Chapter 3: The New Start

Bela woke up to her father's voice. "Bellllllllaaa, wake up sleeping beauty," he called out from her doorway. Her eyes fluttered open, still heavy lidded with sleep, then she smiled at him to let him know she was really awake, and he turned and left.

Bela was a bit hungover, but not too bad. She had good genes, probably from her Russian ancestors, which meant that even when she totally overdid it, her hangovers were mild and faded quickly compared to her friends. She didn't drink often, but when she did it was usually to excess. Even so, she sat up slowly, glad her curtains shut out the direct glare of the sun. She slid a cigarette out of the half empty pack on her nightstand and fumbled her lighter to flame and took her first lung-full of thick burning smoke for the day. She'd started smoking for a specific reason, and hadn't really counted on how quickly she'd get hooked, or how her habit would grow out of control so easily. She gave a vague mental shrug as she thought about how badly her cravings were growing. Thinking about bad stuff always gave her a headache. She blew out a thin stream of smoke into the morning light, and quickly took another deep drag on the Newport 100. When she'd smoked the cigarette down to the filter, she sighed, stubbed it out in her overflowing ashtray, and slide out from under the bedding and stood up. She stretched her lithe body with her arms up over her head and rose up on her toes.

She took a few Aspirin, showered, shaved, lit up another Newport 100, and did her hair and makeup. She lit another cigarette and dressed in her outfit she'd picked out several days ago. Expensive designer denim cut-offs, a filmy red off-the-shoulders peasant top that was short enough to show her stomach and navel ring, and low-cut displaying the tops of her breasts, and a pair of platform sandals with red straps. She wanted to look her best. She checked herself in her big mirror, and headed downstairs. She could smell the espresso before she made it to the kitchen, where she happily took the triple shot espresso her dad held out to her. She lit another cigarette while she sipped the strong caffeinated drink. Her mom came down and gave an involuntary frown at the cigarette in Bela's slim fingers that Bela didn't notice. "You all ready honey?" she asked Bela, while getting her own espresso. "Yup mom! I just need dad to put my bag in the car, and grab my purse and I'm all set!" Bela said excitedly. Her mom squeezed her shoulder and gave her a kiss on her head.

An hour later she was in the passenger seat of her dad's Lexus, with the window down, and another cigarette between her lips. Her shoes were off and her feet were up on the dash, fresh red nail polish glowing in the morning sun. They sped along the highway and listened to the radio, while she smoked. She found she was almost chain-smoking as she got more and more nervous as they neared their destination. After a few hours, they arrived. Her dad carried her suitcase up to her room, gave her a hug and a kiss, and headed home. Bela unpacked, and was lighting another cigarette, when her roommate arrived.