The Meaning of Smoking Sometimes people think it's better not to say things. This is the case of Smoke by Chris Avellone, which tells the story of two friends who have a good relationship until one tells the truth that they were both hiding. The smoke in the essay can be seen as a veil that hides the true feelings of the two characters. The setting, which is in a smoke-filled bar, can be seen as a secret hideout where the two friends go. It's when Kyle begins to talk about what's really happening that the conflict begins. When the story begins, the two friends are in a bar playing darts and drinking beer. When Kyle starts smoking a cigarette that's when Dave starts to open up and let the audience know that the two friends haven't seen each other in a while. He also begins to describe his friend physically, paying particular attention to his eyes. Throughout the story, Kyle is very vague when answering Dave's questions about his new relationship. He finally asks his friend if his girlfriend knows what was going on between the two of them. Dave tries for the first time to shrug off the conversation, but it's at this point that the smoke from the cigarette starts to make sense. "Smoke came out of his nostrils onto the table, like some kind of dragon" (Avellone, 3). Throughout the entire story the smoking seemed to make Dave feel more comfortable. It seemed that the presence of the smoke made him tell the story and that being with Kyle was fine too. With smoke coming out of his friend's nose, the reader is able to get an idea that the smoke is starting to clear. It's only when the smoke seems to clear from his eyes, revealing his and Kyle's true feelings, that he begins to feel uncomfortable. At this point he attacks his friend and calls him all vulgar names. He says he can't see much because of the smoke and that at that point "Kyle just vanished into the smoke in Shoop's" (Avellone, 3). We can see here that he knows he lost his friend in the smoke, which is a representation of his repressed feelings. From his descriptions of Kyle and his annoyance with the relationship he is in, the reader knows that Dave is in love with his friend, but the smoking made everything go wrong because no one could really see what was really going on..