R.R. and Blaine.

"Made it, safe on first!" Blaine had arrived home to his share house in the taxi he had hastily summoned. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror on his dresser. He was still flushed, bit bleary-eyed, plump, unassuming. His co-students in his final year of college had invited him to a party house to celebrate the end of first semester.

The music had been throbbing, the wine and beers were flowing freely. Blaine had not eaten any dinner before he went, ran short of time again. Was that really an excuse? As his student pals had kept filling his glass with booze, he had stood there, feeling the vibes in his soul. He was definitely not used to this scene.

Then an older girl in a revealing red dress danced up, luring him into an embracing dance, smiling and very well-endowed. Blaine was soon feeling fabulous. He was normally so studious, reserved and quiet, really focused on his studies.

The alcohol in his system released some of his reluctance, as Tamar's flashing eyes sparkled when she kissed him suggestively, rubbing her large entrancers against him. Then she took him by the hand, leading him to a darkened bedroom, to a rumpled bed. Her hands and lips seemed to be all over him. Blaine was snagged by her spell, she was so attractive. He was already making excuses for himself.

When the music paused, Tamar slid a blue tablet on his tongue. "Let it dissolve," she whispered, "Feel the buzz, it will turn you on," her voice was husky, alluring. Blaine fought this temptation from taking him into its web. He could not return to his past, back to high school, at another party which had ended lots of his youthful dreams.

Then his high school sweetheart had been Meredith. Blaine had been in love with her since they were both 12 years old. On that dreadful party night, Meredith had been playing up again. She had been celebrating some teenage behaviours for a while before then. Blaine had always held back a bit, not wanting to get his beloved pregnant.

He had stood in many a corner of a teen party, wondering why his young gal was blossoming in such silly directions. When he asked Meredith, she had always giggled, "It's R. R. My Rogue Rabbit wants me to be happy, dance and never get old. Come on, let's party....." Blaine thought R. R. was a silly excuse, but he did not know how to stop his girl. He was always there to get her home to her house in one piece, despite her fooling with other boys.

He wondered what all that booze and some of the party pills were doing to his sweet darling. Meredith was still the one he could see himself being married to, when they grew up. He did not believe in R. R., as both of these teenagers had been brought up in the Christian faith. At that stage, Blaine was thinking about studying to be a preacher in the church, preparing by leading the youth group.

On Meredith's last night on the planet, that party they had attended had also meant tablets being shared, party drugs. The older teenagers had been there, keenly eyeing Blaine's gal and her pals, all swaying and more than behaving badly. Meredith's Rogue Rabbit, R.R., finally led her to take more tablets and binge drink, as the older guys leered at her.

Blaine did not want Meredith going home with any of them in their cars, she had barely turned 16. Somehow, he had persuaded her to let him walk her home before she tripped up trouble. He was very worried, how they were both planning some excuses to explain Meredith's state to her parents. Meredith suddenly started vomiting, she could not seem to stop. She was muttering to herself, "R. R. this is not very romantic."

The moon was full, the air was mild, but Meredith spasmed, moaning and feverish. Blaine was holding her head, her temperature was burning up. Then she was gone, never to grow old. Blaine held her for a while, then he called his father and an ambulance. The party went on and on.

Blaine had copped a lot of the blame from Meredith's parents and the church group, but no one listened to his excuses. The teens left high school, stopped texting him or placing flowers for his lost love. Blaine could not study, he took a gap year. He sat in his room, full of grief and regrets. Eventually, he decided to return to studying online, for his graduation from high school. His peers had mostly turned the page.

Blaine had made it to college, where he was applying himself to community youth counselling, rather than religious studies. His creed meant he shared his kind smiles to all he met, but stayed withdrawn from the social scene of his college pals. Now here he was, having pushed back from Tamar and her drugs. He did notice that those so-called pals were enjoying a good laugh at him, as he had quietly left their party house.

Blaine realised now that he was never one of that crowd, in spite of the enticing, tempting women like Tamar. He had nearly been persuaded. He took off his shirt, still feeling betrayed by his peers. Then a small plastic pouch of tablets fell from his top pocket. For an instant, Blaine was really tempted, wondering all that time later if he should stop resisting, be with Meredith forever. Would that be his last excuse? He could pop the lot, give in to that R.R., her Rogue Rabbit.

But no, his creed and his Lord gave him the inner strength to resist, he did not want to end up like that. Jesus was the blessed curator of Blaine's future. Maybe the Almighty sends battles to overcome by any mortal in the human zoo. So he hurled the pills across the room, but missed the bin.

Blaine did sleep through the night, after some tossing and turning. The sun rose, beaming through the curtains. It was Easter Sunday, the day of celebrating the Lord and His promise. The R.R. was still there, ready to lead any young one to party misbehaviours and bad choices.

Blaine woke to the blessings of the church bells, he was determined to survive such setbacks. Somehow, he was going to spread his message to the young people he could reach when he was a counsellor. He was planning to flush the pills down the loo, and forget Tamar ever existed. But then, he heard a faint tapping on his bedroom door.

Blaine opened his door. There sat a cute little Easter bunny, chocolate and wrapped in gold foil, with a ribbon on it. He smiled, Aussie sacramental worship has a distinctly chocolate center. "Jesus bless you," Blaine thought. He sat down on his bed, where he unwrapped his bunny, to start munching at the rabbit's ears. He ate and enjoyed the lot. He smiled even more when he read the note attached. "Keep on being you beautifully. Happy Easter." R. R. had failed again, that was the bunny's excuse.