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Up In Smoke: Craft a shortstory, drabble, vignette, or poem that features, includes, or describes the act of smoking.

As a literary device, I love cigarettes. As a real-world item, I hate them. They stink. They're expensive. They're addictive. In film or a piece of writing, though, they're silent characters with souls of their own. I love the smoky exhalation, the expectant inhale. I'm amazed at those white tendrils, reaching skyward, or the plume expelled into a face by an antagonist. I love the words and images surrounding smoking. We can twist the act any way we want. Build suspense. Create tension, or relieve it. Even find humor in the weakness of the addiction. Let me see your spin on it.

TaraG in Fiction

Is it Break Time Yet?

I start my shift,

as the sun clocks out.

It does not wish to see my misery.

Adorned with obligatory skirt

and rebellious alligator sandals.

A sleek black braid

keeps my shoulder company.

Les Gitanes in my apron pocket,

waiting for me.

“Come in! Now!”

Lucian scolds,

his hands waving over his head

The café is a pot of activity.

I clear away dishes, wipe tables,

and sometimes I serve coffee.

Bangs and spills,

Clatters and drops,

The sounds of my nightmare

a perpetual clamor.

My fingers itch for a smoke.

Is it break time yet?

Outside of the café,

smoke curls and caresses my face.

My feet take turns holding their weight.

Then, leaning against the back wall, I watch.

Face after face streams by,

as if they were on a conveyor belt,

identical and indistinguishable from the other.

“Marie-Jean!” my name

in a booming voice. I sigh.

Five minutes are up.

Still, I watch

chairs scraping pavement as customers depart.

Would they take me with them?

I wonder every day.

Another shout from within,

I sigh deeper.

Stepping into the pot again,

I think,

is it break time yet?