Team: Afterskool Productions
School: Republic Polytechnic
A Friend in Need: Ryan notices his close friend, Kyle, struggling under the pressure of school and family expectations. Wanting to help, Ryan offers Kyle some drugs he personally uses, believing it would help him cope with stress and sleep better.
A Dangerous Dependency: What begins as occasional use quickly turns into dependency. Kyle becomes withdrawn, failing classes, and starts taking more drugs. Ryan, initially unaware, brushes off the signs thinking Kyle is just stressed.
Tragedy Strikes: Months later, Kyle is found unconscious and later dies of an overdose. Ryan is overwhelmed with guilt, realising the role he played in his friend’s downfall. Confronting Influence & Normalisation: Haunted by the tragedy, Ryan reflects on how drug use was seen as a “normal” coping mechanism among peers. He questions the culture that made it easy to access drugs and dismiss their danger.
Choosing Accountability and Recovery: Ryan decides to seek counselling, not just for his grief, but to break free from the mindset that led him to believe giving drugs was helping him. He commits to speaking up against peer pressure and raising awareness about how even well-meaning actions can have deadly consequences.
