Reality Check

A Chance For A Better Life

Out Of The Old (by Olivia Rodrigo)

"Old of the old. I've gotta find my way, into the new. Give anything it takes . . ."

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Even as Bethany heard the shuffling sounds of various policemen entering the library, it was like she wasn't really there. Like she was seeing it play out from far away, like watching a movie behind the safety of a flickering screen. She couldn't process, or even believe, that this was happening. It was too unreal. Too unbelievable.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. But it was, and for the first time, police were in the library. Out of the corner of her eye, Bethany saw Owen go rigid, his mouth hanging open. One of the policemen yelled for someone to put their hands behind their head. They were telling him to step away from someone — a girl.

Bethany realized they were talking about her. Right. Just a second ago, Nobody had been ready to shoot her. The very idea made her shudder. It'd been seconds ago, and she'd somehow forgotten. Maybe because of the shock of it all. If the police hadn't shown up, would she be dead right now? Would he have actually tried shooting her and Owen?

She glanced over to see that Nobody had put his hands behind his head. So had Owen, until the police had to tell him twice that he didn't need to, since he'd been the one being attacked. Blushing as bright as the sun, Owen called out an apology and slowly lowered his hands. If the police had asked, Bethany was pretty sure Owen would've volunteered to get arrested. Just to avoid getting into trouble.

The policemen ordered Nobody to drop his weapon, ordered him to stay where he was. Surprisingly, he listened. Despite looking like he'd rather do anything else, he allowed the gun to be taken from him. He kept his hands behind his head. Allowed himself to be handcuffed. From the look on his face, though, he was livid. But without the ability to rewrite himself, he was ultimately powerless. Especially against several policemen with guns.

But wait, who had called the police? Owen might've, but she was fairly sure that he hadn't, since he'd been helping her fight Nobody all this time. So who? No one else was in the library, so it seemed impossible that anyone could've known what was going on inside. Maybe someone had heard their fight from outside. Maybe that's why the police were here.

It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. As two policemen ushered Nobody away, towards the door, another police officer looked Bethany and Owen in the eye. "Are you kids hurt?"

His voice echoed in her ears. It took her a moment to comprehend what he'd said, and how to respond. Physically, she was pretty much fine. Exhausted, but fine. Not that she felt that way mentally. Her emotions were all over place, like a constant loop on a rollercoaster. She hadn't moved since Nobody had been handcuffed. Her heart was pounding so quickly she almost couldn't think straight.

"No, we're okay," Bethany said finally. Was that true? Now that she thought about it, her arm stung from where Nobody's sword had scratched it. She glanced down to see that it was bleeding a little, something she hadn't paid much attention to in her efforts to fight Nobody.

"But he's hurt a lot of people," Owen said quickly, his words stammering together. "Like, a lot."

"Did he do that to your nose?" the policeman asked, pointing to Owen's face. Bethany hadn't realized it before, but his nose was bleeding. Her eyes grew wider at the sight.

"Oh, this? Yeah. He slammed me into a wall. That's how my nose got like this." Somehow, Owen looked more nervous. "A-Are we gonna be arrested?"

"No," the policeman said gently. "Of course not. Unless you did something worth getting arrested for?"