Prologue To Chocolate Van Go

The Chronicles of an At-Risk Youth Presenting the Case Material of Oskar Quentin, High School Dropout: A Compendium for Teachers, Social Workers, Parents, and Others Looking for Insight into the Origins of Sub-Clinical Oppositional-Defiant Megalomania in the Adolescent Population

Edited by: Fiona Richards and Avery Blithe Senior Honors Students Hilltop High School

Faculty Advisor: Harold Lyron, Sp.Ed. Publication design by Fiona Richards

About the Editors Fiona Richards is a graduate of Hilltop High School, Class of 2008. As a Senior, she was Editor-In-Chief of the Hilltop Gazette, where she had also served as Copy Editor and Features Editor. She was a member of the Hilltop Honors Society and served as Vice President of Students Against Drunk Driving (Hilltop Chapter). As a Junior and a Senior, Fiona was Hilltop’s student liason to Think-First, a national injury-prevention organization that provides safety education for children and teens. Fionna has been an active member of Hilltop’s Summer Literature Society and she lettered in the Wilderness Experience for Learning Leadership (WELL). Avery Blithe is a graduate of Hilltop High School, Class of 2008. As a Senior, he was Managing Editor of the Hilltop Gazette. He was also President of Eighteen and Counting (Hilltop Chapter), a student organization that promotes fun and modest dating habits for high school students. He lettered in the Wilderness Experience for Learning Leadership, and he remains a member of Future Business Leaders of America and the Sierra Club.

Preface to the Third Edition It was a remarkable flurry of activity by which Fiona Richards and Avery Blithe compiled and published the first edition of Chronicles of an At-Risk Youth. Oskar Quentin had only disappeared weeks earlier, in May of 2008, and by June 6, Fiona and Avery had published 500 spiral bound copies of his case material, in time for Hilltop’s graduation ceremonies. As her class Valedictorian, Fiona delivered an impassioned speech on the importance of education. She and Avery had placed these copies up for sale, with all proceeds going to benefit the Hilltop Chapter of Eighteen and Counting, and they sold out, with many families buying multiple copies. By the next school year, Fiona and Avery had moved on. Fiona was studying Journalism at Scripps College, and Avery was studying Marketing at Penn State. Here at Hilltop, we ran a second printing of 1000 copies. We made them available for various school clubs to sell as a fundraising device, and to raise awareness of the problem of At-Risk Youth. This edition also sold out. Now here we are in January, six months after our first printing, publishing our third edition of 1000 copies! Some parents have expressed concern that this book could encourage rather than discourage At-Risk behavior. I stand solid in my conviction, however, that this volume can even stop the risk takers in their tracks, because I’ve never met a young person, however rebellious he or she might be, who wants to become a homeless ex-janitor like Oskar. And many of our clubs that offer students supportive and safer ways to socialize—such as Eighteen and Counting— are now enjoying a higher level of funding, thanks to the proceeds from Chronicles of an At-Risk Youth. What a gift Fiona and Avery’s school spirit has been for us all! Thus, I am proud to announce that Fiona, the designer of this publication, has been awarded the Young Publications Designer Scholarship by the Publications Design Guild of America, which will pay for her final three years of college tuition: an award worth over one hundred twelve thousand dollars. This project was a major piece of her portfolio submission for that prize. Way to go, Fiona! And ‘Go Vikings!’ —Harold Lyron, Sp.Ed.

Preface to the Fourth Edition Dear Reader: I, Oskar Quentin, have now gained control of this book, thanks to the fair and sound laws of our good nation. I have recreated the title, I’ve embellished the covers, and I’ve added some character to the little mug shot portrait of me that the ‘editors’ inserted right before the Introduction. As for the body of this work, I’ve changed very little. I do not have access to the powerful computer program that generated this book, so all the additions I’ve made have been inserted ‘by hand,’ so to speak. At the back of this book, you’ll now find an Epilogue, written by me, which will help the ‘fair and balanced’ reader to understand this story by a true ending. My only editorial remark is that, except for Mr. K’s piece, the Introduction is pretty much a dagger job several times over, and worth skipping. If you read this whole book, I thank you, but please know that proceeds from purchases no longer fund Hilltop’s Eighteen and Counting club. Sincerely, —O.Q. June 24, 2009 Austin, TX

Prologue Dear Reader: Take this compendium, if you will, as a cautionary tale. Perhaps you are a parent or a teacher: you should read this book. Hopefully, some of you are friends with, or you might yourself even be, an At-Risk Youth. Unfortunately, many At-Risk Youth don’t know themselves for what they are, for, if they did, they would refrain from taking any more of the foolish chances which landed them in jeopardy in the first place. Today, the road to happiness is narrower than at any moment in the Christian era since the days of Hitler or Ghengis Khan. The temptations to leave this road are many. The exit signs read “To Fulfillment” “To Beauty” “To Enjoyment” etcetera, and these signs proclaim their promises at every turn, every video screen, every magazine stand. It is a problem not just for youth, but for our time, and this is a moment when we most need to hear the counsel of the older and wiser among us. Yet unfortunately many young minds are slow to listen and quick to embrace appearances. Only later do they find out the deeper truth that these tempting exit signs have led them off the highway of life into neighborhoods of Doubt, Confusion, Lamentation, Poverty, and STDs. This volume consists of the collected correspondence, writings, sketches, photographs, and voice recordings of one of our classmates, Oskar Quentin. Nobody expected Oskar to drop out of high school. Oskar got passing grades, he participated in Summer Literature Society and Wilderness Experience for Learning Leadership (WELL), and he has a supportive family that believes strongly in education. We didn’t see the warning signs then, but they were there all along, and they are here in this material. For all of you who struggle in your personal or professional lives with AtRisk Youth, we offer you this volume as a primary source. The materials herein give you an insider’s look into the workings of an At-Risk mind. We can gain understanding through the study of Oskar’s case and, armed with greater understanding, be of greater service as shepherds to our flocks. As painful as this experience has been for us, some good can still come of it. Oskar has left school, left his family, and has apparently left the state; and if we can help save just one family, or one peer-group, from such loss, our effort will have been worth it. And of course, if you spot Oskar, or if you believe that you have spotted him, please report your sighting to the authorities. By publishing this volume we cast our net widely, hoping that somebody in our audience

will recognize him and help us draw Oskar back to the highway of life, that he might finally cross the bridge of education over the chasms of ignorance, and drive on to the life of dignity and purpose of adulthood. --Fiona Richards and Avery Blithe

Name: Age: Birthdate: Ethnicity:

Oskar Quentin 17 September 29, 1990 Caucasian

Height: 5’10” Weight: 145 lbs Hair: Red Hometown: Littleton, CO

IF SPOTTED PLEASE CALL 1-800-THELOST