Heroin(e)

Chapter Twelve

"Come on, move it!" Adrenaline coursed through my body as I followed as fast as I could. My guide led me through broken fences, prickly bushes, and down alleyways giving me several cuts and bruises. The footsteps behind me were close and I felt like I wasn't running fast enough. Getting passed up would be embarrassing. I didn't want to be the slowest one of the group and I picked up the pace. 

Finally our group slowed to a halt around the corner of some abandoned building. My sides ached and I took deep gulps of air while the kids around me cheered and high fived. Someone patted me on the back before checking out the loot. "Aw, nice!" he said pulling out a pack of smokes. Taking one out he lit it up and passed the carton around. I accepted one despite my weak state. Ramona took one too, only because everyone else did. Neither me or her wanted to be the odd one out. So we did what was expected of us. Ramona coughed and choked on the smoke.

"You okay?" I asked and she nodded, taking another puff. Our unofficial leader, Arnold, rummaged around in his burlap sack for the other goodies. 

"Who wants the lipstick?" he asked, holding up a cheap tube. 

"I'll take it," Maria said, grabbing it from him. I certainly wouldn't touch cheap makeup. After resorting to it knowing good and well we couldn't afford better, my skin broke out badly. School was a nightmare and I swore the shit off. Ramona turned it down too. She never wore makeup and was a natural beauty. Clear brown skin with silky black hair tied up in braids. Long eyelashes over her brown eyes and one tiny mole on her right cheek. I found myself jealous of her looks sometimes. 

Ramona Diaz was a good kid. She got caught up in this life because of me. I didn't want to turn these guys down and so Ramona joined too. I wish she hadn't. Her little sister really looked up to her and might end up doing the same stupid shit as us. One of us had already been caught and sent to a juvenile detention center last month for stealing a bag of weed and possession of said weed. None of us had seen him since.

Arnold pulled out bits of cash and passed it around to all of us. The house we broke into wasn't a fancy one so I didn't expect him to pull out any diamond watches. But it really hurt inside knowing we probably took the owner's few possessions. I focused on my cigarette. Ramona barely touched hers. 

"Ah, here's something," Arnold said pulling out a fancy crystal glass. "This might be worth a good fifty bucks."

"I say thirty five," Robert said looking it over. "It's got a chip in it." Arnold huffed when he saw it. 

"Alright, thirty five. We can split that five ways." He put the glass back in the bag carefully and pulled out a pocket knife. "Now this is for me."

"Come on, that's not fair!" Robert whined. With his buzz cut and unattractive face, I thought he resembled a potato. It was rude of me to think so but I couldn't unsee it. His pushy demeanor made me feel less bad about making the connection. "Why do you always get the good stuff?"

"I didn't see you cracking the front door open and taking stuff!" Arnold shot back. He pulled out a toy kaleidoscope. My stomach churned at the thought that we might have robbed a little kid. "Here, go crazy."

"Asshole," Robert said but looked through it anyway. Arnold gave us girls a wicked grin. 

"Here," he said pulling out a pair of pink, lacy underwear. "You ladies can fight over these." He tossed them at us and they landed on the ground when Maria jumped away from them. 

"Ew, I'm not touching those!" she screamed and the boys laughed. 

"Come on, what's the matter with them?"