Edible Friends

This story is a bit different than my others. I wanted a lot of build up and spent some time really getting to know the characters. Because of that, it ended up being longer than I expected, but it was a lot exploring these two. If this has a good reception, I'll follow up with a second part to wrap up the story of Beth & Maria. Let me know in the comments if you want more of these two. Enjoy!

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Maria is in her dorm sitting on her bed cross legged typing away furiously on her laptop. She was warned junior year of college was the toughest, but she didn't expect the homework to be this time consuming. Another Friday spent writing. Today her focus is on the Implications of Social Media in the 21st Century. She knows Beth will be back from soccer practice soon, so she wants to make sure she gets as much of this paper done now while she has the dorm to herself. Neither of them drink alcohol, so they were assigned to the chemical-free dorm their first year as roommates. Other than their mutual love of The Office, they have nothing in common. Despite that, they quickly became best friends. Maria even puts aside her apathy for sports and attends all the home soccer games to support Beth.

Maria was accepted into the University of Southern Maine based on her academic credentials. She was awarded several STEM scholarships and plans on working in aerospace after college. On the rare occasion she has free time, she enjoys reading fantasy novels and binging the latest craze on Netflix. Physically she is short with black, curly hair that hangs to her shoulders and dark brown eyes. Beth likes to joke that she is jealous of the junk in Maria's trunk. Maria thinks of herself as 'thick' and loves her curves, but unless she is out on a date or at a school dance, she doesn't show them off. Tonight she isn't going out, so she is wearing a loose red t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants with USM down the left leg in large, blue letters.

Beth on the other hand chose Southern Maine based entirely on their soccer program. She has been athletic her whole life and can't remember a time she didn't dream of playing soccer professionally. She is willing to sacrifice anything to make her dream come true, which is why she lives chemical free. She is very careful of what she puts into her body and spends her limited free time jogging around campus or working out at the gym. She sometimes refers to herself as 'The Female Tom Brady.' Looks wise, she is the opposite of Maria. Tall, with straight blonde hair and blue eyes. One look at Beth and there is no doubt about her athleticism. She has a firm, toned upper body. There are rare occasions she is jealous of Maria's curves and will make small jokes. Otherwise, she is proud of her body and knows she works hard for it. She isn't one to show off, but she does enjoy the attention her powerful legs receive. When wearing shorts or a dress, it is a guarantee someone will make a comment.

Maria is so focused on finishing her paper that she jumps when Beth opens the door and comes limping in carrying her soccer cleats.

"What happened to you!?" Maria asks with a concerned tone. Beth is usually sore after practice, but tonight Beth looks to be in pain.

"At practice, I jumped for a header and as I was coming down I landed on another player and twisted my ankle. Fuck!" Beth throws down her soccer cleats. "The trainer gave me some Tylenol, but it hasn't helped at all. I'm going to go take a shower. Maybe the hot water will help." Beth grabs some clothes to change and limps out of the dorm before Maria has a chance to respond.

Maria feels awful for Beth. They have been friends for three years and it's rare for Beth to show emotions as she is the type to hold things in. Maria knows that if this injury causes Beth to miss any games, she will be miserable. Maria decides her paper can wait and starts looking up possible remedies for Beth's injury.

A short time later, Beth limps back into the room holding a bag of ice, her blonde hair still damp. She is wearing a large black hoodie with USM across the chest in large, red letters and pair of red athletic shorts with a white stripe on the side. She sits on her bed, stretches out her leg with the injured ankle and put the bag of ice on top of it. Beth grabs her phone and looks through Twitter saying nothing.

Maria is the first to break the silence. "The shower didn't help at all did it?" She looks at Beth with concern. She hopes getting Beth talking may help take her mind off it.

"Not at all. I'll be good once the swelling goes down I think." She puts her phone down, looks over to Maria and can see her laptop open to an article about ankle injuries. "Are you looking up ankle injuries" Beth smiles slightly, happy to have a friend like Maria.

"Yes!" The chipperness of her voice surprises Beth.

"Any good suggestions?" Beth asks hopefully.

"Well, the big thing is RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. You're already icing it and you have your ankle elevated, so you're on the right track! I can help you wrap it tonight for the compression if you need."

"RICE, yeah, that's exactly what the trainer told me to do. Anything about ways to manage the pain? It's going to be tough getting rest or sleep with this throbbing. Even with the Tylenol, the pain is getting worse."

"There is a section here on pain management. Let's see. It says icing your ankle helps with the swelling which in turn helps with the pain. You're already doing that. Painkillers, such as Tylenol, which...yeah, you said didn't help. Oh, look at this great piece of advice..." Maria holds both her hands in the hair and makes air quotes as she says "TIME" in a long, sarcastic tone.

Beth laughs at the air quotes and the goofy face Maria makes as she says it. For a brief moment her mind shifts from the pain in her ankle to how lucky she is to have had Maria randomly assigned as a roommate years ago.

"In case you weren't aware Beth, the paragraph on time goes into great detail on the healing process and how eventually things will feel better. That's about all that is listed..." Maria's voice trails off while she keeps scrolling through the website. It's obvious to Beth that Maria has found something else, but isn't sharing.

"What are you hiding over there, what did you find?"

"Well, it does have something else listed, but it's not really relevant or helpful."

"Why are you being so cagey Maria? What is it?" Beth becomes annoyed and wonders what Maria is keeping from her.

Maria laughs a little bit, "Honestly, it's nothing. It's not some miracle, secret cure. It says that if you live in a state that has legalized marijuana, dispensaries are an option. Sure, it's legal here in Maine, but neither of us smoke, so it doesn't matter. Although, it does say it's available in edible form..."

Beth stares at Maria for a few seconds. "No." She falls backward on her bed, grabs her phone again and begins silently scrolling through Instagram.

Maria has never had interest in weed either, but her ex, Jon, always smoked. Maria thinks, If it will help with the pain, why not try it? Maria doesn't have the negative associations with weed that she does with drinking. Regardless, she's not Beth, so she decides to let her relax on her phone and switches back to working on her paper.

For the next hour, Beth idly scrolls through social media while Maria continues to pluck away on her paper with neither of them saying a word. Eventually Beth breaks the silence. "Isn't there a dispensary a couple blocks from here?"

Maria looks up at Beth with wide eyes and a wide smile. "Really Beth!? With your constant talks of clean living and no foreign substances, I never thought I would hear those words from you!"

"Well Maria, my ankle really fucking hurts and it's only getting worse." Beth snaps back.

"No, no, no no. I'm not judging! Honestly, I don't think it's a bad idea. I've never been stoned, so I can't speak from experience, but at the very least it will help with the pain a little bit I'm sure. You already tried Tylenol. This doesn't seem much different than that."

"You've never been stoned either? When you and Jon were still together, I always assumed you had done it with him. Every time I met Jon, he was baked out of his mind!"

"Yeah, he loves smoking, but I hate it. Edibles seem different, so I would have been more willing to try those...maybe, but he only smoked and smoking is gross, so I never had any interest."

"Well, I need to do something to help dull this pain. If for no other reason than to attempt to sleep tonight. I might not end up buying anything, but it doesn't hurt to talk to a worker at a dispensary about it. Will you come with me?"

"Sure! Even if you don't end up buying anything, it'll be an interesting experience!"

The dispensary is only a few blocks away, but with Beth's limping it takes a lot longer to get there than they expected. Despite the slow down, neither of them mind. It's a spring night with a bit of humidity in the air.

Beth and Maria chat and joke with each other during the walk. As they get close, the humidity begins to get to Beth and she rolls up her hoody sleeves, wishing she had put something on under the hoody so she could take it off. Eventually they see the glowing green letters, THE GARDEN OF WEEDEN flashing at them through the haze of the thick air.

They reach the front door and Beth hesitates grabbing the handle. "I don't know why, but I'm really nervous."

"Neither of us smoke or drink, so yeah, me too. Still, it's not like we have to buy anything. Let's check out the vibe inside, and if either of us feel uncomfortable, we'll leave."

At that moment the door opens and two older men walk out, quickly moving past Maria and Beth. They couldn't have looked more like stereotypical stoners if they tried. Each with a stupid grin on their face, one of them says to the other, "This is going to be good shit dude!"

Maria opens the door for Beth, looks to her with a grin, her eyes nearly closed and with her best stoner impression says, "Ready for some good shit dude?"

Beth rolls her eyes, shakes her head and slowly limps her way into the store. The first impression for both of them is how professional it looks. Neither of them mentioned it to each other, but both had been imagining a dim drug den. Instead, it is brightly lit without an ounce of filth anywhere. If it weren't for all the different strains of marijuana under the glass, it could be mistaken for a jewelry store.

"Welcome to the Garden of Weeden! My name is Hank. How can I help you two today?"

Even Hank doesn't look anything like they imagined. He is tall and slender with a black polo tucked into his khaki's. Beth imagines that if Hank were to put on a long white coat, he would look like a pharmacist. In a weird kind of way, Hank is sort of a pharmacist she thinks.

Nerves get the best of both of them with neither of them knowing what to say. Eventually, Maria chimes in trying to sound like a usual customer, "Oh, we're just browsing."

Beth gives Maria a sarcastic nod and thumbs up to say smooth Maria, smooth.

"Actually, I sprained my ankle and I'm in quite a bit of pain. I'm hoping to get something to help with that, but I don't know where to start and I don't like smoking."

Hank listens and let's them know, "Well, you've come to the right place. If you don't like smoking, I'm guessing you two are new-comers? Let me explain. Weed comes in two main strains. Sativa, which is kind of a more mental high. The other is indica, which would be what you're looking for. It's a more relaxing, mellow feeling throughout your body and should help with the pain. You mentioned you're not into smoking, but we have some indica gummies that would be perfect."

Hank grabs a package off the wall. If it weren't for the large green pot leaf on the package, it would look identical to a bag of gummy bears.

"These are 5 milligram gummies. If you've never smoked before or tried weed, I suggest starting with 5 milligrams, or maybe even less. It'll help with the pain, but it won't be immediate. Eat only half the gummy, give it some time and if you think you need some more relief, finish the other half. Don't have any more than one gummy your first time, you don't want to overdo it."

Beth thinks for a little bit and asks, "What happens if I over do it? Is there any danger?"

Hanks laughs slightly, smiles and let's Beth know, "Danger, no, no, no. You may get a bit paranoid and sometimes people feel nauseated when taking too much, but that's the worst that will happen. Honestly, if you take too much you'll likely just sleep for 14 hours. Still, you don't want any of that, you want a bit of pain management, so don't eat any more than one and you should be fine."

Maria and Beth exchange glances and Maria asks, "So, what do you think? Going to buy them?"

Part of Beth wants to leave and forget she ever came here, but the throbbing of her ankle continues and the walk here has only made it worse.

"At this point, I would be willing to do anything to dull this pain. I'll buy them."

"Excellent! I'll ring you up. That will be $25 dollars. Cash only."

"I never carry cash! Maria, do you have any on you? I'll Venmo you the $25..."

Maria smiles, "What would you do without me?" She pulls out the money and pays for Beth.

Beth feels a rush of anxiety as Maria pays. Even though weed is perfectly legal in the state of Maine, she's never altered her mind and begins doubting herself. She's always had a sense of pride over never drinking or trying weed, but tells herself it's for a valid reason.

"Thanks for coming in ladies. Remember, give it some time for kick in. It's not immediate."

Beth and Maria leave and walk back to the dorm in silence. Beth continue to worry and feel anxious. Part of her thinks the best course of action is not trying it when they get back to their dorm and waiting out the pain.

After dating Jon, being around someone who is stoned is nothing new for Maria. She laughs to herself starts thinking of how Beth may act.

Finally, they make it back to the dorm with each going to their separate beds. After the walk to the dispensary and back, Beth's ankle is even worse than it was after practice.

"I can't believe I bought weed, even if it is just a gummy." Beth shakes her head in disbelieve.

"Beth, relax. You're acting like you bought meth! It's just weed. I know a chemical free life is important to you, but really, don't feel weird about it. You're doing it because you're in pain, it's for your own health. Still, if you don't feel comfortable with it, don't do it. I'm still in touch with Jon. I can give him the bag next time I see him."

"You mean next time you go over for a booty-call?" Beth gives a smirk and raises her eyebrows.

Maria shrugs, "Beats using my vibrator." They laugh.

Unlike Beth, Maria has always been open about every aspect of her life and doesn't mind sharing details. Maria has continued to hook up with Jon since their break up and she doesn't keep it a secret. Beth doesn't care what Maria does, as long as it isn't in their dorm when she's around.

Beth on the other hand is a vault and doesn't share anything. She's not one to kiss and tell, even though there hasn't been much to 'tell' in some time. She broke up with her boyfriend over a year ago, and he's the only man she's been with and has no interest in hooking up with someone she's not involved with.

Beth opens the package of gummies. "Anyway. Maybe it's time to try this. The sooner it kicks in, the sooner I can get some sleep." She pulls out a gummy in the shape of a marijuana leaf and looks at it. "I don't know..."

"Seriously Beth, don't overthink it. It's not a big deal."

Beth doesn't respond so Maria follows up, "Look, would it help if I tried it with you? In a weird way, it's like I'm joining you and maybe that will make you more comfortable? Hank said to start with half, so we can each have half."

Beth thinks for a few seconds, "That's not a bad idea. Then you won't be judging me if I say or do something stupid!"

Maria gets off her bed, walks over to Beth, grabs the gummy and looks at Beth. "Let's go!" She bites into half the gummy and hands the other half back to Beth.

Beth holds her half and stares at it. She thinks, Maria's right. You're making this a bigger deal than it is. She tosses the gummy into her mouth, chews and swallows.

"Wow, I thought the sugar would hide the taste a bit better than that." Beth says with a disgusted look on her face. "Anyway, how long does it take for it to start working?"

Maria shrugs. "I'm not sure. Guess we have some time to kill. What do you want to do?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead. Want to watch something?"

"We always do that..." Maria starts thinking. "I know! Every time I suggest you check out Omegle with me, you say no. Well, this is a night for new experiences! What do you say?"

"Omegle? Chatting with random people on webcam? No, I'm good."

Maria laughs "Yeah, it's full of crazy people. But hey, it's always entertaining. Besides, I've met a couple cool people I keep in touch with on Snap. I'll show you!"

Before Beth has another chance to object, Maria runs across the dorm, grabs her laptop, leaps onto Beth's bed, sits down next to her and opens up Omegle.

"There is no convincing you otherwise when you have an idea is there?"

Maria gives Beth a big smile and Beth rolls her eyes.

They center themselves in front of the cam built into the laptop. Maria to the left in her red t-shirt with her dark, curly hair taking up a surprising amount of the space on her side of the frame. Beth is next to her in her black hoodie with her blonde hair now dry and looking a bit messy.

"Wow, the humidity from the walk has my hair looking like shit. Why didn't you say anything!?" Beth uses her hands in an attempt to fix her hair.

"This isn't your Tinder profile, don't worry about." Maria jokes as she hits begin to start a chat with a random person.

Within seconds their first connection appears on the screen. A middle-aged, overweight man sitting in a chair, nude and stroking himself slowly.

"Wow, you really felt like showing off your tiny dick huh?" Beth is already annoyed with her first Omegle experience.

The sight of the two young college student and Beth's sarcastic comment causes the man to begin stroking himself faster. Maria ends the conversation with their first guest.

Beth looks over to Maria and in a monotone voice says, "So, this is what you do for fun when I'm at practice?"

"Oops. Accidentally revealed my fetish for overweight, old men." Maria has the biggest grin on her face.

Beth rolls her eyes, shakes her head and laughs.

"I told you it was full of crazy people! Anyway, let's see what else we can find!" Maria looks back at the computer and hits Next to randomly connect with someone else.

The next connection slowly loads and it's a blonde woman with insanely oversized implants in nothing but underwear doing her best to look sexy. It's a static image not moving. Next to the webcam is blank white chat space that either party can send chat messages to if they would rather not talk. The party they're connected to sends See more hot women at www.hotchixxx.com.

"Dicks and advertisements! This website has it all! What else would someone want to spend their night doing!?" Beth remains unimpressed.

Maria ignores the comment and clicks to start a new connection.

A man appears on screen with brow hair and stubble looking a bit disheveled. He appears to be in his mid 20's. Feeling lucky to connect with two attractive college women, the man smiles and gives a wave.

"Hey there ladies! I'm Ben."