It’s a normal morning for Jake. He wakes up, goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, changes for school, and heads out the door.
He gets in his car, turns on his music just loud enough to drown out the nagging voice reminding him he failed to open his history textbook once last night. It was a ten minute drive to school, but with the dread of going to classes and trying to find every opportunity to procrastinate, it felt like two.
I wonder what Alex is doing later, he thought. Probably something better than going home and eating whatever Mom makes.
Inside the halls, Friday was moving at half-speed. Classes seem to be twice as long as usual, and the air is thick and stuffy. The restlessness of every student eager for the weekend filled the halls, but Jake moved through it with a practiced ease.
Jake is a junior at his local high school. He has friends – good ones – but he still feels that invisible line between him and the kids who own the hallways. He played the part of the cool, unbothered athlete, but the truth was tucked away behind his ribcage: he loved his mom, and the idea of disappointing her hit way harder than a blindside tackle on the field. Jake grew up without a father, leaving him and his mom when he was three, so his mother was his world and Jake was his mothers.
…
Teen drinking has become a significant problem in the United States, and Lakeland is not immune.
The Center for Disease Control stated that over 4,000 people under the age of 21 die per year just in the United States.
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 15.1% of 8th graders have tried illicit drugs at least once and by the time they’re in 12th grade, 36.8% of teens have tried illicit drugs.
“It is much easier to not start than it is to quit a substance,” said Brian Williams, the local high school health teacher at Lakeland (LHS).
Substance use, alcohol and drugs cause unnecessary risks for teenagers and their health.
It ultimately shortens your life span, by causing irreversible structural and functional changes not only in the brain but also in the heart, lung and other organs such as the liver and kidney, per the National Institutes of Health.
Physical health directly affects mental health. Having poor physical health or habits can increase depression, anxiety and low self esteem.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2022, there were over 107,000 drug overdose deaths, many of which are linked to underlying mental health struggles and suicidal ideation.
…
By sixth period, the exhaustion was real. Jake dropped into his seat, barely settling in before Alex was leaning over his desk.
“Yo, what are you doing after practice tonight?”
“Nothing much,” Jake said. “Told my mom I’d be home for dinner, though.”
“The guys were thinking about hanging out at Lucas’s later,” Alex said, giving him a look that told Jake, if he said no, he wouldn’t be asked again, “You should come.”
“Ok sure, it sounds fun.”
Hanging out at Lucas’ sounded harmless enough-but as Alex turned back into his own seat, a cold weight settled in Jake’s stomach.
Just as Jake started to celebrate the idea of a free weekend, his last-period teacher dropped a mountain of homework on the class. The collective groan from the room was the soundtrack to the final bell.
Jake headed to the locker room, the smell of sweating cleats and cheap cologne signaled the shift from student to player. The click-clack of his cleats against the pavement as he made his way to the field, engrossed him. He joined his team in a huddle, the grass cool under his feet, as his team shifted into the same repetitive warm up drill.
Practice was grueling, by the time the coach blew the last whistle, Jake’s t-shirt was merely another layer of skin and sweat. As he walked toward the parking lot, starving and exhausted, his moms dinner sounded like just what he needed.
“Hey, don’t forget” Alex called out, “Lucas’ place, twenty minutes.”
…
Athletically speaking, growing and nurturing an addiction can destroy opportunities in the sports world.
First, athletic potential can not be maximized if the body is not provided with the right things, or if it is given the wrong things.
Being caught using can neutralize scholarship opportunities and even opportunities in your own community athletics.
“You are your habits,” said LHS athletic director Matt Neff.
Destroying your ability to play can hurt the team and make you a person they can not depend on.
Additionally, it is known that alcohol and drugs cause the body to lose energy and motivation for the things it used to like.
If caught abusing any kind of substance here at Lakeland High School while participating in any sport, one your first offense you are permitted from playing in any games for ten days. On your second offense, you are out for an entire season.
…
Jack hesitated, thumb hovering over his phone. He thought about the dinner table at home, the quiet conversations with his mom about how their days were that seemed irrelevant, and the promise he’d made. But then he’d looked at the other guys – the guys who seemed to know exactly where the fun was – and he didn’t want to be the one left behind.
“I’ll be there,” Jake said, forcing a grin. He sent a vague quick text to his mom: Practice ran late, hanging out with Alex for a bit. Don’t wait up for dinner.
He felt a sharp pang of guilt as he hit send, but he pushed it down.
When Jake pulled up to Lucas’ house, the curb was already lined with cars. The yellow light seeped through the closed curtains, and then chatter of kids inside seemed to echo through the front door. Inside the air smelled like a dead skunk whose stink was covered up by a single spray of Febreze.
The smell hit Jake as he opened the door, but he tried to not make a face as it seemed usual for the others.
“There he is,” Alex shouted over the music, shoving a red plastic cup into his hand.
“Oh, no thank you, I’m ok.”
“Don’t be a stiff Jake, or a snitch, yeah?”
Jake feels all the eyes in the room turn toward him. The line between who he is and the crowd he wanted to be a part of was thinner than ever before. He couldn’t let that go.
Before he knew it, he was four cups in. To be honest, he didn’t even like it, the feeling it gave him was nice, but that wasn’t what made him keep drinking either. The people, the idea of being a part of a group that mattered, or at least he thought mattered.
Though Jake felt a sense of belonging and excitement, I can’t believe they actually wanted me to come to this, he said to himself. He couldn’t ignore the grey feeling in his chest.
The drinks and maybe even a puff of something every now and then made Jake feel light but the only thing in the whole world that could make him feel truly relieved and at peace was the presence of his mom. The after school hugs, dinner conversations, embarrassingly loud cheers from the crowd during games, and simply knowing she was always there for him.
Jake decided it was time to go home. The guilt nudged at him till he gave in and told the group he was going to head out.
…
On the legal side, deciding to participate in substance use can result in the loss of your license, future job opportunities, DUI’s, jail, fines, and tragically, the possibility of having to live with knowing you took someone else’s life or losing your own.
In serious circumstances you could be arrested, taken to court where a judge will decide if you are fined, given jail time or time in a juvenile detention center, or both.
If you are not given jail time, or when you get out, you will be required to attend a self help class such as AA in order to continue showing up to school and graduate. Oftentimes, kids will be put on probation as well.
“You have to look at the big picture,” stated LHS’s armed guard, John Hatcher.
…
Jake walked out the door, the fresh air hit him in the face just as hard as the stench coming in. He tripped over the curb, stumbled into his car, and sighed. I’m not sure this group is as great as I thought.
Jake started his car and rubbed his hands against his face in an attempt to regain his senses.
He began to drive. My house is only five minutes from here. I’ll be fine.
His vision started to blur, and narrow.
Narrow just enough, to miss one singular stop sign. One little mistake.
But before Jake could process what he did, headlights appeared on his right, much closer than they ever should be. A horn whaled in what felt like right in his ear.
I’m sorry mom.
And there she was, the mother, waiting under the light of the living room lamp with a now cold plate, waiting for her son, who would never come home.
So, before you do something you might regret, ask yourself, “Why?” and “Is it really worth it, at the risk of hurting me and the people I love?”
