Scientific Stoners
Prompt Eight: The Scientific Stoners
There were few rules at the Academy about drug use, in fact, sometimes it was even encouraged. There were plenty of professors who had talked about their own use, whether it was in days gone by or currently was unbeknownst to the the students. One professor even suggested that if you’re ever stuck on a project, and you’ve looked at it from all different angles, to get high and revisit the problem.
Some students took that to heart, having setting up an offshoot to The Boiler Room just for that purpose. For the most part, if you attended the Academy, you stayed on the straight and narrow, knowing how marginal the line was for being kicked out.
Skye was a new student at the Academy. She didn’t really fit in with the rest of the student body. SHIELD had discovered that the 16 year old successfully hacked into some of SHIELD’s most classified files, and instead of apprehending her, they offered the orphan a spot in SHIELD’s intelligence program, located at the Academy. She was very much an outlier, not having the grades or the motivational drive as other students, and when she learned about the secret room in the Boiler Room, she clung to it.
One of the benefits about the Academy is the real world scenarios they encouraged on the students. They wanted the different programs to work with each other, because that’s what it would be like once they graduate and are officially SHIELD scientists and members. So you wouldn’t often find a biology and chemistry student hitting up a hacker outside of this setting, but Jemma Simmons, a 17 year old nearing graduation, had a final project that included the skills of one.
Jemma had first went to her best friend for help, 17 year old engineering student Leo Fitz. He was better at building gadgets then cracking codes, and couldn’t get fully there. Putting their heads together, Fitz suggested reaching out, and Jemma and Fitz ventured to the Boiler Room to find the help Jemma needed.
As the pair floated around the room, seeking out a hacking student, they were coming up empty handed. Jemma was growing frantic, she needed a hacker to access classified files for research integral in her completion of her senior project. She couldn’t graduate without this.
After an hour, Jemma and Fitz stood by the bar, trying to dredge up an idea on where to find a hacker. Hackers were notoriously not present on campus, often cooped up on their computers. Just like Jemma and Fitz stuck to their labs.
Jemma stared at the oak surface of the bar, leaning on it and swirling around a glass of fresh brewed beer. One of her chemistry peers enjoyed serving up their brewed concoctions.
Fitz faced the other way, looking out to the chaotic crowd of the room. People danced and played billiards. They tinkered with small science projects at tables. Fitz noticed a dark pocket of the room. He had always known the door was there, but never put too much thought about it. It was designed to make you forget it was there, it was clever. But he knew what was behind it, and it might hold the answer to Jemma’s predicament.
“Come with me,” Fitz said, crossing over Jemma to grab the hand farthest from him as she faced the other direction. She spun around, caught off guard by being pulled away. She nearly spilled her beer. Fitz could not hear her disgruntled protests over his brash actions over the music.
He led Jemma to the door in the corner, and before opening it, looked back at Jemma with a smile.
“I don’t want to go in here,” she said. Not because she didn’t approve of what occurs in the room, but because she was frustrated. She also wasn’t making the connection Fitz had made. Fitz disregarded her, opened the door, and pulled her inside.
It was a fairly large room, with a low of glowing lights. All of the couches, which were low to the ground, were positioned in a large semi-circle. There weren’t too many people sitting on them, or rather laying on them so they were draped across, but there were enough that they looked up at the newcomers.
The room was well ventilated, but Fitz and Simmons could still feel the thickness of smoke in the air.
“Hello!” Jemma piped up, nervously. She even waved her hand a bit. She received an appreciative nod from the group.
“I’m a senior biology and chemistry student, and I need some help with my final project, do any of you happen to be hacking students?” She continued.
Two out of the eight people in the group fidgeted. One was a girl with long brunette hair and golden highlights. She had lifted her own hand to wave in response to Jemma’s question. The wave ended up looking more of like a salute. The guy who fidgeted had merely nodded.
“Oh, excellent, may I draft either of you for my project? I will of course compensate you in any means necessary, whether it is monetary or supplemental to your studies,” Jemma took a few steps closer to the group. Fitz stayed behind.
“Nah, girl, come sit here, I’ll help you out, no charge because, like, we’re here, you know?” The girl said. The sound of her voice sounded dreamlike.
Jemma turned back to Fitz who egged her on; Jemma took a seat next to the girl. Fitz followed too. It had been awhile since they had made new friends, right?
“To understand hacking you just gotta see things differently, you want to smoke?” The girl explained. There were a couple of collective nods in the group. They were a quiet bunch, Jemma thought.
“Smoke?” Jemma said, acting like she didn't already know what was going on here.
“Yeah, I’m assuming you haven’t, you look wound, tense, it’s good for you. Right? You said you’re a biochem student? Have you studied how the body responds to different chemicals? This is just an experiment, another one in a long line on experiments,” the girl said.
The person sitting next to her handed the girl a brown cigarette, or at least that is how Jemma would describe it, sometimes too innocent for her own soul.
“I’m Skye, by the way’” the girl said. She put the strange cigarette between her lips and brought a lighter to the end, inhaling at the right moment so the tip glowed red. She took a long drag.
“I’m Jemma, and this is my friend Leo, but call him Fitz,” Jemma said politely, putting a hand on Fitz’ shoulder.
The group took the cue to introduce themselves as Skye exhaled a plume of smoke. Skye carefully handed Jemma the cigarette, a blunt as it’s properly called.
Jemma stared at it, not sure what to do. In her head she listed the knowledge she had about cannabis. It’s medicinal benefits. In the back of her mind she pulled on information about how it became illegal in the states. It was something about how paper mills didn’t want hemp to replace paper products, since hemp is more durable and an all over better resource. The paper mills got politicians on board and started to use marijuana as the frequent term, sullying its reputation because people tended to stray away from foreign terms. Jemma’s mind fogged over, she wasn’t sure she had her information quite right.
She glanced over at Fitz, not for permission, but to show off that she was doing something new and exciting.
“I promise you it’s not a bad experience,” Skye said.
“Yeah, not everyone gets paranoia, I think that’s more of a mindset people get into,” someone from the group said, it may have been the guy named Dustin.
Jemma put the unlit end to her lips, the wet paper causing her to shiver. She wasn’t a Germaphobe, but working in biology meant you saw things a little differently. Skye reached over with the lighter, the flame not too far from Jemma’s nose.
For science, she thought.
“Just inhale lightly, and hold it in your chest a bit, feel it. You might cough a little and your throat will probably get dry,” Skye informed as she set the fire to the tip. Jemma complied, feeling a rush of smoke fill the empty spaces of her chest. She could feel it swirl inside her head. She closed her eyes, and for a moment neither exhaled or inhaled, letting chemical reactions take over.
She felt lighter, like a lingering doubt had been lifted. She cared, but was not concerned. It was a strange feeling, but she felt okay with it. She exhaled, sputtering a bit from the dryness the smoke caused. She wished she had a cup of tea nearby. Jemma took the lighter, and passed both pieces to Fitz. He hesitantly took them, looking at Jemma to see if it was okay.
She smiled, a heaviness righting on her eyes. Her body did not feel relative to everything in the room. She surveyed the group, they all looked happily back, intrigued that the newcomers we're welcoming to their lifestyle. Jemma could hear Fitz cough a bit roughly. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and then moved to his back where she rubbed just below his neck. He looked back at her, she could feel heat emanating from his face, or maybe she imagined it. Everything felt so warm.
Jemma couldn’t stop giggling. She was natural a very upbeat person, and the weed had only amplified that. Everything brought her joy. She looked at Fitz and laughed. His experience was a little different then hers. He felt intense tingling in his fingertips. It was strange yet intriguing. He couldn’t stop looking at his fingertips.
“You guys having fun?” Skye said, cutting in between the two.
“This is quite fascinating,” Jemma teetered, turning to Skye. Fitz, who had remained quiet and introspective, placed a palm on the side of Jemma’s face. He hand was very warm.
“Can you feeling the tingling, Jemma?” he asked quietly.
Jemma concentrated really hard on his hand. Trying to imagine the feeling he was describing.
“No, nothing Fitz,” she said earnestly.
Fitz then placed his other hand on the opposite side of Jemma’s face. He then pushed inward with both hands, squishing Jemma’s cheeks causing her to make funny faces.
“You guys are so cute, how long have you been together?” Skye asked. The blunt had made it all the way around the circle and it was back to Skye.
In between laughter, Jemma choked out that they were friends. Skye rolled her eyes, as she didn’t believe it.
“Fitz, Fitz, Fitz, okay, now, stop…squishing…my face,” Jemma giggled. The sound she made was contained, due to Fitz’ hand placement.
Skye exhaled, and the smoke welled up in front of Jemma.
Fitz obeyed, removing his hands and staring at his palms, and then flipping them over. His mind ran wild with speculation about his hands. He had never concentrated on them so hard before.
This time, Jemma lit her own blunt. She passed it to Fitz after; who lit it and took a hit and passed it, and then returned to his hands.
“Hey, Jemma, have you ever thought about your hands?” Fitz asked.
“You’re a happy smoker, and your boyfriend over there is a philosophical one,” Skye joined in on the laughter. They both ignored Fitz. Skye turned around to grab something behind her, she placed a coloring book and pencils in front of Jemma.
“Oh! I haven’t done one of these in ages!” Jemma squealed, she flipped through the pages, it was a Disney coloring book. Fitz unglued himself from his hands to look over.
“Can I do one?” Fitz said, he was envious.
Jemma carefully ripped off a page for him. She ripped it very slowly. She gave him a page of Beauty and the Beast.
Jemma herself snagged an Aladdin sheet.
“Skye, would you happen to have something to drink? I’m absolutely parched,” Jemma asked. She saw Fitz was looking the same.
“And Fitz as well,” she added.
“Do you Brits like tea?” Skye said, mocking a British accent.
“I’m Scottish,” Fitz piped up.
“That was a terrible accent,” Jemma snorted. She began to get very wrapped up in her coloring book.
It was about an hour for both Fitz and Jemma when they both felt their lids weigh heavily. They had had a good time for the most part. Mostly describing it as a way to analyze the world around them with abstract sensibility. Scientists often get boxed into looking at what they know based on the findings. There is little speculation, although creativity can help connect ideas.
Jemma got Skye’s number so they could set up a time to hack into the websites she needed to get into. Tired, but overall feeling numb with happiness, Jemma and Fitz sauntered back to their dorms, crashing on a couch, and haphazardly using each other as pillows.
Jemma was drifting off to peaceful sleep, when Fitz piped up.
“I’m hungry.”