Ashtray

I flicked the tip of my cigarette into the chipped china ashtray. Even in June I hated having the window open. I’m not supposed to smoke in my apartment building though, so, I guess I have to keep pretending to be a productive member of society.

Another drag on the end of the fiberglass filter and three more minutes get chipped off the end of my life. I don’t know if it’s actually three minutes, but I hope it is. Three minutes off with every puff. By this time I should bump off sometime tomorrow. I tell that one at parties sometimes, big grin with a light chuckle. Most people laugh. The ones that don’t look at me with a touch of concern hidden behind a fake, pretentious smile. Those are the ones I go after. Those people are my favorite.

I put the burning cig back in the chipped china ashtray so I could take a swig from the pliable plastic water bottle. A couple loud gulps drown out the steady metronome ticking of the analog clock on the wall. Once the water settles and the thump the bottle made on the hollow wooden desk fade away, all that’s left in the air is the ticking of the clock, the light buzz of my shallow breath, and the sizzling of the cigarette as it flared up over the little gunpowder rings that line the paper. That’s how they get you to burn through em faster, accelerants on the paper. Makes you go through em, so you gotta buy more.

Another plume of smoke billows in front of me after I shave another three minutes off the end of my life. By this point I can feel the smoke burning the inside of my throat. Toxic yellow grime guilding the outside of my teeth.

 

Phew, that one was a bit darker than I intended. Though it was oddly fun to write. I blame having just watched Fargo. Brutal movie. 

What’d you guys think of this one? I think I’m gonna try to work a bit more with the fantastic in these writing exercises. Let me know what you think below. Feel free to comment any ideas for prompts you have and I’ll try and give it a shot, or write along with me and post it in the comments! 

Also thanks for all the support I’ve been getting since starting this, every like means a ton! 

– Eddie