Mindy walked slowly up the driveway toward the loud music. She was not at all sure why coming to this party was so important. Yet everyone who was anyone was going to be there. Besides she had decided to do her Literature paper about teen parties. She wanted so very much to pass Literature Class this time. She really hated repeating a boring class. She had tried to tell herself she was just curious, but in truth, she knew better. She was seventeen and wanted to be noticed. She so wanted to be part of the popular crowd. Now that she was here, Mindy began to question herself about coming.
Suddenly it was too late to change her mind. She walked through the doorway and came to a dead stop. The room in front of her looked like a scene from a bad movie. Some kids were trying to dance while others were yelling and jumping up and down for no apparent reason. There were beer bottles all over the place.
A couple of girls she had seen at school pointed at her and laughed. This was a big mistake and she knew it.
Mindy stood in the doorway and wondered if she should back out and run. She looked at her reflection in the full length mirror that lined the entrance way. She was tall, and slim. Her brown hair framed her flushed face and her brown eyes were large with excitement or was it fear?
Mindy bit her bottom lip as she always did when nervous. She did see several people she knew. One guy, James, was not one she thought would be at a party like this. He was a real nice guy. Everyone liked him. She caught his eye and he smiled at her. Boy, she needed that.
Two guys who were known for being wild walked up to her.
John said, “Hey, Mindy you lost? Maybe you need some help finding your way around. Well, lucky you, I am here to help you out.”
When the other guy, Jack, put his arm around her shoulder. Mindy quickly stepped away from him. Both John and Jack laughed. She just wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
John stopped laughing and looked at her with a crooked smile. “Hey Mindy, come on. We’ll get you a drink. Want a beer or a mixed drink?
Mindy took a deep breath to steady herself. She had never drunk before. She could not let them know how scared she was. “I will take something with coke please.” She did not even recognize her own voice; it was so squeaky and weak.
As John walked away he turned and winked at her. Jack was bored with her by now and moved on out of sight.
Once again she scanned the room and spotted James. She wanted so badly to walk over to him. As she started to walk John reappeared with a coke can in each hand and a bottle under his arm.
John handed her a coke and took a long drink out of the other one. He poured some of the bottle into his coke.
Mindy took a big drink of her coke and it tasted very bitter but she was so thirsty. The can of coke was cool against her warm hands. She took another drink, trying to control her thirst.
John started to talk to her and she did try to listen but could not make any sense of what he was saying.
She noticed that James was walking their way and she felt relief. But, John also noticed and put his hand on her back to lead her to the door.
Mindy stopped. “John, I need to find the restroom please show me the way to go.”
He pointed to a door across the room and started to walk with her. She assured him she could do this by herself. She went into the restroom and washed her face with cold water. She felt so hot. Mindy leaned back on the wall and it was so cool she just wanted to stay there. The door opened and other girls were coming in and she needed to move out of the way.
Her hand began to shake badly. Was this what she thought was going to be so cool? How wrong she had been about everything.
John was nowhere in sight and she took a deep breath of relief. She had to go outside to cool off for it was so hot in the house.
As she walked to the front door she saw James and smiled at him. She staggered down the steps and almost fell. At the bottom she turned toward the back of the house and took another drink of her coke for she was still so thirsty. Not sure how far she had walked she saw a small building and slide to the ground. She was sweating and her heart seemed to be racing out of her chest.
Darkness overwhelmed her pulling her down. Quiet-it was so quiet; not one sound. She could feel a presence and it terrified her. What was going on? Had she died?
She was sick and so afraid. So sorry for the decision she had made. Her body shook and her teeth chattered. She felt battered and bruised. She had her eyes closed so tight. She wanted to move and tried with all her might. She could not move. And if she did, would she fall?
She forced her eyes open to look around. All she saw was blackness, total darkness. There were no sounds. Was she alone? Mindy felt lost and completely alone. Her body ached with pain. She tried to take a drink of coke but dropped the can and it rolled away. She felt something crawling all over her. She tried to slap it off but it was still there.
“Dear Lord, please help me”; she whispered. “I so need you. Where am I? What am I suppose to do?”
She felt herself being lifted up. She buried her face into the warmth that held her. There was peace, one she had never felt before. Her worn torn body went completely limp as once again she fell into darkness.
Unaware of anything, Mindy opened her eyes to a bright light. The round light in the emergency room was warm and so wonderful. She laid back and rested some more.
Mindy woke to see her Mom and Dad standing, one on each side of her. They both reached for her as tears flowed freely from their eyes. Mindy smiled. She was so glad to see them.
But she had to ask the age-old question: “What happened?”
Her Mom was crying so hard she could not speak. Her Dad was the one who told her the story of how someone had laced her drink with LSD and she almost died. He wanted explanations of why she had been there at all!
Mindy receded into the blackness again as she tried to think of a way to explain to her Daddy.
Mindy knew why she was still here. Jesus had reached down and picked her up out of the darkness. And He would be with her through all the stuff she would have to live through: explanations to her parents about the why and her failing grades, going to court, lawyers, judges, and tears.
Mindy remember her Sunday’s Bible lesson: Jesus HAD been with her and she HAD been very close to her last day! She was not likely to forget Matthew 29:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Mindy was quietly praising her Lord for His care and guidance and after three days she was allowed to go home.
She wrote her essay on Teen Parties and pulled no punches. She told all. While doing her paper on her lap top she got into web pages that described what LSD could do. It was terrifying. She had no regulation of her ordeal. She was thankful for that. Mindy learned that one could have flashbacks from LSD without warning. They could happen up to a year after taking the drug. In some individuals, the flashbacks can persist and cause significant distress or impairment in social or occupational functioning. She prayed about this and gave it to the Lord for there was nothing she could do about it. The thought of it made her sick.
James walked into the living room; Mindy smiled at him and he smiled back. He was the one who had picked her up and called 911. He saved her life. Mom and Dad thought a lot of this young man. Dad had told her how James had found her laying on the ground by the tool shed. He picked her up and carried her to the front of the house. He had grabbed her coke can along the way for he believed that John may have put something into her drink. That is how they found out it was LSD.
James walked over to her and handed her a paper. “The Literature teacher asked me to give this to you.”
Mindy opened up that paper and saw the grade in red ink. A. She had gotten her A and it really didn’t seem so important now.
Sharon Niese @ 2011 SNIESE3@roadrunner.com