~ 25 ~
The Other Side of GreenHalfway down the hill, out of sight of both houses, Cassie opens her hand and looks at what Athena has given her. A plastic lunch bag, rolled tight. She unrolls the bag and smells the sticky, sweet, pungent scent of the previous night.
Cassie steals a packet of Tally-Ho papers from Poppy’s room. Her fingers fumble. No one has taught her to do this. She’s watched Poppy do it. First, it is too loose and the bits of green fall out of the roll. She learns to squeeze and roll at the same time. By Monday morning, two tight joints roll across her palm. She stashes them in her pencil case and leaves early for the bus. At the end of the driveway, well before the bus is due, she smokes half of one joint, puts it out, relights it and smokes the rest, then she sprays he
