Chapter: Green Fairy

“Good morning, Tarik!”, says Maddie.

What the - "Uh, sorry”, I say. 

“The rest of the class is working on today’s assignment”, says Maddie.  “Perhaps you would like to join us?” 

“Uh, yeah”, I say.  I open up my sketchbook.

“Tarik!”, says Maddie.  “You’ve been sketching!  Let’s see!”

“Uh”, I close up the sketchbook.  “I would but, like, my girl dumped me…and like, I can see the burger place from my house…and I was kind of…yeah…so, it’s like, private.”

“Oh, Tarik.  Art is a great gift. It helps us express our feelings when words can’t.”  Maddie smiles at me. “Especially when words can’t.”  She waves at the sketchbook.  “Perhaps there is one feeling you might care to share … ?”

“Uh…”   She isn’t going anywhere, man.  Shit.  “Well, there’s this one.”  I open up the sketchbook.

“I…see.  What do you see when you look at this sketch, Tarik?”, she says.

I point.  “Well that’s me.”  Like, obviously. “And, I, uh, have a beard.  You know, like a pirate? – ARRR? --- yeah - and I'm like scarfing a Quadruple Bacon Explosion Burger.  Cause they make me happy."  At least they used to, yeah.

“And what’s this?”

Oh, man, how can I – “Well, uh, sometime’s when I’m like -- really happy, like – reeeeeeally – happy, I uh, I see this little light.   Floating over me?  Like, it’s all green.  It's sooooo greeeeeeeeeeeen.  You know?”  

“I do”, she says.  She leans down and says quietly, “You know, many of our greatest artists were fond of 'the green fairy'."

Green fairy, huh.

She's standing up but she's still talking.  "Well, Tarik.  I see you have found your muse.  And you’ve found a way to express yourself.  You’re ready for a new assignment!”

ANOTHER ONE?

"Another one?", says Jed, at lunch.

"I know", I say.  "How about your nerd class?"

"Professor Morlock is having a lecture tonight", he says. "It's open admission - anyone can come.  And there's a free buffet!"

Free buffet?  "Let's go", I say.  The new magazines are out, ha.

"I know! It should be fascinating, don't you think?"

The magazines are fascinating. And free food is very fascinating, ha.

"And this time I'll be prepared, so like, I won't faint."  He's all serious.  "I can do it.  I can do it."

"You can do it, bro", I say in the Morlock-dude funny voice.

"He doesn't really sound like that, Tair", Jed says.  "Thanks for coming with me."

"Free food, man", I say.  Free food.  What could possibly go wrong?

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So the free food's like, in the lecture hall at the Student Union. We get there, and Jed's in front, like usual, and he goes in....

...but I don't make it to the free food... cause like, I see something as soon as I go into the Student Union...and...it is wrong.  SO WRONG.  No free food is worth this, man.

But then it doesn't matter, cause Jed, he comes running back out.  "Precious", he says as he goes by. Of course. Fucking Precious.  So like, I have to follow him. Right?

I have to go.

We like run, man, we just run, then we just stop.  Jed can't even look at me man, like he's too freaked out to freak out.  "It never stops, man", he says finally.

"Fuck this", I say, and he's like, yeah.

"Let's blow shit up", I say, and he's like, yeah.

And so we do.

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So then we go home.  Jed's like all calmed down after blowing shit up all night, ha, and he crashes right there in the living room.

Ally's back from work.  She looks at Jed crashed on the couch and she looks at me and then she says, "Must be time to check out the garage, man".  And so we do.

"What did your teacher call it?", says Ally.

"Green fairy", I say.

"Really", she says.  She chugs some brew.  "I think you're high."

"Fuck yeah", I say.  "That's when you can see it."

Ally like, inhales. "Nah", she says.  "I got nothin'."

"UP THERE", I say, and I like, point.  "How can you miss it, man?  It's like all green and glowy and shit."

 "Nothin'", says Ally.  "Must just be you."  She like, exhales.  "You get that a lot?"

"Everytime I do this", I say.  "Maddie says like, all the famous artists see it."

"Yyyyyeahhhhh", she says.  "You ever think you might wanna cut back?"  She chugs some brew.

"NO", I say.  "That's my green fairy, man.  She's mine for life."