The truth About cypher ✓

6'o clock

Mila had occupied a spot in the library. Furrowing her eyebrows, she searched shelves after shelves. The upcoming pharmacology project was due weekend and the girl had done nothing. Her research work was based on studying the effects of the metanolic root extract of the plant Erythrina velutina. Besides the structural anatomy and general use, she was also supposed to review a case study. It talked about the levels of effect it has on your neurological functioning, including a side effect of memory loss.

Baseline: it was eating her sanity.

Everyone knows about drug abuse. It starts with a medicinal escape from anxiety and episodes of epilepsy. Once the increased percentage of the dose reaches above 10mg daily, you're fucked.

But that doesn't stop people from manufacturing it, selling it, advertising, and abusing it. Especially around the lower half of Kazan.

Turns out there isn't an age limit to drug abuse.

Teenagers in Russia grow up with Adderall flooding its streets. Their young adulthood is wasted in experimenting with cheap opioids and ecstasy from the local clubs they could bribe their way into. Smoking was a cultural impact. Any deviation meant you were either a pretentious health-conscious ditya or Jewish. An average of 448,100 regular drug users and addicts smoked Cannabis on the streets, cafes, bistros, or on-campus grounds. One of the best examples being the Kazan University.

The interesting part was, dealing wasn't just a cheap way for the students to acquire quick cash, it was also something the teachers did; reasons unknown.

After Laila informed Mila about her very successful initiation night, the girl had been befuddled. Not only did she learn that her school's vice was a drug dealer, but she was also forced to rig her contacts with her best friend. Her parents had asked the dorm warden to ping them about her arrivals.

Laila on the other hand was experiencing a complete 360. Her Abu hadn't scolded her for being reckless, but he was ghosting her. Not showing up for their afternoon tea was a new side effect. Interactions were limited to dinners. He had assured the girl that he was not upset, but his actions were bipolar. Dimitri had assigned Laila a project with Abram which felt quite tedious. It was fun to hang out with the new nerd crew. They complimented her style regularly, often asking for a movie makeover. She and Mila texted frequently. Their time is restricted to campus grounds.

Brutus was...awkward. He was successfully enrolled back in the club as the teacher's assistant. He had been helping Laila work on new codes. Recently the girl made progress from Brackets to Coda. They worked every day from 3 to 6, but the air felt thick. He was distant but observant. He was quick to realize the girl had taken typing classes in the first five minutes of his teaching after eyeing her fingers.

September end was cold, so Laila wore multiple layers. It was hard for him to peak at her inked skin. The last time he felt her skin was when they were hiding behind the bamboo tree, the night of her initiation. His fingertips brushed past her arm and he was curious again. There were several occasions when he wanted to ask her about her tattoo, but his thoughts were cluttered.

He had caught a glance of Laila and Mila's texts. One of the reasons being that he was described as the awkward hot computer guy by the females. He was proud about the hot part, the awkward wasn't his fault.

He knew Laila wasn't a liar.

He knew her "prank" was very much real. Maybe it was because he had been with her that night. He watched Laila fidget in his embrace, squirm as if she was a killer on loose, caught red-handed. The way her face was pale and empty, but her head was a bundle of loose threads.