Growing up, I was the quintessential “good girl”—good grades, perfect attendance, involved in extracurriculars, you name it. My brother, on the other hand, was a bit of a wild card, dabbling in underage drinking and other questionable activities.
So, imagine my shock when I came home from school one day to find my parents and a group of relatives gathered for what they called an “intervention.” They insisted they knew I was using hard drugs, claiming they had undeniable proof.
After a heated back-and-forth, they finally revealed their so-called evidence: a funky little tin I had kept on a shelf. Some time ago, I had bought a tin of boiled sweets, which came dusted in icing sugar. Once the sweets were gone, I kept the tin because it was cool, but I didn’t bother to clean out the leftover sugar. I put it on a shelf and promptly forgot about it.
(The fact that this could attract ants didn’t cross my young, naive mind.)
That leftover sugar in the tin was their “proof.” They were convinced it was some kind of drug. Furious but also bewildered, I tried to explain that it was just sugar. Nobody believed me. Everyone was talking over each other, urging me to “come clean” so they could “help” me.
Frustrated, I grabbed the tin, scooped up the leftover sugar with my finger, and ate it—all of it, probably a teaspoon or so. The room fell into stunned silence before absolute chaos erupted. My family started freaking out, convinced they had just witnessed me “overdosing.”
I turned to my aunt, who seemed the most rational person in the room, and asked her to read the side of the tin. Right there, printed in plain text, were the words “icing sugar.” It took her a moment, but I could see the gears turning. She handed the tin to my uncle, who read it and then passed it on to my parents.
After several minutes of chaos, the realization finally sunk in. One by one, the adults made their excuses and left, visibly embarrassed. My mom gave me grief for weeks about not washing out the tin, but at least they never jumped to wild, drug-related conclusions again.
Looking back, it’s hilarious. At the time? Not so much.
