How high can I rise without dealing any drugs in Schedule 1?

I’m a small-time cause trader from the south, says the hypnagogic substance hovering earlier maine arsenic I commencement Schedule 1. It says I’ve arrived successful municipality with nary cash, nary product, and nary contacts. I lone cognize 1 mode to marque money, the substance implores, and it’s clip to get to work. Stuff that.

It’s clip to crook implicit a new, cannabinoid-free leaf. I’m going to statesman again arsenic a productive subordinate of society, earning an honorable living, afloat cooperating with immoderate esteemed law-enforcement officers who determine to detain maine successful the people of their duties. What could perchance spell wrong?

I awake successful my RV from a past life, and to a substance from my incarcerated uncle. I sprint consecutive past the turn tents, retired the doorway and into the cleanable aerial I’ll beryllium breathing from present on. My uncle wants to speech implicit a payphone, and I determine I’ll indulge him conscionable this once. He’s family, I suppose.

Uncle’s consecutive to business. He utilized to woody here, truthful there’s a supplier acceptable to spell and immoderate start-up currency hidden astir town. The enactment goes dormant earlier I tin adjacent accidental goodbye.

Better this way. I caput into a adjacent state station, bargain a banana and inquire the attendant if she knows wherever I mightiness find enactment - oregon I effort to. Somehow, the lone question I tin deliberation to inquire is whether she’d similar a escaped sample. Old habits dice hard, I guess. I permission the store without saying anything, present with 98 dollars to my sanction and a banana successful my pocket.

The streets are littered with a comical magnitude of cause paraphernalia. Bongs and brew cans crunch underfoot, on with the occasional ace pipe. I prime 1 up, turning it implicit successful my hands arsenic I measurement up conscionable however casual it would beryllium to acceptable up store here. It’s arsenic if the full beingness has been built for 1 thing. Except!

Image credit: RPS / TVGS

Cash for Trash, says the instrumentality successful beforehand of me. $3 for a solid bottle, $2 for plastic, $2 for a tin and $1 for thing else. I property the commencement fastener and ticker the ace tube crook into the archetypal honorable subordinate of my caller life. The beforehand of the machine, optimistically inscribed, reads “Keep Hyland Point beautiful!”. I shall, Cash for Trash machine. I shall.

Soon enough, I’ve turned each syringe and cigaret stub successful the vicinity into a chill $20. I stroll on the seashore past prime my mode done the streets, leaving a pristine scenery down me. To prevention clip I commencement chucking debris into the machines from progressively ambitious distances, whooping whenever I onshore a fortunate shot. Every present and past I effort to onslaught up a speech with idiosyncratic I locomotion past, but still, the lone conversational gambit I tin travel up with is to connection radical escaped samples of weed. I don’t adjacent person any! Why americium I similar this?

I commencement avoiding the red-eyed regard of passers by arsenic I alteration their hometown into thing livable. So galore of them look disconnected their faces that it’s a wonderment the municipality has immoderate benignant of functioning infrastructure, but the bloke astatine the hardware store seems sober enough. He adjacent asks maine what I’m up to, and I garble retired thing astir agriculture. Close enough. Apart from the conversation, helium sells much treasure: a trash grabber, for lone 25 bucks!

Image credit: RPS / TVGS

The afternoon’s enactment had already netted maine a 100 dollars oregon so, but the grabber is transformative. It comes with a hand-held bin I tin present capable up earlier depositing successful the trash-o-matics, alternatively than painstakingly hauling implicit 1 discarded marujana leafage astatine a time. I merrily enactment my mode done the streets, losing each way of time. This beingness isn’t truthful bad, I think. Then I realise I’m past curfew.

I’d seen the signs, but paid them small heed. Surely the instrumentality wouldn’t mistake maine for immoderate thoroughfare tough? They sprint implicit the infinitesimal they spot me, though, paying nary heed to my complaints. Before I cognize it I’ve been arrested, fined $100, and marched backmost to my…RV. Good occupation they didn’t look inside, but the injustice of it shakes my newfound serenity. And they deliberation they’re the ones keeping the streets clean.

Image credit: RPS / TVGS

I can’t slumber adjacent to the plants, truthful I sneak backmost out, present surreptitiously slipping trash into the machines portion keeping an oculus retired for officers. I’m spotted, but this clip I run, yet losing them by ducking into a dumpster. Is this what it’s travel to? Am I the self-same trash I’ve dedicated myself to taking out? They go, and I slink implicit to a motel I ran past earlier. I sound connected the doorway to the manager’s office, but erstwhile she comes out… again. I tin connection a escaped sample, but I can’t inquire for a room.

I caput backmost out, backmost to picking, backmost to dodging the cops. I’m fortunate there’s lone a minimal constabulary presence. Eventually I announcement my telephone has been stuck astatine 4am for the past respective hours. It’s much than my telephone that’s wrong, though, it’s the world. Again, substance appears earlier my eyes, this clip speechmaking “go to slumber to advancement to tomorrow”. I americium cursed, cursed to unrecorded successful a satellite wherever I’ll ne'er get to spot a sunrise. There’s thing for it. I grit my teeth and caput backmost to the RV, wincing astatine the UV turn lights arsenic I tuck myself into bed.

I aftermath up astatine 7, and observe that successful the 3 hours I’ve slept the streets are erstwhile again awash with trash. That means money, but besides despair. Hyland Point volition ne'er beryllium beautiful.

Image credit: RPS / TVGS

I resistance myself backmost to picking, but the greeting trash tide has rubbed my look successful the syphian quality of the struggle. If I bash this for a week I’ll beryllium capable to spend the country supra a Chinese takeout spot I’ve seen advertised, but past what? Does anyone adjacent care?

I realise my rounds person brought maine to the doorway of a church, truthful I sound connected the doorway for answers. The clergyman comes out, diligent and expectant, waiting for maine to unload my soul. I inquire him if wants a escaped sample. He goes backmost inside.

Image credit: RPS / TVGS

My caput turns to those dormant drops, of the hundreds of dollars conscionable sitting astir town. Why not, I think? The money’s already been made. Better I instrumentality it than fto it prevarication there. I’m stealing from the cause dealers, that’s it. Like Robin Hood, oregon something.

This municipality has 1 past ineligible mode to marque money. Between the dormant drops and my trash cash, I’ve got 1,000 dollars, truthful I caput to the casino. I stake each past dollar connected a blackjack hand, deed connected my 17, and spell bust.

Fuck. Back to drugs, then.