A Great Escape

       One day, my friends invited me to an all-night party. These were new friends of mine and I wanted them to like me very much. They were all older than me. One or two of them were even working. I knew my parents would never let me stay out all night, especially at an adult party. I asked them anyway. They replied, “ You’re only sixteen. You don’t understand the dangers of drugs , alcohol and such things at there parties.” they were real spoilsports.

       In desperation, my friend Cheng and I decided to bluff them. I told them I was staying at Cheng’s house. Cheng’s parents were friends with mine. That night, I did go to Cheng’s house. Cheng told his parents he was staying at my place. Then. We silently left together for the party.

      It was a wild party with loud, blaring music, wild dancers and plenty of liquor. It seemed that everyone was drinking at the party. Cheng and I refused to drink. We were just there to check things out. My friends laughed at us but we knew our parents would kill us if they found out the truth.

      The party was fun. Cheng and I were on the dance floor for hours. Then, one of the men called us out. “ I want you to try something, ”he said. “ It will make you dance forever. It will give you lots of energy and you will never feel tired. In fact, you can stay out dancing all night and then go home and study for hours. It’s a magic pill. Go ahead -- try one. I’m giving it to you for free because you are my friends.” He held out two pills.

       Instinctively, we knew what those pills were. We were not stupid. They were ecstasy drugs -- pure drugs. We shook our heads. “ No, thanks,” we said. At first, the men tried to persuade us. When that failed, they got angry. They tried to force us to take it. Cheng and I felt really frightened.  The men were beginning to pissed off and had a really nasty look on their face. All at once, they began to crowd upon us. “ Take it, take it! ” they said.

        At that moment, I regretted lying to my parents and not listening to their advice. I wished I could turn the clock back to before the party. It didn’t sound fun anymore.

        Cheng and I looked at each other and then run as fast as we could out of the party house. We were petrified. All we could think of was to get away from there. A couple of men began to chase us. Suddenly, a car screeched to a stop ahead of us. It was my father’s car. Cheng’s father got out and opened the door. “ Get in! ” We drove off. My father called the police and they raided the party. I found out later that almost every party-goer  there was a drug user. We had been lucky to escape.

         Cheng and I had a long talk with our parents. Cheng’s parents had called mine and then discovered that we had tricked them. They rang up other friends and managed to find out where we were. To our surprise, they seemed to understand how we felt about freedom and independence but they did scold us. We apologized for both lying to them and for acting like idiots.

         Nowadays, I get along better with my family. I will never forget that when I truly needed him, my father had been there to rescue me.

The Photograph

          One day, I was all alone in the house. My parents had taken my siblings off  to visit my grandparents. I had refused to go as there had been a quarrel and my parents had left the house, fuming with anger. I didn’t care. I didn’t get along with my grandparents. I felt like they never understood me. They just nag at everything I do or say. I just wanted to be left alone.
         
            There was blessed peace in the house but I felt a nagging guilt inside. I loved my grandparents. They would have been very disappointed that I hadn’t come. Why didn’t I go ? It was just stubbornness on my part.

             After a while, the phone rang with a message for my father. I went to a drawer to take out a piece of paper to write down the message. Later, when I went to close the drawer completely, I saw something stuck inside. I pulled it out. It was a photograph. I was clinging on to my mother and my father was hugging us both. My uncle had taken it when I was nine years old. I remembered the incident very well.

             I was playing outside my house. My mother was sweeping the porch. My father and uncle were inside the house. All at once, a pack of stray dogs came rushing at me. I screamed. My mother, on seeing what was happening, grabbed her broom and ran at me. I hugged her hard, screaming and crying. My mother shouted and waved her broom threateningly at the dogs. They backed away but refused to leave. They snarled. They were ready to jump at us at anytime. My mother was like a fierce guardian angel. She never let me go. Her eyes never left the dogs. She yelled at them. By that time, my father and uncle rushed out of the house. They shouted at the dogs and threw water at them. Looking confused, the dogs ran away.

               I clung to my mother, weeping hard. My mother hugged me back as tight as she could and my father embrace us both. I must have clung on for a long time, enough time for my uncle to take the photograph.

               I had a fever that night. My parents never seem to left my bedside. As I remembered, a wave of love rushed over me. I began to remember many other incidents where my parents had shown love and care towards me.

              I went to the refrigerator to get a drink. There I saw a plate of snacks for me. There was a note stuck to the refrigerator, informing me there was a hot meal in the microwave oven. I sat down. I realized that my parents were still thoughtful and worried about me despite everything.

              I went to the telephone and called my grandparents. My parents had not arrived yet. “ I’m taking the bus to your place. Grandpa,” I told him. “ I want to spend the time with my family. Tell my parents I will be there soon.”