I had to win this race. It was the final race in the season, and my rowing coach was depending on me. We had been on a streak, winning every race. We were racing local teams and were crushing them. We were now rowing against national teams. These teams were much better than us, and we were very unprepared. The other kids were much bigger, and none looked like they were our age. I wish they would check the ages of the other kids. To win we would have to improve by a lot. Even our 3 hours a day, 6 days a week training didn’t prepare us for this. My teammates had the idea to take a lot of caffeine right before the race. It was a good idea, but there was no doubt the other teams would be doing the same thing. We needed something to give us an advantage over the other teams. Caffeine was great for a quick boost, but we needed more than that.

What about something a little stronger? Everyone was depending on me. I could already imagine the praise I would receive. I weighed the pros and cons, and the good things seemed to outweigh the bad. Many professional athletes do it too, right? It would only be for one race, and I would never have to use them again. I would make sure to be completely prepared for our next race. Who will know, they don’t drug test at our level. Right? I had been offered them earlier in the season, but I declined. I told myself I would never do something so stupid, but things had changed since then. There was more at stake now. 

About an hour before the race started, I approached Micheal, the same guy who offered them to me earlier in the year. He knew what I wanted before I even got to him. He saw the same thing I did and must have come to the same conclusion. I asked him if he still had stanozolol, one of the most common anabolic steroids, used to improve performance right before matches. I handed him the money and he gave me a small bottle, and I shoved them in my pocket. All I had to do was take them right before the race. It would give me the boost that I needed to win. When I finished, I would get rid of the bottle, and it would be over. I would never use them again. The megaphone called our race number. It was now or never. I took out the bottle, looking across at Michael, who had just swallowed his pills. I knew it was wrong, but people were depending on me. Imagine how disappointed my parents and coach would be if I lost. On the other hand, how would they feel if they learned I had taken drugs just to win? Michael was now looking at me, waiting to see what I would do. I put the bottle back in my pocket and walked out to the dock.

I didn’t win that race. In fact, I came quite close to last. Surprisingly, Michael only finished one place ahead of me. My coach was disappointed that I lost. My team was upset that we didn’t win. I had tossed the bottle away when I got back on land. Would it have been better if I had taken them and won? I don’t know, but I know this for sure: as I walked away, my only regret was the forty dollars that were wasted.