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“No. Help us know what’s going on in there?”
“They’re being questioned,” she replies as if that was the most obvious thing.
It seems like there are only two kinds of conversations with Rose when you’re not her inner circle. Either she’s hitting on you or you’re bothering her by addressing yourself to her.
We fall back into a heavy silence until I can’t take the anxiety emanating from her anymore.
“Fuck, just tell me what you guys talked about,” I whisper-shout.
“Shit, Goody, you just swore.”
Really? That’s the only thing she notices? I swear all the time in my head, I just try to refrain myself in public. My dad was always so adamant about it.
“Because I’m so anxious and your stress is making me even more anxious.”
She stays silent for a few more seconds as if hesitating to tell me the truth.
“I don’t think Jake’s gonna get out. Nate will because no one is going to fucking sue him for beating the shit out of Jake. But gun possession, Jamie…They won’t let him out until he’s tried unless someone pays for his bail and I doubt anyone’s going to do that.”
“W-what does that mean? What about after he’s tried?”
I already know the answer because I’m not stupid, but my brain refuses to accept the truth.
She looks at me with a hard face and takes her time to look around before her gaze falls back on mine again. When she finally says something. It’s factual as if she’s a lawyer going over a problem with her client. She’s detached from what she tells me because her brain works faster than anyone else’s.
The first thing I did when I became president of the student council was to check Rose’s GPA. It’s wrong but I’m a curious girl and I needed to know if she was that genius everyone believes she is. 4.8, that’s how much of a genius she is. She doesn’t even try. She didn’t even want to take AP classes, the school insisted so they could bring up their average GPA.
For every minute she spends on her work, I have to spend an hour, and right now, her brain has already worked everything out.
“You’re a smart girl, Jamie. You know what happens. He’s tried, goes to juvie and they spit him back into the system if he’s not eighteen by the time he comes out.”
I can’t even take in the fact that Rose White complimented me because reality falls on me like a cold shower. My brain just won’t process that this is a likely possibility. I know she’s already thought of it, but I ask anyway.
“It doesn’t happen every time. He could get off with a warning or some community service maybe?”
“Sure,” she nods, and I can sense the lie.
She’s hiding something from me. I mean, she always hides things but this one looks like something I should know.
“Oh my Gosh, he’s got previous convictions, doesn’t he? He’s had warnings already.”
“Not my place to talk about,” she says in a voice that doesn’t leave any place for debate.
“The Murrays, they can help. Can’t they? They’ll at least pay for bail,” I try.
She scratches the back of her head then eyes at the police officer again. “Yeah…let’s hope.”
Why? Why just hope? They’ve been taking care of them for three years. Why wouldn’t they pay bail? It’s not like they don’t have the money.
She tells me I’m smart but clearly not enough for her to share everything she knows or why she’s cutting the conversation short. She knows there’s no hope she just can’t be bothered to discuss the details with me.
I want to ask more questions but she’s not acknowledging me anymore. She’s watching Craig picking up his cell to type in a number.
“Fucking asshole,” she mutters as she gets up. “Craig, hold on!”
This time I don’t want to wait for her to explain. I follow her to the counter because I know she’s too focused on him to worry if I’m overhearing her or not.
“Wait, please wait,” she says, not meaning that ‘please’ one bit but knowing men in power do love girls begging them to listen.
