School Cults
	I sat in the dark feeling jittery, anxious.  I had to keep calm though,  there was no
way they could know that I was here or what I was about to tell.  The door suddenly flew
open in the little room.  I jumped to my feet.  My heart thudded against my chest.  They
had found me.
	“Calm down, sit down,” the man said to me.  I sighed with relief.  They hadn’t
found me, this was my contact.
	“Come inside quickly.  Close the door and be sure to lock it,” I said feeling on
edge.  He did and asked, “May I turn on the light?”
	“No!  Just start the tape recorder.”  
	A little red light came on and I could hear the recorder going.  “This is how it is.  I
was a normal freshman.  I loved school, got good grades, and was very happy.  Then I
was tempted.  They said, ‘Just try it, I know you’ll like it.’  I was sure that I would.  I was
also sure that I wouldn’t get hooked, but I was wrong.  I did get hooked.  It started out
just a few times a week and then every weekend.  Before I knew it though it was every
day.”
	He sounded stunned.  “Can high school band affect you like that?”
	“It’s a cult I tell you!” Even I could tell that I sounded like a raving lunatic. 
Calmer I said, “The leader, Dwayne Pavel-Czech, draws you in and keeps you there with
promises of new instruments and trips.  He puts subliminal messages in the recordings he
plays for us and we are made to chant and play the same things over and over.  He also
makes us do fund-raisers to support this cult.  We have uniforms and consider harshly
anyone who is not a member.
	“Pavel-Czech took a liking to me when I was just starting out in pep band a few
times a week.  He was the one who lured me into the daytime band.  I didn’t really like
Pavel-Czech.  Something about him rubbed me the wrong way, but I wasn’t there for him. 
I was there for the music.  At the time I didn’t suspect that I was mixed up in a cult.
	“I began to suspect when I told him that I couldn’t fit band into my schedule.  He
became very upset, I’d never seen him like that before.  He told me to list out my classes
and quickly rearranged it so I could take band.  At the time I though it odd but not too
odd.
	“I did start to think it odd when my best friend, Kathleen, had the same problem,
but she really couldn’t fit it in.  After that Pavel-Czech snubbed her and others in the band
started to as well.
	“This would not stand.  I realized what I was doing and went to tell Pavel-Czech
that I wanted out.  When I did he and the band turned on me.  They were losing too many
and Pavel-Czech didn’t want us to tell others the secrets of the band.
	“I knew I couldn’t take on Pavel-Czech and the band.  They were too strong so
I’ve decided to expose them.  It’s the only way I can get out of Pavel-Czech’s grasp.”
	The tape recorder clicked off.  “That’s an amazing story Leira.  Don’t worry, I’ll
get your story out.”
	The next day the front page headline of the newspaper read:
Teen Cults:  Is Your Child Safe in Band?