All Is Found

Chapter 3: Ship Crash

"Okay, thanks for the lift guys." Jim said. He brushed the hand of the cop holding his shoulder. He was acting like him being arrested didn't happen. I grabbed the pink donut and started munching on it. There's gonna be a show and I'm still hungry. Everyone else had stopped eating to watch as well.

"Not so fast." The robot cop said, grabbing his shoulder again. He looked at the ground as the cops brought him into the building. They held onto his arms and he looked ahead, at his mom.

    "We have apprehended your son operating a solar vehicle in a restricted area." The other cop said.

"Moving violation 9-0-4 section 15 paragraph um..."

"Six." Jim said, scratching his cheek. Definitely not the first time this has happened but it'll be the last.

"Thank you." The first cop said.

"Don't mention it."

"Jim." Sarah said. Said boy looked at the ground again, in shame.

"As you are aware ma'am, this constitutes a violation of his probation." The other cop said.

    "Yes, yes, no I understand." Sarah said walking up to them. "But um, c-could we just..." She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to figure a way to get her son out of more trouble than he was in already.

"Um, pardon me officers." Delbert said. The cops and the Hawkins looked at our direction as Delbert stood up. I saw Jim giving me a confused look. I didn't look at him but focus my attention on Delbert. "Um, if I might interject here." He added as he walked up to the four. "I am the noted astrophysicist Dr. Delbert Doppler. Perhaps you heard of me, no, I have a clipping." He reached into an in-sewn pocket of his vest to pull it out.

"Are you the boy's father?" The second cop asked pointing at him.

I saw Jim looking at the ground in anger, I think, while Sarah and Delbert were clearing things up. I felt a bit bad for him. His dad just walked out on him and didn't even bother to say goodbye to his only son. I had finished the pink one and started on the white one.

"Ew, he's just an old friend of the family." Sarah said, with a hand on his shoulder. The cops leaned to his face and he flinched, using an arm as a shield for his face.

"Back off sir!" They said in perfect sync. I had just swallowed some of my food and used the excuse of taking another bite to hide my smile. This part gets me everytime I see it.

"Thank you Delbert, I will take it from here." Sarah said.

"Well Sarah, if you insist." He said. "Don't ever let me do that again." He whispered to her before returning to the table. I saw Sarah smile softly at his attempt to help.

"Due to repeated violations of statue 15-C, we have impounded his vehicle. Anymore slip ups will result in a one-way ticket to juvenile hall." The second cop said.

"Kiddie hoosegow." The first cop said.

    "The slammo."

    "Thank you officers." Sarah said, taking her son from the cops. "It won't happen again." She added, giving Jim a look. Said boy looked at the ground.

    "We see his type all the time ma'am." The first cop said.

    "Wrong choices." The second said.

    "Dead enders."

    "Losers."

     Jim shot them a glare for being called a loser. I placed the half eaten food on my plate. I know that comment wasn't directed at me but it stung. Badly. The memories of the situations with that word involved isn't pleasant.

    "You take care now." The first cop's hat was mechanically lifted from his head as he said that.

    "Let's motor."

    The second cop took the lead on walking or rolling out of the establishment. The last cop grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut. It was silent for a moment and Sarah turned to look at the customers. Everyone else started eating again to make it look like nothing happened. I finished the doughnut like food and started on the pancakes. I could overhear the conversation that Jim and Sarah were having over the clattering of silverware and dishes. I just stared at my plate and pretended I didn't hear them. It was a skill I along with others picked up to overhear who was getting thrown out next in the orphanage.

    "Jim, I have had it. Do you want to go to juvenile hall? Is that it?" Sarah asked. "Jim? Jim, look at me. It's been hard enough keeping this place afloat by myself without you going..."

    "Mom." Jim said, cutting her off. "It's no big deal. There was nobody around. Those cops just won't get off my... forget it."

    "Mrs Hawkins! My juice!" Mrs. Dunwiddie said, waving her empty glass in the air.

"Yes, I'll be right there, Mrs. Dunwiddie. Jim I just don't want to see you throw away your entire future." Sarah said.

That got me thinking as I absentmindedly continued eating. What future do I have? I'd always assumed that I would die in the streets before I turned eighteen. Now, that I'm here, I don't know. The future was always full of misery and pain for me. Now what? I snapped out of my train of thought by my fork landing on the plate. I guessed I finished my food. When Sarah came by, I simply handed my empty plate and fork to her. I grabbed my bag and told Delbert that I was going outside.

He only said not to wonder too far away from the property and held no objections to me going outside. I had to get some air to clear away some troubling thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~

    I ended up on the roof. I found a ladder and climbed up. I wondered around the roof until I came across a slanted area with a window peaking over the table I sat at. I had my backpack slung over my shoulders and I stared into space. I did take out a book to read but my mind was too jumbled to enjoy the words on the page. I put it away before anyone could come up. I jumped hearing a set of footsteps and glanced at the source. I saw Jim walking in my direction. He looked at me in confusion when he saw me.

    "You're the kid from earlier. Sitting at Delbert's table." He said. I nodded. I patted the space next to me if he wanted to sit down. He did and started throwing rocks he had gathered onto the roof. They clattered as they landed on the roof, filling the silence between us. "What's your name?" He asked.

    "Emma. You're Jim right?" I asked. I knew it was a stupid question considering what happened earlier but, formalities and all. He nodded and finished throwing the rocks.

    "What are you doing up here?"

    "I wanted to clear my head."

    He was about to say something else when another voice rang out. We both looked at the window, hearing Delbert speak. "I really don't know how you manage it, Sarah." He said. "Trying to run a business while raising a felon like... felon... fellow... fellow like Jim."

"Managing it?" Sarah said. "I'm at the end of my rope! Ever since his sister was kidnapped and his father left well, Jim's just never recovered."

I looked at the window's direction in shock. I knew about his dad but I didn't know he had a sister. Disney never mentioned that. I've seen this movie a lot and I know that a sister was never mentioned. I glanced at Jim seeing regret on his face.

"And you know how smart he is." Sarah continued. "He built his first solarsurfer when he was eight! And yet, he's failing at school, he is constantly in trouble, and when I talk to him, he's like a stranger to me. I don't know Delbert. I've tried everything."

I saw Jim heave a sigh at his mom's words, regretting what he had done. The sound of many engines sputtering caught our attention. We looked up to see a small pod like ship with red-pink sails, riddled with holes flying by. Smoke was rising from the back and we watched it crash onto the longest dock by the Inn. We glanced at each other and slid down the roof.

~~~~~~~

Apologies for taking a while to upload this. I had a personal issue happened and to cope I downloaded a new app on my phone that I had been obsessed with 😅. The app took up a lot of my attention