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Zero and DDOJ
Issue #8
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Ten
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
Evening comes and Shakedown Street slowly closes up. While some vendors stay
around, most of them have packed up and are headed to the concert. Zero was able
to score a few tickets for DDOJ and himself. They have entered the gates and are
mingling with the many people who are roaming around the outdoor area. DDOJ is
wearing a new tie die shirt he bought on Shakedown Street and is quite proud of
it. It has even made him forget about the kiss makeup that has been washed off.
The two of them are looking at the many people in the crowd and enjoying the
antics of the crowd. There are beach ball being tossed around in the growing
crowd and the smell of pot is heavy in the air. There are men and women standing
around working deals while keeping an eye out for the police. While the police
are present, they are not much of a presence and are just doing what they can to
keep the peace.
In the distance is a large stage. Right now it is only occupied by the roadies
as they set up the equipment. Later, the Grateful Dead will be playing there. As
Zero and DDOJ work their way through the crowd, DDOJ sees the long line of porta
potties. He also sees the line of people already waiting to use them. As Zero
sees them, he decides that he needs to use the bathroom. He turns to DDOJ and
says "I am going to the bathroom. Wait here." He then heads over and joins one
of the long lines.
As DDOJ stands there waiting, two young men see him. One of the men says to the
other "Look at the head on that guy." The other guy says "Yeah, its
tripping me
out." The one guy says "Let's go talk to him." The two men dressed in their
cutoff jeans and tie die shirts walk over and say "Hey dude, what's up?" DDOJ
looks at them and says "You must have me confused with someone else. My name is
DDOJ, not dude." The two guys break up laughing. "Your like a comedian or
something." DDOJ smiles at them as he is still confused by them. What he does
not realize is they are both stoned. Then one of the guys ask him "Do you like
smoke any herb?" This makes no sense whatsoever to DDOJ. "I don't smoke anything.
Sorry." he says as politely as he can. "How about downing some brewskis?" the
other guy asks. Poor DDOJ is more puzzled than ever. "I am sorry but I do not
know what you are talking about." The two guys break out laughing again. DDOJ
politely laughs along, even though he does not know what is so funny. He has no
idea that he is the reason they are laughing. One of the guys then says "What we
are saying is, do you do drugs or drink alcohol?" All of sudden DDOJ understands
what they are saying. He has never been exposed to drugs before or at least he
didn't realize it. "Sorry, but I was taught to just say no." The guys both break
out laughing once again. They did not take the Nancy Reagan slogan serious. Once
they stop laughing, one of the guys says "Good for you. Keep saying no." They
then both salute him. One of the guys then whispers to the other one "Wouldn't
it be hilarious to slip him some acid?" The guy starts snickering and then
whispers to the other one "Watching newbies freak out is like so freakin funny."
Once they stop whispering, one of the guys ask "So would you like a coke?" DDOJ
smiles and says "You mean Coca Cola right?" The guy smiles and says "Yeah,
that's right." DDOJ smiles and says "Yes, I would like a large coke. Please."
One of the guys walks off. As he leaves, he turns around and says "I will be
right back with one coke for our new friend."
At the food stand, the guy buys two cokes and steps to the side. As he moves out
of view, he reaches in his pocket and pulls out some hits of acid. He drops a
few in the one coke and watches as they dissolve. "This is going to be so
funny." he thinks to himself as he mixes the drink with the straw. He then heads
back over and hands the laced coke to DDOJ. "Here you go, one chilled coke for
Mr. DDOJ." DDOJ grabs it and takes a long drink. He then smiles and says "I like
the feel of the bubbles on my nose." Both guys start laughing as one of them
says "You haven't felt anything yet."
As Zero leaves the port a potty, he sees DDOJ talking with the two guys. He also
sees the drink in his hand and rushes over. He pushes past a few people to get
there, but he is too late as DDOJ finishes the last of the pop before Zero gets
there. As Zero gets there, he asks DDOJ "Is everything all right?" DDOJ smiles
and says "Yeah, I was just drinking a coke with my new friends." The guys smiles
at Zero and say "Hey dude, what's up?" Zero looks carefully at them and asks
"Are you guys stoned?" They both break out laughing as one of them says "Nah, we
never touch the stuff." As soon as he says that, they both break out laughing
again. Zero gets a pissed off look on his face as he says "Well, we have to go.
Come on DDOJ." DDOJ smiles and says "See you guys later. Thanks for the coke."
Once they are out of earshot, Zero looks at DDOJ and says "They gave you the
coke?" DDOJ smiles and says "Wasn't that nice of them to buy me a coke. I didn't
realize how thirsty I was as I drank the whole thing down." An angry look comes
over Zero's face. "You can't just eat or drink anything people give you. They
could poison it or put drugs in it." DDOJ gives him an odd look. “But they are
my friends. They wouldn’t hurt me.” Zero’s voice gets very stern as he says
“Those guys were stoned on drugs. It is very possible that they spiked your
pop.” DDOJ smiles and says “They wouldn’t do that. They asked me if I did drugs
and I told them no.” Realizing this argument was going nowhere, he just says
“In the future, be more careful about trusting strangers.” DDOJ turns to him and
says “I trusted you and that worked out fine.” Zero laughs for a second and says
“Touché.”
The two guys watch as Zero and DDOJ leave and one of them says “Man, I want to
follow them and watch DDOJ freak out.” The other one smacks him across the head
and says “Yeah and get our asses kicked by his dad.” The one guy rubs his head
as he says “That’s not his dad, is it?” The other guys then replies “Why else
would an old man be at a Grateful Dead concert with a young kid?” The first guy
then responds “Dude, I can take him.” The other guy then smacks him across the
head again and says “You can’t take your little sister. What chance would you
have against that guy?” Offended and upset, he shouts back “I can too take my
sister. It is just that she cheats and pulls hair.”
As Zero and DDOJ make their way closer to the stage, they see the roadies
setting up the equipment. “Wonder if there is an opening band?” Zero says as he
keeps moving closer. "I remember some good concerts in the sixties. The Doors,
now they could put on a show." he says as he pushes his way. "I don't care what
they say, no one will ever top Morrison. The guy was magic." Zero says as he
turns to make sure DDOJ is keeping up with him. But as he looks behind him, he
does not see him anywhere. "Where the hell did he go?" he scowls. As he looks
over the crowd for DDOJ's unique shaped head, he comes up blank.
The effects of the LSD are starting to kick in for DDOJ. In the distance, he
sees some flood lights and there are trails coming off them. They look like mini
rainbows as faded hues of the colors of the rainbow flood down from the lights.
"Pretty." DDOJ says as he walks towards them. He keeps walking until he gets
right under them. The acid trip is now starting to intensify more. There is a
shimmer to the colored lights that makes them look like they are dancing. He is
just standing there watching the lights. As a few people walk past, they look up
to see what he is looking at. As soon as they realize there is nothing to see,
they move on. After a few minutes, a woman walks up to him and looks up at the
lights. "Tripping on acid, eh?" she asks as she stands next to him. The sound of
her voice fluctuates like waves on the ocean. Some words are louder than others.
DDOJ looks over at her and smiles. "The lights are so pretty. They look like
rainbows." She laughs as she says "Yeah, acid has that effect on people." An odd
look comes over his face as he looks at her and says "What is acid?" As he looks
at her face, he can see every pore on her face. He looks at her hair and every
strand is distinct. He looks at her long black hair, small face and round
glasses. "It's the drug you are on. You know acid, LSD, hallucagens." He looks
at her with a worried look. "But I don't do drugs. I just say no." She laughs as
Nancy Reagan's campaign is a source of many punch lines in the drug community.
"Well, I guess you forgot to say no this time, cause you are tripping out." This
causes DDOJ to panic. He starts breathing heavy. His heart rate increases and he
can feel his heart beating. It keeps getting stronger and stronger. It feels
like it is going to burst from his chest. "The drugs are going to kill me. Zero
was right." She quickly grabs him and pulls him close. "Calm down, everything
will be all right. Lucy has been through this before." She then pulls his large
head to her shoulder and starts to rock him gently. Being a tall girl, she can
do this without forcing him to have to bend over. She starts to slowly rub his
head and says "Are you calm now?" DDOJ just nods his head yes as he continues to
cuddle up to her. Her soft, soothing voice and gentle caresses feel good to him
and are calming him down. "Now that we are calm, tell me everything." DDOJ then
tells her about driving in the van with the guys and setting up at Shakedown
Street. He then tells about the guys who bought him a coke." That is when she
realizes what happened. "Those bastards. It's jerks like them who give dead
concerts a bad rap."
As she comforts him, Zero finally sees DDOJ and rushes over. As he comes up, he
says "DDOJ, I have been looking everywhere for you." She then says "Are you the
jerk who gave him acid?" DDOJ lifts his head and says "No, he's my friend Zero."
He gives her a dirty look and then says "You can go now, I can handle this." She
refuses to let go of him and says "Have you ever dealt with someone who was
having a bad trip?" They continue to stare at each other as he quietly replies
"No." She then gives him a so there look and says "Then drop the macho trip and
let me help. I have helped many people through this." Zero relents and says
"Fine, stay and help us out." She then pulls DDOJ away and looks him in the
eyes. "The most important thing you can do is remain positive. Remember how
pretty the lights were?" DDOJ smiles and nods his head yes. She then continues
"Well think about how pretty things are. Look for things that make you happy."
She then turns to Zero and says "As long as we can keep him in a positive frame
of mind, we should be fine. But we need to get out of here. This place is too
chaotic." Zero nods in agreement.
As they slowly make their way out, the opening band takes the stage and starts
playing. As the band starts jamming, some of the people begin dancing. DDOJ sees
some people dancing and he breaks free from Lucy and heads over and joins in.
Soon, he is dancing along with the rest of them, just having a good old time.
She looks at Zero and says "This may take longer that I expected." He looks back
at her and says "You have no idea." They then both join in and soon there are a
dozen men and women dancing around to the music. DDOJ is right in the middle,
having a great time. As he dances, he looks at his hands and look like they are
growing. He watches them get bigger and then shrink back down with the music. He
looks over at a girl who is dancing with him and she looks like she is glowing.
As she moves from one spot to another, an image of her is left behind. Then as
she moves to the next spot, the first image disappears and is replace with
another image. He is going into the full blown acid trip.
Zero and DDOJ ©
2007 Tom Zjaba and Dave Zjaba
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