fires and floods. | dominic fike

01

"Lettie, go look in the pantry for the other bag of weed. I'm running out from this one." The older woman spoke to her daughter. Without hesitation, the girl stood up, going to the pantry to look for the big bag of weed. Scanning the pantry top to bottom, her dark brown eyes locked on the bag hiding in the corner of a random bottom shelf. After grabbing a random bag of chips, she headed back to the living room where her mother was organizing her orders.

Weed, cocaine, ketamine, and many other substances laid scattered on the coffee table of the Diaz household. On one side of the table laid orders that were set to go, post-it's on top of each order with a name. The older woman continued to bag her substances, grabbing chips occasionally from the bag her eldest daughter had brought. Old chicano rap blasted throughout the house, regardless of everyone doing their own thing. Suddenly, a phone dinged. It was her mothers phone ringing, signaling that she had just received a text.

"Oh shit, it's 12. Randy y La Flaca are gonna be here for their order soon. Go unlock the back door for them, Lettie." The mother ordered, and the daughter obeyed. She walked out the basement and up the stairs to the back door, unlocking it.  She headed back to her spot on the couch, waiting for the first customers of the day.

And so, that is how her day went. Randy y La Flaca at 12, Jerome at 12:30, Marco at 1pm and so on until late that evening. All day Celeste spent helping her mother deal drugs, putting orders together for customers that would be scooping for the day. This was a chill day for the Diaz household, a shit ton of people coming in and out for their drugs.

The night was young, with only a few orders left for pick up. Aleida, Celeste's mother, was out doing a few mobile orders while Celeste monitored the pick-ups. 4 pick ups were left to be retrieved. The names read Lola, Mauricio, Dominic, and Keyshawna.

Celeste was immediately recognized the other names, belonging to long-time customers who have seen Celeste grow into the woman she is today. Her mother had been in his business for ages, becoming a drug dealer/plug when Celeste's dad left when she was born. Aleida became the man of the household and the only source of income once Ricardo left.

Granted, Aleida was actually one of the most depended dealers in all of Naples. A lot of people liked her because she always was stocked, you never heard her say she was out of a product and if a customer wanted a specific drug, she would be the one to get it acquired easily.

Dominic was the name she didn't recognized, he must be a new customer.

Celeste's attention was taken away when her step-mom walked in the room. "Here, amor. I got you that new strain you wanted to try. I bought enough for Lettie to try some too if she wants." Natti handed her girlfriend the quad of the plant. "Aw, you're so sweet!" Aleida kissed her  long-time partner, as a thank-you. Natti and Aleida talked a bit, before Natti said her goodbyes to head out to her hair appointment. "Take this," Aleida handed Natti a few bills, enough to cover the money for her hair and a trip to get coffee, just the way Natti loves her day to go.

"Mija, go get the canasta that has the stuff to roll joints." Aleida spoke, causing her 17 year old daughter to go into the same pantry again, looking for the shelf that holds the box that has everything she'll need just to reach her high. She spotted it, grabbing hold of it and swiftly walking back to her spot on the couch in the "dealing room", as her mother called it.

She placed her box on the coffee table, quickly going to the speaker her mom had in the room and connecting her phone. DeathCamp by Tyler The Creator began to blast, the final touch to the perfect roll sesh.

She reached in the basket that included an assortment of flavored rolling papers. Her eyes began to a scan all the possible flavors of paper she could possibly try. "Mama, roll me two joints con el papel de miel, por favor. I'm going to use the bathroom/the honey paper, please," Aleida asked, beginning to walk to the restroom. "Ma! Can I go to the skatepark later?" Celeste asked. "Si, haz lo que tu quieres," Aleida dismissed, her full bladder was her top priority at this exact moment. (Yes. Do what you want.)

Blueberry, coconut, and cherry were her automatic choice of papers. After spotting the rolling papers her mom requested, She became more comfortable by folding one leg up and the other folded in, the concentration hunch she did when she was focused on rolling up.

The second to last customer, Lola arrived. She was like an older sister to Celeste, their 18 year age gap didn't phase either of them. Lola was the woman Celeste leaned on when she couldn't go to her mom, which was most of the time.

"Aleidaaa! Lettieeee! Ya llegue pa mis drogas!/Ive arrived for my drugs!"Lola sang throughout the hallway leading up to the dealing room. Lola swung the door open, her fingers tip-toeing up the frame as she entered with a lustrous pose. "Holaaaaa!" Lola strung out, almost skipping to the chair opposite of two women. The older woman slammed her cash down, immediately putting a hand out for Lettie to place her order in. Celeste giggled a little, shaking her head at her silly tactics. "Here you go, Lola."

"Y tu mamá?/Wheres your mom?" Lola asked, noticing the absence of her long-time drug dealer, and also best friend. Lola and Aleida met in high school, and they only became closer when Aleida found out she was pregnant with her first-born son in her junior year. Lola has been there for all of Aleida's kids, making her an aunt by default.

"She's in the bathroom. She should be done soon." Celeste spoke, licking the paper to the second joint she was on now. She decided to roll three joints for herself after finishing up her moms requested ones. One for now, the other two for later in the night. "Cagona!/Shitty girl!"Lola yelled into the hallway behind her, loud enough for Aleida to hear down the hall. Lettie let out a laugh, the kind that kept going and made her stomach hurt. "Leave my mom alone!" Lettie joked, waving a dismissive hand. She finished all the joints she wanted to make, beginning to get her sesh bag ready. Aleida walked back in, smiling at the arrival of her best friend. "I know you're not calling me a cagona, Ms. I-shat-my-pants-at-the-zoo." Aleida snapped back, beginning to take her usual spot on the couch. Celeste only laughed more, she could never contain herself when she was around these two under the same roof. "Hey, that's cause Lalo accidentally gave me coffee!"

The ladies chit chatted for a half hour, gossiping and making each other laugh. Eventually Lola went home, and the mother daughter duo were sat smoking while waiting for the last order. Celeste was getting impatient, she just wanted to go see her friends and skate. "Ma, can I leave now to the skatepark? There's only one more order left." Celeste asked, pointing to the ziplog with the order. "That's fine, if you get home late again, i'm whooping your ass." Aleida playfully scolded, although both women knew that there was truth behind her threat.

Lettie skipped through the hallway leading out the basement and up to the back door with her skateboard at her side. She walked out the back door, slipping through the long yard to get to the alley. Suddenly the fence door opened before she could even reach it, slightly startling her. The young girl brought her board closer to her chest by the tail, almost as if preparing to hit the suspicious person if they even tried to go near her.

The figure sensed this slight fear, retreating backwards. "I'm just here to see NapaK." He raised his hands slightly, a slight smirk could be seen through the illuminating street lights. As he neared, the minimal shadows revealed his slightly curly, short hair. He had face tattoos, and doe-like eyes. He almost looked like a puppy, but the tattoos throws you off a little. He was handsome, there was no denying of that for Celeste.

"Oh. Yeah, through that door and down the basement." Celeste pointed to the door, beginning to past him to get to the alley. "I'm Dominic, by the way!" He yelled after her, as she shut the fence. The slam of her wheels hitting the concrete echoed through the night air. "Ok, cool!" She yelled in return, as he walked backwards while talking to her silhouette. "What's your name?" He asked, his inflection indicating he was slightly laughing at her dodging of his questions. He ran up to the fence entrance, opening the door to peak half of his body out, as if trying to get as much distance as he possibly could to hear her. "Celeste!" Was all she said before she began to skate away. He laughed as she disappeared into the dark alley, only the wheels of her board could be heard.

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

slay 1.6k words for the first chapter
i hope u all are as excited as i am
x