What Used to Be Cinnamon

Disclaimer: This story does contain mention of drugs and other such substances. I have never been in contact with such substances and they are only used to help with this story. 

 “Gabriel come on!” Malissa hollers to her little brother.  

She runs past him. As she does she reaches out her hand and tags him. 

“Freeze!” She yells, smirking at her brother's grouchy expression.

“You're cheating!” He grumps (in that annoying way little brothers do)

Malisa rolls her eyes. 

“Quit saying that every time you don't win.” She huffs. 

“You confused me!” His voice is indignant. 

“Fine, let's play something else.” Malisa thinks for a moment. “Red light green light?” 

Gabriel rolls his eyes. 

“That's a baby game. How about catch?” 

“UGH, I hate catch.” 

They bicker and fight for a while before Malisa says…

“I know, let's play poker…”   

“Dad says not until we are older,” Gabriel says. 

“Dad's not around dumb dumb,” Malisa says. “Plus what could go wrong? It's just a card game.” 

“I'm not dumb! And a lot of things could go wrong.” 

“Wanna bet?” Malisas grin drives him over the edge. 

“Fine! I'll play poker.” 

Malisa’s smile is triumphant.  

“You get the cards, meet me at the end of the driveway.” When Gabriel meets her with the cards Malisa has both of their bikes ready. She takes the cards and puts them in her red bike basket. 

“Let's go!” She says. 

“Do you know where Dad goes?” Gabriel asks. 

“Of course. Have you never followed Charles around before?” 

“His name's dad.”  

“Tch! No. Charles married Mom. He's not our real dad.” 

“Well, you should still call him dad.” 

“Dad is the title I reserve for my real dad. Not some loser who plays poker every night with a bunch of shifty friends.” 

“Does Mom know he does that?” Gabriel's voice is small. 

“No. She expects him to always be like Dad. My dad. But he's not, Charles is not.”

After approximately ten minutes they park their bikes in a small dark alley. Graffiti lines the walls saying a lot of things that make Gabriel cringe. He is always a good child. The one who eats all his vegetables, always clearing his plate to the sink, calling Charles, dad. He would never have come here on his own. 

Malisas eyes shine with excitement. Finally, after waiting so long, she is here, she can finally play the game she has always wanted to play. The thing that has always drawn Malisa to poker is the fact that it's an adult game. Or at least that's what her parents tell her. She sorta knows how to play it. But she is counting on help from the men and women who will be in the club. 

“Ready to do this?” She asks Gabriel.

        “Not at all.” He whispers. 

Being three years younger than Melissa’s eleven years of age she is not surprised. But she is annoyed. 

         “Get it together! Like it or not we are going in there to play poker!”

         “Why do I have to come?” I don’t wanna play it.

         “If I leave you outside you will run and tell Charles. Or mom. 

Gabriel’s eyes well up with tears. 

         “Leave me alone! Stop…stop messing with me. I won’t do that. Not unless something bad happens.” 

         “Nothing bad will happen!” Melisa turns her back on her trembling brother and walks towards a black metal door with red words scrawled across it…Turn back if you value your sanity. A shiver runs up her spine. She reaches out a hand and opens the door before stepping inside. 

         Melisa makes her way along a dark hallway. It is lit only with the occasional lamp covered with a red piece of fabric, casting everything in an evil glow. Her footfalls echo off the walls as she makes her way down the hall. Graffiti seems to be the primary art source. Nasty words and sentences line the walls.    

         Despite him being an annoyance, she wishes Gabriel was with her. Maybe she should turn back. Before she can, she hears voices from a door to her left. She opens it and steps into a dark dingy room. It smells of beer, and sweaty unbathed men and women. 

        She looks around and sees a table with men and women all with tattoos and piercings in uncomfortable places, the tongue of a woman with green eyes and flowing red hair, the lip of a man with black shaggy hair, in between two fingers on a person who didn’t look male or female.

        Her dad had a tattoo, it was a heart with his name, James, on one side, and her moms, Violet, on the other side. That’s how much he loved her. Charles has many tattoos, but none say her mother's name. One has the name of a woman Melissa never met before, Veronica. She hopes she never will. Melisa takes a few steps towards the people. They all have cards and are playing poker. A selection of tiny bottles and pills sits in the middle. 

        “Hey, little princess.” The man with the lip piercing says. A tattoo of a king cobra winds around his forehead. Its fangs rest over his right eyebrow. Melisa shrinks back a step at his sudden interest. 

        “I’m here to play.” She says quietly. She is wondering if this was a good idea after all. The woman with the red hair pulls out a chair for her. Right next to the not man, not woman person. She forces her legs forward. 

        “Here ya go little princess.” The man with the snake tattoo says. Handing her a small spice jar. The lid is off and she can see powder at the bottom. 

        “Cocaine.” The man says. “Good stuff. If you really want to play poker, sniff it.” “I don’t think I want to have that…” Maliss says in a small voice. 

        “Come on lass, that’s why ya here ain’t it?” 

Malisas nod was tentative. 

       “Can I play the game first and then take that later?” She asks. Pointing to the jar. 

The man considers. Then nods. 

       He deals out the cards. Malisa takes a seat. They look at their cards. Malisa has four kings. She puts the card's face up. She takes the win for round one. She pulls the money from the center to her side. Then she puts some back as the other players put more coins and dollars down from their piles. The game goes on. She has won four rounds in a row. The other players are impressed. Both with her luck, and her poker face. She gives nothing away. 

        “How about that cocaine now?” Snake dude asks. 

Feeling more confident, she nods. Snake man hands her the jar. It says it once held cinnamon. She lifts it to her nose and breathes. At first, nothing happens. She continues to play. The shift is subtle. She no longer feels scared of these strangers. They seem like good people. Malisa finds herself wanting a tattoo. And a piercing. 

        “Where do I get one of those? And those?” She asks, gesturing to the snake man’s tattoo, and his lip piercing.” 

        “Oh, hun. You don’t want one of those piercings. Those are for the men.” She makes a disgusted face. “You want one of these.” She sticks out her tongue. It is full of piercings. Silver, gold, blue, yellow, red. So many colors. 

        “Ok, where do I get one then?” Malisa is excited. She grins thinking of what her mom will say. Assuming she ever leaves her new friends. 

         “You keep playing.” The woman says to the not man, not woman, and the snake man. I gotta take this young lady to the piercer.” 

They walk through a door, down a long hallway, and stop at another door. The woman knocks. A man, the piercer, opens the door.

         The piercer is a tall man. With a million piercings all over his body. He also has tattoos covering every inch of him. He doesn't wear much clothing. Only a pair of shorts. Malisa is sure he has more tattoos under his shorts that she doesn’t want to see. 

        “Can I have a tattoo of a rose on my back and three piercings on my tongue?” Malisa asks. The cocaine is making her head fuzzy and she doesn’t stop to consider how much this is gonna hurt. 

         The man gives a quick nod. He disappears into the back room. The woman pushes Malisa forward after him. She follows into a well-lit room with one chair. 

          “Take your shirt off.” The man says. Malisa does as she is told. She silently thanks herself that she wore a sports bra today. She climbs up into the chair. Another man appears in the room. 

          “Piercings first. The tattoo will take longer. 

          “I want two silver studs and a gold one,” Malisa says softly. She is begging to get concerned. 

          She leans back in her chair and sticks out her tongue when the man’s helper asks. 

Something clamps around her tongue. She tries to pull back but she can’t. Suddenly jarring pain seases her. She tries to scream but can’t. It hits her again. And then again. Finally, her tongue is released she pulls away sobbing. 

          “Do you still want the tattoo?” The woman asks from the doorway. She sounds smug. Like she knew this was gonna happen, and she was glad for it.

          “No!” Malisa shouts. She gets up and runs out. She runs back down the hall out past the not man, not woman, and the snake man playing poker. Through the door. Her tongue is still throbbing. Finally, she bursts out into the alley. Her mother is there in her minivan, she flies out of the driver's side door and wraps her up in her arms. 

         “Oh, my poor baby!” She says. “Are you ok?”

         Gabriel throws his arms around his sister. “I rode home on my bike and got Mom.” He says. 

         “Why does Charles go here?! It’s a horrible horrible place!” Malisa sobs against her mother and brother. 

Her mom stiffens.

         “What did you say?” She asks, standing up and pulling out her phone. 

         “He comes here every Friday night,” Gabriel says. 

         “He plays poker and takes drugs and drinks,” Malisa adds. 

         “We will deal with this later.” Her mom says. Let’s take you kids home. 

         Malisa never saw Charles again. She, her brother, and her mother lived happily. Malisa dealt with her minor addiction to cocaine and with help from a therapist moved past her nightmares. She had her piercings removed and slowly but surely moved past the trauma of this seemingly innocent game, taking a turn for the worst. 

The End