attended classes anymore and certainly would not be allowed to continue in school after the end of the semester.
Willie and Kent felt very sorry for their old friend and roommate. They knew he was basically a good guy, but weak and immature. Perhaps the shock of flunking out and having to return home would help snap him out of his downward slide, so that in a year or so he would be able to go back to college. That is, if his drug problem hadn't already become too great.
George was a lot of trouble for his friends. He might disappear for days on end and then come back in the middle of the night and start banging on the door to be let in. He was always borrowing money, which he never paid back. And once he even stole Kent's typewriter and pawned it.
Most of all, Willie and Kent were afraid of the police. The local police as well as the campus cops were cracking down hard on drugs. Time after time George promised that he would never bring anything into the apartment, but neither Willie nor Kent really believed such promises anymore because they had been broken so many times. If George ever did something really crazy and the apartment was raided by the cops, and the cops found something, well, then they could all be in big trouble. Even if Willie and Kent were completely innocent, there was no guarantee that the police would believe them.
Time after time they had discussed what to do. Should they throw George out? Should they contact his parents or the school authorities? In the end they always decided against doing anything. George was, after all, an old friend. The three of them had been through a lot together. None of them were saints, and just because he was having a really hard time at the moment, that was no excuse for throwing him to the wolves. Besides, they rationalized, it was just a few weeks until the end of the semester, and after that it would all be over. George certainly would not be coming back to school, and Willie and Kent would be spared the unpleasant task of turning him in. Their big hope was that George could only keep from doing something completely crazy until the end of the semester.
But George couldn't. One evening he came back to the apartment after a three-day absence in the worst condition his roommates could ever recall seeing him in. Heaven knows what he had been taking or where he got it. He was completely incoherent. All he could do was mumble and grunt and stagger around the room bumping into things.
Willie and Kent tried to get him into bed, but he wouldn't lie down or even sit down. George rushed into the bathroom and locked the door. A few moments later, Willie and Kent heard wild screaming coming from the bathroom. The door flew open and George burst out. He had taken off all his clothes and started to run madly around the room, shouting at the top of his lungs, "There's a barracuda in the toilet!"
There was no way to silence him. Willie and Kent couldn't even catch him.
In a few moments the neighbors would be calling the cops because of the noise. Willie and Kent knew that then they would have a lot of explaining to do. They decided it was better to anticipate the trouble by calling the cops themselves.
"Hello, police? Listen, we got a big problem. Our roommate has gone crazy. I mean he's really freaked out. You better get over here right away, otherwise who knows what's going to happen," Willie said.
Within three minutes Willie and Kent heard the sirens scream to a halt in front of their building. They heard feet pounding up the stairs and then a loud knocking at the door. Kent opened the door, and there stood two uniformed policemen. The cops came in and looked suspiciously around the room.
While all of this was going on, George had not calmed down one little bit. He was still running around the room stark naked, yelling, "There's a barracuda in the toilet! There's a barracuda in the toilet!" as loud as he could.
The cops stood there looking puzzled and finally one of them
Willie and Kent felt very sorry for their old friend and roommate. They knew he was basically a good guy, but weak and immature. Perhaps the shock of flunking out and having to return home would help snap him out of his downward slide, so that in a year or so he would be able to go back to college. That is, if his drug problem hadn't already become too great.
George was a lot of trouble for his friends. He might disappear for days on end and then come back in the middle of the night and start banging on the door to be let in. He was always borrowing money, which he never paid back. And once he even stole Kent's typewriter and pawned it.
Most of all, Willie and Kent were afraid of the police. The local police as well as the campus cops were cracking down hard on drugs. Time after time George promised that he would never bring anything into the apartment, but neither Willie nor Kent really believed such promises anymore because they had been broken so many times. If George ever did something really crazy and the apartment was raided by the cops, and the cops found something, well, then they could all be in big trouble. Even if Willie and Kent were completely innocent, there was no guarantee that the police would believe them.
Time after time they had discussed what to do. Should they throw George out? Should they contact his parents or the school authorities? In the end they always decided against doing anything. George was, after all, an old friend. The three of them had been through a lot together. None of them were saints, and just because he was having a really hard time at the moment, that was no excuse for throwing him to the wolves. Besides, they rationalized, it was just a few weeks until the end of the semester, and after that it would all be over. George certainly would not be coming back to school, and Willie and Kent would be spared the unpleasant task of turning him in. Their big hope was that George could only keep from doing something completely crazy until the end of the semester.
But George couldn't. One evening he came back to the apartment after a three-day absence in the worst condition his roommates could ever recall seeing him in. Heaven knows what he had been taking or where he got it. He was completely incoherent. All he could do was mumble and grunt and stagger around the room bumping into things.
Willie and Kent tried to get him into bed, but he wouldn't lie down or even sit down. George rushed into the bathroom and locked the door. A few moments later, Willie and Kent heard wild screaming coming from the bathroom. The door flew open and George burst out. He had taken off all his clothes and started to run madly around the room, shouting at the top of his lungs, "There's a barracuda in the toilet!"
There was no way to silence him. Willie and Kent couldn't even catch him.
In a few moments the neighbors would be calling the cops because of the noise. Willie and Kent knew that then they would have a lot of explaining to do. They decided it was better to anticipate the trouble by calling the cops themselves.
"Hello, police? Listen, we got a big problem. Our roommate has gone crazy. I mean he's really freaked out. You better get over here right away, otherwise who knows what's going to happen," Willie said.
Within three minutes Willie and Kent heard the sirens scream to a halt in front of their building. They heard feet pounding up the stairs and then a loud knocking at the door. Kent opened the door, and there stood two uniformed policemen. The cops came in and looked suspiciously around the room.
While all of this was going on, George had not calmed down one little bit. He was still running around the room stark naked, yelling, "There's a barracuda in the toilet! There's a barracuda in the toilet!" as loud as he could.
The cops stood there looking puzzled and finally one of them
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