Another contest, regarding poems of peer pressure

The exercise here was to write a poem aimed at teens, in words they could relate to, family-friendly, about peer pressure, the evils of substance abuse, etc. 15 poems will be selected to be showcased at a poetry festival in Scotland. Here is my humble entry.

Alone, Aloof, Me

Every day, I walk
the hallowed halls of high school,
with both eyes and pencils
sharpened, like eagle's talons.

First, I see the popular kids,
money to burn, acid to spill,
each year one kills themselves
by coke, bulemia, anorexia,
or by their own hand,
caught up in the paradox
of being both precious
and pressured.

Over there are the faithful freaks,
purveyors and connaisseurs
of fine pot.
I prefer the conversations to their wares,
they are so unaware, it amuses me.
Every year, one or two drop out of school,
give up, decide to take the lower road.
It's easier that way, isn't it?
I have no need for judgement made of clouds.

The Goths, Punks and Metalheads
are almost indistinguishable these days.
I dig all the tunes, but hate to see lives ruined
by acid dreams, drunken brawls, bad choices
regarding who's behind the wheel.
I'm nineteen. This is my crowd,
and I'm watching a friend bleed to death
on an icy rural road.
We all knew
we should have taken the keys.

No one spoke up, nobody thought.
It was just another night out.

Forget all of you.
If being alone and aloof
allows me to be me,
call me a trailblazer,
an individual,
and stop calling.