The End of the Tunnel
Chapter 5
-Methamphetamine-
"The fear felt by another easily becomes a disease."
The boy opened his eyes after an hour and a half. It was immediately clear to the teacher that he was dazed. So, while he had the chance, he went over and knelt down beside him, looking over his eyes. The drug had long worn off; his pupils were of normal size (the only reason they were larger was because of the darkness, but in light they would retract; whereas they would remain enormous if still on the drug).
At least that meant the freshman was being logical while talking to him. He never actually seemed drugged during school hours, but that didn't mean he wasn't taking it at home or possibly a few hours before school started.
Daniel closed his eyes again and slowly moved one hand to brush his cheek.
"You weren't drooling, Daniel," the teacher said.
His eyes fluttered back open and looked at him.
"Mr. Lancer...?" he weakly mumbled. Then, quickly scanning the room, he jumped to his knees and backed away.
Suddenly the teacher saw insecurity and terror in the boy and made a gesture, slowly raising his hand as if to stop him from panicking.
"Daniel, please relax; I haven't uttered a word," he said evenly.
The boy's breath hitched just once, almost like a small hiccup, and he dryly replied, "A-About what?"
Lancer let out a slow breath. "Your actions were clear enough to give me the answer I wanted to my question about drug usage. You panicked after that and tried to run but you never even made it to the door. I told you prior to your...well, response that I would keep this between us and I will uphold that statement. I know you're not dangerous, Daniel; however, in light of the newly acquired knowledge that you're currently using an illegal substance, I will keep you under my strict watch, understand?"
Daniel nodded but the feelings of guilt and shame were still very much present in his eyes (aka, the window to the soul).
"You will not be expelled for this and I'll see to it that you aren't punished should your secret get out," the teacher continued. "In return, though, I would like you to answer one thing that body language can't tell me: what drug is it, or are there multiple ones?"
He allowed the boy to take several deep breaths to calm himself before answering, "I would really rather not say, sir. I...I never wanted you to know in the first place."
Lancer helped the freshman to his feet and said, "I'm quite aware that I had you backed into a corner. I can't physically force you to tell me, but I'm positive that someone else in your life would know about this. I can just as easily find out which person but that may arouse suspicion on your part. I would think it best if you told me instead of putting up another mask and telling me it's fine."
Daniel stared blankly for a moment before biting his lower lip. For several minutes he debated on telling the teacher, but thankfully decided to spare farfetched rumors and unnecessary drama to the rest of the school.
"Ecstasy...sir..." he croaked.
Lancer frowned, but this was the kind of answer he had been bracing himself for. After all, it could've been something worse, such as meth or heroine.
"MDMA?" he asked in order to gain proper clarification.
Hanging his head, Daniel nodded.
It did fit his behavior and the reason behind his skeletal frame. MDMA could cause loss of appetite, hence the boney figure. Another side effect was troubles with sleep, which explained why he couldn't get any rest (although it did scare him that Daniel's body actually had to force itself to shut down, if only for a relatively short time period).
The boy abruptly jerked his head up and slightly tilted it to the side.
Lancer waited patiently to see what he would do.
"What is that?" he asked, his voice serious.
The teacher listened carefully for any noise and looked around for any people or things...but found and heard nothing.
"It's been annoying me all week!" he said, frustration beginning to surface. "What is it?"
"What's what?"
The freshman ran a hand through his hair and replied, "That; it sounds like tiny footsteps. How can you not hear it?"
Lancer frowned and tried to listen for this mysterious noise his student kept talking about. But again, the room was completely silent. The idea that MDMA could be messing with his brain to an extent of psychological dysfunction pushed itself into his head. And as much as he didn't want to believe it...
He calmly walked away from the boy, who was now glaring at the wall, and turned on his computer screen. The web browser was still up. He typed in "mdma" and a slew of sites flooded the page.
He read the short summaries on each one and, upon reaching the sixth one, decided to click it. The site was brought up in a new tab and started out with the basics, like the common street names for MDMA (ecstasy, hug drug, beans, etc.) and its chemical composition. The first part of it was skipped as he scrolled down, having no such interest in the various names it was called or the complicated description of various other drugs that were similar to MDMA, but not the same.
As he scrolled down further and started on a new section, he began reading about the things he was truly wanting to learn about.
"MDMA is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic. It produces an energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences.
It exerts its primary effects in the brain on neurons that use chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays an important role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain.
Research in animals indicated that MDMA is neurotoxic; whether or not this is also true in humans is currently an area of investigation. MDMA can also be dangerous to health and, on rare occasions, lethal.
For some people, MDMA can be addictive. A survey of young adult and adolescent MDMA users found that 43 percent of those who reported MDMA use met the accepted diagnostic criteria for dependence, as evidenced by continued use despite knowledge of physical or psychological harm, withdrawal effects, and tolerance/diminished response, and 34 percent met the criteria for drug abuse. Almost 60 percent of people who use MDMA report withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue, loss of appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble concentrating.
EFFECTS OF MDMA USE:
Physical Effects: In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature, known as hyperthermia, resulting in liver, kidney, cardiovascular system failure, and death.
Because MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism, potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within short intervals.
Users of MDMA face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart disease, and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
Psychological Effects: These can include confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, and severe anxiety. These problems can occur during and for days or weeks after taking MDMA.
Neurotoxicity: Research in animals links MDMA exposure to long-term damage to neurons that are involved in mood, thinking, and judgment. A study in nonhuman primates showed that exposure to MDMA for only 4 days caused damage to serotonin nerve terminals that was evident 6 to 7 years later. While similar neurotoxicity has not been definitively shown in humans, the wealth of animal research indicating MDMA's damaging properties suggests that MDMA is not a safe drug for human consumption."
There was more to the site, such as possible drug impurity and the percentage of users per grade, but it gave him enough information already to realize the full extent of the dangers his student was already in.
Still, Lancer craved more knowledge about this. He closed the tab and searched for another website. The eighth one won the honor of being pulled up, this time not in a different tab. He began reading.
Again, there was the first part that needed to be skipped as it once more told the chemical structure and other similar drugs and whatnot that he could care less to know about. But it did prove useful when new information was added to his mental list.
"What does MDMA look like?
'Ecstasy' comes in a tablet form that is often imprinted with graphic designs or commercial logos.
How is it taken?
Ecstasy is usually swallowed in pill form, but can also be crushed and snorted, injected, or used in suppository form.
What are the effects of ecstasy?
It is known for its energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from physical experiences. The effect, per use, lasts from three to four hours. Its popularity grew in the late 1980s in the rave and club scenes and on college campuses because of its reputation for producing high energy and a 'trusting and opened' effect among those who take it.
What are the hazards of ecstasy?
Ecstasy produces problems similar to those found among amphetamines and cocaine. This can include:
-Psychological problems
-Confusion
-Depression
-Sleep problems
-Drug craving
-Severe anxiety
-Paranoia
-Psychotic episodes
The physical side effects that can occur while taking it can last for weeks. Users often experience muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills or sweating. MDMA is very dangerous for those individuals with circulatory or heart disease, because the drug increases the heart rate and blood pressure.
Is ecstasy addictive?
Almost 60% of people who use MDMA report withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue, loss of appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble concentrating."
The symptoms "depression", "severe anxiety", and "psychotic episodes" were both in blue print and underlined, indicating that there was a link attached. Lancer moved the cursor over "psychotic episodes" and clicked. The page changed from an overall information on MDMA to a yahoo answer.
"When a person has a psychotic episode, they lose contact with reality.
They may have false beliefs that are not based in reality (delusions). An example of this may be a person believing they are a reincarnation of a religious figure, such as Jesus.
They may hear, see, smell, taste or feel things that are not there (hallucinations). An example of this may be a person hearing a voice and voices laughing and talking, seeing people they once knew but are dead, smelling smoke, feeling something crawling on their skin, etc
Their thoughts and speech may be disordered.
Each individual goes through something different, and no episode is the same."
He then went back to the web browser and typed in "psychotic episode". Countless website links appeared. Once more he read through the summaries and once more decided on one. A different tab opened up with an intricate description.
"A psychotic episode is a period of psychosis that can last varying amounts of time. People in a psychotic episode can experience one or more of the following: hallucinations, thought disorder, and delusions. Hallucinations are sensory experiences that are not grounded in reality, such as hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, or smelling things that are not present.
One of the key characteristics of a psychotic episode is that the patient experiences a break with reality. People have difficulty separating hallucinations and delusions, believing them to be real, and they may also reject aspects of the real world. This can be traumatic for the patient and can make it difficult for people to communicate with the patient or provide assistance. Someone who genuinely believes that government agents are planning to attack, for example, may reject attempts at assistance, fearing enemy infiltration.
Psychotic episodes can be emotionally terrifying for the patient and and expose people to the risk of suicide and self harm."
The word "delusions" had a link attached. He clicked it and, on the same website, it brought up a new page.
"Sensory hallucinations are seeing or hearing things that aren't there, or seeing or hearing distorted images or sounds. In a way, sensory hallucinations are the brain's credible lies to the eyes or ears. Sensory hallucinations can also affect one's sense of touch, and may include feelings like bugs are crawling all over one's body. Hallucinations are believable, and can be very frightening for those undergoing them.
Common causes of sensory hallucinations are schizophrenia, PTSD, the manic stage of bipolar disorder and taking drugs with hallucinogenic properties, like LSD. Other prescribed medications like morphine can cause temporary sensory hallucinations. Sensory hallucinations may also occur when one is intoxicated or during withdrawal from alcoholism. High fevers, dementia, severe head injury, or serious illnesses like end stage kidney failure may cause sensory hallucinations. Long term use of some stimulants like cocaine and crack are also indicated in sensory hallucinations.
Most often, sensory hallucinations are transitory. Those experiencing them know afterwards that what they saw or heard was not real. In some cases, as with schizophrenia and dementia, people have difficulty distinguishing between what is real since sensory hallucinations are frequent.
Some sensory hallucinations involve seeing or hearing people or voices. This is most common with schizophrenia and dementia. Most other hallucinations involve seeing or hearing distortions of what is actually there. In a distorted hallucination, a person might look at a light bulb and see butterflies emanating from it. A person might hear a song and be convinced it was much slower or faster than actually was the case."
Lancer finally sat back in his chair and observed Daniel. He was still looking at the wall, his expression showing irritation. Wasn't it only last week that the boy had come in apologizing for tracking mud throughout the halls despite the fact that his shoes were completely dry and it hadn't been raining for a good eight days straight? And about four days earlier, he had been swatting at the air around his head, grumbling something incomprehensible. Two days ago he had been flicking invisible somethings off his books and blowing on his desk.
Those must've been psychotic episodes. Thankfully MDMA seemed to be a euphoric drug and probably wouldn't cause the boy to act threateningly. The worst it seemed to do, in terms of the psychotic episodes it created, was just an annoyance and nothing more; obviously nothing to enrage the freshman.
"It's not real, Daniel," he said, causing the boy to move his gaze from the wall and to his teacher.
A look of confusion soon spread across his face.
"What do you mean?" he asked. He then pointed toward the wall. "It's right there, clear as daylight!"
"It's not there. It's a hallucination," the teacher explained.
"I'm not crazy. Listen closer; it's in the wall."
Lancer did as the boy said, but only to appease him. Naturally, he heard nothing. There were no tiny footsteps running around the inside of the wall like he was told. There were no sounds at all, in fact, except for one person walking by outside the classroom. Those were the only footsteps to be heard and they weren't tiny.
"Daniel, do you hear these noises often?" he asked.
His student nodded in response and replied, "Yeah, all the time."
"What noises do you hear?"
"Well for one, those little footsteps have been bugging me all week long. But the noises are always different."
"And you haven't once thought that it might be a hallucination?"
The boy looked down for a second. "A lot of them are. I can't tell with some of them."
"Do you think I'm a hallucination?"
He shook his head. "No. Well...I don't think so. Are you?"
So then he did have doubts on whether he was seeing reality or not... That was either a good sign or a bad sign. It was good that he could tell the difference, but it was bad that he had trouble telling the difference. But Lancer had to remind himself that even though he wasn't talking like it, Daniel was still hearing the "tiny footsteps" (he kept glancing over to the wall every now and then), which meant that he was still in a psychotic episode. If Lancer didn't know about his student's drug problem, he would never have been able to tell that Daniel was hearing nonexistent noises, convinced for the time being that what he was hearing was real.
And if the facts on the websites were true, Daniel probably wouldn't want to accept help or even admit that it was a serious problem.
A/N
Wow. Already the fifth chapter. I was expecting this to be four at most but... Well, maybe it'll be a little longer after all. Hope everyone liked the fast(er) update.