Erica saw the red powder in Caesar's hands and was immediately captivated by it. Its gorgeous red color and attractive scent almost made her stress go away.
Her stress has always been the biggest thing that she couldn't solve. She tried everything such as sleeping pills, quality time in the night, or even going to the church. But she still couldn't get rid of the anxious itch in her brain.
Now, Caesar was telling her that this small powder was the answer to all her problems. What was this powder, she asked herself. And the answer came to her immediately.
"Is that—is that…drugs?" Her last words were hushed as if she didn't want anyone to hear that she uttered the taboo word.
Erica was born from wealth, which meant that she was nurtured in a home that was pure. She studied in a good school, went to church every week, and she always followed the law whenever possible.
She was taught to always follow her moral consciousness, never hurt other people, and one other thing: Never do drugs.
Because of that, she always steered clear from any bad influences that would stray her from the good path. She heard terrible things that would happen to people once they took one taste of drugs. They would die, their faces would sag, or their skin would turn for the worse. That was the worst thing that she didn't want to happen.
"Yes. This is drugs," Caesar answered straight.
Once she confirmed it, Erica tried to push Caesar's hand to try and hide the bag of drugs in his hands. If someone were to see them, then their conclusion would be that she was buying drugs from a kid. Oh, the horror that would do to her reputation.
"Why are you so discriminatory against me?" Caesar asked.
"I'm not discriminating against you. I just don't want anyone to see me with a drug dealer." Erica immediately looked for somewhere that she could hide Caesar in.
The streets had people walking in it and the alleyways were brightly lit, which could be seen by anyone in the street. The only place that she could hide from people was the house that Caesar wanted to rent.
Erica pulled at Caesar's arm and pulled him inside. Once inside, she pulled all the curtains inside and closed all the windows. Once everything was secure, she turned towards Caesar and glared at him.
"What are you doing with drugs! You're just a little kid!"
"Here you are being discriminatory again. Not all drugs are bad. Some drugs heal wounds, some drugs remove headaches, and this drug relieves stress." Caesar once again showed her the Joy.
"Is this how you earned that money? You're a drug dealer?" Erica asked with a horrified voice.
"Pharmacist is a better word. I'm a personal pharmacist to anyone that is in need of a stress release," Caesar answered.
Erica couldn't answer immediately. What the kid said was strangely logical. What was the difference between those banned drugs and the drugs sold by drugstores?
"Ah! There's a difference. Those drugs have been tested and deemed safe. That drug you are holding there is harmful! It kills you!"
Caesar shook his head. "No. The difference is that those drug manufacturers paid a lot more to make their drug legal. But you don't have to worry about the politics there. The only thing you need to know is that my drug is safe."
"Safe? I know about that drug. It's called Joy, right? This is the drug that is always an example in drug prevention seminars in school. I heard that it kills your brain in 10 years or less! How could it be safe?"
"Mine is different from those garbage products. Mine is pure. 100% pure. It's 10 times the effect with no drawbacks. It won't damage your body in any way," Caesar answered.
It was true. The reason why Joy, the normal one with less than 30% purity, has such a harsh drawback was because of the impurities mixed in with it. Those tiny impurities can't be digested by the body and stays inside until it slowly destroys your organs from the inside.
Caesar's pure Joy will get absorbed into the body and release its effects in the brain. Then after 24 hours, everything will be released through your excrement.
"What? I can't believe that." Erica's face was full of doubt. She felt like Caesar was only lying so that she would fall down into the dark side of drugs. She felt like Satan himself was tempting her.
"Then let me ask you. You probably studied in a religious boarding school, right?" Caesar asked.
Erica was surprised. Caesar's guess was right. She followed in her parents footsteps and enrolled in their alma mater, the Virtuous Learning for Boys and Girls.
"Then you were probably taught the effects of Joy, right? Recite them for me." Caesar turned around and looked around the house that he wanted to rent while waiting for Erica's reply.
Erica didn't know why Caesar wanted her to say the effects of drugs because she doesn't think it will help his case.
"Fine. For the first month of consuming Joy, there are not many effects. For 1 year consumption, you would start to lose your memory, forgetting things that should be easy to remember. Five years will make you stutter and your thinking would be as slow as a three year old. 10 years, and you're basically dead."
Caesar nodded as he brushed his hands against the couch and the shelves.
"Then how do they test these effects?"
Erica frowned. "I don't know where you're going with this, but you can't fool me. My faith is solid."
"How do they test it." Caesar repeated his words, but this time, his words were more stern.
"They test it on rats. I know this first-hand because we experimented on one when I was in school. I placed first in that laboratory experiment," she said with confidence.
Then, Caesar quickly turned around and showed a gray furry thing in his hands. It was a rat, which he took with him as preparation before he followed Erica. As soon as she saw that, Erica screamed and took a step back.
"AH! What are you doing with that rat? Get that away from me!" Erica was backed into a corner.
"I thought you placed first in the laboratory? Are you afraid of a rat? No matter. You know what will happen to a rat once it consumes Joy, right?" Caesar asked.
Erica still seemed shaken by the appearance of the furry little thing, but she still managed to respond.
"It will die. Its brain would explode within seconds of consumption," Erica said while reminiscing on the old days of her school life.
"Good." Caesar smiled and put down the rat on the table. Then, he took out a pinch of his pure Joy powder and sprinkled it near the rat's mouth.
Erica saw this and she immediately protested. "What are you doing?! The rat's head will explode and spread brain matter all over the house! I just had this cleaned!"
Caesar didn't listen and waited for the rat to consume his product. It was easy enough, with the rat being attracted by the smell like it was cheese.
Erica turned her head away from the rat once she saw it lick the Joy powder. She was sure that the rat had just signed its own death sentence. In just a few seconds, her living room would be dirtied with the rat's brain matter.
She closed her eyes and waited for the small but devastating sound of a skull exploding. She waited and waited until thirty seconds had passed.
She opened her eyes in confusion and saw the rat still licking the Joy powder. What was happening? it should have already died with its head missing from its body. She saw countless dead rats back in her school laboratory.
They even had to make a table testing how fast the rats would die. From their results, the rats would die in an average of 10 seconds, with the latest being 15 seconds.
Now, a minute has passed and the rat was still alive and licking. The drug that was supposed to be equal to an explosive rat poison became a harmless powder of red cheese.
It looked like the rat was enjoying it! How was this possible?!
"See? My Joy is the purest anyone has ever and will ever see. My Joy won't destroy your body, it won't deteriorate your mind, but it will relieve your stress. It's the best medicinal drug you will ever taste."
Caesar's words were like seductive music to her ears. His words were making her body move closer to the powder of pure Joy in the table like a magnet.
Her curiosity and her desperation to finally sleep soundly made her dip her finger into the tiny mountain of Joy powder.
Her finger was coated with fine red grains, sticking to her skin. Then finally, she stuck it into the bottom of her tongue and felt paradise.