Great Girls(Victoria Pedretti)

C. 13🕰

"So, let me get this straight. Your friend here convinced you to abandon your car in a Tow-Free Zone and hope on her bike just to go smash some glass bottles on the side of the road?" Jacobs questioned me as sat with hands crossed on his vast belly.

"See, when you say it like that Officer, y-you make me feel...stupid, " I say, choking a little on my words. Jacobs remained tight-lipped and solemn until he broke eye contact with me and grabbed the black desk telephone. "What time is it, Lieutenant?" Officer Jacobs inquired the lieutenant.

"Do I look like a goddamn clock, son? Look yourself, " Lieutenant Tim says, motioning to the round black framed clock in the middle of the beige wall. It hung above pictures of past officers who were deceased or retired.

Luci and I glanced at each other with our side-eyes.

Officer Jacobs, appalled, parts his lips to reply while Lieutenant Tim ignores his reaction and lifts himself off Jacobs' desk. "Listen here, Sallie. It's been a long day for you, I assume. I mean, take a look outside. It's not going to get any lighter, " he said.

That's exactly what I did not want to hear. "Why don't you give Jake here your license plate and all that nonsense. He'll take care of everything for you. Won't you, Jake?" Lieutenant asks Jake in a rhetorical tone as he turns his upper body halfway around. Officer Jacobs didn't even bat an eyelash when he answered, "Yes, sir."

Lieutenant Tim reverted around, smiling, "He'll call whoever he needs to get ahold in order for you to get your precious gem back. Okay? Don't you worry, Sallie? Why don't tell me how your father's doing?" He motions for Luci and me to follow him towards the water dispenser that was located next to a brown wooden bench that had miniature gaps in it.

"Well, he's been getting to know the mind better, physically, and mentally. He recently started reading books on Buddhism during his time in Jalivya," I reply, ambling behind the lieutenant as Luci accompanied me.

His lips poked out in a tiresome manner as he reached for a plastic cup. I noticed how his blue varicose veins were protruding from his skin as if it was begging for attention and proper care.

"Jalivya," he says, putting his cup under the mouth and pulling down the lever to permit the cool water to escape. "Yes, it's a small country in Germany," I clarified. "My dad sends me pictures all the time of him in his lab, extracting--" "So, did your mother ever catch that damn squirrel in the attic?" he asks, changing the subject as he held the cup up to his lips. In one gulp, he brought his hand down and toss his cup in the trashcan.

"A squirrel? What squirrel? We don't have any squirrels in our attic," I say in a frightened tone. "My mother never--" There goes another interruption.

"Hey, Child. Bad news, the impound lot on Keith Road just closed, but they open early tomorrow morning at 7:30," Officer Jacobs says to me.

"Oh, great. I can only hope my mother doesn't kill me."

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"Okay, so check this out, in the bathroom, I've got you a towel, two washcloths, a bar of fresh unscented Dove, and a shower cap for those pretty orange curls," Luci says, acknowledging my natural hair color that my dad so happened to give to me on the last part. "And for a treat..." she lingers off with her words when she enters the front pocket of her high-waisted mom jeans and pulls out a small bag of animal crackers.

I shut my eyes, chuckling and holding my cheeks up in amusement because she never ceased to amaze me. I flapped my eyelids upward to see Luci holding the bag for me to grasp. "Won't my muscles cramp?" I claimed flippantly. Luci's limpid brown eyes sparkled while in thought before she receded to look at me.

Her lips curved in a comely grin, "This'll make a perfect snack post-shower." I take the bag, giggling, "Thank you."

Luci left me alone to tend to my dirty body and cleanse it. I know I've only known her for a few days, but I really appreciated her letting me stay at her home. I didn't think that she would do such a thing, but when I revert to the time when she willingly offered me to come here to listen to Cigarettes After Sex and eat animal crackers and drink juice, the doubt departs from my mind.

Let's just hope this shower calms nerves down from today's misfortune. God knows what my mother will say when she finds out about my car being impounded.

Once I got the faucet running, I pulled on the tab, and out came the water from the showerhead. I began to unbutton my jeans and slide them down my legs all the way to my feet. I kicked them off, watching them land in the middle of the floor. I'd be sure to make a mental note to pick them up and fold them along with the rest of my clothes when I'm done.

I lifted my black knit turtleneck over my head and dropped it to the floor. When I was only in my underwear and a bra, I decided to tie my hair up in a bun with the hair-tye I had on my wrist. After that, I unhook my black lace bra from the back, toss it on the floor, and slide my fingers through the side seams of my black silk underwear to pull them down. They fell to my ankles and I was bare like a newborn baby.

I kicked them to the side and watched as the bathroom got humid. Every mirror fogged up. I went over to the tub, climbed in, and at that precise moment, the door opened. Or, so, I thought it did.

I put my hand out to touch the water and it was just right. When I went to shut the pink shower curtains, there she was again, staring at me through the door. Or, so, I thought she was. When I glanced at the door, there was no one there. Nothing but a slight breeze running down my back.