Who Knows || Riff (West Side Story 2021)

Chapter 36

𝟺. 𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟷𝟿𝟻𝟽

The courthouse in Manhattan was a commonplace for the Jets. When the police caught wind of their plans, they often dragged a few of them in for no reason whatsoever. They came up with their own explanations, and the boys were used to lying.

     It was a miracle that Rose hadn't been there yet. But Krupke didn't dare. She had to be the most protected woman in the West Side, without a doubt.

     Anybody's was forced into the courtroom early that morning. The sun had barely risen, and he was just trying to get around and find out when the rumble was. He was lucky he didn't know anything, really.

    Krupke had forced him onto the 'girls' bench, and he sighed, looking up. Opposite him was the 'boys' bench, where quite a few of the Jets were. A-Rab, Baby John, Diesel and Big Deal were all bored, trying to find a way to pass the time. God knew how long they had been there for. Most definitely, too long.

     Mouthpiece was in one of the offices, answering questions. But he wasn't very much help. That was his job to not be any help. And he was pretty damn good at it too.

     But the Jets just kept looking at Anybodys. They found him fascinating, and more often than not, a burden. He was a proper Jet for more than one reason.

  "All of you go suck a pickle." Anybodys mumbled, threat lining every word, dripping like a thick oil.

  Baby John couldn't focus, and repeated the same question he had been asking since he arrived. "You think we're going to jail?"

  "They're fishing, is all." Diesel repeated, patiently. "Asking questions."

  "Which we ain't answering." A-Rab hissed. Even on a good day, he wasn't very accommodating. There was a reason the girls didn't like to dance with him.

Balkan was in the other office, flicking his bottle cap. It was apart of his livelihood, his entire mind seemed to focus around his bottle cap, and the rhythm it moved at. He was sweet, really.

"So, you're gonna tell me where and when the rumbles happening or I'm gonna send you straight to the Tombs." One of the officers commanded.

Balkan just kept flipping, and catching, and flipping. "I don't know where the rumble is." He smirked to himself, and played dumb. "I don't even know what a rumble is."

Even Mouthpiece knew what he had to do. When he was asked the exact same things, he shrugged them away.

"Uh, they don't tell me nothing." He just flicked through a DC comic. "They know I can't keep any secrets."

"They tell you when to show up, right?"

"Nah, they don't. I just hand around until somebody says 'let's go'."

"And then?"

He scoffed, because it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I go."

     Baby John kept writing his hands. They were covered with muck, dust and oil. He worked part time in a garage, but he couldn't be sure how long it would hold out with him apart of the Jets.

  "I can't go to jail, Deez." Baby John panicked, looking up to the man he often called a brother.

  "Dry up, weepy, or else go sit on the ladies bench with the other feckless wonder." A-Rab gritted his teeth.

  Diesel shrugged it off. "Leave her be."

  "Get stuffed, why don't ya?" Anybodys hissed.

  A-Rab wasn't taking the concept of being talked-down-to well. "Go back to the zoo, why don't ya?"

  "Go suck on your sisters titty why don't ya? You Guinea hyena."

     For a moment, A-Rab stayed completely silent. He refused to make a noise while he thought. Then, he stood, and yelled out.

  "Hey Krupke! You made a mistake. She ain't a Jet. She nags us all the time. You'd have better luck with Rose here!"

  "Hey, I oughta be a Jet. Tony told me..."

  "She ain't a Jet."

  "Pipe down, A-Rab." Diesel calmed him, pushing him back onto the bench.

  "She's a dumb girl."

  "I ain't a girl." Anybodys said it with such vigour that someone who didn't know him would have believed him, point blank. He was ahead of his time, and they just didn't know it. 

  "She looks like some kinda biological disaster," A-Rab continued, pushing every single one of his buttons."But I pantsed her once, and under oath, she's a girl!"

  "I said I ain't no goddamn girl, you shrive-dick dago Pansy!"

     Anybodys jumped from the bench, and punched A-Rab in the gut. He tried to his Baby John too, though the youngling did nothing wrong. Diesel managed to get them apart until Krupke got ahold of him. That ruined everything.

     Anybodys escaped. And Krupke was pissed off.

     "Sit yourselves down some place and don't live a muscle till I get back. Don't even sweat! Youse hear me?"

The door was locked. They tried it. It meant they were stuck there, and couldn't get out.

Because of all of the commotion, the bench has been completely knocked over. Baby John was the first to make the effort to clean the mess up. But even though they knew they couldn't leave, Mouthpiece kept trying the door. It was as if something would change in the last thirty seconds.

A-Rab dabbed his sensitive face. "Hey, a girl gave me a nosebleed."

"She just bought herself a ticket to the House of Detention." There was another woman in the room, to whom no one payed much attention. From what they could gather, she was a prostitute. And by her dress, not a very good one.

"What about us?" Baby John trembled.

"Rikers, most likely."

"Rikers?"

"What? You ain't ever been arrested before?"

A-Rab scoffed. "He ain't never been nothing before."

The woman locked herself in the smoking compartment, happy to ignore the boys. They were only trouble to her anyway.

Baby John still couldn't let the idea go. "That'd kill Rose."

"Oh."

The boys knew it was true. They couldn't let Rose ever be sad. And Baby John felt like he owed Rose his life. She made everything better. Him going to prison would only make everything worse.

     Not knowing what to do with himself, Baby John sat back down on the bench. Diesel was there too.

  "I can't go to jail."

  "You won't." Diesel shrugged. "Long as you remember two things. One, tell 'em what they wanna hear"

  "And two, don't tell 'em nothing." A-Rab spat.

  "Hey garbage!" Mouthpiece called over. He looked rather proud of himself, having found a police cap on his own. He was fond of scavenging.

  "Who?" Mouthpiece kicked a chair, and Diesel caught it with ease. "Me, Officer Krupke?"

     The boys laughed because it was all they could do. If they didn't laugh, then they would cry. And crying never did anyone any good.

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Disclaimer!!!
I do not own West Side Story or the characters originally from the book, play, or musical. I do not own Riff, or any events from the 2021 film that this book is based off. However, I do own Rose, her friends, family, and her relationship with Riff prior to the film.
All of this is purely fictional, anything that relates to real life is purely coincidence.