June 25

I ran down the hill laughing. It was a crazy night, a great night. I joined the seven 14 year olds kids in my class, who were standing in a tight knot. “What’s up?” I asked, but I didn’t get an answer. Instead I heard snatches of the conversation they were leading. It didn’t take me long to figure it out. One boy left the group with an empty beer bottle in his hand. I looked at it suspiciously. He was back in an instant; he had replaced the empty bottle with a full one. I knew that they had not brought the bottles along with them. I knew that it was wrong, but I didn’t think twice about it, after all it hadn’t been I who stole the bottle. That was the excuse I made to comfort myself. There were many German campers on the camping site with us and all of them had left to watch the semi-finals of the Euro 08, Germany against Turkey. When the bottle was handed to me, I didn’t hesitate but took a sip. It tasted horrible, but I didn’t say anything and passed the bottle on. I was having a great time, just doing nothing, standing around and laughing at random things. This was exactly how I had imagined the end of year class trip, well maybe without the bottle. Next to me Linda had grabbed the bottle. She was gulping the beer down as if it were coke. I had to stare; I hadn’t known that side of Linda. It disgusted me. Then Leslie arrived on the scene. “Take the bottle away from her!” she shrieked. I didn’t understand what she meant and as no one else seemed bothered I didn’t give Leslie or Linda any more attention.

I didn’t notice when the two plastic bottles were stolen. There was no label on them: it could have been anything. Later we agreed that it had been whiskey. We all drank. Even I had a sip or three. They had handed me the bottle with a laugh, saying that I surely wouldn’t drink. It didn’t taste of much, just burned terribly in the throat. Someone gave Linda the bottle and I discovered that it wasn’t just beer that she drank as if it were a soft drink, but also every thing else alcoholic. Leslie tried to stop Linda from drinking and took the bottle away from her. She told all of us not to give her the bottle, but Linda came begging to whoever had the bottle and somehow she would always end up with the bottle. Leslie tried to talk to Linda, tried to tell her not to go down the same path again, but Linda just laughed at her and told her to stop worrying. Linda’s condition became worse. Some girls were trying to convince her to go and sleep in her tent, but she wouldn’t budge. She wanted to have fun. This went on for a while, until someone finally had the senses to put an end to things. Lena took both bottles and flung them into the river. Most were angry at Lena. They told her that they had it under control. But Lena just pointed at Linda or ignored them. And when I looked at Linda, I had to agree, that it had been the best thing to do. And I noticed that I would never have had the courage to do the same.

Finally some people managed to get Linda into her tent and the rest of the class sat in a circle on the grass and had a good time. Some guys were doing handstands and cartwheels to prove that they were still sober, some were successful and some weren’t. I was in a good mood, but not everyone was. Leslie was worried, Linda had woken up twice to vomit and vomit was spread all over the tent and clothes and luggage. I learned that Linda had been drunk a number of times before. I was shocked. Some girls went to help Leslie with Linda. Lena dragged me along; I wouldn’t have gone otherwise. Suddenly I was brought face to face with the sad side of alcohol. Linda had to vomit again, and there was vomit in her mouth and nose, making it difficult for her to breath. I had no idea how to handle the situation and I sensed that the others didn’t know too. Once again it was Lena who suggested the right thing to do. She got our teacher, even though almost everyone disagreed with her.

What happened next was terrible. I watched as the teacher and Leslie helped Linda out of her tent, she needed a shower, she needed to wash out the vomit, otherwise she would suffocate. Linda wasn’t awake, but also not asleep. Leslie and our teacher were helping her walk, if that’s what one can call it. She was placing one foot in front of the next and after a very long time we managed it to the showers. With our teacher around everyone noticed the seriousness of the matter. But it was only later, when he told us so, that I realised how close Linda had been to death. What a terrible way to die, I thought, especially if you’re only 14 years old.


As aftermath to these events, I was afraid of alcohol. I hadn’t kept my head together when I had been presented with alcohol. I didn’t know if I’d be strong enough to say no. But now I know that it’s not hard at all to say no to alcohol. Especially not with the memories I have to recall the negative side of alcohol. I’ve also discovered that it’s possible to have the same amount of fun with and without alcohol and on the day after you still know what you did. For me it’s pretty clear, life without alcohol is definitely a better life then life with alcohol.


*All names have been modified.