LINDA

Linda Chapin, a junior in high school with a reputation for moralizing, finds herself in the tenuous position of having to make a difficult choice which is likely to have grave consequences. There is a minor collision between two cars, and the blame has been fixed upon Doug, a newcomer to the town who has thwarted Linda's attempts to be friendly. Linda knows, however, that the occupants of the other car, among them her best friend, had been drinking, and that the driver, Steve Atkins, who is the school's football hero, was driving very recklessly at the time. She is also aware that if she reveals these facts, Steve will be removed from the team, he will lose his eligibility for All-Star award and the high school may lost its championship. When she earns, however, that beer bottles have been planted in Doug's car and that consequently Doug may be expelled, she is determined to set the record straight. The situation becomes even more complex when Linda realizes that her father will lose an important business deal with Mr. Atkins, who controls a good deal of the town, and Linda suddenly appears to be leading a crusade against bossism. The whole problem is solved rather artificially when a second accident occurs in which Steve is clearly the offender. Decisions involving conflicting responsibilities and in which there is no clear-cut division between right and wrong can be very difficult. The impact of this point gets lost, as the situation becomes overly involved and contrived.