Author's Note: I'm really, really, really sorry I haven't updated in awhile. But my computer's been down, but now I'm in summer break, so I'm hoping to update this story every couple of days now.

Chapter Ten

Just Say No

TJ had wanted to skip school when Monday rolled around to be with Spinelli in the hospital. But, his mom and dad, not to mention Spinelli's mom and dad didn't think it was a good idea. They said it would be better for Spinelli if everybody else just got back to their normal routine. The doctor's had said that Spinelli would be out of the hospital on Thursday at the latest and she could then start school again the following week on Wednesday. The school had discussed it and said since the blindness might only be temporarily that Spinelli could come back to the school and they could adapt the classroom environment for her, but they also had said, if her blindness proved to be more than temporary then they'd have to switch her over to a nearby school that had both people that needed environment adaptations and others who didn't. But TJ knew that if that happened than Spinelli would feel left out more from society than she already was for having to leave her friends.

So, TJ, Gus, Mikey, and Gretchen were now gathered around the lockers, discussing anything but what had happened Friday night. All of a sudden, they heard a voice over the loud speaker, that said that instead of assembling in their first hour classes the whole school would immediately move to the auditorium. But, that those who were thinking of skipping the assembly, they would have to report to their first hour teacher before sitting down. The group didn't pay much attention to the announcement, about once out of every two months the principal called everybody to the auditorium to discuss what he thought was wrong with the school, and after a party like Friday night's it wasn't a surprise to anybody that he was calling one now.

When the bell rang the four followed the crowd to the auditorium and reported into their first hour teachers. They then sat down, waiting for the principal to speak and enchant them all into a dull sleep with his normally boring words. TJ knew that he would soon drift off into space and think of Spinelli when the principal started talking, but when the curtain on the stage of the auditorium opened, there wasn't the principal on the other side, instead there was a cardboard replica of Senor Fusion and the actor who had played Senor Fusion in the live action movie standing there, along with another speaker, who looked to the crowd like a successful businessman of some sort.

"Hello students," the speaker greeted, nodding to all of them, "I heard from your principal that you guys have been having some sorts of alcohol problem in your school. So, I have decided to come and speak to you, but I now how bored young people get listening to people like me ramble on and on, so I'm gonna let the young, talented Mike Frecely, or better known as Senor Fusion relate to all of you his story."

"Hi," Mike Frecely said nervously as he stepped forward, "I know that being a big movie star and all I should be used to talking to people, but I still get really nervous standing in front of people. So, I got this call from my agent who said he had this really good idea for how I can relate my story about my uses of alcohol and some drugs, by telling the young high school students. At first I was a bit weary, but I finally caved and you guys are my first high school to say anything to at all. So, you're just gonna have to bear with me."

"You guys may or may not know me as Senor Fusion from the live-action movie that came out a couple of years ago," Mike said, gesturing to the Senor Fusion cardboard cut-out, "But, I wasn't always cut out to play the role of a superhero. When I was in high school, about seventeen I had this girlfriend and she loved to party, I mean, every weekend we'd go to a party and stay until three or four in the morning, if the police didn't break it up. That's where I got my first drink, my first smoke of pot, and that's where I got hooked. I would like to say it was because I was neglected, my parents didn't love me, anything like that, or even the exact opposite, that I was under too much stress to handle it all and this was my only escape, I was too burdened by schoolwork. But, actually, it was neither of the two, it came out of a single factor that I sometimes regret even using as an excuse: boredom. Those parties were the most boring things in my life, of course the people actually drinking had a blast, but for those of us who were sober enough to see what was happening, it was boring, not to mention sickening."

"So, on this particular night when I took my first drink I had been looking for my girlfriend, hoping to convince her we could leave the party and she could find another one. I slowly walked through all the rooms, making sure she wasn't passed out on the floor or anything. But when I got to the room where she was at, I wasn't expecting what I saw, she was kissing another guy. And they looked like they had both been drinking, so I turned around to leave when a girl came up behind me and handed me a beer. I looked at her and with a shrug she informed me that I looked bored. So, I took a drink, and another. Then, somebody brought in the pot. My judgment was already impaired, so I took some of the pot too."

"At first, my drinking was just social, you know, some drinks here or there, but then I realized I was becoming hooked the first night I got totally drunk. The next day I swore to myself I would never drink at one of these parties again. Then, that very night I went out and I drank myself under the table. I cleaned myself up before my parent's noticed anything. But, I continued to drink compulsively for a year until the day that I was thrown in prison. I was thrown in prison for armed robbery. Yet, I didn't get convicted, I was found not guilty. Then I straightened my life up, went back to school, made good friends, even got to play Senor Fusion in the movie."

"Until the one day that I ran into my old girlfriend from high school. We had broken up about a year before I saw her again. She casually invited me to a party, a party I knew I should've avoided from the start, but I went anyways. I went to the party, and I saw her there after having only a few beers, and we started to make-out, as if nothing had ever changed between us. Then a big guy came and hit me. It was so unreal to me, like I was just a spectator. She calmly told him to go away, but he started yelling at her, and then I asked her who that guy was, already knowing the answer. It was her husband. I quickly left as soon as I could, but I knew things weren't looking good. The next day I heard about her death. She had been beat to death by her husband, and it looked as if he was coming after me."

"The media scandalized me. They hated me. And loved me all at once. I was a Hollywood sob story. Then, one day her husband found me, and I almost died, if it hadn't been for my agent being there, stopping the man, I would have died. Problems with alcohol, problems with any drug can lead to so many bad things, and as I understand it led to a car wreck here last Friday night. A wreck that resulted in the death of one of your best students here at this high school. I want to apologize for everything. And I also want to apologize for being one of those drunks, one of those drunks who kills others, and sees the consequences after it's too late. So, in my final words, I would like to make two statements, this young man, the one who caused the accident, has been very wrong and misled in his life, but he needs people there for him, needs people to care for him, in the real world things aren't always as black and white, villainous and good, as in Senor Fusion world. Secondly, I would like to leave you with a phrase to apply to all drug use, a phrase used many times in the course of the years, just say no."

With that the curtain went down and the student body remained in stunned silence. Suddenly, they heard the principal yell for everybody to move onto their second hour classes. Gus, Mikey, TJ, and Gretchen slowly stood up.

"What I'm wondering," Gretchen said, "Is how they through this together so quick?"

"It wasn't that hard," they heard behind them, they turned to see a very white, whiter than usual Menlo.

"How?" TJ simply asked.

"Well, first, they heard about it, and called the society who runs it, who valued King Bob as one of their key spokespersons, he didn't drink at all and he spoke out against drinking, so they decided to send their best and brightest as soon as they could, and they got here," Menlo said. Gretchen gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "I shoulda never had that party. It was awful, when I heard of King Bob's death, Spinelli's blindness, all of it, I knew it was my fault. Sure Lawson crashed the car, but he wouldn't have had a place to get drunk and a way to crash the car without my party. Without my alcohol."

"It's ok Menlo," Gretchen tried to assure him, "It wasn't your fault. If he wouldn't have got there, I'm sure Lawson would have found another party to get drunk at."

Menlo still had a sad look on his face. And TJ knew what he must be thinking, because TJ was feeling it himself. Spinelli would have stopped Lawson from going to any other party, Menlo's was the first party she had been to all year that wasn't school sponsored. Maybe Spinelli shouldn't have come to this one either, she should've just said no when Menlo had invited the entire class.