The High School Green-out that Changed My Course

January 12, 2009. The day of no return. The census was that if I smoked pot alone, I was addicted, so things only grew out of control. I was sharing it with everyone. Wasn't that one of the points of Marijuana? I wasn't keen on sharing my cigarettes.

My parents had confiscated my pipe, only leading me to need to spend more money unless I wanted to smoke out of pop cans. She'd insist I was wasting my money, and I'd ask them not to confiscate my pipes and weed then.

Mother Teresa would say this was no longer a social thing, while I'd continue to feel like we were evading the real points. She'd say I was different when I didn't have pot. I'd wonder how that was any different than someone with Bi-Polar who stopped taking their lithium.

I thought it would be funny to "smoke the word of god". I got in serious trouble when Montague found out I was using the bible as rolling papers. I wasn't good at rolling, so I bought a box of 200 cigarette tubes and packed them with a pencil.

The night before the 12th, I sat in my room and packed 6 tubes full of pot. A couple contained a mixture with tobacco which reportedly got you more stoned.

For once, our bus had arrived early and we'd already spent the last few creative writing classes getting high so I reasoned they'd be good today. Our final project was coming due, and we'd all hardly worked on it. I was just going to throw in stuff I'd written for Juliet.

I went to class and once the teacher was through with formalities, we were sent out to go get that inspiration. Koki stopped me in the halls and asked if I had any pot, she could really use a hoot. I couldn't say no when someone needed something. The usual group formed and I'd signal to Milli about his car.

Milli left class for the "washroom" and we all went to his car to get high. I lit up two of the joints, while Beaver packed a pipe bowl. Milli couldn't stay long and told us to lock the doors after. The rest of us figured we could all be more stoned, although I was a full joint ahead of them.

I lit up another joint while Beaver packed another bowl. Another acquaintance messaged asking if we were getting high again. I told him we were almost finished, there only being 15 minutes until the bell. He pleaded and I made him a deal; if he could find our car, I'd get him high. I figured he'd never find us in time.

We finished up and were about to head in when someone jumped at the window. I told him we'd just finished up, "Awww man! You promised!" and he had me there. I was definitely high, but couldn't argue. The others bid me farewell.

I reasoned since I'd paid for the pot, I should continue to partake in it. I was onto my fifth tube-sized joint, and had shared two pipe bowls. He didn't look very high so I asked if he was good. But he wasn't. I sighed and pulled out my sixth and final one. I took a few hauls before hot flashes rolled in. I handed him it and told him to enjoy the rest.

He finished and we exited the car as my world started to spin violently. I grabbed the car in a form of blobular Jello. From a mile away, you could tell I was messed up. "Uhhh... You don't look good... You should skip class man..." he wisely suggested.

I didn't know what was really going on, just trying to hold it together, "... I can't... If I skip, my mom's going to kill me..." I told him dragging myself to the front.

"Okay man..." he said.

I'd figured if I did get in trouble, at least they'd see I made an effort to go to class. I walked into math and sat down through the blur of people. By now I wasn't winning with math either. I did it in my brainscape, so would lose marks for not showing enough work, or lose just as many losing myself trying to show how I was getting the answers.

I crossed my arms and put my head down, feeling nauseous. The teacher walked in and sat down at his desk. A kid next to me whispered that I reeked of pot. Minutes went by and I realized I smelt bad enough. "Probably..." I said unmoved.

After ten minutes, the teacher called me to the hall. He started talking but my comprehension was at an all-time low. He was lecturing me on getting high and was going to offer me a warning. He was going to let me walk out the school doors, and act like he'd never saw me high if I promised never to come back to his class high.

I'd have almost gotten away with it too, had I not just smoked six cigarette sized joints and two pipe bowls. As he was finishing talking, and I saw the light to my exit, I felt the gag reflex come on. I rushed to the nearest garbage and let it out.

"Well, this is new... I wish I could let you go without a warning, but this is obviously serious," he said, "Wait here,"

I looked down the hall toward the exit that had been presented to me, debated about running away. I thought about pleading with the teacher, and trying to explain everything that was becoming unexplainable. I was too exhausted for fighting. He came back, and escorted me to the principles office.

They put me in the Nurse's office although she was rarely there. They came and got me once all the officials were there. The Police, the President of the Prairie Valley School Division, and a counselor.

I sat down in the office while Hades got up in my face, telling me about his glorious school and proving something to the President. I could barely do the English thing I got good grades in. All he was doing was bringing up more gag reflexes.

"Jeez, back up. Give the kid some space. He's obviously not doing so good and he'll probably have learned his lesson after this," the President said, and I was now grateful to have her there. Hades backed away as she handed me a waste basket. It was just in time as I puked into it. The president talked, but I couldn't pick up on all that was happening.

"We already know who you went outside with, you walked right passed the office, Hades said.

"...You don't need me than..." I replied. I'd provided the pot. If I wasn't in the equation, no one would be getting in trouble.

"Just tell us who you got high with," Hades demanded.

"...I thought you knew...?" I replied.

Hades yelled at me and said my parents were on the way. They were convinced that the pot was laced with Meth. I tried to assure them I'd simply smoked six joints and two pipe bowls, far too much. The idea that only I'd get sick off of Meth laced joints sounded stupid.

"We can't have Meth-laced pot floating around our school," Hades said.

I hardly battled, not having the energy and they laid down the sentence. I could only come back to school if I saw an addictions counselor and go to the hospital to be tested for Meth. The hospital thought the idea was just as silly, but I still had to wait 8 hours to show I'd only smoked pot.

It was enough to send Mother Teresa stir-crazy. She sat me down to watch an episode of Dr. Phil. A mother was breaking down because her daughter had gotten involved in hard drugs because of her boyfriend. She'd lost everything, including a beautiful smile. I didn't see myself in that scenario though, I saw a Little Tall girl I loved.

I insisted to Mother Teresa that I didn't want to do hard drugs, but she'd be more focused on possible futures, than trying to make it out of the present. I was just trying to get high school done.

The idea of seeing an addictions counselor was ridiculous. She wasn't going to solve any of my problems. She wasn't going to be able to provide me with answers for questions I'd been wondering since I was 7-years-old. She did what I knew she'd do; insist that my life would magically change if I stopped smoking pot. All I'd ever get from the statement, is that somehow, the pot was also responsible for the previous 16 years I'd endured up to that point.

Hades also threatened expulsion if I ever got high at school again. That's what stuck. If I got expelled, I wouldn't get to see Juliet everyday, and her parents would have more reasons not to like me. But the event had an unintended consequence. For the first time, I got some real emotion from Juliet. She'd been so worried about me, she'd had to call her parents to come get her from school.

That only had other consequences. Now her parents knew I smoked pot and hadn't liked me before it. I'd also spent the last year chasing after a girl and seemingly just had to get really high and puke all over the school to get somewhere. I looked at her and screamed in my brain that I'd have done that a year ago.

While I smiled at the sentiment of her showing she cared, my brain only got more confused on what this girl actually wanted. First she wanted boys that made her cry all the time and beat her up, now she wanted extremely weird boys that got really high and puked all over the school. I just wanted to be a nerd and become a Microbiologist. Could I just be that?

I stopped smoking pot at school, but that wasn't going to matter. My voice had become weak against the tides of adults, and within a week, I'd be kicked out of my parent's house. I was accused of having smoked pot for having glossy eyes, but I figured that was in account of me never sleeping. In particular, the previous night, I'd only gotten 3 hours of sleep and reasoned if I missed the bus, I was just going home to bed.