Just like them(Darrell Case) “Come on Bill. Why not try it? It’s just one little puff.” Lenore said. He held out the marijuana joint. Yesterday, Bill’s dad helped him change the starter on the old car he bought for five hundred from a neighbor. He had scrubbed the outside until it shined. They got used tires from the junkyard. New spark plugs and an air filter and changed to oil. Finishing up, his dad grinned. “Start her up.” Bill felt a thrill as the engine caught. “Ok, let’s take her for a spin.” Nervously, Bill backed the car out of the garage. They only drove it around the block, but Bill felt like the King of the Road. His neighbor came over as they drove back in the driveway.
“Boy, the old gal looks great.” He said. Listening to the engine. “Purrs like a kitten. Be a grand car for you.”
“Thanks Mr. Maldon.” Bill said, grinning. That afternoon, he washed the engine and the interior. As he got ready for bed, he looked out his bedroom window at the shiny automobile setting in the driveway. His parents promised to let him drive it to church this Sunday. Maybe, just maybe, he would ask Ellen for a date.
Now Lenord wanted him to give that all up for a puff on a joint. “No, I’m not going to jeopardize everything I work for.”
“Oh, I should have known better than to offer it to church boy.” Lenord took a puff off the joint. “See you round, church boy.”
Two years later, Bill walked a crossed the stage to receive his high school diploma. Lenord wasn’t there. He was during another stunt in jail for drugs.

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