The lure begins

That’s when the lure begins. The cigarette, stolen from a parent’s drawer.

The clink of a hidden bottle passed between friends. It’s not the nicotine or the burn of alcohol that excites, but the defiance, the rebellion simmering beneath the surface. Psychologists call it risk-seeking behaviour, a quirk of the adolescent brain wired for exploration. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for judgment, is still under construction, while the reward system is hyperactive.