was a bright idea since not all of them would fit into one.
Once they got back to Ronnie’s house, they were discussing the sleeping arrangements of the camping trip when Ronnie suddenly decided to change the date. “Guys, I know we planned on going next Saturday, but instead we’ll leave Tuesday.” said Ronnie. The guys were confused but still excited.
“Ronnie, I wanted to bring some money with me and get some of the good stuff to bring with us and I prob’ won’t be able to get it by Tuesday man. And if I don’t have my stuff you can count me out,” said Jason.
James, Ronnie, Tyson and Julian laughed. Ronnie decided he would buy all the paraphernalia Jason wanted for the trip and to forget about the money.
When they got inside James called out on Ronnie, “Bro, don’t you have class in the middle of next week?”
Then he replied, “Yeah but who cares? I don’t got time for that right now. I’m trying to make up for lost time with my boys and treat you guys. We’ve never had luxury before so let’s chill!”
Tuesday arrived and they went on their camping trip. The days flew by, and so did the money. Eventually Friday night came. The guys were smoking and drinking and Ronnie had just came back from taking a shower. Jokingly, the guys poked at him for being straight edge, as they did that every so often. Usually Ronnie responded dismissively, but not this time. Ronnie walked over to Julian and took the beer out of his hand. The guys just laughed and taunted him as he stood there. After about a minute, Ronnie cursed them out and chugged the whole can.
“Not bad”, he said. “Toss me another one." The night went on and Ronnie drifted the furthest away from sobriety that he had ever been. The guys got him so drunk that he even smoked with them. They all eventually passed out. In the morning, when they awoke, Ronnie had mixed emotions. He was proud that he experienced that part of life, but was also upset by how much he liked it. He knew that it was a matter of time before he became just like them. But he didn’t care, he told himself. Ronnie had the money to live life that way and that's what he would do from now on.
When they got home Ronnie was a different guy. He wasn’t always engaging in his friends’ reckless behavior, but when he did he went hard. After about three weeks, he dropped out of class and decided to relax. Being home with the guys everyday made him a new member of the lives of the rest of the guys. The dynamic of their clique changed with the changes within Ronnie. They began constantly smoking and drinking, and even going to parties hosted by the snobbiest and richest kids in the town. Eventually they started getting in trouble with the law. Everyone except Ronnie and James had encountered drug-related problems at school, but since they were a few years younger they never dealt with legal consequences in the court system.
Ronnie was going to purchase some marijuana when a cop pulled up. Ronnie got arrested.
As the cop put the handcuffs around his wrists, he realized that he was disappointed in himself. He knew that thi