Clever Girl

Chapter 21: Mutlicoloured Glasses

Sometimes the most inconspicuous character can expand into a rather compelling individual. Will and I haven't had many interactions in the short time we've known each other, but the few we've had are enough to make me thankful to know him now. It may seem wistful to some, that I've been on my own for so long that even the slightest bit of attention can present itself through multicoloured glasses. Maybe those glasses have been wistfully blue all these years, and I've never taken them off, because only now am I realizing my loneliness.

We're in Will's room, and I'm examining the glass containers on his desk. From my limited research on cannabis and CBD hemp oil, the formula for the perfect product depends on a few things - the percentage amount of each ingredient in every milliliter of drops should be considered and weighed. Would it be pure extract or have more ingredients? It's a science, but the authenticity of it isn't a hundred percent proven, so Will needs to figure out which theorized school of though he wants to follow.

I spend about an hour re-labelling all of the containers with the measurements, and separating them based on their purpose. I've come up with a couple of formulas, but without making and testing them, it's pretty much just words, lines, shapes and numbers on paper. When you look at it as a whole, it's not difficult, but trying to explain each step out loud to someone else is a serious task.

"Man, you're like, different," Will says as he watches me label the last container. 

"Different? Is that a good thing?"

"It's good, but it's like, you've been pretty much hiding your entire life. So no one knows it. You should've let it all out years ago. It's like if Superman hid his powers and never saved anyone or did anything. What would be the point?"

"Trust me, I'm nothing like Superman. But I have done a lot, just not anything anyone outside of my family would've seen. Also, this stuff here isn't exactly high calibre science. Do you know how many private and public CBD oil sellers there are? There's a dispensary two blocks from here. I think once you get it, it'll be really easy. Like with anything, it's important to understand the basis of it first."

Will lets out a small laugh, "Yes, professor."

"Hey! Don't be mean."

"You know... if you do end up coming back to Apollo, there's a way you can make a shit ton of money while still in school. You can even start now if you wanted."

"Does it involve more of this?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "CBD stuff is fine, but anything more and I don't think I can handle it."

"I'm not a drug pusher, Ronnie. What kind of guy do you think I am?" He doesn't sound angry at my assumption, but rather amused that I would suggest it. "You can sell papers."

"Papers?"

"Yeah, like essays and whatever. How long does it take you to write one essay? Any topic?"

"I don't know. Probably thirty minutes to an hour for something simple. Maybe longer if cited sources are required."

"Say it takes you even two hours. I can get you at least a hundred per paper. You can charge based on the grade the person wants. So like, if they want an A, charge two hundred. How much do you make at your full-time job now?"

"A little more than minimum-wage." It's a tempting idea. I can easily average in four papers a night, more if I decide to devote an entire day to it. Though the concept of cheating, of helping others cheat, rings through my conscience and tugs at my sense of morality. Do I let this opportunity slide, and continue to swim in the shallowness of a menial job, hoping that I can eventually work my way up? Or do I seize the moment and let it pay for my family's expenses now? Is money earned through deceit worth the outcome? Then again, I have never believed in organized education, so should I even care?