The Jade Princess of Darkness

THE JADE PRINCESS OF DARKNESS

By uciboy

PART 1 - TIME WELL SPENT

Mia Nakamura closed her eyes as she listened to her American Government teacher drone on about the functions of the judiciary. She had learned all of this watching School House Rock DVDs as a kid.What more do I need to know about the three branches of government, she thought to herself. Mr. O'Brien was handsome to be sure, but she still struggled to stay awake in his class. Unless she was going to become a lawyer - which she most certainly knew she was not - she was pretty certain that whatever job she got in life, she was not going to need to know about the power of judicial review.

Six minutes to go before the final bell, and then one final week before she was finally out of high school. This 18 year old couldn't wait. She didn't even have plans to attend the graduation ceremony. She just wanted to move on with her life.

But move on how?What comes next, she often asked herself. She had no interest in becoming a professional barista, despite her afternoon job at Starbucks. She could always find something in the gaming industry; thiswas Vegas, after all. Her Mom made a decent living as a Black Jack dealer at the Fremont Hotel downtown where the Hawaiian tourists loved her and gave her good tips. But that option was three years off for her since right now Mia couldn't even legally enter a casino. She never understood the logic behind these laws. She and her boyfriend were old enough to legally have sex at age 16; she could even join the military and be trained to kill at 17. Yet she couldn't legally play a slot, buy a bottle of beer, or smoke a cigarette until she was 21.

She discreetly pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket after feeling it vibrate and saw that Emiko Tanaka, her best friend, had sent her a text. "TGIF!!! Meet you behind Starbucks in 15. Virginia and I will be waiting."

Mia smiled. She looked forward to seeing them both.

She looked up at the clock and read the sign beneath it: "Time will pass. Will you?"Hopefully, she thought, but right now her main concern was staying awake for the remainder of the class. If only she could just take a quick nap. Just to shut her eyes for a minute. If only she hadn't stayed up late last night playing some stupid game on her phone.

She jerked her head back, realizing that for a nanosecond she had nodded off. She rubbed her eyes.Must stay awake. But the urge to sleep was so strong with Mr. O'Brien's sonorous voice droning on and on and...

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"Hello?"

Mia was standing at the mouth of a cave. She held a freshly lit cigarette between her fingers, which she found odd since she only smoked once a day. She took a few steps, moving further away from the entrance until there was no light at all. She brought the Virginia Slims 120 up to her lips for a gentle puff, giving the tip a ghostly orange glow in the darkness. She wasn't afraid. In fact, she had never been afraid of the darkness, even as a child. But she did have butterflies in her stomach as she exhaled a thin white stream into the emptiness before her. She had the desire to go deeper into the cavern, yet her feet paused and remained immobile.

And then she heard the sounds of music and laughter. Was there some kind of celebration going on? She began to walk forward, taking another gentle puff on the cigarette; and as she moved further into that darkness, she found that the smoke felt smooth and comforting as it billowed into her lungs. She wondered why she limited herself to only one per day when smoking clearly felt so good. She slowly exhaled and immediately brought the 120 up to her lips for a much longer puff, feeling a psychic pleasure from watching the tip burn brightly.

And then she noticed that the festive sounds had suddenly stopped. There was only silence...until she began to hear whispers.

Mia's coming.

We want her to come.

We've waited so long for her.

"Hello?" Mia asked in a soft voice as the whispers continued.

Come to us.

Embrace the darkness!

"Is anybody there?" Mia continued to walk forward, albeit with more apprehension, with the only light being from the tip of her 120 guiding her way. And then she noticed something odd. The tip of that Virginia Slims was no longer orange; it had turned a fiery green, her favorite color.How the hell did that happen? She remembered a science lab experiment in which she was told to add borax to alcohol, and then to ignite the liquid. She never forgot that experiment, enchanted - even mesmerized - by the flame it produced. She remembered how good it made her feel when she stared into that green fire, filling her with great happiness and exhilaration. She brought the cigarette close to her face to examine the green ash and suddenly felt that same elation.

When she turned her head to look once again into the darkness, she was startled to see before her numerous pairs of bright green eyes gazing at her. And then a deathly coldness overwhelmed her - but rather than fear, she felt an immense euphoria surging through her body. She began to pant.This can't be happening. She was on the verge of a massive orgasm. She felt compelled to bring the cigarette up to her lips, and she puffed as hard as she could, turning the tip a neon green that she sensed was making her own body glow.

"Mia's cumming," the voices whispered over and over."Mia's cumming."

"Oh God," she whimpered after inhaling a massive ball of smoke. "I'mcumming...."

-----------------------

"And just where is it you're going?"

Mia opened her eyes, confused and disoriented, as everyone in the class was now silently staring at her. She sat up in her chair, realizing that she had fallen asleep. "Um..." She struggled for an answer. "To...the...judiciary?" Some of her classmates giggled.

Just then the school bell rang. "Saved by the proverbial bell," Mr. O'Brien said with a smirk. "Everyone have a good weekend, and study for your final exam!"

As Mia picked up her backpack, she kept her head down as she headed towards the door, but she couldn't avoid passing her government teacher on the way out.

"And Ms. Nakamura," the instructor said a bit perturbed, "there's just a week left. Do me the courtesy of staying awake in class, hmm?"

"I'm sorry Mr. O'Brien," she said sincerely, and then made a bee-line to her car in the parking lot. Her Starbucks shift started at 3:30, which gave her about 15 minutes to shoot the breeze with Emiko...and Virginia. She knew it was always time well spent.

----------------------------------

Emiko was already waiting in her car smoking a cigarette when Mia arrived. "Hey," she said in a smoky exhale.

"Hey," Mia replied with a smile as she opened the side door and sat in the passenger seat.

"Virginia has been waiting for you," Emiko said seductively as she handed her friend the pack of Virginia Slims 120's Menthol.

Mia plucked out a cigarette, accepted the flame from Emiko's butane lighter, and puffed hard freehanded before removing the cigarette with her fingers and snapping back a ball of smoke deep into her chest. After her dream in class, she could think of nothing else but filling her lungs with a white wall of thick smoke.

"God, I needed that," she said trying to hold the smoke inside of her. She then pursed her lips and exhaled a thin stream before taking another powerful puff.

"Damn, girl, how can you not consider yourself a smoker the way you're giving that cigarette a blowjob?" Emiko asked with a wry chuckle.

Mia brought the 120 up to the side of her mouth, took a 3 second puff, and French inhaled the contents through lips that formed a wicked smile. She held the creamy vapor for several seconds and then slowly let the smoke cascade down through her nose.

"When you only smoke 5 per week, you come to savor every puff," she said in a whisper with her eyes closed. Five per week. That's all that Mia allowed herself. Monday through Friday, she and Emiko would meet in this same spot after school before their 3:30 Starbucks shift began. "You should give it a try. Self-restraint is good for the soul."

"Sounds like self-denial, to me," Emiko said as she threw the spent butt out the window and reached for her VS-120 pack to light her third since leaving the campus. "I prefer addiction. It's a much better turn-on."

"Well, I can't disagree with that," Mia said as she examined the half-smoked cigarette between her fingers, a bit disappointed that the glow of the ash was not a fiery green. "My Mom used to smoke these 120s when I was a kid. I was so attracted to them. I just loved the length, you know?" Mia took another puff and snapped the smoke back, thinking again of her smoking dream. She opened her mouth, gave a slight push in a short exhale, and let the smoke billow out of her mouth.

"Your Mom still smokes, doesn't she?" Emiko asked.

"Occasionally. She has a group of friends who come to play cards every other week. She'll buy a pack of Marlboro Lights for the game and then take a few days to finish off the pack."

"Well, I don't know how you can limit yourself to just one per day," Emiko said shaking her head.

"If my Mom still smoked these, I don't think I could." Mia took a short puff to make the cigarette last as long as possible.And if I continue to have such erotic dreams, I know I can't!

The two teens enjoyed the silence for a minute as they stared straight ahead and performed creamy exhales that filled the airspace in the car with luscious smoke.

"When does Ethan come back?" Emiko asked.

"Tomorrow night," Mia replied after blowing out a perfect smoke ring.

"What's he doing in Boston anyway? The semester doesn't start until August."

"I dunno," Mia said with a tone of sadness in her voice. "Something about early orientation for scholarship recipients." Her relationship with Ethan was the best thing that ever happened in her life. Now, though, it was all up in the air. She didn't know how they would be able to continue a long-distance relationship when he headed off to Harvard.

"I mean, it's cool and all that you nabbed the smartest kid in school, but couldn't you find someone who was gonna go to college closer to home?"

Mia looked at her best friend with a frown. "Fate had other plans, I guess."

Emiko exhaled a succession of small smoke rings before saying, "He's been gone four days. You must be horny as hell."

"You have no idea," Mia whispered in an anguished tone before taking a powerful puff to inhale deeply.

"Bitch, I'm always horny as hell," Emiko said casually.

More silence. More smoky exhales.

"So does Ethan know yet that you're a smoker?"

"No," Mia said in a serious tone, "and he's not going to." She looked straight into Emiko's eyes.

"What?" Emiko said innocently. "I'm not going to tell him - even though I think I should. How do you know he's not a secret smoker like you?" She brought the cigarette up to her lips but before taking a puff, decided to add, "Besides, don't you want to know how great smoky sex is?"

Mia looked at her friend in mock dismay. "You and smoky sex. That's all you talk about."

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it," she replied with a naughty smile. "If Ethan saw you light a long cigarette, there's no way he'd be able to keep his dick in his pants when you're alone."

Mia shook her head with a chuckle. "You're such a slut."

"That's 'Smoking Slut' to you," she said in a schoolmarm's tone.

Mia and Emiko were so different that it was hard to believe they were lifelong friends. Both were the same age, but Emiko, short and thin, looked no older than 15. She could even pass as a 7th grader if she wore a school uniform. Attractive but not beautiful, Emiko had no trouble in school turning heads when she walked through the halls. There was a boldness in the way she carried herself. She had a raunchy sense of humor and a loud laugh. She befriended people easily, verbally excoriated her enemies, and always made herself the center of attention at parties. She once told Mia that she lost her virginity at 16, but was she telling the truth? One thing Mia was certain of was that Emiko was the go-to person for advice about sex. She was secure in her sexuality, which is why she started smoking at 15 (with her Mom's blessing). Beautiful or not, she knew that she looked good holding that 120 between her fingers.

Mia, on the other hand, of medium height with long black hair, was not just beautiful; she was drop-dead gorgeous. She knew this, but she was also exceedingly self-conscious about it. Convinced that boys were intimidated by her beauty, it wasn't until the Spring semester of her senior year that she got a boyfriend, Ethan Hong, whom she was head over heels for. She loved his sweetness; his shyness; his lack of confidence in his own good looks, despite being the most handsome Asian American male in her grade. It was like they were made for each other. Both of them cried tears of joy the first time they had sex after only a few weeks of dating.

And yet...she wondered if there wasn't more that she could get out of her relationship with Ethan. After all, it wasn't just Emiko's confidence that so attracted Mia to latch on to her; it was also her dark side. Emiko was the one who started her smoking (though admittedly it didn't take much of a push). Mia often teased her best friend about being a slut, but she also found Emiko's activities very...erotic. Multiple partners? Blow jobs? Anal? She didn't know if half of what Emiko told her about her sex life was true, but smoky sex? Mia often fantasized about how good Ethan would look smoking a cigarette.

Mia had to admit, then, that she wanted to add more spice and adventure to her love making with Ethan; but she also knew that he worshiped her. She didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that by revealing any dark desires she had that might scare him off, especially her once-a-day smoking habit.But if I could only get him to light a cigarette....

"One week to go," Emiko said as she stared at the cloud of smoke that had just billowed out of her mouth.

"What's that?" Mia asked, being shaken from her fantasy of watching Ethan snap back a puff.

"One week until we're kicked to the curb of the highway of life," Emiko said philosophically.

"Well," Mia said, "we'll always have Starbucks."

"Nah," Emiko said as she brought the cigarette up to her eyes and stared into the orange glow of the tip. "Starbucks is just a weigh station for me until I can do what I really want to do in life."

"What's that?" Mia asked before taking a puff, surprised at how serious their conversation had suddenly turned.

"Adult film," Emiko deadpanned.

Mia burst out laughing, causing her throat and nose to burn from the smoke spewing out of both orifices.

"What," Emiko asked with mock surprise, "why are you laughing? I've already got the stage name for it."

Mia was still chuckling as she looked down at her watch and saw it was 3:25. "Come on Smoking Slut, we should wash up. Our shift starts in 5 minutes."

Both girls took double pumps on what remained of their 120s, inhaled deeply, and threw the butts out the windows with a smoky laugh.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

The old gambler puffed on an American Spirit clenched between his yellowed teeth. He was alone at the Black Jack table on this quiet afternoon in the Fremont Casino. He liked it that way. It meant he could take his time. Under the red VFW hat were the white strands of what was once a full set of jet black hair. Behind his sunglasses were the almond eyes that were so common in Hawaii, his home, but often the cause of hatred and discrimination outside the islands. But he never felt hatred here; not in this little corner of Fremont Street at this table where his favorite Japanese American dealer was so kind and respectful to him. He had visited this dealer's table so many times over the years that the old man practically thought of her as family.

"When you gonna come visit me, Suzi?" he'd tease.

"As soon as I win the lottery,Ojiisan" she'd always reply with a smile, referring to him affectionately as grandpa.

The old man saw she had an upturned 9 of Spades. He looked at his own cards: a ten and a seven. If she had a ten or a face card, he was sunk, but he didn't want to risk going bust. He was sure that there were still some threes and fours left in that deck, but were they near the top? He lifted his cards one last time for a quick peek, looked up at the dealer's smiling face, and said cautiously, "I'll stay."

The dealer upturned her down card, revealing a 2 of Spades. She dealt herself a card, and the old man winced when he saw it was a 4 of Hearts. "Damn," he mumbled as he pulled the cigarette butt out of his mouth and crushed it in the ashtray. But he was also feeling pretty good at that moment. The dealer had 15. When she dealt herself a second card, it was a Jack of Hearts.

"Dealer busts," she said as she made payment to the old man and swept away the cards.

The gambler breathed a sigh of relief. He knew this was the last hand before heading upstairs to pack. He had a redeye to catch to Honolulu from McCarran International. "It's been good to see you, Suzi," he said as he slid $100 worth of chips across the table and got up from his seat. He softly took her hand in his. "'Hope your family is well."

The dealer put the tip into a clear container. "Thank you, Henry," she said with a warm, grateful smile. "See you in three months?"

"I'll be here," the old man said with a wave as he shuffled away towards the elevator.

As the dealer watched the old man amble off, she heard a voice behind her.

"You're really good with people. You know that, right?"

When she turned her head, she was surprised to see standing there Robert De Niro's clone. "Herb! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just came to say hello to my old friend Suzi Nakamura," the man in the two-thousand dollar suit said as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "And to buy her a drink if she's free."

Suzi looked down at her watch. "Well, I still have another 30 minutes on the clock."

"Perfect," Herb replied. "How about we meet at Oscar's? Say, 3 pm?"

Suzi hesitated.

"Come on," Herb said. "It's been what, 15 years? It'll be just like old times."

"Hmmm," Suzi responded skeptically. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"3 pm at Oscar's," he said. Then he added with a wink, "The martini is on me."

"You always did know my weakness," she said with a smirk. "See you then."

PART 2 - NEVER TOO EARLY FOR A CLASSIC

When Suzi's shift ended, she walked two blocks up Fremont Street to the Plaza Hotel. She knew that Oscar's Steakhouse didn't open until 5 pm, but that didn't matter when you were a man with the kind of money and connections that Herb Shapiro had in this town. When she entered the empty dining room on the second floor which once upon a time had a clear view all the way down Fremont Street, she saw him sitting at a center table booth next to the window smoking an all-white cigarette like a scene out ofCasino. When he saw her, he stood up from the table and smiled.

"Building this Zipline monstrosity was a crime," Herb said in the best De Niro accent he could muster as he pointed to the huge metal structure blocking the view of Fremont Street.

"Well," Suzi replied as she took a seat in the booth, "it brings the tourists in." Within seconds, a waiter brought her a martini which she gladly thanked him for. "It's a bit early for this," she said before taking a sip.

"It's never too early for a Classic," Herb said as he brought his own glass to his lips.

"So," she said looking around at the empty room while reaching into her purse to pull out her pack of Marlboro Lights. "You said you wanted to talk about old times." She opened up the top and found it empty.Damn, she thought to herself.I smoked the last one at lunch. She set the pack down on the table.