There was that sporadic rain/thunder shower that swept over Boston at 3:30 and delayed the first pitch a half hour. It was during this time, whoever controls the music being played over the speakers at Fenway played "Baba O'Riley" by The Who. It was the first time I heard the song in a long time, but only two things come to mind when I do hear it. The first, sophomore year English in high school and the second an episode of House, when House was mock-playing the intro on his desk.
"Teenage Wasteland" is the story of young 15-year-old high school student, Donny Coble, who would rather be skipping classes, smoking in the school bathrooms and leaving campus to drink beer, instead of going to class. Not going to class and not doing his homework, Donny was less than an ideal student. His grades improved slightly when his mother, Daisy, began working with him and checking his work, but it was only marginal improvement.
Donny's principal suggested sending him to a therapist to have him evaluated. When the therapist reported back no signs of emotional problems other than being an angsty teenage boy, the principal and his parents, Daisy and Matt suggested a tutor. This is when things began to spiral out of control.
His tutor Calvin Beadle, Cal for short, is a relatively young guy, who is divorced. Cal is always "tutoring" a bunch of teenager at his house, but unfortunately for Donny he isn't helping. Donny's history teacher phones Daisy one day and informs her that Donny is no longer improving, he has regressed and was now failing despite having a tutor. Daisy calls Cal and they have a chat, which ultimate ends up with Cal manipulating her that his history teacher was the problem not Cal.
Donny is still spiraling, eventually getting expelled from his private high school for having beer and cigarettes in his locker. Instead of heading right home, Donny hails a cab (yeah this was back in the day when people took cabs) and zooms off to Cal. Daisy and Matt have begun to catch on to Cal so they stopped Donny's "tutoring" sessions and enroll him in public school. Donny does well. Does all his homework and his grades improve, but one day he vanishes. Never coms home from school. No idea where her son is, Daisy lies awake at night and thinks about how things when so very wrong.
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There's the, relatively, brief synopsis of the short story. I really don't know where to start.
First, Donny is just your typical troublesome 15-year-old that needs rules and boundaries. Even hough he says he doesn't want them, he secretly craves them.
Second, the only thing I see in Cal is guy Mr. Mack in the Boy Meets World episode "Cult Fiction." Cal is a teenage cult leader. Seriously, he's been tutoring kids for five years and they still need him? How is that possible? Plus don't even get me started on that fact that he openly admits his personal problems involving his failed marriage to a "controlling woman." Donny never did anything wrong in Cal's mind. It was always the other person's fault, never Donny's. All the host things are warning flags. Matt saw them and so did the history teacher.
Third, what truly happened to Donny? We will never know there are so many theories. One theory is he simply ran far away - far enough away that no one would ever know who is was. But there is a hole in this theory. How far could he really get on his own? And wouldn't someone notice him somewhere along the line.
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