Alex's BIG day of trouble!

So Saturday was  a CRAZY day. ALL DAY LONG DRILL COMPETITION. No, not one that I sat at, cheered loud and ran around helping the drill team with make-up and gluing the jewels back on their shoes. No. This was the FUNDRAISER that required BOTH parents there from 6 am until late all day Saturday. (Not to mention I sat collecting money Friday night from 4:00 to 9:00 pm) It was our drill teams fundraiser to raise money for nationals. 

It was long. It was boring. James and I were assigned security at the bottom of the stairwells to make sure boys/men and those not authorized to go upstairs with the teams, didn't. Ten hours of guarding the stairwell and then it was clean up, clean up, clean up.

LONG DAY.

Alex and Rylee were home with Kambree - who had come home for the wedding the day before but had a date that afternoon. I gave strict instructions to check in and let me know where everyone was. Alex had a basketball game at one that I had Kambree take him to and from and around 3 he told me he was going to his friend, Ethan's house. 

Around six I asked everyone to check in. Ry did. No answer from Alex.

At 7:30 I tried again. Again no answer from Alex. 

I called home. No answer.

At nine I started getting nervous. I called Ry who told me that she thought he was going sledding. I called the friend where he was at last and they said he left at 4:30 with two other boys. I called my sister to check the sledding hill and if she had seen him? I called the first boy's family and they said that he had been at our house until 8 but was home now. I text Alex and told him I was coming home at ten to find him if I hadn't heard from him and at about 9:50 pm I got a text. "home" was all it said.

I called and gave him an ear full and told him to take his bath and to write down everything he did during the day - to account for where he had been and then to write about why he didn't communicate, why he broke the rules (having friends over when we weren't home) and what his consequence should be. 

Oh. Boy.

He confessed he had been on the computer, playing X-box at Ethan's, hacked into Austin's X-box and played at home with Soren and was so involved in gaming that he couldn't answer the phone nor did he have his cell phone on him.

Disappointed just isn't the right word. 

James came up with the plan that he needs to manage his own life. Figure this out for himself. I'm not sure he has the skill set he needs to do this and I was furious. 

Furious that he had me so buffaloed. That I believed him. That he was playing "lego's" all this time and Ethan's. And furious that James is saying "Let him figure this out if he can play video games and balance the rest of his life, then so be it."
Alex thinks he can do it but he doesn't think I believe he can.
I told him I didn't and I challenged him to prove me wrong!
I guess we will see how this new "Alex take charge of your life" plan goes. What do we have to lose? It's not like any other plan is working, is it?