5-Minute FreeWrite: "Sorted or Snorted?"

Sorted or Snorted?

"Today is the day, my friend! I'll be a changed man. I will not sabotage my only chance of spending time with my kids again."

Ted snorted in disbelief. He didn't sound convinced at all what his best friend, Rob, was telling him. How many times had he ever said this in the first place? Too many times. And every time, Rob would just find a way, whether intentionally or not, to mess everything up.

Rob said, annoyingly, "Ted, you're my best mate. I need your support. Don't be such a prick about it. That's the last thing I need from you at this time. You're the only person I trust with my life, but I want you to trust me, too, believe when I say I can definitely turn a new leaf."

Ted replied, "All right, if you say so. I'm sorry. I trust you, mate, and I wish you all the best. So go home now, your kids might come anytime soon. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Rob hurriedly went home. He was filled with excitement and eagerness to see his kids finally, ever since his wife had won full custody of the children six months ago. Earlier this week, he mustered up the courage to phone Claire up to beg her if he could just spend a few hours with them this weekend because he missed them so much. It seemed, somehow, that Claire felt compassion towards him that she agreed to this arrangement.

Rob was wildly excited. As soon as he got home, he played his favourite record, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, on his hi-fi turntable in his living room. Then he cleared all the magazines and plates off the glass coffee table, which had been lying there for God knows when. He grabbed a spray bottle, sprayed the glass and wiped the grime off.

"I think that's perfect," he muttered under his breath.

Then he carefully placed the TV remote control and the PlayStation 4 controllers right at the centre of the table. He arranged the cushions on his 4-seater leather lounge and once finished, sat and relaxed in the middle of the sofa, both his arms stretched wide. He kept looking at the clock, anxiously saying, "Only two hours left and I'll get to hug and kiss them."

Something caught his eye all of a sudden. A plastic pouch was propping up against the side of the couch on his right side. He picked it up and shook it. Powder. Immediately, he was conflicted. "This is worth at least $500." He glanced at the clock, and said, "One hour and a half."

He poured the powder onto the glass table and cut them into four lines. He began to snort the first line. He suddenly realised what a huge mistake he had made. He grabbed his phone and rang Ted up, but it went to voice mail. After the beep, Rob left the message, "Ted, mate, I need your help. Come to my house, please."

Meanwhile, Ted just got home after his breakfast with Rob. As he entered his house, he hung his coat by the rack and went to the kitchen to brew some coffee. After five minutes, he heard his phone rang. His phone was not on the kitchen counter. It must still be in his coat, so he ran to the entry hall and grabbed his coat from the rack. He had a few missed calls from Rob. He played the voice messages and they were all from Rob. "Ted, mate, I need your help. Come to my house, please."

Ted instantly grabbed his keys, went out the door, and drove his car to Rob's house. As he was approaching the street, he saw an ambulance and a police car parked in front of Rob's house. Claire and the two children were standing on the sidewalk whilst watching the stretcher with a body covered in a blanket taken out of the house and loaded into the ambulance.