By Anonymous
Part 1: "A Lure"
Maureen Connolley awoke to the beeping of her alarm clock, and began the morning routine that she had kept since moving out on her own earlier in the year. She reached over, clicked the alarm off, and in one motion grabbed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter that she kept on her nightstand. Rolling over on her back, she flipped open the pack, took out a cigarette, put it between her lips, clicked her lighter, and sucked deeply for a few seconds, with her eyes only slightly open. She briefly opened her mouth to breathe in, before beginning a second long drag, and then again breathed sharply in with a slight popping sound. As the smoke soaked into her lungs for the first time that day, she thought the same thing that she thought every morning after waking up- "ah, that feels soooo good." After a few more seconds, she exhaled, and then immediately repeated the process of taking a double drag, closing her eyes as the smoke permeated her lungs, and then reluctantly exhaling, only to take another immediate double pump. She closed her eyes, listening to the crackle of the cigarette as she dragged on it, the popping sound of her inhales, and the whoosh of her exhales.
Maureen always smoked that way in the morning, and although she knew that it was probably not the healthiest way to indulge in an already unhealthy habit, she took an almost guilty pleasure in just giving in to her smoking addiction in an unrestrained way, at least first thing in the morning. Her morning nicotine was her favorite part of waking up. It felt very, very good. After basically sucking in as much smoke as she could from that first daily cigarette, Maureen always lit a second cigarette, which she would smoke a bit more leisurely, and got out of bed to get ready for the day ahead.
Maureen was more or less your average, pretty college freshman girl. She was 5 ft. 5, 130 lbs, with very long brown hair, which she styled differently as suited her mood, and bright, cheerful blue eyes.
