Dragon's Breath (795 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.87 on 31 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by mockidol (View user info) at 2007-05-17 23:48:17 EDT
Vibrating in my pocket my phone says, "Wake up." My eyes adjust and I'm on the couch. According to the clock hanging on the wall I work in 20 minutes. There's an empty beer can on the floor and an unopened on lying next to it. I don't remember getting them, or getting home but I can't waste time. "Fuck. I'm going to be late for work."
My throat burns with fire and I go to the bathroom to grab some Tums.
Everyone has a muscular ring at the top of their stomach that prevents acid from expanding up into their esophagus. In alcoholics this muscle deteriorates and causes chronic heartburn.
Not that smoking packs of Reds a day helps either.
In the bathroom chewing away at the tables of chalky marble I notice the dark wet circle on my pants. I pissed my pants, or spilled my beer. One choice is just as likely as the other. Still chewing I walk to the bedroom to strip of my sticky pants and boxers. They chafe their way off and I slip a new set right on.
Back at the mirror I stare at myself as I brush. Full blown drunks also have blood conditions. Red blood cells enlarge, white ones die, and the blood can barely clot. The gums pulling away from my teeth ache with each stroke and my spit is marbleized with blood when I spit in the in drain.
The water I use to fix my hair washes my failing blood down the drain and I hurry to the kitchen.
Breakfast: orange juice and the last of a bottle of Captain Morgan. The delicious frozen orange-pop taste coats my burning throat and I hurry out the door.
My walk to work turns into a run so I can make it and my heart makes my shirt bounce. Hopefully my DUI is getting dropped and I can drive soon. Hopefully. Breathing like a dragon and back aching from couch sleep I finally make it to work. Only 5 minutes late.
...
...
My job becomes a blur. When you lose track of your life you forget how you manage to go from college graduation to working in a mall selling t-shirts and hermit crabs. The odd combination alone escapes me.
...
A teenage girl later in the day says, "You don't like working here do you?" and when you inquire further she says, "You just seem so bitter to be here."
Dropping on crab onto another breaking its shell you reply, "Try being me you fucking little skank." You're not sure if you said it out loud but she definitely walks away.
...
Somewhere between lunch and dinner time I realize I haven't eaten in two days. I should walk to the food court on break and get some food but I realize I've only got 21 dollars. I'll have to save it to buy drinks on the way home.
My stomach grumbles for food, but my mind yells louder for drinks.
...
Relief worker comes late to work. Mind hurts... finger shake...
...
At the liquor store on the way home my fingers begin to calm as soon as they grasp the bottle.
12 pack of Pepsi: $5.69
750ml Captain: $14.67
Getting drunk right after work: $19.86 after tax
(That priceless crap left long ago.)
...
Eating a dozen scrambled eggs that cost 99 cents and washing it down... washing it down with drinks, rum, and my phone makes noise. It's brown girl, the one with brown hair. I miss her, so much. I send back a message saying I love her and she never replies. Toast breaks and cheesy eggs fall to my shirt.
...
A few drinks in, my mind finally clams again. Focus sets back in.
Talking to a friend on the phone we set up plans to go to the bar. He knows I can't drive and asks if need a ride. "Don't worry about it yet. I might need a ride home but I can meet you there in like an hour. A bud can drop me off." He seems satisfied so I go pour out half of a Pepsi can, fill it up with rum and head to the door. I've got quite the walk ahead of me.
When you're a drunk who can't drive to grasp onto small things for control, self respect. You'll walk an hour to the bar instead of taking that one bit of help. You take it later, but in those occasional fleeting moments of self righteousness you'll do some stupid things; things that mean nothing to your friends, and will later mean nothing to you.
Smoking cigarettes and sipping from my can I walk alone in a sprinkling rain. Slowly I get drunker with each step. The only thing progressing at a slower pace is my walk, but eventually I make it there, wasted.
...
Sometime I'm there, before my friends, and I'm sipping from a pitcher, waiting, and sending text to random girls. More crap about love to brown girl and asking some other blonde to meet me too. I erase thee messages, not so not one else can see them, but so I can't and my friends finally arrive.
"All right folks, time to drink. I've been waiting for this all day."
They say something about blonde coming but I hear only echoes in my glass.
...
I kiss blonde girl outside and she says my mouth taste like pennies. I give her shit for tasting coins before but inside I know that blood taste like copper.
Alcoholics gums can't keep, clot their blood.
We make out more and I send messages to some other girl as I order shots of jager.
Shots come again.
...
More shots.
...
More jager.
...
I'm in someone's car trying to force people to let me but them Taco Bell. Drunks who can't drive feel better about being waited on when they can buy you food or drinks.
...
I'm half naked in a bed at someone's house with Blonde. It's not her place or mine and my phone shakes. Brown says, "She's hotter than me."
In the dark why blond runs to pee I reply, "Fucck ooff. at least she mkes me feel good."
Blonde comes back in and we fuck until she's dry. Probably lame for her, probably lame for me.
...
I'm getting dropped at home as brown says she misses me again but I'm too special to reply.
...
On the phone with Brown I cry into my hand as I sit, smoking on the curb. I curse about love, lies and promises.
...
Drink more rum and watch Fresh Prince on T.V as I tell Brown to stop texting me. You know, because I haven't been all day.
...
I cry in hands again and drip drinks down the front of my shirt when my dragon breath makes me cough.
...
Vibrating in my pocket my phone says, "Wake up." My eyes adjust and I'm on the couch. According to the clock hanging on the wall I work in 25 minutes. There's an unopened beer can lying on the floor. I don't remember getting it, or going to bed, but I can't waste time. "Fuck. I'm going to be late for work."
User Reviews
Submitted by Unabonger (user info) at 2007-11-14 15:07:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by DonovanMD (user info) at 2007-05-25 21:44:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well done.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-05-23 22:53:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2007-05-23 22:37:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Hey, this is best this week?!
Even I'm surprised...
Submitted by CampJim176 (user info) at 2007-05-23 18:18:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
me likey.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2007-05-23 11:53:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This reminded me of a former friend. I say "former" because after nearly getting me killed in a foreign country TWICE I just couldn't be there for him anymore. No rides, no hugs, no crying on my shoulder while slobering drunk.
pity.
Submitted by experima (user info) at 2007-05-21 16:18:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
well done.
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2007-05-21 15:56:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-05-21 14:41:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Replace beer with weed, and i know the movie...
------------------------------------
Did i miss something? Whatever.
Guess I havn't seen that flick...
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-05-21 14:41:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Replace beer with weed, and i know the movie...
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2007-05-20 17:57:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
When I first started reading this I felt like having a drink, and then continued reading and thought - huh, maybe I should quit drinking, then I finished it and now i want a drink.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-05-18 18:41:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2007-05-17 21:33:22 PDT (#)
Ranking: 0
It's written as a drunk thinks to himself.
Notice the formatting is better, with longer sentences and such, in the morning parts and early in his drinks. It's at its worse during the sober and wasted parts.
I tried to write it like he'd be thinking in his head.
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very, very good.
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2007-05-18 14:50:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Loved it.
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2007-05-18 10:28:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by zwerg (user info) at 2007-05-18 08:56:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
very good
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2007-05-18 08:38:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2007-05-18 06:20:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good stuff.
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2007-05-18 05:41:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I want a drink now.
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2007-05-18 05:25:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow drunks and stoners are the same! - If you replace drink, Jager and can for Bud, Kush and bong then this is my life. Except I drive, I smoke and drive, I smoke while driving on my way to pick up more bud.
And I'm not late for work cuz that first joint of the morning provides more than enough drive to get up and out of bed!
Smoking wins methinks!
Submitted by mynameisandy (user info) at 2007-05-18 03:28:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Fuck me, that seems WAY too familiar.
Perfect ending.
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2007-05-18 03:19:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You seem to capture the life of a drunk very well. I think in this particular case the typos add atmosphere to the story.
Submitted by kuroneko_sama (user info) at 2007-05-18 02:03:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
keepin' the streak goin
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2007-05-18 01:59:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i'm not even going to get on how much of this is true...
Submitted by Unabonger (user info) at 2007-05-18 01:57:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
this now has a unabonger label.
a fantastic read cause that's my fucking life. I had to look to see if Ebola wrote it.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-05-18 01:31:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I've bookmarked this so I don't forget your name in case you go on hiatus again. Very, very good. I want to read more of your stuff but won't have much time to do so for a while.
Just...wow.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2007-05-18 01:05:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good comment.
Submitted by street-pirate (user info) at 2007-05-18 00:54:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
fuck yeah
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2007-05-18 00:33:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
It's written as a drunk thinks to himself.
Notice the formatting is better, with longer sentences and such, in the morning parts and early in his drinks. It's at its worse during the sober and wasted parts.
I tried to write it like he'd be thinking in his head.
Maybe I failed, but that's what I tried.
Comments, good and bad are welcome.
Submitted by hot_pocket (user info) at 2007-05-18 00:29:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2007-05-18 00:27:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and +2 this, but the typos and wierd formatting and punctuation really threw me off.
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2007-05-18 00:21:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
yeah, there's a lot of mistakes that are meaant to be there, but hopefully any unintentional ones won't trip it up.
thanks for reading.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-05-18 00:15:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow