My Adolescent Drinking Experience

Peer pressure is a part of the growing up process for every teenager, and I was no different. I had given in to peer pressure for drinking in my formative years in high school, and made a complete fool of myself by the end of it. The memories of that day are still vivid in my memory, and it gives me goose bumps and makes me feel ashamed about what transpired that day.

I was 17 years old and was in my high school in New Delhi, India at that time. One of my classmates, Shikha, had just received the news of getting admission for her undergraduate studies in a top school in the US. She had thrown a party in her house where all the students were invited. Shikha was a very good friend of mine, so I was definitely going to the party to share her happiness. I dressed up for the occasion, and our driver, Jagdish, drove me to her house. I got there, and realized that almost the entire class had shown up, in addition to other guests that Shikha had invited. She had a very big farmhouse, and the party was outdoors in the garden.

The party had started and was in full flow, with a DJ dishing out great music, good food, and a lot of drinks to go around. I saw a lot of people drinking and smoking. The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke was permeating in the air. I looked around, and saw Shikha standing and talking to some people. I went up to her and congratulated her. The group of people she was standing with was her friends from outside the school, so she started introducing me to all of them. There were 3 guys and 2 girls in that group. I started getting introduced to them one by one. One of the guys in this group, Abhishek, caught my attention and fancy. He was tall, handsome and had deep, brooding eyes. He had a faint stubble, which appealed to me. His dressing sense was very classy, and he was looking very good in his black trousers and red shirt. Abhishek kept looking at me while I was making conversation with the group, but looked away as soon as I looked at him. He seemed to be shy, which is something I really like in guys. From the conversations, I realized he was the single unattached guy in the group. I decided to hang out with this group for the rest of the night, because I really liked him and I wanted him to like me.

One of the girls in the group, Rashmi, suggested that we start with some drinks. All of us walked to the bar to get some drinks. I had never had a drink in my life, and was assuming that I wouldn’t have to drink at the bar. Rashmi proposed that we all have a few vodka shots to start the night. Everyone in the group, except me, responded with a unanimous, resounding yes, with Abhishek being the loudest. Since I did not respond, everyone was looking at me for an answer, and I broke into a cold sweat. Abhishek asked me whether I drink, and just to impress him and the others, I boldly claimed that I am big on drinks. Rashmi asked the bartender for 12 shots of vodka, in two rows. The idea was to finish two