I remember a couple years ago, after getting into a shouting match with my mom’s boyfriend about my report card, running outside and hiding behind the old tool shed.
My neighbor, Tom, who’s a couple years older than me, saw me crying. He came over, sat with me, and handed me a cigarette.
“I could hear you guys from my room,” he said while he lit it. It put me into a coughing fit.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said as he handed me another. And, eventually, I did.
I guess I’ve gotten used to a lot of things.
Jorbi K 
Calluses of a lifetime, eh? Good job. Welcome to the party, pal.
Aloha,
Doug
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Ah, what a perilous journey of life it is to become callused and not jaded. Thank you so much, it has been a pleasure.
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Dear Jorbi,
Humans are adaptable creatures. Too bad he got used to cigarettes.
Well written and believable.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Adaptability is not always kind. One must always question what ‘normal’ is. Thank you.
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I’ve never tried a ciggy – is that where I went wrong?
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Ha! I believe quite the opposite, friend! Vigilance is what makes us interesting!
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All part of growing up I ‘spose!
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Quite right. The journey to adulthood is always filled with – event, adapt, event, adapt, etc.
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DaErEkP! Just my thing! Thnx, Tay.
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Usually the most interesting things are found at the end of a rabbit hole. And in return, thank you!
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Ooh – good one. You brought about a lot of feeling in so few words. I could sense the despair. Nicely done.
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Thank you! It can be very difficult to condense a lot of information and still have it easily extracted, and I am quite happy that I seemed to have pulled that off.
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Harsh lessons to get used to, I’d say. Great use of 100 words. Well done.
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Thank you! Word limits and other challenges tend to bring out the best, because it makes condensation key.
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Believable story and well written. I just wish it hadn’t been cigarettes since that habit is so hard to break. Great job!
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A destructive habit, indeed. I in no way advocate such a harmful obsession. I am merely presenting the unfortunate truth that people can adapt to bad things, too. Thank you so much for the kind words!
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Oh, I don’t think you are advocating anything. I know it’s just your story. Definitely, people adapt to bad things. Sadly.
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Those cigarettes are worse than heroine! Not easy to stop smoking. Good story.
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Fortunately, the number of smokers is decreasing significantly. Thank you!
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The bad influence too often has the perfect timing. I enjoyed your story.
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Yes it does. It’s usually a battle of instant and delayed gratification, the latter being positive, the former being negative. Thank you, kindly.
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Mr. Nietzsche really did say something about something not killing us, but making us stronger. It was in German, a language I do not try to understand. In this story, what we get used to leads to something that can kill you. Fiction is strange.
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To reply with another partial quote – “*Something* is stranger than fiction.” (;
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