All characters are over the age of 18. All relationships are between consenting adults.
Chapter 1
The bell rang and classes were finally over. It was the day before winter break, and school would be on hiatus for two weeks.
"How did you do on your exam?" Said Andy.
"I did terrible. My mom is going to kill me when I get home." Responded Harry.
"Damn dude, that sucks. Did you study at all?"
"Not really. I'm probably going to have to start taking things more seriously. I've been playing way too many video games."
"Yeah, dude, college is coming up. Did you even apply anywhere yet?"
"No, I'm trying to get my grades up before applying, but fuck, it's not working. My mom's going to be so pissed."
Harry's mother, Jessica, was always incredibly strict with her son. She was a successful lawyer in her own right and expected great things from her son. But Harry was a slacker and had been for as long as he could remember. His father left the house a few years ago, which made his mother extra hard on him.
"Sorry about your mom, buddy. There are a bunch of parties around town, you want to check them out with me?"
"No, I can't. My mom's expecting me home right after school."
"You're going to miss out on the party of the century."
"That's a shame, but yeah, my mom told me to come home, so I better listen to her."
"Alright buddy, good luck at home. Let me know if you can make it out tonight."
"Thanks Andy, see ya later."
Harry walked away and started heading towards his house. It was a 15-minute walk home. As he approached, he saw his mother's car in the driveway.
'Shit, she's home.' He thought to himself.
"Hey, Honey. How was school today?" Jessica asked as Harry walked into the kitchen.
"It was fine." Harry took off his book bag, and hung it in the closet, then took off his coat. "I got some bad news on an exam though."
"Well, what happened this time?" Harry's mom was sitting at the kitchen table. She was wearing a pant suit, her curly blonde hair tied back in a tight bun. She was a curvy woman with a big chest and wide hips which made her quite intimidating.
"I didn't do well on the test. I need to study more."
"God dammit, Harry, how many times do we have to go over this?" Jessica yelled at him. "If you would just apply yourself, you would do well. But you are playing video games in your room, or hanging out with your friends instead. This isn't good enough, Harry."
"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm really going to try to do better. I promise."
"Well, it's a little too late for that, don't you think? Last weekend you spent all day playing your game. Why weren't you studying then?"
Harry hung his head in shame. His mother was right, and he knew it.
"I'm sorry. I'll do better. I promise."
"Sorry isn't good enough, Harry. Your grades have been slipping ever since your father left. I've had to work twice as hard to cover for him, and this is the thanks I get?"
Harry was taken aback by his mother's words. She'd never talked to him like this before.
"I'm sorry, mom."
"Enough, Harry, I've heard enough of your apologies. You're grounded!"
"Mom, that's not fair! There are all these winter break parties tonight. Can I please go to one?"
"No. I can't trust you. You're grounded for the entire break. Now, get upstairs and think about how you can start applying yourself more to your studies. You need to do better in school. You need to get into a good school!"
"That's not fair!"
"Get upstairs. Now!"
Harry knew there was no arguing with his mother. He reluctantly turned and started making his way towards the stairs.
"And take your backpack with you."
Harry grabbed his bag and went upstairs.
Jessica sighed.
"What am I going to do with him?" She asked herself.
Upstairs Harry lay in bed. 'Fuck, I can't believe I'm grounded for the entire break. This is bullshit!' He thought.
He pulled out his phone and sent a text message to his friend Andy.
'Dude, my mom just grounded me for the whole break!'
'That sucks dude. Over one exam?'
'Yeah, I really fucked up.'
'That blows.'
'Yeah, so now I'm stuck here tonight. I'm going to miss all the parties.'
'That's a shame dude. There are going to be tons of girls. I'm finally going to get laid tonight.'
Harry was still a virgin too. He was really looking forward to getting drunk and hooking up with a girl at one of the parties. Harry was fairly tall and in shape. He had been on the track team his entire time in high school. He worked out regularly, but he was never confident with girls. He also was a bit of a nerd, and usually spent the weekend playing video games online.
'Yeah, well, have fun. I'll see you when break is over, I guess. Good luck, man.'
'Dude, why can't you just sneak out?"
'My mom is crazy, dude. She'll know if I leave. She has a sixth sense or something.'
'Just say fuck it and sneak out. She can't ground you forever, can she?'
Harry thought to himself. 'You know what, I'm already grounded. It can't possibly get worse. Maybe I can get laid, and then I won't even care if I'm grounded for the rest of the year.'
'Okay, you convinced me. I'm going to sneak out.'
'Awesome! But don't get caught. Your mom's a scary lady.'
'Haha, yeah, I'll try not to.'
That night at 11pm Harry heard his mom turn off the lights in her bedroom. He waited another hour before he was sure she was asleep.
He slowly got out of bed and crept towards the window. He gently opened it, being careful not to make any noise. He stuck his head out the window and looked down. There was a small tree with some branches near his window. He decided it was his best shot at getting to the ground.
Harry carefully climbed out of the window and onto the branch. He was scared that it would break, but it held his weight. He climbed down the tree and jumped to the ground. He took one last look at the house before he took off running.
He arrived at the party an hour later. It was the house of one of his high school friends, whose parents had gone away on vacation. There was loud music playing and lots of girls and boys dancing, drinking and smoking.
"There he is!" Andy called out as Harry entered the house.
"Hey, Andy." Harry greeted his friend.
"I didn't think you were going to show up. It's a good thing too, because the chicks are hot as hell tonight."
"Hell yeah, we gotta have fun, because after tonight I'm fucked for the rest of break."
"Nice dude. Yo, meet my cousin, this is Cyphong, he's visiting me from the homeland over break."
"Hello." Andy said.
Cyphong's head was completely shaved. He was tattooed all over his body with a few on his face. He was short, but muscular, and was quite scary to look at. He nodded at Harry and went back to sipping on his drink.
"Does he speak English?"
"No not really. He's like in some crazy gang or something. That's why my aunt sent him over here for break."
"That's cool, dude." Harry took a few steps back from Cyphong.
"Yo, let's grab some drinks. It's a party."
Harry followed Andy to the kitchen where there was an assortment of alcoholic beverages.
"Take whatever you want."
"Thanks, man." Harry took a beer and started sipping it.
Andy said a few words to Cyphong in his native tongue. He looked at Harry and shook his head.
"I told my cousin here that you are grounded. That you are going to be stuck at home for a while after this party."
Cyphong searched through his pockets and pulled out a leather pouch. He opened it up and dumped some green leaves into his hand, showed them to Harry, then dumped them back in the pouch. Cyphong said some words to Andy and pointed at Harry.
"Cyphong says, these are for you. He says, to take them for when you go home. They can calm anyone down, and they feel amazing. He says they helped him when he was in prison."
"Um, ok, thank you I guess."
"Guard, fuck." Cyphong said in broken English. He started laughing hysterically. He grabbed Harry's arm and put the pouch in his hand.
Andy shrugged and Harry pocketed the pouch.
Just then there was loud knocking on the front door.
"Shit, dude, the cops are here. Everyone run!" Someone yelled.
The room erupted in panic. People ran for the exits, jumping through windows and out the back door. Harry saw Andy and his cousin running and tried to follow them but lost them in the crowd. Harry ran outside and saw a group of kids running towards a large hole that was dug under a fence. He followed them and ended up in the back yard of a different house. Harry hopped some more fences and after a ten-minute jog, Harry was back home. He snuck in through his window, threw his clothes in the hamper and crawled into bed. He had no idea what time it was, but he was exhausted.
He felt around his pockets and found the leather pouch. He pulled out the contents and looked at the leaves. There was about five grams on the stuff. It looked like green, dried leaves.
'This can't be a good idea,' Harry thought to himself. 'But what the hell, might as well try it. It's early and I'm already grounded.'
He took out a little metal tube, packed some of the plant into it, and then lit it with a lighter and inhaled. He was surprised by the lack of smell.
"Damn that was easy. Nothing like taking drugs and sneaking out." Harry laughed to himself.
After a few minutes, Harry felt the room start to get very warm. Harry's heart rate started getting a little slower. He also began to experience a very strong body high.
Harry lay back in his bed and thought about his problems. 'Why can't I try in school? Probably the same reason I can't get girls. I'm afraid of failing.'
'I need to get my life together. Sneaking out of the house, doing drugs. What am I doing to myself?'
Harry got out of bed and started pacing his room. He was very high now and he started sweating. He felt his inhibitions and fears fade away. His self-doubt and anxiety disappeared.
He was uncomfortable in his boxers, so he took them off. Then he lay in his bed on his back. His whole body was tingling, and his soft bed felt like heaven.
