Dose

The pills had stopped working as well as they used to.

They weren't supposed to, the marketing swore they adjusted the recipe every so often to avoid tolerance buildup, the benefits were supposed to be consistent and dependable, so you could be too, as the ads said.

But despite their claims, and despite my taking the little yellow faces every morning at 7:30 sharp, I was getting the comedown earlier and earlier in the day.

I needed to go onto the stronger reality blockers, but I really couldn't handle the few days of cold turkey I'd need between them.