I simply watch the life float away from me with dreamy eyes and dry lips.  Ah, I thought to myself, the small high.  It was a beautiful night, actually.  Just recently has it begun to warm, the cold nights whisked away by the warm climates of the tropics.  I could just smell the fresh-cut grass through the pungent smell of the cigarette, and I could hear the dry crackling as I inhaled those toxic, and yet smooth, fumes into my fragile and decaying lungs.  I sat down on the steps that led to the parking lot above,finally able to find a dry spot amidst the puddles that accumulated on the disintegrating concrete.  
        
        Only a few hours ago I had been out here having a cig while it was raining.  The drops had annoyed me, simply because they were wet, and I was dry.  Stupid rain, I had thought.  Only when I went in did I realize that I was the idiot.  If I weren’t smoking, I would be dry.  Maybe it will be dry later, I told my self.  And it was - at least partially.  I looked about me, studying my surroundings; trying to see the beauty in the world, but I winced.  I could feel a headache coming on.  The slow, dull ache was beginning in the top of my skull, but the cigarette was just about over.  They’re so annoying these headaches.
        
        With my cigarette finished, I stood up, my headache throbbing a little more then before.  I shook my head to try and get rid of the pain.  Bad idea.  I closed my eyes and reached up with my left hand to apply some pressure to both my temples, slowly rubbing them in a circular motion.  While I took care of the pain, I had stopped along the walkway that stretched from my dorm to the steps.  When the pain finally went away, I looked around, glancing at the ground littered with hundreds of cigarettes that had missed the receptacle and took in a deep breath.  The air felt good.  That’s better, I told myself.  My head felt clear again and I was enjoying the night air, so I decided to stay out a little while longer.  Pulling the pack of Kools from the pocket of my pants, I thought about the smell of them again.  Surprisingly, I felt the headache coming back with a mixture of nausea.  I slowly took one out, trying to control the pain, and lit it.  I took another deep breath, feeling the minty smoothness of glass and nicotine caressing my throat, softly killing me.