And it had all concluded in a larger mess than when the misery of their situation had begun. Seated outside MILLER'S DRUGSTORE in a brutally broken row of three, Mary slowly let reality sink in. 'Barely a teenager,'� she thought, and I'm already headed for a life without parole.'�
Crying as hard as she thought her underdeveloped heart would allow the worst of it suddenly hit her: 'I'm never even going to get a chance to kiss my first boy.'� She inched closer to Rachel and slipped her hand into hers. 'I might as well prepare to be a lesbian.'�
Rachel felt Mary's hand and squeezed it, assuming it was comfort Mary desired. Turning her head to smile at Mary, Rachel knew it was her responsibility to keep the youngers calm. She was, after all, going to be the first one to have her 14th birthday in two weeks. Her mom had helped her to plan a slumber party, and they had just finished the shopping list last night, topped off with cookie dough, Jolly Ranchers, and frosting, inadvertently feeding the girls' fragile waistlines and newly spawned acne.
Letting her gaze drift towards the sky, Rachel noticed the sun barely peaking out from behind the church across the street in that late afternoon moment. She ran her hand through her long dark brown ponytail and thought about how she should have been back at the house by then, mission accomplished. If it got dark, and her mom arrived home from job # 1 before Rachel got there, she knew she'd be in even more trouble than she was right now. If there was anything Rachel feared, it was hardly prison. Her mother's temper may be the only thing she cowered too. Probably for the most part out of adoration.
Reaching over to pat Shelby's back, Rachel heard the police radio spout out something about a robbery two blocks over on 67th Street, and 3rd. She hoped her older brother, Peter, who worked as a dishwasher at the CHINA ONE GRILLE over that way wasn't involved. Not that she saw him much since the divorce.
Shelby, completely engulfed in a unflattering blend of her own tears and snot, pulled her long red hair from under Rachel's palm and inched away from her consoling caress. It was Rachel who was to blame for the whole incident anyway. They would have never been caught if she had not made them do it. Shelby thumbed a quarter in her pocket, hoping to calm her nerves, but stopped abruptly when she realized the cops would probably search her and think she stole that too. Shelby's parents had always told her not to get involved with girls from the poor side of town, but Rachel had never admitted that fact until it was too late and they had become the best of friends.
Lieutenant Haberdasher strode over to the girls, stone faced. He stared at them intently, none of the girls knowing directly who he was looking at through his intensely dark tinted sunglasses. They did know, however, that whoever he was staring at must be who he thought was guilty. He paced in front of them for minutes that seemed like years to the young delinquents, and finally stopped in front of Mary, her bright green eyes suddenly dismal and pointed at the ground.
'You.'�
Mary looked up and tucked her short blonde hair behind her ears, small pieces falling gently back into her line of vision.
'Come with me,'� Haberdasher said. Mary followed the officer, remaining emotionless as she made her way over to the cruiser walking slowly behind the pudgey lieutenant. The other girls watched anxiously as Mary sat down in the back of the car with the door open, and the lieutenant crouched down to speak with her at the juvenile level.
Mary sat in the back of the police car, proud in her silence.
'Now we're going to need to know everything that happened today, Miss'�'�
'I plead the fifth.'�
'Excuse me?'� Haberdasher looked not only confused, but amused.
'I plead the fifth. I don't have to tell you anything, I know my rights.'� Mary's father would be so proud of her next time her and mom went for a visit. She could barely wait to tell him how she'd outsmarted the selfish pigs.
Haberdasher sighed, and stood up. Reaching into his left back pocket, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit up. Mary started to cough loudly, looking directly at Haberdasher's back. He turned to her, and she glared at him. Sighing once more, he dropped it to the ground, and smothered it with his steel-toed shoes. Mary peeked around Haberdasher to see how her friends were holding up.
Rachel scooted closer to Shelby, barely noticing as Shelby scooted double the distance in the other direction.
'How do you think they know we did it?'� Rachel rasped into her ear.
'I don't know. Cameras, maybe. Shh.'�
'I didn't see any cameras.'�
'You're not supposed to. If you knew you were being watched, you wouldn't do anything wrong,'� Shelby snapped, annoyed. She was starting to get tired of always being the savior of her friends. Just because her father was a lawyer didn't mean they could do whatever they wanted. He wasn't going to be able to bail them out every time. She made a pact with herself that after Rachel's birthday she would write her a note in fourth period, and end the friendship.
'Isn't that entrapment?'�
'Hey, hey, no talking over there,'� the other officer shouted at them. Shaken, the girls conceded into silence. The officer turned back to Mr. Miller to continue filing the report. A few moments later, Miller pushed back the few strands of hair he had left, and shook the officer's hand. He then walked back into the store, glowering at the girls as he passed, barely meeting them at eye level even though they were seated.
The officer slowly walked over to the girls. Wiping his brow, he took off his own sunglasses to reveal tired gray-blue eyes, to match his drooping jaw. And then he said it. It was a fate worse than they could ever imagine, and for once they all had the same thought running through their head: if only they were in the back of the police car instead, like Mary.
'It's time to call your parents, girls.'�
© 2006 Apryl K V

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