Beautiful Boy

Nic’s private high school is more akin to a college—in addition to the basics of math, science, and language, it has courses in journalism, justice, religion, and politics. The teachers are devoted, and Nic quickly becomes engaged. Within the first month, he is playing on the freshman basketball team and has a role in the school play. He also gains new friends, who seem to David like good kids.

The school year goes by quickly. Nic makes time for Daisy and Jasper between his work, sports, and plays. His report cards are glowing. Then, on an afternoon in May, the freshman dean calls to tell David that he and Karen must come in for a meeting, to discuss Nic’s suspension for buying marijuana on campus—which Nic hadn’t told them about.

David starts to rationalize Nic’s behavior, saying that he is simply experimenting. Nic is not a “typical druggie.” David thinks back to his own drug use: he and friends would get stoned and hang out in the street, listening to music. Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison all died from overdoses, but these tragedies did not slow David and his friends down. They believed the stars’ deaths did not apply to them, and they felt that the public service announcements and warnings were simply ways that parents sought to control their children. One night in high school, David tried LSD, tripping as he watched a movie with his parents.

David and Karen meet with the dean and a school counselor. They say that the boy who sold Nic the pot has been expelled, but Nic will get a second chance—he will be on probation. The dean also says that Nic must attend an afternoon of drug and alcohol counseling. The counselor says that they want to help Nic make better choices, and they view this as an opportunity to learn from a mistake. David and Karen think that this is reasonable.

The dean also suggests an advisor for Nic named Don, one of the school’s science teachers. Don also loves surfing, and he is very passionate about his students. He is the school’s swimming and water polo coach. Nic is very excited about Don—the two of them even go surfing together. In the fall, when Nic returns to school, he joins the swim team on Don’s suggestion and then also joins the water polo team after the swim season is over. 

Don also encourages Nic’s interest in marine biology. At the end of Nic’s sophomore year, he applies for and is accepted into a marine biology program at the University of California at San Diego. When Nic calls from the program, he is very excited—even saying that he may want to be a marine biologist. When the program is over, he joins Vicki in LA.

Nic’s junior year is his strongest in school yet: he is  engaged in politics, the environment, and social issues. He loves his classes, especially writing, and he writes a column for the school newspaper. Encouraged by his journalism teacher, Nic submits his writing to the Earnest Hemingway Writing Award for high school journalists and wins first place. Nic continues to write, submitting a column to the “My Turn” section of Newsweek—an indictment of long-distance joint custody.

Nic’s taste in books and movies evolves. His favorites  are “an assortment of misanthropes, addicts, drunks, depressives, and suicides”: Burroughs, Kerouac, Kafka, Capote, Miller, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. During Nic’s spring break, David and Nic set off on a tour of colleges in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

Nic has an aptitude for French, and he decides to attend a summer program in Paris to study the language at the American University there. When he calls from France, he says that he’s having a great time—even landing a part in a student film. But when he returns home, David notices that he looks “terrible,” with shaggy and unkempt hair and circles under his eyes. When he asks what’s wrong, Nic simply says that he is fine, flaring up when David questions him further.

Within days, Nic complains about stomach pain, and David makes an appointment with his doctor. The examination takes an hour. When David meets with the doctor, he can sense that the doctor has more to say, but the doctor simply tells him that Nic has an ulcer. David is shocked, wondering how Nic could have an ulcer at 17.