Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 00:08:23 EDT
From: William Watts <bwstories44@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Castaway Hotel 2 - chapter 6

Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts.
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if:
**You're not 18 or over,
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

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against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance.

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
at http://www.teenboyauthors.org/thewolf/, in the 'Other Stories' section.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories44@hotmail.com.

		*    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

The Castaway Hotel -Book 2 - by BW  (Young-Friends).        Copyright 2000 
by bwstories44
Chapter 6 - A problem out of control.                                        
    May 2000

****************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTE:

One of the occurrences in this chapter is based on something that happened
to a young friend of mine in the middle of May 2000.  He had a reaction to
the drug ecstasy, slipped into a coma and passed from this life.  He was a
terrific kid and one of the last that I would have expected something like
this to happen to.  I'll miss you Mikey and the next few chapters are
dedicated to you.

****************************************************************************

Next Monday was Cole's birthday so I planned a surprise party for him on
Sunday.  The boys have arranged for Brandon and Jay to come over on
Saturday, spend the night, and then be there for the party on Sunday.  I
doubt that he ever had a party before he came here, let alone a surprise
party, so I was probably as excited about this little bash as any of the
boys.

It was now Friday afternoon and the older children in my school were at
lunch.  A page came for me over the intercom and I knew there was a
problem.  None of the faculty and staff liked to use the intercom, except
for emergencies, because it was old, worked poorly and the messages came
out garbled.

"Mr. Currie?"

"Yes."

"Could.come.Cafeteria?  Cole.caught.mas.ate.and .hit.aide.head."

"He did what?"  The person repeated the message but it was worse than the
first time."

"I'll be right there."  I hoped they understood that.

I ran down to the cafeteria to find two of the teacher's aides, one on each
side of Cole, and he was looking very sheepish.  "Jo Ann and Terry, would
you step out here in the hall with me so we can discuss this.  I'm not sure
that I understood what you were saying.  Cole don't you move."

We walked out into the corridor and I turned to the aides.  "I'm not sure
that I understood what you were trying to tell me.  You know how the
intercom is."

"I hope that you're not going to pull the typical parent thing and try to
protect Cole just because he's your son," Jo Ann said.  "I saw him do it."

"Do what?  I couldn't understand what you were saying."

"We said that Cole was caught slinging mashed potatoes and they hit the
aide, Terry, in the back of the head."  I started laughing and had to
control myself.

"You think that's funny?" Terry shot back, as they gave me the most
disgusted look that they could manage at the time.

"No, I don't, but I'm relieved that it wasn't what I first thought you said
he did."

"Why, what did you think we said?"

"I'm not sure if I should even try to explain this, but I guess you deserve
at least that after my outburst.  With the breaking up of the message over
the speakers, I thought you said that Cole was caught masturbating and it
hit the aide in the head."  They looked at each other, trying to picture
this and they both turned red and began to snort back their response.  It
didn't work and, now, we were all laughing in the hallway.  People passing
by us in the corridor and the kids in the lunchroom thought we had all
flipped out and gone completely crazy.

"Oh, Josh.  I'm so sorry that I spoke to you like that earlier.  I was
afraid that you were going to brush this off because he is your son."

"I think that both of you should know me better than that by now.  I would
never protect any of my boys when they were in the wrong.  If anything, I
would be even harder on them than anyone else.  Send Cole out here and I'll
deal with him now.  He'll be going back to my office with me to discuss
this incident further."

They both apologized to me again and then they started to laugh some more
when they looked at Cole.  He didn't understand what they were laughing
about and he thought he was a dead man.  He walked out with his head down
and his shoulders slouched as he shuffled out to me.

"Up to my office, young man.  We'll discuss this situation up there."

He walked beside me up to my office, never glancing at me even once, and
the entire walk was done in complete silence.  We entered my office and I
closed the door before I told him to sit.  "Now I'd like to hear your
version of this story."

"I shot some of my mashed potatoes at one of the other kids but it hit the
aide instead."  He never looked at me during that whole sentence.

"Do you want to explain why you were shooting potatoes at another student?"

"Not really," he shot back quickly.

"Well, I'd like to hear it."  He looked up at me and he had this sad puppy
dog look on his face, but he wasn't crying.  He looked into my face for the
first time since I went down to get him and I could tell that there was
more than embarrassment causing his reluctance.  "Please, I know you well
enough to know that you wouldn't do that without a reason.  I'd just like
to know what it was."

He studied me for a while longer, giving him time to choose his words
carefully.  "A boy at the other table was saying that I was dumb and that I
was so stupid that I wouldn't be in this school if you weren't my father."
He almost spat his words out, rather than speak them, and I knew that those
words had hurt him deeply.

"You know that you're not stupid or dumb.  You just have some trouble
learning.  Even Albert Einstein had a learning disability, but look at what
he accomplished."

"Was he right?  Would I be sent to another school if I wasn't your son?"
It was almost as if he hadn't even heard what I had said.  He was obviously
concentrating more on what the other kid had said than what I could tell
him.

"No, Cole, you wouldn't.  There isn't anything wrong with you that we can't
compensate for.  You just need to learn differently than most of the
others, that's all.  It's not that you can't learn the materials.  You just
need another approach."  I paused so he could digest what I had just told
him.  "I'd like to know who was this boy is?"

"I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?"

"I guess it's that I won't.  I'll handle this myself.  I don't need my dad
taking care of my problems.  That would only make it worse.  I'll either
learn to ignore him or I'll prove to him that he's wrong."

"That proves it right there."

"What do you mean?"

"You solved your problem all by yourself.  You looked at the situation,
decided what would be best for you, and you made your decision.  A stupid
kid would have taken the easy way out and let me handle the problem for
him.  You didn't do that.  That proves to me that you're not stupid."

Cole flashed me a little grin and walked over to me.  "Thanks, dad.  You
made me feel better without doing anything to interfere."

"Well, don't start feeling too good.  You still have to be disciplined for
the mashed potato thing.  You knew better than to do something like that."

"I know, but I just lost my cool.  I'll accept whatever punishment you say
and I won't complain.  I know that I deserve it, though I wish my aim was
better."

"Very funny.  You are assigned to three after school detentions, starting
on Monday.  Now, go out and take a seat in the waiting area until your next
class.  It will only be a few more minutes until the bell sounds."

"Okay, dad."  He started to leave my office and then stopped at the door.
"I'm sorry that I did that.  I know that you're disappointed in me and that
I embarrassed you by what I did.  I'll try to do better from now on."

"Come here, you stinker."  He walked over to me and I gave him a big hug.
"You didn't embarrass me, though I was a little disappointed that you
didn't resolve your problem better.  I love you and I understand that we
all make mistakes from time to time.  As long as the mistakes are minor,
you learn from them, and you're willing to take responsibility for your
actions, then I can live with that."  I kissed him on the forehead.  "Now
get out of here, you rascal, before I change my mind."  He started to leave
the office and I gave him a playful smack on his rear.

"What was that for?" he said laughing.

"For making me forget I was the principal and causing me to slide into my
father mode.  I don't usually kissed and hug the other students."  He
smiled and went out the door.  He would have barely had time to sit down
before the bell sounded.  He waved to me as he headed off to his next
class.

Friday night I could still see the tension between Kevin and Dustin.  After
dinner, Dustin came to me and asked for a favor.  "Dad, do you mind if I go
to the football game with some of my other friends.  I need some time away
from Kevin so I can sort this thing out."

"No, I don't mind.  Whom will you be going with?"  He told me the other
boys' names and I didn't hear the names of any others that I didn't want
him to hang around with.  "Will you be going home with us or will they
bring you back?"

"I'd like to hang with them for a while after the game.  They'll bring me
home later."

"Alright, just be home by midnight."

"Thanks, dad.  I love you."  He left to get ready to join his group while I
fed and hurried along the others.

Before long, we packed up the van with all the boys and headed for the big
game.  It was the big high school rivalry game.  Brandon and Jay met us at
the game and the boys went off on their own to look for their other
friends.  I went up into the stands and found a group of teachers and other
administrators to sit with.  It was nice to talk about other common
interests besides the boys.

It was one hell of a game, although our team lost it on the next to last
series.  There was a mental breakdown in pass coverage and the other team's
quarterback found one of his receivers completely open about thirty yards
downfield.  He hit him with a perfect pass and it only got worse from
there.  The receiver did the rest of the work by sprinting into the end
zone, thus completing a sixty-seven yard scoring play.  After the extra
point, they kicked off to us and our fastest back returned the ball to just
over mid-field.  Our team drove another thirty or so yards, only to fumble
the ball on the fourteen-yard line.  The other team recovered the fumble
and ran out the clock.  It was a tough loss but an interesting game to
watch.

I met the boys back at the main gate.  Brandon and Jay were with them and
we talked for a few minutes before we said our good-byes.  We all went home
and the boys cleaned up and goofed around for a couple of hours before they
went to bed.  Midnight came and went and there was no Dustin.  I stayed in
the family room and watched the tube while I waited for him.  The program
ended and it was now one a.m.  There was still no Dustin and I was
beginning to worry.  This was not like him.  Before I knew it, it was after
two, and the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hello.  Is this Joshua Currie?"

"It is."

"This is Sgt. Mulligan from the police department.  Do you have a son,
Dustin?"

My heart sank.  "Yes, I do."

"Well, I must inform you that we've just rushed him to the hospital.  We're
not sure what's wrong with him, but he was unconscious when he was
discovered."

"Will he be all right?"

"I'm not sure.  The doctors are checking him over now and they asked me to
call you.  They need you down there to sign some forms and get your
permission to treat him."

"I'll be right there."

I went upstairs and woke both Danny and Kevin.  I told them what was up,
asked Danny to look after the others, and I took Kevin with me to the
hospital.  I knew that he'd be deeply hurt if I didn't.  We talked a little
on the way down and Kevin kept envisioning the worse case scenario.  I told
him to think positively until we talked to the doctors.  We arrived at the
emergency room, announced our presence to the receptionist, and we were
rushed over to the intensive care unit were Dustin was lying on the bed.
Kevin walked over to stand beside him while I discussed the situation with
the doctor who just entered the room.

"What's the matter with him, doctor?"

"We're not positive, but it looks like a drug overdose or a reaction to
drugs."

"It can't be.  I don't think he's ever even tried drugs before."

"I'm sorry, sir, but the parents are often the last to know when their
children start experimenting.  The police are questioning some of the boys
who were with him and alerted us to his problem.  We're running blood tests
to try and discover the exact nature of the problem."

"Where are these other boys?"

"They were taken to the police station to fill out reports.  One of the
officers will bring back any of the relevant information."

"Will you inform me at that time.  I'd like to be privy to your discuss
with him."

"Certainly.  You stay here with your son and I'll let you know when he
contacts me."

"Thank you, doctor."

I walked over and put my arm around Kevin's shoulder and looked at Dustin's
prone body on the stretcher.  As was typical, there were multiple tubes
attached to his body carrying oxygen, drugs, and who knows what else into
his system.  Kevin was crying softly.

"What happened, dad?  What's the matter with Dusty?"

"The doctors think that it's a drug overdose.  They're running tests and
talking to other people to try to determine what happened."

"But he never used drugs.  If he did, I'd know.  If he started now, then I
drove him to it.  It's all my fault.  I did this to him."

"You did no such thing.  Dustin's a big boy and he is capable of making his
own decisions.  He knows the danger of drugs and, if that's what this is
about, he accepted full responsibility for what he was doing."

"But I drove him to it, dad.  He thought that I didn't love him any more."

"Did you stop loving him?"

"No!"

"Well, then, you didn't do anything to cause this.  Dustin saw what he
wanted to see and we all tried to convince him that he was wrong.  You
didn't do this to Dustin.  Dustin did this to Dustin.  You can feel bad
about what has happened and worry about his chances of recovering, but you
can't blame yourself for his actions.  You did nothing to cause this.  His
problems were all in his mind but he wouldn't admit that.  I love Dustin
too, Kevin, and I want him to be all right but we can't beat ourselves up
over what he chose to do.  Other teachers and I made sure that he
understood the seriousness and dangers of using drugs.  If he chose to
ignore that information, then we can't blame ourselves.  We'll all make
mistakes and, hopefully, we learn from them.  I hope that he has the chance
to learn from this mistake and become a better person for it."

We continued to sit by his side, hold his hand, and stroke his hair.  We
both spoke to him softly and lovingly.  We told him that we wanted him to
get better and that we were there for him.  Some time later the doctor came
to get me and I told Kevin that I'd been leaving him so I could try to
learn more about Dustin's condition.  He nodded and I left the room.  I saw
him bend over and kiss Dustin's forehead as I walked out the door.

"Mr. Currie, this is Detective Mark Foreman.  He is the person responsible
for investigating what happened to your son."  We exchanged greetings and
Detective Foreman proceeded to tell us what he had learned.

"I interviewed several boys who were with your son this evening.  I don't
have all of the specifics because the boys are scared of what might happen
as a result of this, but I think that I've got the basics.  They got their
hands on a drug called ecstasy.  The group decided to give it a try.  They
said that your son was acting depressed and he decided to go along with
them.  They said that they were surprised at his decision because he had
turned down similar chances at other times.  I'm sorry, sir, but do you
know what he was depressed about?"

"Let's just say that it was a lover's quarrel."

"That explains a big piece of the missing part of the puzzle.  Anyway, the
boys all tried the ecstasy but none of them noticed that something was
wrong with Dustin until they started to come down from their high.  They
said it looked like he had some kind of reaction to it, I suspect maybe an
allergic reaction to the drug.  One of the boys had a cell phone and he
called 911.  You probably already know the rest of the story."

"I appreciate the information, Detective, and I'm sure that it will help
the doctors treat him, but I need to get back to my boy.  I just want to
thank both of you, and I hope we can work on this problem of drugs
together, when Dustin's better."

I went back to the room where Kevin was waiting, and we sat beside Dustin's
bed until early morning.  The doctor came in and told us that they were
transferring him from intensive care and into a private room.  He told us
at this point it was just a waiting game to see how his body would react to
the treatment.  He suggested that we go home and get some rest.  He halted
our protests before they even began by telling us that it would be some
time before we'd be allowed to be in with him again.  They have to move
him, set his equipment up, and clean him off before we would be allowed to
enter.  We reluctantly gave in and went to catch a couple of hours sleep.

		*    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://www.teenboyauthors.org/thewolf, in the 'Other Stories' section.
E-mails may be sent to: bwstories44@hotmail.com.