In 1983 I spent 5 days serving an “in house” suspension for smoking “marijuana”**. I was a cheerleader. I was the president of the National Honor Society. I was the co-editor of the school newspaper. I was the pres of the drama club and the pep club and the art club. Had I stayed and walked at graduation and not opted out early, I would have been class salutatorian.
Despite the fact that it was the era of “just say no”, the police were never involved. In fact, the other girl I was caught with, Babette, was also given an “in-house” suspension since she was caught with me and they wanted to keep this incident as low-key as possible. After all, I was such a great student and so “representative” of the school. Had Babette been alone, she’d likely have been expelled just like the girl who sold us the “joint”. After all, they were “troublemakers”. Not like like me. Nevermind that I was the instigator, which no one seemed to believe. Everyone knew what a good girl and great student I was, after all. But Babette was with me, had no prior offenses (besides fighting), and the school didn’t want a big scene, so we got the same penalty.
In house suspension meant we still rode the bus to school every morning. Babette and I would walk across to the superintendents office and do our assigments there. We had recieved all assignments for the week on Monday, and frankly, they were done by the end of the first day. This left Babette and I plenty of time for crossword puzzles and trash novels. When the secretary wasn’t paying attention, we’d throw our little paper cups of water from the water cooler at each other. The only thing that was really terrible about the whole “suspension” was that we had to take lunch with the elementary school kids. (It were a wee school, less than 250 K-12)
The home punishment was FAR worse. Hard Labor. I was required to spend the next 8 weeks baking in the sun and pulling every last weed (they were about thigh high) on our undeveloped-3-acre-hot-hot-rural-Arizona-in-April-May-June lot in such a manner that the property would be entirely weed free at the completion of the semester. This meant spending the first couple days or so of each week covering areas which I had already pulled and recleaning them before starting the next block of tall weeds. I was to begin daily after school and pull weeds until dark, all day on weekends. It was around this time that I discovered amphetamines. Also, having been so thoroughly punished for the mary jane buzz I never had**, I promptly found a real joint and smoked it. After all, I’d already served the time.
**Ultimately, the joke was on us. It WASN’T REALLY POT! The girl who sold it to me for a buck was a friend playing a practical joke. She had rolled a “joint” out of some lipton tea because she knew I was looking for my very first doob and wouldn’t know the difference. Babette knew it wasn’t pot as well, she was in on joke. The “dealer” thought it would be funny - instead it got her expelled, for the “intent”. The school didn’t think it was so funny. Besides, everyone knew what a “troublemaker” she was.
I didn’t drink in HS although my step-spawn did. He’d take a 12 oz thermos full of Jack to school with him. Daily. Damned if could ever figure out where he was getting it from. If I had, I’d have revelled in seeing him busted into the next solar system by my Dad. Step-spawn’s a pecker-head. He will die before me. I plan to wear red to his funeral then piss into his freshly filled grave. Like Ferris f’ing Bueller shitspawn never, ever, got caught. He should have though. He is diabetic. He used to take extra insulin so he could drink at school. I kept wishing for a coma, but it just never happened. Lucky fucker.
As for what I’d have done in your situation…hard to say, just glad I wasn’t in your shoes. Overall, both shitspawn and I turned out to be reasonably successful, productive members of society, but how much might his life be shortened because his parent was never made aware that he was a teenage alcoholic? Had he been suspected, caught, and let go, then subsequently gone into shock, coma and then back to hell, well, I could see how the school might have some BIG liability issues.
Glad I don’t walk in your shoes.