The Day After

I felt fine in the morning actually. No ill effects as far as I could tell. Paul wasn't at school- I guess he wanted to do his chemistry test with his full mental capabilities about him. That evening there was a basketball game, I had little love for watching high school sports teams but there were people there at least. At half-time I wandered outside the gym to the concession stand, there stood Steve. He motioned me over excitedly.

-We're done man. Steve said. -Paul's parents found the bottles under the bathroom sink. They are coming down hard on him

Evidently, Paul's parents were suspisious of our little study session. When Derek came back they listened at the door and heard the tell-tale clink of bottles. From that point it was not hard to find the evidence. Paul may have been able to finagle his way into lesser charges but he was in no state to do that once he got home.

Very soon after that horrendous news, my mother flew in to visit me at the boarding school. the trip had not been planned. Very soon it became clear that my mother's arrival represented a kind of intervention for my soul. In a handful of long sessions my mother interviewed me on my current lifestyle. She claimed that she had not been informed of any antisocial behaviour by the dorm parents. Or by Paul's parents. No, she claimed, the Holy Ghost had let her know in that 'still small voice' that all was not well with her youngest child. So here we were. I copped to swearing ("they're just words", I argued), to not being cooperative with the school authorities, and finally to drinking.

The dorm parents were brought into the loop. Soon a partial solution was found with Paul's mom; Paul and I were not allowed to spend evenings out with Daniel, who it had been decided was a bad influence on the two of us. The terms of my parole were set in place, I could only ever spend nights over at Paul's house. I never understood that decision as I had consumed more alcohol with Paul than with any other member of our small gang.

So now Paul and I embarked on a long period of sobriety. My parents and dormparents worked hard to help us see the weight of our sins. I already knew that Paul and Steve cared little for those invocations and they were beginning to lose their resonance with me as well.