I went to college and all i got was this nicotine addiction

I sit on the red metal bench, camera in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I inhale as if it’s my lifeblood, like the death-stick I’m inhaling will provide me warmth on this cold Pennsylvania day. It doesn’t, obviously. The strumming of his guitar, the sweet sound of her voice being carried away by the buffeting wind, helps, at least puts a small smile on my face. In these times I’m acutely aware of my own existence. The puff of smoke exiting my lips. The whirring of the lens as it locks onto her face. My laugh, tumbling as easy out of my mouth as the smoke, the click of the shutter as it captures the moment. The photo is forever but I’m very, painfully aware that this moment isn’t-and, I didn’t know it at the time, but it was our last smoke together, ending our shared nicotine addiction. It’s the kind of moment I’ll think about when it’s midnight and I want to fuck off and drop out of college. It’s the kind of moment I’ll think about when I’m 30 and reminiscing about the good old days, and it’s the kind of moment that makes me grateful I’m alive in the first place. I’ll think of how it feels like we’re in our own little bubble. 18. Untouchable. Invincible. The people walking towards their dorm see us, but not really because we’re contained in our own world. The three musketeers. A pack of traveling troubadours. Stupid teenagers that have nothing better to do than smoke and sing and play guitar. Whatever we are. She lights his cigarette, which he’s stuck in between his guitar strings. I take another photo, capture the intimate gesture. Her one hand striking the lighter, the other covering the cigarette from the harsh wind as she continues to carry on the tune. They’re in their own world, and I’m here to capture it. Focus. Whirr. Click.

About the Author

Danita Mapes is a Global Media major with a passion for both creative writing and journalism, the latter of which she publishes through Loco Mag. Her dream is to become an investigative journalist uncovering global injustices.