley carry more than just morphine? Should Pearl try more than just morphine? Would more drugs help her feel a better high? She didn't know! That simple question sent Pearl's mind reeling. Luckily, though, Sadie's hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts of confusion. A quick look at Sadie, her gentle smile, and Pearl felt at ease again.
Pearl lifted her foot and took off one of her flip flops. Taped to the bottom of her feet were several ten dollar bills. Pearl took these bills from her foot and set them on Mr. Smiley's desk.
"However much morphine this will get me."
Smiley let out a low whistle at the sight of how much cash this fifteen year old girl had. He took the bills and, counting them, discovered that Pearl was carrying seventy dollars on her person.
"This will get you a couple hundred milligrams." Smiley answered, counting the bills a second time. In the drug business, you could never be too careful. "You want the suppository or the electrical treatment?"
"Uhh.." Pearl face went completely blank. Sadie laughed and lightly smacked Pearl's arm.
"He's joshing you, kid." Sadie then turned to Smiley. "She'll take the pill. The oral one. Needles are a bit too much for her right now, I think."
"I want the needle." Pearl interrupted. Smiley and Sadie observed Pearl, and her face was pretty determined. "I can afford it, so I'll take it."
"You sure?" Sadie asked. "The needle's no joke. Stick it in your arm, it goes right through your blood stream."
"She's right, you know." Smiley added, standing from his desk. His trademark smile had all but disappeared. "You take two hundred milligrams of this stuff at once, there's no telling what could happen. There is a very high chance that you will die."
"Woah, way to sugar coat it, Harold." Sadie said, giving Mr. Smiley a mean look. "She's just a kid you know."
"A smart kid who knows her body." Pearl interrupted, crossing her arms. "I don't eat regular food. I take multivitamins to get all the stuff I need. I drink nothing but water. I'm already pretty set for medical situations."
"Pearl, that has nothing to do with this." Smiley explained. "It all depends on whether you're weak or immune. Some people can take two thousand milligrams a day and still be walking, but other people can overdose on just sixty. I'm not saying I won't give you the needle if you really want it, but I'm giving you a better option. Ease into it. Take the pill."
Pearl didn't answer for a few minutes. Instead, she just thought about what it would be like to overdose. Pearl literally imagined what it would be like to die, doped up on what she had come to love and freeing herself of this horrid world. And she smiled.
"I think I'll take the risk."
"Well, it's your choice." Smiley quickly turned back into his old smiling self. He placed Pearl's money in the drawer of his desk and proceeded to lead Sadie and Pearl out of the room. He turned to the metal door and rapped his knuckles against it three times. Each knock gave a loud echo throughout the hallway.
"Well this isn't creepy at all." Pearl commented.
"Quentin likes his privacy." Mr. Smiley replied, then knocked on the door again. "Hey Frowney, we need two hundred mg's of morphine! Injection!"
"Frowney?" Pearl questioned, and Sadie shrugged.
"Harold Smiley and Quentin Frowney. Believe it or not, they used to do a comedy routine together."
"Like those masks in old timey theatres?" Pearl asked.
Smiley laughed, placing a hand on his hip. "Well I never had someone use that comparison before, but yeah!" He then knocked on the door again, more forcefully. "Come on, Quentin!"
After Mr. Smiley's third attempt at rousing this Quentin Frowney, a slider opened on the door, much like when Sadie had first brought Pearl to the metal door on the outside. The eyes that were revealed let Pearl know that Frowney's name wasn't just a coincidence. It was as if his whole existence was on a set state of depressive being, even his eyelids curved in such a way that they frowned.
"Another soul to be deprived of the joys of life, Harold?" Frowney's voice was low in pitch, and he seemed to be of a British descent. That just made Pearl think this man was all the more depressing.
"Just gimme the drugs, man." Smiley demanded a little impatiently. "We already got paid and everything."
"Does she know what she's getting herself into?" Frowney asked, his eyes turning their attention to Pearl. "She's so young, the poor thing."
"Quentin, she's a paying customer. Already been buying from Sadie for a few months."
"So she's already fallen so far as to misuse medicinal injections so early after cannabis? What has the world come to?"
Without another word, Frowney closed the slot that revealed his eyes. A moment later, below that slot was another, larger slot that opened like when one received mail in cartoons, though much bigger. Through this slot came a tray, carrying a single syringe, a small bottle of disinfectant, a small bag of cotton, and bandages. Smiley took the tray, and the slot in the door closed.
"Always been a weird guy, that Quentin." Smiley commented as he turned, carrying the tray back through the wooden door. Pearl and Sadie followed, Pearl rather eagerly while Sadie just acted as a spectator. But then, Pearl's eager step slowed as she thought of words spoke earlier.
"You said before that the room was made of metal in case something were to happen. So Mr. Frowney's the one that does all the dangerous work?"
"He asked to do it." Smiley replied. He spoke as if he was ready to answer this question from the start. He lay the tray with the supplies on his desk and sat in his office chair. "Quentin, he's.. He's not one of the happiest men alive."
"No kidding." Sadie commented.
"When we started this whole drug trafficking business, he was the one that wanted to make the chems. He's got the doctorate. He's got the skills. And he's the one ready to die in case something goes wrong."
"How can you let him do that, though?" Pearl asked. "Isn't he your friend?"
Smiley sighed. "It's not like I want him to do this. He's a sad man, and really, he'd welcome death as a friend more than me. The way I see it, if anyone were to risk their lives doing something like this, he should be the one to do it. He's the only man on this Earth that I think could die and I'd feel happy for him."
"That makes sense, I guess.." Pearl said solemnly, gripping her arm. Sadie averted her eyes. A moment of silence passed, and then Smiley stood from his chair again.
"Alright!" Smiley exclaimed in renewed vigor. "Pearl, since this is your first time shooting needles, how about you take my chair and let Sadie here walk you through it."
"I'd like that." Pearl replied. Smiley moved out of the way and Pearl made her way to his chair. It looked so much bigger up close. Of course it would, though, with her body compared to Mr. Smiley's large form. She took a seat in the chair and was pleased to discover how comfortable it was.
"You sure you're ready for this, kid?" Sadie asked as Mr. Smiley stepped aside. She grabbed the disinfectant bottle and cotton ball from the tray. She opened the bottle, placed the cotton at the tip, and tipped the bottle just enough to coat the cotton with the liquid, kneeling in front of Pearl. "We can always move down to pills. This is gonna be a hell of a feeling."
"That's what I'm hoping for." Pearl stated excitedly. It was hard to stay still. It was as if her body were preparing itself for the sudden high she was about to receive, shaking wildly.
"Well you need to stop shaking, honey." Sadie instructed, though she couldn't keep the smile from her own face. It was cute, seeing Pearl so excited. She gripped Pearl's arm and tuned it wrist up, rubbing the disinfectant coated cotton on her arm where a vein was most clearly visible. "You know, even I've never taken a dose this big."
Pearl took a breath, trying to steady herself. "So I'm going to be taking a much bigger step than you ever have, huh?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Sadie agreed. After coating Pearl's arm enough with the cleanser, she placed the cotton back on the tray and picked up the syringe. Whether she liked it or not, Sadie was about to be the doorway to Pearl's eternal happiness, or suffering like no other being has ever felt before. Well, plenty of people overdose on drugs, but Pearl was just fifteen.
"Alright.." Sadie gripped Pearl's wrist in one hand, forcing the teen to hold her arm steady while she prepared the injection. "Last time I'm gonna ask you, kid. Back out now."
"Sadie, shut up and stick it in me already."
"I dunno." Sadie said, smirking as she slowly pierced Pearl's skin with the needle. "I don't think I'm a pedophile. I'm gonna keep it slow and steady, alright?"
"..alright." Pearl agreed, wincing at the feeling of the cold metal entering her skin. It didn't really hurt, but it was definitely uncomfortable. Then Sadie put a little pressure on the plunger of the syringe. Pearl's discomfort quickly turned into a feeling of euphoria. Pearl sank back in Smiley's chair, forcing Sadie to keep Pearl's arm in a tighter hold. "Oh wow.."
"I barely even started, kid." Sadie said with a laugh. Just millimeters passed the starting point, not even one fourth of the syringe had been emptied. Sadie continued to pump the feel good liquid into Pearl's veins, and every second that passed by made Pearl feel as if she were drifting further and further into a sea of bliss.
Seconds pass, then minutes. Pearl's smile continued to grow wider and wider, until Mr. Smiley was afraid that his name would be taken by a fifteen year old girl.
"Well she doesn't seem like she's dying, that's a good thing." Smiley commented as Sadie finally emptied the syringe of the drug, pulling the needle from Pearl's arm. She quickly grabbed the cotton ball and wiped Pearl's skin again, then started wrapping her arm in bandages.
"Yeah, kid's a trooper." Sadie replied, tying the bandages into a knot around Pearl's arm. "Got a hell of an immune system. Even her bong hits started wearing off after thirty minutes." Smiley let out a whistle of surprise.
"Wow, that's quicker than most adults that get used to the stuff."
"Tell me about it." Sadie stood up from in front of Pearl and observed her work. Pearl's whole face screamed pleasure. Sadie was positive that if she were to shoot the teen in the foot, Pearl wouldn't feel a thing. "It takes me a couple of hours to come down from it."
"Well I'm certainly glad she seems happy with her purchase." Smiley said with a laugh. "She might just end up being my most valued customer."
"I'm in heaven.." Pearl said, her voice practically dripping with the pleasure she felt. Sadie and Smiley smiled at Pearl, glad that no real harm seemed to come to her body.
"Mm, Smiley.." Pearl started. She tried to stand from her chair, but only fell back into it, giggling like a little girl with a new toy.
"What is it, little lady?" Smiley asked, amused by Pearl's antics, crossing his arms. Sadie had to hold back a laugh, rather amused herself. That was, until she and Smiley heard the words that came from Pearl next.
"When I get enough money.." Pearl started, looking up at the ceiling as if looking at some divine being. "..can I get a little bit of everything?"
Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter to "Pearl's Rejuvenation." It's pretty fun, writing goody two shoes Pearl all doped up on the good stuff. If you have any questions, or just wanna talk, I'll be happy to answer you.
Also, I couldn't help but put Mr. Frowney in this after Future Boy Zoltron. Hope you liked his appearance. xD
Be on the lookout for the next chapter of "Dirty Ambitions." As always, so long for now.