Burning Leaves

Dan always came into ninth grade choir smelling like burnt leaves. Toby was a baritone and Dan was a baritone but Toby always felt like Dan sang down a few octaves. They shared the same music stand and Toby flipped the music while Dan hunched down and sang into the floor. Toby always told Dan the same thing.
I think you are too low.
Dan always just shrugged and said whatever man.
But Toby wondered about the burned leaves. First of all choir was first period. That would mean Dan got up and started raking leaves about what...six AM? And then burned them for an hour before getting to school. It was plausible.
A couple times Toby had to compensate for Dan because his voice was so raspy. Another thing was Dan would spit with a phit phit sound. Like he had a sunflower seed stuck in his teeth or something. And the burned leave smell really came on when they hit the heavy duty choral numbers. Dan smelled like he had inhaled the smoke from the leaves. So he asked him one day.
Hey Dan.
Yo.
Do you like  burn leaves or something in the morning...I mean no offence but your clothes really smell like burned leaves.
Dan looked at Toby with blood shot eyes  then smiled.
Yeah man. I burn leaves in the morning.
Oh just wondering.
It wasn't until college that Toby realized Dan had been stoned to the bone every day.

Rocket Man...the American Dream upside down