Methadone Mornings

I had set an alarm on my phone for 5:30 AM so that I could get ready and then head to the Methadone clinic around 6. I hate waiting in line. I shut the alarm off and went back to sleep. Around 5:55 AM a notoriously alcoholic friend calls me. I press ignore. Two minutes later he calls again. I press ignore… again. Decide to to get up when I see what time it is. I walk to the back of my house in a groggy haze and dial his number. "Hey you called..?" Slurred voice on the other end of the line: "Yeah man I just got out of the hospital.." "Fuck what happened?" "I got the shit beat out of me pretty bad… You should see my face man.. its fucked." "Ah shit man.. where are you?" "Outside the hospital." "Alright you know where the Methadone clinic is?" "Is it by that pharmacy with the big sign that says' OXYCONTIN AND DURAGESIC NOT IN STOCK' ?" "Yeah. Meet me there". I pop six 350mg Somas, throw on my headphones, shoes, and shirt and head out. Its still dark out. See a house with a 'ROMNEY/RYAN 2012' sign and consider drawing a swastika on it with the sharpie in my back pocket, or just taking off with the sign but then I see a light on in one of the bedrooms and decide against it. Maybe tomorrow.. I get to the pharmacy but he's not there yet. Walk into the clinic and they tell me a need to take a drug test. I'm dirty. Whatever. I'm early enough that I'm the only one there so I slam the tiny cup of pink bitter liquid and tell the cute blonde bitch of a nurse to have a nice day and slip out through the back door. He's stumbling down the street towards me and his face looks like a steak that's been tenderized. I go to hug him and he cringes in pain and shows me the road burn on his shoulder. We sit down on a bus stop bench and I give him a cigarette. "I told that stupid cunt that I was gonna slap the shit out of her. You know, just drunk shit talking like always and so and so decides I've gone too far even though he says the same fucking shit to her man! We go outside and-" I look at his hospital discharge papers and see that he has a head contusion, a fractured nose, abrasions, etc. Getting thirsty so I go buy some iced tea to split. Smoking and talking, listening to Atmosphere playing from a cell phone, drinking iced tea on a bus stop at 6:30 in the morning. His roommate's mom drives by and picks him up. I light another cigarette and walk home. Juice-heads… no class, no class at all….