He had finally done it, Will had stood up to his boss the day after the football game and demanded that he work fewer hours. Much to his surprise, Will was not released from his position at work because his boss thought that he “had gusto” and offered to re-work the schedule for the following week so Will wasn’t working overtime unless he voluntarily covered somebody’s shift.
Without working extra hours that weekend, Will was able to finish all of his homework on Monday and face finals week with a head empty of last week’s stress in order to provide maximum room for the stress that would no doubt come from his upcoming Biology II final.
He had never been very good at science to begin with, which is why he was meeting with his friend, Mike (commonly referred to as “Bio Mike”), and two other people, Toby and Liza, to study for the test that would determine whether he passed the class with a decent grade or crashed and burned.
Grabbing a handful of highlighters and his biology notes, Will got in his car and drove the ten minutes to Mike’s house where they would all be studying.
Will felt bad for not being surprised by the scientific doohickeys that covered Mike’s desk and the posters with bad science puns that were thumbtacked to his wall.
“This is…cozy,” Will said, struggling to find an inoffensive word.
“Dude, sweet catapult!” Toby said.
“It’s a trebuchet, but thanks,” Mike plopped himself down in the rolling chair by his desk, “bring your notes over here and we’ll get started.”
Studying was going well, Will was now able to discern the difference between chemoautotroph and chemoheterotroph. However, things quickly took a turn away from biology when Mike opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out an e-cigarette.
According to the article “5 Vaping Facts You Need to Know” from Hopkinsmedicine.org, reports show that, in 2015, the use of e-cigarettes among high school students had increased 900 percent from previous years and as of November, 2019, 47 deaths are linked with lung injury caused by vaping.
Mike noticed him staring, “You guys wanna puff?”
“No, thanks, man, I’m okay,” Will said, declining the offer.
“You sure? It’s mango, just try it. It’s not bad for you, literally everyone does it.”
Toby rolled his eyes at Will, reaching out for the e-cigarette and inhaling the nicotine vapor before passing it to Liza who did the same. Will was next in the circle and they all looked at him, waiting for him to take the e-cigarette.
Tafttribune.org posted an article by Briana Alcaraz called “Vaping and Peer Pressure,” which says that “high school is the place where most teens want to make new friends and fit it with those around them. They will do anything to get involved in a friend group” and “they will do a variety of things to be liked and vaping seems to be one of the biggest sources of peer pressure for teens today.”
Most teens think that vaping is a harmless alternative to smoking, but News-medical.net’s article, “Peer pressure at school influencing teen vape use,” by Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo states that teenagers/young adults vaping and using e-cigarettes are in danger because of the addictive nicotine and other potentially harmful ingredients, “nicotine is highly addictive and can cause problems in the brain development of adolescents.”
“Just try it,” Mike urged.

Will is being pressured by his peers to use an e-cigarette since it is what “everyone is doing,” what should he do?

• Refuse the e-cigarette, but continue studying (67%, 2 Votes)
• Tell his friends' parents that their kids are vaping (33%, 1 Votes)
• Excuse himself and leave Mike's house (0%, 0 Votes)
• Give in to peer pressure so he can fit in with his friends (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 3

 Loading ...