Getting Higher Read Online Free PDF Page A

absent-mindedly.
    "Yeah, yeah, you got it, pal. This is what it's all about." Crank took a deep tug on the bong, then leaned over and handed it to Joe. "Wanna' trade, man?"
    Joe laughed, then took the bong and passed Crank the bottle. The two had been doing this for the past two hours, ever since they had come home from Tap's. On the way back, they had picked up the whiskey at the liquor store, and Crank had dug into his secret stash for the dope; then, they had gotten right to business. They had already been drunk when they left Tap's, and after two hours of guzzling whiskey and smoking pot, they were both stoned senseless. They were sprawled in ragged limp piles on the floor, grinning stupidly in the dim light, their conversation fading into unintelligible garble.
    "So, you f-feelin' good, Joey?" Crank swallowed some whiskey, wiped his mouth on his hairy arm, and belched.
    Joe sucked deeply on the pipe, then leaned back and closed his eyes. He held his breath, trapping the warm, acrid smoke in his lungs. "Oh, yeah...," he mumbled, losing a wisp of smoke through his teeth. "Oh, yeah..."
    Crank chuckled, pointing a stubby finger at Joe. "Oh, rnan...you shit-faced sonnuva' ...bitch...you're...oh, you're losin' it, man. You're fallin' asleep, man, you're losin' it! Ha ha!"
    Joe's eyes blinked open and he laughed, too. "No way, you...you jackass. I ain't done yet ...not...not yet." Slumped like a boneless man against the wall, he had to crane his neck to suck on the bong again. As he did, a blissful expression crawled over his face. "Oh, this is great, y'know? This is a party...for sure."
    "Yeah, bud," rumbled Crank. "We sure know how...to get it all together, right?"
    "Yeah. We have got it all together...no two ways about it." Joe smiled and stared at the ceiling. "So, whatta' you think, man?"
    "About what?" Crank looked puzzled as he lifted the whiskey bottle to his chubby lips.
    "I don't know. Whatta' you think?"
    "Watta' I think about what ? Booze, dope, what? There's a shitload of things to think about. Narrow it...down, man."
    Joe kept watching the ceiling. His eyes, though hazy with whiskey and pot, seemed thoughtful. "About...umm...whatta' you think about..." His voice trailed off in an inaudible mumble.
    Crank was starting to look annoyed. "What th' fuck, man? You...fallin' asleep already? Wake up, damnit, wake up." At that, Crank's booted right foot thrust out and cracked Joe's kneecap. Joe yelped, then jerked forward like a catapult and grabbed his leg.
    "Ahhh...damnit Crank...what th' hell's...your problem, man? That fuckin' hurt !" Joe rubbed his knee gingerly, wincing. "I was awake, you asshole!"
    "Yeah, Joey, you looked like it. Uh-huh...wide-awake, for sure."
    "Screw you, man." Joe gestured angrily at his friend, jabbing the middle finger of one hand up in the air. Then, he turned and plucked the bong from the floor, where he'd dropped it when Crank kicked him. "Oh well, this'll make it feel better. Yeah." He took a long drag on the pipe and again slumped back against the dirty wall.
    "Hey Joey, you wanna' know what I think? I think this damn bottle of booze is empty. That's what I think." Crank turned the bottle upside down and a shiny clear trickle of whiskey ran out on his lap. He stared dumbly at the wet spot on his pants for a moment, then at the bottle. "Time for garbage, little bottle." Twisting around, he heaved the whiskey bottle in the air; it flew across the room, then shattered against a wall. Joe jumped at the sharp, tinkling crash it made.
    "Ahh, man, less noise, less noise. What'll the neighbors think?"
    Crank snickered and rubbed his hands together. "Do I look like I give a fuck, Joey? Here, gimme' that pipe, man. That pitch took a lot out of me. I'm burned out, now. Gimme' a toke."
    After taking one last hit, Joe handed over the bong. "Here, man, get into it."
    For a moment, the room was silent as Crank sucked on his bong and Joe stared at the ceiling again. The only sound was the rain outside,