FINE LINE - T. BRADFORD

19

Mirana locks eyes with a girl who's hiding under a table and she presses her finger to her lips, the girl nods, tears streaming down her face. Mirana pushes the door open as the boy remains facing away from her as he shouts at the scared students.

"LAPD!" Mirana says. "Drop the gun!"

The boy turns and points his gun at Mirana who takes a deep breath. "Give me one reason not to kill you on the spot"

"I have a son, he's not even one," Mirana says, raising her hands in the air. "His name is Isaac"

"Drop your gun or I start shooting everyone," The boy says.

"Okay," Mirana nods, placing her gun on the ground. "Let everyone else go, I'll stay with you. You want to have a police officer as a hostage right?"

"Take off your belt," The boy says and Mirana unclips her belt, tossing it on the floor. "Everyone out!"

The students and teachers scramble out of the library, their terrified cries echoing through the building as Mirana places her hands on her head. Mirana watches the boy carefully, her heart pounding in her chest as she tries to think of a way to defuse the situation without getting shot.

"Listen to me," Mirana says, keeping her voice soft. "I know things might seem hopeless right now, but I promise you, there's a way out of this. You don't have to do something you'll regret."

"I'm already in too deep," The boy shouts, waving his gun around.

"7-Adam-12, A to B, I've evacuated the gym, give me an update Cabrera,"

The boy points his gun at Mirana's utility belt before shooting her radio, cutting Lawrence's voice off. The boy then points his gun back at Mirana.

"Get on your knees," The boy says and Mirana does so, keeping her hands on her head.

"What's the plan here?" Mirana asks. "This building is surrounded by S.W.A.T. officers who are going to shoot now and ask questions later"

"Shut up!" The boy shouts. "Let me think"

"What's your name?" Mirana asks.

"Finn," The boy mutters.

"My name's Mirana. How old are you Finn?"

"Seventeen," Finn says, hitting his head with his hand as he keeps the gun trained on Mirana.

"Hard life?" Mirana asks and Finn frowns in confusion. "I had the same look in my eye when I was a kid. I came from Cuba when I was thirteen, bounced from foster home to foster home. Never found a place where I felt I belonged"

"Yeah, something like that," Finn says, his voice tinged with bitterness. "Just trying to survive, you know?"

"I know about surviving," Mirana nods. "Can I put my hands down and sit down?"

"I suppose," Finn says and Mirana does so.

"So how did you end up here?" Mirana asks. "Let me guess, you're angry at the world? Want everyone else to feel your pain?"

"I just want to be seen," Finn says, waving the gun around and Mirana's eyes track his movements which are getting more erratic. "I'm tired of being the kid with no family"

"I know how that feels," Mirana says, leaning back on her hands. "It brands you, this girl I knew. Chloe, she had her gang leader baby daddy kill her foster mother and then took her name. Nuts right?"

Mirana's words seem to catch Finn off guard, his grip on the gun faltering slightly as he listens.

"I know the system has failed you Finn, it failed me too," Mirana says, her hand creeping across the floor. "But we need to break the cycle of stigma and you're not helping in that"