Peer Pressure

I went on a class trip to the Bronx Zoo when I was in Sixth Grade.  One of the boys in my class who was named Billy brought three packages of Ex-Lax along with him.  I was not all that friendly with Billy, but he was popular with other kids.  I was standing by the gorilla cage when I saw Billy throw several tablets of Ex-Lax to the gorilla.  Billy and his pals all cracked up laughing saying how awful that gorilla was going to feel later when he had to make poop.  I wondered why these boys thought that torturing a defenseless animal was so funny, but I watched and I did not say anything.  Secretly I was hoping that the gorilla would make poop and then throw it at Billy.

Next, Billy and his buddies went over by the camels where Billy threw the rest of his Ex-Lax out.  I can still remember all of them laughing after the camel came along and ate it.  They were all saying that the camel was going to shit his whole hump out.  I did not think that this was funny like the other boys did, as it just seemed cruel and mean to me.  I still regret having succumbed to the peer pressure of the other boys laughing and I wish that I would have had the courage to tell the teacher what Billy did.