Warning: This chapter contains drug use.
On a cold Thursday night in November, 15 years-old Mike was laying on his bed, listening to some music. His day had been easy. He had a test in the morning, but his eidetic memory had been enough for him to master the test. Days in high school were long and boring, but, fortunately, he had Trevor and Jenny to keep him company. He didn't have to do homework or study for tests. That made a lot of other students jealous, but his friends were always there for him. It helped that they could cheat on him occasionally when they hadn't had time to study.
Mike was half-asleep when Jessica barged into his room. Mike was immediately woken up. He sat up straight on his bed.
When he was a child, he had a strong relationship with Jessica. She was always there for him and they did plenty of activities together. But as he grew, Jessica found herself busier with her work as managing partner and had less time for her adoptive son. That led to a few arguments between the two of them. After a particularly heated argument last week where both said things they regretted, they weren't much on talking terms.
"I need to go out to dinner with a client tonight" she told Mike. "Will you be alright or you want me to call your father?" she asked.
Mike rolled his eyes. Jessica was always at a meeting or a dinner with someone. It was like everyone was more important than Mike.
Jessica, seeing this, felt anger rising inside her. Her relation with Mike was worsening and she was trying to keep things healthy between the two of them, but it wasn't easy.
Mike lived 24/7 at her house. Since he was 12, Mike didn't spend a lot of time at his father's. His things were at Jessica's, and Harvey's condo was smaller than Jessica's big house. That meant Jessica was with Mike most of time and she was left with the unpleasant parenting stuff: the grounding, checking his curfew and who he was spending time with.
"Mike, I know we don't see eye-to-eye these days, but you know I want to spend time with you. It's just a little more difficult at the firm." Jessica tried to explain to her son. She was having a hard-time as the only managing-partner since Hardman left to 'take care of his sick wife'.
Mike just wanted her to leave him alone. He didn't want to talk about his feelings to his mother. "It's okay, Mom. I'll manage on my own."
"No, I can see you're hurting. We can do something this week-end to catch up." Jessica told him. She wanted to make things right with her son.
This was the last straw for Mike. "I have my debate with the debate club this week-end!" Mike told her, angrily. "You promised you wouldn't forget and you would be there with dad!" Her son couldn't believe it. It was the only thing he had asked of her.
"Of course, I'm sorry, Mike. I'll be there, I promise." Jessica told him quickly. She knew she had made a mistake.
But Mike didn't want to hear it anymore. He quickly got up from his bed and grabbed his backpack. He didn't want to spend another minute with Jessica.
"Where are you going?" she asked her son.
"I'm going to Dad's." he told her while leaving his room. She was quick to follow him.
"Mike, we need to talk about this."
"I have nothing to say to you" if Mike was honest with himself, he had to admit he had been rude to his mother. But the anger he felt was incomparable to her feelings. Mike finally reached the door handle of the front door and swiftly swung it open.
"Mike, wait" he heard Jessica called after him. But Mike didn't listen and forcefully closed the door behind him. He took his bike and started to bike his way to Harvey's. Knowing the way by heart, it took less than 10 minutes to reach his father's condo.
On the way there, Mike couldn't help but wonder how Jessica had managed to forget about his important debate. It was the first debate between different schools he would participate in. He was beyond excited about it and had reminded both Harvey and Jessica multiple times.
Arriving at Harvey's condo, Mike parked his bike on the rack Harvey had someone install just for Mike. The teenager greeted the doorman and headed straight for the elevator. Pushing the button for the fourteenth floor, he waited on the metal box, still fuming inside. His mother didn't seem to stop disappointing him these days.
It wasn't long before Mike stood in front of Harvey's front door. It was locked, unsurprisingly since his father didn't know Mike was coming. Picking his spare key, Mike unlocked the door. Upon entering the condo, Mike heard someone tumbling and a few curse words in the living room. The teenager dropped his backpack on the ground and went to explore what was happening.
"Who's there?" Mike heard his dad shout from the living room. He seemed a little out of breath.
"It's me, Dad" Mike called. He slowly made his way to the living room.
When the younger man entered the room, he immediately covered his eyes with his hands. Standing in front of him, his dad was shirtless and rummaging around trying to find his lost shirt. Sitting on the couch, a pretty woman with long brown hair was trying to cover herself with a blanket.
"Mike, what are you doing here?" Harvey asked, sounding almost angry at his son, still looking for his shirt.
"I got into a fight with Mom, I was hoping I could stay here for a few days." Mike said, his eyes still covered. If he had known his dad was getting laid, he would have stayed at his mom's.
"You should have called" Harvey said "I was busy"
"Obviously" Mike muttered under his breath. The teenager heard his father had stopped moving around and Mike uncovered his eyes. His father was standing there completely dressed along with his lady friend. "I didn't know I needed to call every time I wanted to come. I thought you said this was my home too" Mike said, disappointed in his father.
"Well, Mike, you can't always have what you want." Harvey said. "I have a life outside of you. Now, you're a big boy. You can't always come running here when you have trouble with your mother. Now, can I do something for you?" His father said, quite rudely.
Mike couldn't believe his father was talking to him like that. "No" he managed to say, trying not to sound too shaken by his father's rudeness.
Harvey turned to the woman on his couch "Scottie, why don't we go and take a drink while Mike gets settle in his room." He suggested.
Once more, Mike felt disappointment. Harvey seemed like he couldn't care less about him. More than that, Mike felt anger towards his parents. "No need, I'll let you guys alone. I'm going to Trevor's" he said.
Harvey looked at him with a murderous look. Mike knew his father hated Trevor and wanted Mike as far away as possible and that, since they were kids. Harvey was always telling his son how much his friend was a bad influence. Hanging out with Trevor would be the best way to piss off Harvey.
Without hearing what his father had to say on the matter, Mike turned around, grabbed his backpack and left Harvey's condo building. If Mike had been more attentive, he would have noticed the half-empty bottle of scotch on Harvey's kitchen table. He would have also noticed the slur in his voice. His father was a little beyond tipsy and that was why he was acting like that toward Mike. He hadn't meant to be rude to his son or to seem as if he didn't care about him. As for Jessica, she had a lot of pressure on her shoulders and if she had checked her agenda, she would have seen she had taken the week-end off for Mike's debate and she wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Mike got on his bike and biked his way to Trevor's. He knew his friend was home and he wouldn't mind Mike staying for a few hours until he calmed down.
Mike knocked on the front door to Trevor's house and his mother almost immediately answered. She had aged since Mike had met her and she also changed a lot. Her husband had left her for a younger woman three years prior and it really affected her. She couldn't seem to be able to keep her job and she had trouble with gambling. Nevertheless, she loved her son and Mike was always welcome to her house.
"Hey Mike" she greeted "Trevor didn't tell me you were visiting us today"
"I got into a fight with my parents" Mike explained "I was hoping I can stay for a few hours"
"Of course," Trevor's mother answered. Even with all of her problems, she always had one of the biggest heart Mike knew. She moved herself to let Mike enter her house. The teenager didn't need a map to know where Trevor's room was. He climbed the stairs to the second floor.
When Mike entered Trevor's room -without knocking-, his friend was sprawled on his bed, reading a Sports Illustrated magazine. Hearing his door open, Trevor looked up and was surprised to see his friend in front of him.
"Hey man" he greeted. Trevor was used to the fights between Mike and his parents and every time it happened; his friend found his way to his house.
"Can I hang out for a while?" Mike asked.
Trevor didn't need to answered and just made some space on the bed for Mike, tossing him another magazine. The two teenagers read their respective magazine until Trevor's mom entered his room.
"I'm going out tonight. Will you boys be alright?" the teenagers knew she was about to spend her paycheck at the casino but neither said anything.
"No, we'll be fine" Trevor said.
As soon as they heard the front door open and close, signaling them of Trevor's mom departure, Trevor put down his magazine and searched for something inside his backpack. Curious, Mike took a look at his friend to try and find what he was doing. It took a few seconds, but Trevor finally got a small metal box out of his bag to show it to Mike.
"Look what I bought with the money my dad gave me last week" the teenager said as he showed Mike the metal box.
Mike was weary to open the box. Trevor always came up with some dubious ideas and this seemed like one of them.
Finally opening the box, Mike was taken aback by what he found. In the box, he found three perfectly rolled joints. Never in his short life Mike had been this close to marijuana. He had seen some on a documentary on TV, but he never touched any of it.
"Where did you get this?" Mike asked, shocked.
"The coffee cart guy" Trevor answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He reached for the box and took a joint. Out of no where, he took a lighter out and lit the joint. Mike was hit with the smell. Trevor took the joint to his lips and breathed in. Clearly, he was used to it.
Soon, Trevor remembered he had a guest with him passed Mike the joint for him to take a puff.
"I don't smoke, Trev" Mike said. His parents had always forbidden him to smoke and warned him of the consequences of pot.
"No big deal, man" his friend told him but didn't extinguish his smoke.
Mike spent the next few moments watching his friend smoke in an awkward silence. Trevor didn't seem affected by his friend's reluctance to pot.
A little over 5 minutes later, Trevor had smoke half of his joint and Mike could already see changes in his friend's behavior. His muscles were less tense and he seemed to be light-headed.
The arguments with his parents came back to his mind, angering him. He wanted to make them angry like he had been angry hours ago.
Slowly, Mike reached out to the joint. With a smirk on his lips, Trevor gladly passed it to him. Awkwardly, Mike put the joint to his lips like he had seen on TV and breath in. Smoke invaded his lungs and Mike could not helped it, he coughed it immediately. He definitely did not look cool like it did in the movies. Trevor laughed at his friend's inexperience.
Mike debated in his head to know if he would try it again or leave it like that. Trevor saw his hesitation. "Come on, man. The first time is always the hardest. Try it again" he encouraged.
Mike slowly brought the joint to his lips for the second time. This time, he took a smaller puff and it went smoothly. The taste wasn't particularly good but Mike could guess knew why people smoke. Even with the few amount of marijuana he had in his body, Mike felt as if his brain had shut down. It was quieter in his brain. No words he had read would pop out unexpectedly. In a sense, Mike felt free of his brain.
Mike took one last puff before tossed it back to Trevor and let himself enjoy the effect. He felt as if, for the first time in his life, he could see clearly. His genius brain was a gift, but, in a sense, it was also a curse. He could remember every single word he had read in his life and it created a fog behind his eyes. With the pot, the fog was gone.
Mike could not remember the last time he had felt this euphoric. He felt as if he was invincible and nothing could stop him.
The joint was passed back and forth between Mike and Trevor until nothing was left. Both teenagers savoured their highs. They stared at nothing with a stupid smile on their faces.
Neither boys knew how long it took before they were brought back to the real life. They were 'woken up' by a knock on the door. They were quick to sit straight on the bed. No one could know what they had done.
Mike turned to his friend "Were you expecting someone?" he asked.
"No" answered Trevor as he went to his window with a view of the street. Mike joined him. Outside, both boys quickly spotted Jessica's shiny black Astin Martin. Mike gritted his teeth. Of course, she knew where he was, Harvey must have told her.
The teenagers waited a moment to see if she would give up and go home. But their hopes were shattered when another knock followed the first one. But this time, it was firmer and stronger. Definitely not Jessica. Harvey had followed her to Trevor's house.
Mike's cellphone rang inside his pocket and with a brief look at it, and saw his mother calling him. With a sigh, Mike hit ignore but he soon received an angry text from his father: "I know you are inside the house; we can see your bike. Answer us"
Mike didn't have any choice but to comply. Slowly, he made his way down the stairs, thinking of a way to hide the fact that he had just smoke a joint. Trevor was not far behind him. Mike came up with the brilliant idea to act as if nothing was wrong, his parents would not notice anything.
Mike opened the front door to reveal two angry and worried parents. "Hey guys" he said with a sheepish smile.
Immediately, Harvey and Jessica picked up the weird behavior with their son. "What happened?" Harvey asked, his voice, stern.
Mike visibly blanched before them. They knew he had done something and he would be grounded forever.
Jessica did not wait for an invitation and entered the house. Something smelled funny. Harvey followed right behind her.
"What are you doing?" Mike asked, afraid they'll know what the teenagers had been doing in Trevor's room.
"Just checking on you" was Harvey's brief answer as he looked around the room.
Mike could feel himself getting more anxious. At the time, it seemed like a bright idea to anger his parents but having them in front of him, he was not so sure about his decision.
Jessica and Harvey maybe were not as young as Mike, but they still knew what pot smelt like. And it definitely smelled like pot inside Trevor's house. But they did not want to put the blame on their teenager just yet. Like the good lawyers they were, they knew they needed proof of it.
Without asking, the parents climbed the stairs of Trevor's house. If they had to find proof of their son's misbehavior, they would find it in Trevor's room. The two teenagers followed them, thinking of a way to make them look else where without looking guilty.
The adults guessed which room was Trevor's and entered it. Sure enough, the smell was definitely stronger there. Harvey and Jessica did not have to look for a long time to find the metal box with the remaining joints inside; it was on Trevor's bed. Both parents turned toward their son.
"You smoked pot?" Jessica asked, knowing full well the answer.
"Well…" Mike was trying to find an answer that would satisfy them.
"Do not think of lying" Harvey added. No one hated lies more than Mike's adoptive father.
"Well, it was there" It was all Mike could say in his defense.
Jessica and Harvey could not believe their ears. Mike had just admitted to smoking pot and they knew Mike knew about the consequences of drugs.
First, they had to get Mike out of Trevor's house. His friend was, as always, bad news. Mike's answers to their questions would be different whether Trevor was there or not.
"Mike, go inside the car with Jessica and do not do something funny. You are in enough trouble." Harvey instructed. His son didn't waste any time and followed Jessica outside, leaving Harvey with Trevor.
As soon as his son was out of sight, Harvey turned toward Trevor, an angry look on his face.
"Trevor, what were you thinking? You could have gotten in much more trouble" Harvey tried to put some senses in the teenager's head.
"No big deal, we were just having fun." Trevor said nonchalantly. Harvey never liked Trevor and the feeling was reciprocal.
"Yeah, well, try to keep my son out of your stupid ideas." Harvey said, turning on his heels and leaving. It was not like he could ground Trevor; he was not his parent. And knowing Trevor's mother, she could not care less if her son were in all kind of illegal activities.
Once outside, Harvey saw Mike in the backseat of the car just beside his adoptive mother. They had left a space beside them for him. Once he got inside, Harvey instructed the driver to take them to Jessica's place.
No one dared to speak inside the vehicle. Mike knew he messed up big time. On Trevor's bed, all he could think about was to anger his parents. But seeing them really angry was a whole other story. But the teenager knew his parents were more than angry; they were disappointed too. And maybe, that was saddened him the most.
The drive back to Jessica's house wasn't long. Jessica and Mike got out, and, as expected, Harvey didn't go back to his condo and got out as well. Once inside, Mike just wanted to run to his room and hide forever. But Harvey didn't let him the chance to run and ordered him to sit at the table. Both of his parents sat in front of him.
"Mike…" Jessica started, but Harvey cut her.
"What were you thinking?" he barked. He didn't wait for his son to answer him and continued to talk. "You always talk about how you want to go to Harvard. Do you really think fooling around will get you far? What if you become addicted to that stuff? You'll ruin your life."
Mike honestly did not know what to answer. He didn't think that far when he accepted the joint from Trevor.
"And you really think Trevor is a good friend? I've always told you he was an anchor and he would drag you down."
That was it for Mike "Well, at least, Trevor cares about me" he snapped.
Jessica and Harvey knew what he was talking about. Forgetting about his important debate and not letting him inside the condo.
"Honey" Jessica started "we're very sorry. We didn't mean to do those things to you." Harvey nodded his head beside her.
Mike had trouble believing them. All he wanted was for his parents to be more present.
Harvey then got something out of his pocket. It was a brochure. "My father threatened to send me there when I was acting up back in my teenage years. I was thinking about it and I think it would be beneficial for you to go. You really need to cut Trevor out of your life and this would be the easiest way to do it"
Mike picked up the brochure and saw it was for an all-boy pensionary. "You're not serious, right?" Mike exclaimed. He always had been serious about his studies and he was rarely in trouble.
"Mike, we know your true potential. We know you can go far in life if you work for it. But hanging out with people with a bad influence on you will only bring you down" Jessica tried to explain.
"Well, the way I see it you want to get rid of me because you think it's too difficult to raise a child" Mike said. Gone was the guilt, Mike was now furious. He could not believe his parents.
"This is not it and you know it." It was Harvey's turn to explain. "We came to the conclusion that some things needed to change. And that start with cutting Trevor out of your life. Of course, we don't want to send you away, but if it comes to this, we will have to."
"Let's make a deal," Jessica said, "we will forget everything that has happened today if you stop hanging out with Trevor." Jessica knew her son's next argument so she continued: "you have plenty of friends, you hang out with Rachel and Harold in the debate club." As she talked, Jessica took the brochure in her hands and, to show the truthfulness of her words, she teared the paper.
Mike seemed to think about it for a second, but he soon found himself nodding. Cutting Trevor off of his life would be hard, but he could not picture himself going to an all-boy pensionary.
Jessica and Harvey grinned at their victory. All they wanted was for their son to be happy and successful and Trevor, from their childhood, had been bad news.
Jessica was the first to stand up and offer Mike a hug. She never wanted to send him away. She would miss him too much. Harvey joined the hug and they were starting to feel like a family again.
"What about a hot cocoa and a movie?" Harvey suggested.