It was a Tuesday night, or should I say Wednesday morning, about 1 am. After walking through an oddly vacant campus from my dorm, I approached Plant Park. From afar, all I could see was a pitch black path and straining my eyes I could make out a few palm trees lining the path. It was creepy- to be honest I just wanted to turn around and go back to my room (but I didn’t).
Plant Park is a picturesque addition to the University of Tampa’s campus full of perfect palm trees and located right on the Hillsborough River overlooking downtown Tampa. By day, it is a place where students can take advantage of Tampa’s sunny weather and sunbathe while they “study” or simply take a nice afternoon stroll. But what goes on in Plant Park after midnight is an entirely different story.
As I got closer and actually entered the vicinities of the park, I started to hear voices- this completely freaked me out. I convinced myself I was about to enter a murder scene, remembering all those stories I’ve heard about people getting mugged just outside our campus. Still, I continued.
To my relief I found only a group of students. There were five of them; three boys and two girls sitting on a bench smoking a “cigarette” that didn’t smell much like a cigarette, if you know what I mean. And since when do five people share one cigarette? I had heard about Plant Park being a popular place on campus where students go to partake in this illegal activity, especially at night.
My nerves started to calm, I think it was the realization that I was not about to get stabbed or robbed at gunpoint mixed with the unavoidable aroma being blown into the air through puffs of smoke. I sat on an empty bench near the group of students, my face glued to my phone screen in an attempt to cover up my eavesdropping.
They continued passing around their shared “cigarette,” laughing at stupid things like a small rock on the ground that one of the girls joked resembled the shape of a penis. I couldn’t help but laugh only at the fact that a rock could provide them with five solid minutes of entertainment. They were laughing harder than I do when I watch the movie Bridesmaids; that impressed me.
“Let’s roll another one,” I heard one of the guys say. If the giant marijuana leaf printed on his t-shirt didn’t make it obvious enough, my thoughts were now fully confirmed; they definitely were not smoking a cigarette.
I was ready to go back to my room and get to bed. It was supposed to be nice out the following day and I was meeting a friend in Plant Park to study for a test and attempt to turn my pale body tan. The park is such a pleasant place… during the day.