[420 Girl]

It has been more than two years since Kester Harper has done homework. However, the 17-year-old, who dropped out of school in Form Three, yesterday began writing a 1,000-word essay and reading a novel, as ordered by Magistrate Melville Daniel.

When the Express visited him yesterday, Harper, of Golconda, San Fernando, said he had started writing the essay, which Daniel said is to be titled "Why I should not smoke marijuana".

Harper spoke of some of the points he intended to include.

"I going to say that drugs is trouble and the only thing that comes out of it is lock-up," the teen said. "Ganja is not a good thing," he added.

Both he and his father, Emmanuel Harper, said they preferred the penalties implemented by Daniel in the San Fernando Second Court on Tuesday, instead of a stint at the Youth Training Centre (YTC).

The teenager was placed in the custody of his father after being put on bail with a $20,000 surety. He had been living with his mother since his parents separated. She did not appear in court because she was said to be unable to cope with the situation.

Over the Easter weekend, the younger Harper was charged with possession of three grammes of marijuana.

Apart from writing the essay and reading the book, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, Harper was told he could not have any visits from his friends, nor would he be permitted to leave the house after 5 p.m. He said he also could not speak on his cellular phone, which was taken away from him-another penalty implemented by Daniel.

The six-foot-one-inch-tall young man said he had started reading The Pearl, as the magistrate instructed. The book was given to him by his godmother, he said.

The novel is about Kino, a pearl diver, who finds a great pearl. Kino believes the pearl will bring a better life for his family, as they had been living in poverty for several years. However, the gem brings deception, murder and destruction to his life and leads to the death of his son, Coyotito. Realising the damage the pearl brings to his life, Kino throws it back into the sea.

Harper, a former Williamsville Junior Secondary School student, said he intended to start school at SERVOL later this year. In the interim, his brother, Kayode, said he was seeking a job for him in the construction industry to keep him occupied. "When you working, you only have time to sleep and go to work. It is when you doing nothing you get in trouble," Kayode Harper, 22, said.

Harper is to reappear in court next Thursday with the completed essay-in his handwriting.

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