2 ½ Minutes

Chapter 12

“Dad, I have been told by some kids at school not to talk with you, Mom or anybody about this because they would ruin your careers if I did. I hope that nothing happens to either of you because I am talking to you.” My dad’s mouth dropped open like he couldn’t believe that there were threats on him and my mom. “Ronnie, why would any kids want to ruin our careers? We have always treated the kids at your school so well.” “It doesn’t have anything to do with you guys,” I said. “It has to do with me and what I wouldn’t do.” My dad said, “Can you explain that better to me, Son?” “Dad, these kids asked me to buy drugs on Monday. I said, “No,” and just tried to laugh it off. They told me if I ever told anyone that they offered me drugs that they would ruin your careers. Then on Tuesday, they asked me again. They said they would make me a good deal. Again, I refused. They made the same threat. Today, they told me that I had to give them ten dollars tomorrow and they would give me a packet of drugs. They said I had to do it or they would beat up Benny. The only thing I could think of was that I had to stall for time, so I told them that I didn’t get my allowance until Friday morning. They told me I could steal it out of your wallet or out of mom’s purse. I told them that you keep all money locked up because you are celebrities. They said it would be okay if I gave it to them on Friday at lunch. That is when they would give me the drugs. Then they wanted to do the same thing every Friday. They told me I would like them so much that I would be begging them for the bags. Dad, I am so scared. I don’t want anything to happen to Benny or you or Mom. I wasn’t this scared when I had my operation. I don’t know what to do, and I wanted to protect all of you so much. Danni said that you helped her with the bullies. She was sure you could help.” “Ronnie, I am so sorry that this happened to you. No wonder you haven’t talked with us, but, Ronnie, only by opening up to us are we able to intervene. Time is of the essence. We will have to act quickly on this one. Son. You are going to have to trust me on this. I am going to do some things that I know you wouldn’t like me to do, but I must. We can’t let anything happen to Benny or to any of us. Will you trust me to take the ball and run with it? Of course, I will keep you informed about everything that I am going to do. There may be some risks for you as we move forward. Are you okay with this?” “Dad, I am at a loss of what to do. So, I will trust you. What do you think you will do with such a short time period?” I asked. “First of all, I am going to ask the principal and the counselor from your school to come out here tonight. I am also going to ask the police to send someone in an unmarked car to join us for a meeting. You will probably need to be present during some of the meeting to tell them what you have told me. Is Benny aware of any of this?” “No, Dad, I didn’t want to get him involved.” “Then, Ronnie, after I call and get these other people on the way, we need to bring Jen and Benny on board. Your mom needs to know about the threat to her career and Benny needs to be able to protect himself. My guess is that the police may want you to do some undercover things for them in order to catch these boys in the act. The reason is not that they need to be punished, but they need to be saved from drugs themselves. Doing drugs at age twelve could kill them. This is very serious. That is why Danni wanted you to talk to me immediately, and I am so glad that you did. If it’s okay with you, I am going to make those calls right away and get meeting here within an hour or two. In the meantime, you will need to get all of your homework done. You won’t be able to miss school tomorrow as that might give those boys the clue that something is going on.”