Cute, bubbly and blonde, 15-year-old Allison Carpenter is your all-American girl. She makes good grades, hopes to be a cheerleader and attends a church youth group.

Yet, it doesn't strike her as a big deal to drink alcohol now and then. Usually it's beer, except for that one night this summer at the movies when she met an older guy.

He gave her hard liquor. She gave him oral sex. It was her first time for both - and after her mom picked her up, she was home in bed by 10:30 p.m.

Wake-up Call

If Allison's story jolts every parent in the country, it should. According to a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, almost half of all eighth-graders have consumed alcohol and 44 percent of all the youth who have had drinks in the past year were described by their parents as nondrinkers. Even more alarming, 55 percent of children ages 12 to 17 are at moderate or high risk for substance abuse, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. Snapshots like Allison's are found all over the country. And they don't make for a pretty scrapbook.

In exchange for their candor, the youth interviewed for this article are given pseudonyms and not identified by location. But from Washington state to Washington, D.C., from the Deep South to the Midwest, these are not the body-pierced, tattooed kids adults shake their heads at in malls. They are middle-class, average looking and active in extracurricular activities. They are in private and public schools and they are Caucasian, Hispanic and African-American.

They are Anykid USA.

Risky Business

In Allison's case, she was hang-ing out in front of the movie theater, just like thousands of kids do on Friday nights.

"I was waiting for my friend to get something from her car and this guy came up and started asking all about me. He asked if I wanted to get out of the heat...you know, go see a movie or something," she says.

The guy, who Allison guessed to be maybe 20 or 21, bought tickets to a summer box office bomb. They sat in the back row, where he pulled out a bottle of liquor and offered her some.

"It tasted terrible, but it made me feel relaxed," she says. Before the opening scene of the movie was over, his right hand was underneath her skirt. "It was intense. I mean, it's embarrassing to talk about. I just, well, it didn't ever stop," she says.

While underage drinking does not always lead to sexual activity, it almost always causes teens to take more risks. Forty-four percent of sexually active teenagers report that they are more likely to have intercourse if they have been drinking.

For example, Kevin, an 18-year-old former high school football player on the A/B honor roll, says a favorite teen pastime is to watch videos of drunk teens doing stupid things. "Guys will get really drunk and do nasty things to mannequins at malls or jump off of roofs-then we'll all sit around and watch it on video later," he says.

He also says alcohol use is common in school.

"You'll see water bottles filled with clear alcohol, apple juice bottles with beer in them or cola bottles with some kind of hard liquor mixed in. It's easy to mix in the bathroom before you go to class," he says.

And while many of the interviewees say they do not regularly drink and drive, research shows that young drivers are more often involved in alcohol-related crashes than any other age group. In 2002, 27 percent of young male drivers and 11 percent of young female drivers who were involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Snapshots of Alcohol Use

Sometimes alcohol use leads to drug use. A cross-country runner, Justin, 15, says he used to drink heavily. But beer led to marijuana. And getting busted by his parents for marijuana use forced him to pull in the reins on everything.

"My friends and I agree: When you're drunk off beer, it's great. When you're high, it's great. When you combine beer with pot, it's basically the best," he says. "But since I got busted I have to be more careful. I'm more open to drinking now than smoking because I'm less likely to get caught drinking."

On the other side of the country, 18-year-old Jason is trying to get his life back on track after landing in the criminal justice system for selling drugs. He started drinking at age 15.

"When I drank, I usually mixed other drugs in with it," he says, adding that he has done marijuana, Ecstasy, cocaine and prescription pills.

Back in the movie theater crowd, 14-year-old Lindsey takes a prescription antidepressant to even out behaviors caused by obsessive-compulsive disorder. She also drinks, even though the prescription label warns against it.

"Since I'm on an antidepressant, I try to keep my drinking in moderation-no more than four bottles of beer or a couple shots every weekend or every other weekend," she says.

Then there's Mark, an 18-year-old who says regular alcohol use-and later marijuana use-pushed him to steal money, get lazy with home-work and cheat on tests. In fact, statistics show that high school students who use alcohol or other substances are five times more likely than other students to drop out of school or to believe that earning good grades is not important. Alcohol and other drugs also made Mark more aggressive.

"One time I started a fight with a guy who was yelling something at this party-basically, he was just getting on my nerves," Mark says, admitting he would not have started the fight if he were sober.

He also says he is more sexually aggressive with girls when he's had alcohol. Now away at college, he says he often spends time with girls who have been drinking. "Girls are more relaxed with alcohol. I am too-it makes me more prone to be sexual. Usually it's just kissing, touching and oral sex," he says, adding that he had intercourse once when he was drunk. He's sure he didn't use a condom.

Going 'All The Way'

Other stories of alcohol and high-risk sexual activity abound.

Ginger, 16, says she drinks about 12 to 16 beers a week. She has a deep, beautiful skin tone and dark eyes-eyes that don't flinch when she tells of how at age 15, her boyfriend gave her several beers and convinced her to "go all the way" with him.

"I was in control. I knew what I was doing, even if there are parts of it I don't remember," she says.

Older does not necessarily mean wiser when it comes to underage drinking. Each year, drinking by college students ages 18 to 24 contributes to more than 70,000 sexual assaults and 400,000 young adults engaging in unprotected sex.

Debbie, a 20-year-old college student, is still haunted by the time she was so drunk she passed out on her boyfriend's bed.

"When I woke up I definitely didn't have a shirt on anymore. He was all over me-kissing my neck, groping me and trying to get my pants off," she says. "I'm so lucky I didn't get raped. I know girls who have."

Contrary to the stereotype, girls are not always the vulnerable party in drunken sexual encounters. Kevin says his best friend was taken advantage of by a girl.

"We were at a house party and this girl-a girl you wouldn't normally mess around with-was trying to get guys to do stuff with her," he says.

As the party got into full swing, Kevin and a buddy went to check on his best friend, who was passed out in an upstairs bedroom. "We walked in and she was on top of him; his pants were open. We thought he was enjoying it. Then we realized he wasn't even coherent," he says. "We took some pictures and got her off of him."

Why They Drink

No doubt, social acceptance is a top motivation for underage drinkers. As Debbie, the college student, says, "It's not like I was pressured into drinking, but that's kind of what you do when you hang out with your friends. It's just the social norm."

Similarly, others say they drink for fun.

"I drink to be more social. It makes me more outgoing. Alcohol basically enhances anything you do," Mark says.

Ginger agrees, saying she feels like the life of the party when she's been drinking.

Justin says he drinks for fun-and for the relaxed feeling. "Anything that gets me to that feeling is great. I don't mind mixing drinks. It gets you buzzed quicker," he says.

Besides drinking for social reasons, what might surprise parents is the big-time boredom that many underage drinkers say they are trying to beat.

"If you're bored, beer is key. It'll give you something to do even if you don't remember it," says Melissa, a 14-year-old who lives in a rural area.

There's boredom in the big city too. Remember Allison, a regular on the teen scene outside the movies? "You can only hang out at the movies or the mall so many times before it gets old," she says. In fact, she says, the main reason she drank and interacted sexually with a stranger this summer was boredom.

Some interviewees openly admit they like the feeling of losing control. Others feel like alcohol gives them more control-more courage to do things they might not ordinarily do. Other underage drinkers say that they are stressed out by their parents, their studies or life in general.

For example, 13-year-old Tyler says he doesn't drink much-maybe two beers in a sitting. But when he does, he's usually alone. "I've got school stress. Beer helps me calm down," he says.

And Justin, the one whose parents busted him for marijuana use, says he turned to beer and marijuana because of the pressure they put on him to get good grades. "If I'm stressed by my parents, getting drunk or high makes it all go away," he says.

A Matter of Trust

Ironically, some of the teens want to be trusted by their parents, even though they know they are violating that trust.

"I know it sounds crazy, but you should trust your kids and let them learn from their own experiences. I'm glad my parents trust me even though I'm doing things I shouldn't. They're letting me make my own decisions," Melissa says.

Since he got busted, Justin says he is working hard to earn back his parents trust. Yet, he still drinks and also says he's pretty sure he'll drink and drive when he gets his license. "I'd like to think I won't, but it will probably happen sometime. It's going to come up," he says.

And Tyler, the 13-year-old who drinks to calm his stress, says he used to drink a lot, back when he was 12. "I got caught and was grounded for a month. But I worked hard to earn my parents' trust back-that's why I don't drink as much now."

While such comments may sound hopeless, there is more to the story. In all three situations, the teens say their parents never talked to them about alcohol use-at least not until after they got caught, in the cases of Justin and Tyler.

"Before I got caught, if an anti-drug commercial came on TV they would say, 'Son, did you see that?' That was the extent of it," Justin says. "Even after I got caught, it was mostly a bunch of stuff from pamphlets that they threw in my face."

And Tyler says his parents have never warned him why he shouldn't drink. They just warned him that if he drinks again, he'll be grounded for twice as long.

Difficult to Escape

While talking with your kids may help them make the right choices, it may not be a guarantee that alcohol won't affect their lives. Every day-sometimes at unpredictable times and places-kids face situations that involve alcohol. Sometimes they have a choice to walk away. Some-times exposure to alcohol catches them off guard, and they must be quick-thinking and aware of their surroundings.

Take Ethan for example. He grew up in a close-knit family that spent time around the dinner table. Ethan remembers his parents talking with him about the dangers of drinking.

He heeded their warnings, but wishes he could have been more aware of what was going on around him one day near the end of his senior year.

Just eight days before graduation, he got to math class winded and sweaty from PE, so he asked a friend for a swig of his sports drink. "I took a couple decent-sized drinks before I knew it had alcohol in it," he says.

When his friend got busted, his "friend" told the principal Ethan had been drinking with him all day. With a blood alcohol level of .02 percent, Ethan was suspended and prevented from graduating.

"Even though I didn't drink in high school, alcohol definitely affected me," he says. "I paid for my cap and gown and didn't even get to use it."

'I've Never Puked Once...'

Back at the movie theater complex where Allison and other teens hang out, it's 9:30 on a Friday night and the younger crowd starts thinning as parents-some of whom have been inside the theaters-take their kids home.

Sitting at a table in a nearby court-yard coffee shop, 14-year-old Mitch says his parents have been out of touch with him since he started junior high. As long as his grades are Cs or better and he doesn't play his radio too loud, he doesn't have "to deal with them" much.

As for alcohol use, he sipped his first beer at 9, but didn't "get into drinking" until age 11. "I've drunk up to 13 shots of liquor and I've never puked once," he brags, excusing himself from being interviewed to join his friends-one of whom arrived flaunting a 32-ounce cola reeking of whiskey. It takes six mouths and about 30 seconds to suck the drink dry-all while a security guard strolls the premises about 10 feet away. Obviously in command of the group, Mitch invites his friends to his table, boasting about being interviewed for a national magazine.

This impromptu panel of three girls and three guys, ranging in age from 13 to 15, say they drink what they can, where they can and when they can. They steal hard stuff from their parents, but admit beer is easier to come by-especially from those who have older siblings.

They swap stories on how best to cover up the evening's alcohol use. One opts for breath strips while another says two sticks of cinnamon gum gets him by. Another remarks how handy it is that she's expected to wash her own laundry.

Finally, one of Mitch's 14-year-old friends asks what magazine they would be in.

"Oh cool," he quips, after learning the interview was for DRIVEN. "I know about MADD-and boy would my mom be mad! I've been drinking all night."

Five minutes later his cell phone rings. It's his mom. She is on her way to pick him up, none the wiser.