Going to a Party

Hello, everyone. I hope you are having a good day. This prompt was suggested by Kentme00. It's Guthrie- going to a party-post series. Enjoy.

Adam had a rule that you were not allowed to go to a party until you're 13. Guthrie had just turned 13 and he was allowed to go to a party. One of his friends Ben was having a birthday party at his house and he had invited Guthrie. Guthrie went home and saw Adam reading the newspaper.

"Hey, Adam, Ben invited me to his birthday party on Friday. Can I go?" Guthrie asked.

"Sure. Just remember our rules. You have to be home by 9. No drinking, drugs, or anything else like that. Keep clean." Adam answered.

"Ok. I will. Thanks, Adam."

That Friday, Adam drove Guthrie to Ben's house. When they arrived, Guthrie sighed.

"Hey, remember what we talked about. The first sign of drugs or alcohol, you call me and I'll come get you. I'll be here at 9." Adam warned.

"Ok, Adam." Guthrie answered.

"Ok."

Guthrie got out of the jeep and saw his friends outside enjoying the party.

"Hey, guys." Guthrie said.

"You're here. I can't believe Adam let you out of the house." Ben chuckled.

"I'm 13 now. He's just trying to protect us."

"From what?"

Guthrie ignored the last comment and went to get some food. He grabbed some chips and sat down on the ground with his friends.

"DO you think Jenny will come?" Sarah wondered.

"No. Her family is in Sonora visiting friends." Guthrie answered.

"Her parents are so strict. They never let her do anything or go anywhere without them."

"Well, she is their only child. I understand why."

"I'm an only child and my parents let me go anywhere I want." David boasted.

"Yeah, but your parents didn't struggle for over a decade. Her's did." Guthrie answered.

"That's still not a good excuse"

"It's good enough for me."

His friends finished eating and then they got up leaving their empty plates and cups on the ground. Guthrie sighed and pulled out a marker from his back pocket and wrote his friends' names on their cups. Then he picked up the plates and threw them away.

"You didn't have to do that." Ben's mom said.

"No, ma'am. I have to. My big brother Adam expects me to be a gentleman and help whenever I can." Guthrie answered.

"Well, it's a comfort to see it. We've tried with Ben, but it hasn't been easy. His friends have made it hard. I wish he would learn from you."

"Well, I try to be a good example."

Guthrie walked over to where his friends were and saw that they were playing in the trees. Guthrie climbed up and sat on one of the branches.

"I put your names on your cups and put them on the table so no one would bump them." Guthrie said.

"Thanks." Ben answered. Then Ben handed something to David.

"What is that?"

"Something my parents don't know I have. It's really great."

"Its drugs isn't?"

"Nah. Just morphine."

"It's a drug and you know it. Put that away or else I'm going home."

"You're such a wimp."

Ben and David put the porphine away and they continued to play till it was time for cake and presents. Ben opened all of his presents and then blew out the 14 candles on his birthday cake. Everyone got a piece of cake and sat down on the ground and ate. It started to get dark and one by one, kids started going home. Ben grabbed his toys and went upstairs to play with them and David. Guthrie knew what was really going on, but he kept quiet.

"You can go up with them." Ben's father said.

"Nah, I'm good." Guthrie replied. "Need any help cleaning up?"

"Sure. We could use some help."

Guthrie smiled and he helped Ben's parents clean up. Several times, he wanted to tell them about Ben and David and the morphine, but he didn't want to be a snitch. When he was done, Ben's father handed him $10.

"For your help." He said.

"I can't take this. I was just doing what I was raised to do." Guthrie answered.

"Take it. You've gone above and beyond helping us. Adam will be proud of you."

"Ok."

Guthrie took the money and smiled. They heard a car honk and Guthrie looked and saw Adam.

"I have to go. Thank you for letting me help and for the cash." Guthrie thanked.

"Your welcome." Ben's father answered. Guthrie ran outside to the jeep and got in.

"How was it?" Adam wondered.

"It was ok. I spent most of the time playing with my friends. I helped Ben's parens clean up after the party though." Guthrie replied. "I got $10 for it."

"Good. Did Ben help?"

"No. He was upstairs with David playing. I didn't want to play."

Adam could tell Guthrie was hiding something and he sighed.

"I was 10 when I went to my first party. I enjoyed it, but there was an incident there. A kid brought marijuana and all the kids tried it." Adam started.

"But you didn't." Guthrie answered.

"Nope, I did."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I tried it thinking it was cool and all. I enjoyed it, until it started to wear off and then I wanted more. I needed more."

"What happened?"

"Well, mom and dad came. Mom was driving because it was when dad had hurt his back. He took one look at me and he knew something was wrong. He picked me up like I was a toddler and he carried me to the truck and let me rest my head on his shoulder."

"He didn't yell at you?"

"Nope. Mom and dad were never ones to raise their voices. We got home and since it was summer, dad sat down on the porch swing with me on his lap. I fell asleep to his calm steady breathing and when I woke, we were inside in the living room. I looked at him and I was ashamed of myself. He asked me why I was ashamed and I told him why. He asked me how the marijuana felt. I told him that it felt good until it started to wear off. Then he felt pretty crummy. He asked me if this was something I wanted to be a part of my life and I told him no. He nodded and then kissed my forehead. He said that he loved me so much and… I started crying. Maybe it was the remnants of the marijuana, but I cried good and hard and dad just held me."

"Maybe he knew that by saying he loved you, you would let go of the shame." Guthrie suggested.

"You're probably right. Mom heard me crying and she came downstairs and she rubbed my back and she got me a cup of water and a blanket. When I was done, I drank some water and dad told me that he knew one day, I'd try drugs and he wanted me to. Just to see how horrible it really is. He just thanked God that I did see how horrible it was. Then he told me that since I didn't like it, I needed to make sure that other kids were not pushed into that same situation. He told me if you see drugs, snitch. People are gonna hate you for it, but you'll be saving lives. If the person next to you really is your friend, they'll listen to you when you say stop. After that, I snitched." Adam explained.

"Is that why with Crane down, you didn't let us go to parties till we were 13?"

"Yep. And after each of your first parties, I told you this story. Brian down has heard it. I'm not ashamed of what happened because I learned from it. I learned a pretty good lesson from it."

"I saw Ben giving David morphine. I didn't want to snitch, but tomorrow, I'll confront them and if they don't stop, I'll tell their parents."

"Ok. If you need me, Guthrie. I'll have your back. I love you very much."

"Thanks."

I haven't been posting the way I wanted to because of family visiting, but I will try to post more.