Conflicted

Once upon a time...

There were a group of boys that went to high school together. They were naughty boys, very disruptive in class and getting up to no good on the weekends. But they were all good at heart.

They all did the typical teenage boy thing, and started to experiment with drugs. The hardness of the drugs increased. Some of the boys in the group stopped at experimentation, others got more serious about it.

Those that were more serious about it eventually saw the light, one boy got into the career he always wanted, another boy got a job with drug testing, another got a serious girlfriend. They all got their second chances and everyone forgave them for their indiscretions and the boys built their lives up. In the end there was one boy left.

Along with the drugs came the crimes. There was the lying and stealing from friends to support the habit. There was the other general underworld that came with the drugs. But the boy kept it close to him, and tried not to let it rule his life. He tried to keep it away from his friends as much as possible, and was generally a nice guy to be around.

It all culminated for the one boy when he was away for work, and his new roommate cleaned his room for him and found evidence of the lying, the stealing and the underworld that he had kept so well hidden.

The police were called, the boy was arrested, and taken away. The boys friends and the boys family turned their backs. The boys friends that had been given their second chances were most judgemental of them all.

Can someone out there please please please tell me how I am supposed to feel about this? On one hand, the boy has done the wrong thing and should be punished for this. On the other hand, the boy has freely admitted that he needs help, and has taken steps to seek this help - but all his friends and family are still turning their backs.

Does everyone deserve their second chance?