just say no

The podium obscures most of the diminutive woman behind it, but her voice bubbles up over its top, bypassing the tinny microphone altogether and roiling throughout the high school auditorium. Seven hundred staring faces turned toward her. “I know this is a difficult time. The pressure to fit in is overwhelming. I sound like someone you can’t relate to — just some adult prattling on about things that will never happen to you or your friends.” Her voice breaks, a gentle ripple within her light soprano. She grips the rickety podium with tiny hands. “But it *can* happen to you. It happened to me. Sure, when I started, I thought I had it all under control. But it doesn’t last. No, once you’re hooked,...

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