DR. WALLACE: I'm a 21-year-old female, and my boyfriend is exactly 20 years and three months old. I don't really like to drink, but my boyfriend and his friends all drink every weekend. Lately he wants me to go out and buy alcohol for him and his underage friends. Some of these friends are as young as 17 and 18, so this makes me very uncomfortable.

How can I get him to stop asking me to buy his alcohol for him? I'm tired of being his mule and I'm worried that these younger kids are going to get into trouble by getting drunk on booze that I purchased. — Not Comfortable With This Arrangement, via email

NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT: It's relatively easy for you to get him to stop asking you to buy alcohol for him. Simply leave this relationship immediately since it's obvious that he's more interested in your purchasing power than he is in respecting you.

And you're quite correct that you will be opening yourself up to severe liability if anything goes wrong with him, his underage friends or anyone else they pass "your" alcohol out to.

Stay away from the situation entirely and get yourself free of him. Within a short period of time, you'll have peace of mind and tranquility that you will enjoy by not being asked to do something that you know is inherently wrong.

I DON'T WANT TO LOSE A GOOD FRIEND OVER THIS

DR. WALLACE: I tore up my knee playing football in my best friend's large backyard because he pushed me into a sprinkler and my leg buckled.

It turns out that I had torn cartilage in my knee, and I needed a minor surgery. My father wants me to get my friend's father to pay for my medical costs since it happened in their yard and because my friend was the one who pushed me hard and caused me to hit the sprinkler.

But the truth is, I don't want to go after my friend or his parents because they're good friends of mine, and I'm afraid this might break up my friendship with my friend and his family. Besides, this was an accident; we were both playing equally hard when we were on defense, and I could've just as easily pushed him out of bounds in a similar way.

I told my father this and now he is going to make me pay him back for the amount of the medical bills that were not covered by our weak medical policy. Is this fair? I'd like your opinion here. I don't have much money at all now and this would mean I'll need to work for a long time to pay him back once I find a job. — Injured and Broke, via email

INJURED AND BROKE: You're definitely in a tough situation here, and I can understand your hesitancy in "going after" your friend and his family. But there is another approach here that you might try, just in case it might make a difference.

You could tell your friend and his parents exactly what your father's position is. Then explain that you told your father you would not be asking for any assistance from your friend or his family. This will at least put the issue out there in case your friend's family might have an excellent insurance policy or in case they don't have any problem filing a claim to help you out.

But if they don't say anything along those lines, I would just smile, explain that you'd rather work your debt off with your father than lose good friends, and simply let it go.

My personal opinion is that your father should cover your medical expenses or at the very least meet you halfway.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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