The issue of drinking and driving is never discussed outright, only the consequences are mentioned. When a drunken Craig drives fast and recklessly from the Christmas dance, Chelsea and Pod follow and find Chelsea's dog dead, but still warm, beside the road from a hit-and-run driver. Chelsea never admits it was Craig, she did not actually see his car hit the dog, but the thought creeps unbidden into her mind.

When Craig is brain-damaged and paralyzed from drinking and driving the night of Senior Summer, Chelsea is spurred into action to make sure that other students get help instead of heading out of control like Craig. Although she does not have much effect, and her mother resigns her counseling job anyway, Chelsea understands cause and effect from bad choices.

Permissively reared children, like Ashley and Craig, have a problem with heroes. They do not look up...