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Chapter Two - Use

From the moment Roger closed the door behind her as she was pulled into the room, Delilah felt only regret. It was the first time she felt truly alone in the Academy. Normally, Julius and/or Nosey followed her everywhere, and Emmet and Ursula usually showed up to ruin a good laugh.

But not this time. No, this time, it was just her and Roger, a boy she barely knew.

Roger rolled his suitcase to the foot of his bed and lifted it up, dropping it on the mattress. He took a small key out of his jean pocket and unlocked the link on the zippers. Raising his eyebrows, he flipped the lid open dramatically.

"What do you think of /that/?" he asked, stepping back like an artist admiring his work.

At first, Delilah couldn't see anything out of the ordinary inside the case. But then, a small plastic bag with what looked like grass in it caught her eye. Eyes glancing from the bag to the pleased expression on Roger's face, Delilah sighed.

"Marijuana?" she asked, sounding bored. "Please. Roger, this is a spy school. I don't have time for kiddie stuff, right?"

An expression of mock hurt came onto his face. "Kiddie stuff? Delilah, I had to fake a medical report to slip this in here! They think I'm on painkillers."

Caressing the corners of her eyes, Delilah sighed again. "Am I supposed to be impressed by this?"

Roger shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I thought a girl like you would be in to stuff like this."

"A girl like me?" Delilah echoed.

"Yeah, you know." Roger blushed. "Pretty, popular, talented. But I bet it's stressful at times, right? Being one of the best spies in the building? Don't you just sometimes want to ... relax?"

Delilah laughed. "That's what holidays are for!"

"Really." He wasn't convinced. "All right then. When was the last time you had a break?" When she didn't answer, Roger smirked. "That's what I thought. Being the best is hard. I bet you're run ragged half the time. This stuff?" He held up the bag of pot. "It's not /dangerous/. Practically everybody's smoked weed."

"Not in the Academy, Roger."

That's going to change, Roger thought to himself. "Come on, Delilah. What are you afraid of? Your parents? They can't find out, not if you don't tell. I sure as hell won't. We're completely shut off from the outside world here."

But Delilah wasn't listening. At the mention of her parents, her eyes had welled up. She walked over to a chair in the corner and sat down. Roger could tell he had hit a sore spot.

"What's the matter?" he asked, walking over to her. "Was it something I said?"

Sniffing, Delilah brushed away tears. "No, no. Well ... it's just ... my parents disappeared almost a decade ago. I don't even know if they're alive. Everyone except Al, Scarlett, Julius and Nosey seem to think they were double agents. But I know it's not true."

Roger nodded his head. "I bet it's hard, then. Everyone else has a family to visit, but not you."

Smiling slightly, Delilah shook her head. "Not everyone. My partner, Julius ... He's an orphan. His folks died in action."

Taking a deep breath, Roger continued. "You know, pot can help with this. It numbs you, makes you feel great. I should know. When my sister died, a buddy of mine gave me some of this. I tried it and ... it was amazing. I forgot. The pain just disappeared. I didn't feel like I wanted to crawl into a hole and die anymore. I didn't feel like /me/. Just try it, Delilah. Just once."

Delilah looked up into Roger's sparkling blue eyes. Despite all she'd been taught, about peer pressure, and making the right choices, about just saying "No," she couldn't refuse. She couldn't say no to those sapphire eyes.

"All right," she whispered, grinning. "But just once."

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[? ... we'll call it Later]

Sometime later found Delilah and Roger slumped against the walls of the new student's room. Despite the absolutely crap sensation she was feeling, Delilah couldn't help but laugh.

Roger elbowed her. "What's so funny?"

"I feel ..." she began, then glanced over to him. The expression on his face made her chuckle again. "... like shit. Why didn't you tell me about this part?"

"Duh. Because then you wouldn't have done it."

She rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Whatever. What time is it, anyway?"

Roger glanced at the clock. "Ummmmmm ... just gone eleven. Why?"

Delilah sat bolt upright, and, ignoring the pounding sensation in her head, rushed towards the door. "Crap! Al and Scarlett start doing bed checks at quarter after! My room's on the other side of the freaking school!"

Leaning back against the wall, he yawned. "Good luck."

Racing down the halls of the school, Delilah began to regain her senses ... Just in time to berate herself mentally. Why the hell had she done that? After all that she had been taught about the dangers of drugs, she'd given in that easily! But ... it had felt good. It had felt amazing to just ... let go of all her fears. She smiled.

Sliding down the wall to her room, Delilah noticed the beam of Scarlett's flashlight coming around the corner. She leapt to her door and yanked it open. Ducking inside, she moved the door slowly, so it wouldn't squeak. As soon as she heard the click, she dove onto her bed and pulled the covers over her. Forcing herself not to breath heavily, she pretended to be asleep as the door opened.

"See, Al?" Scarlett sounded exasperated. "She's in here. I think you're seeing things."

Delilah heard Al scratch his head. "Huh. That's really weird, I swear I saw, like, a shadow, man."

"Mm-hmm. Al, are you sure you didn't have too much coffee at supper?"

"Naw. Only five cups. Why?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Oh, no reason. Come on, we have more rooms to check."

As her door closed again, Delilah snuggled into her pillow. All things considered, this had been one of the best nights of her life. And, for once, it hadn't involved Julius.

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Synonyms for /Use/: con, gyp, have, manipulate