Riverside

Chapter 3

"I wish the others would see it that way," Ronnie said. "What happened with River and his family is none of my concern, but I honestly think there's a high chance that he's innocent."

"Really?" I asked.

"Obviously," Ronnie said. "For one thing, what's the point of hiring a lawyer when you're already in prison if you're guilty? There's going to be evidence proving it and it would be just a waste of time."

Exactly what I thought.

"And second, remember how I went to the other middle school across town?" Ronnie continued. "Because I lived on the other side of town and not closer here?" I nodded. "Well, I knew River in middle school. He didn't talk much but in one class, everyone had to partner up so I went with him. He seemed like a very sweet guy. I know people can change fast, but....I don't know. It just seems hard to believe that he did it."

I didn't really reply. I just dumped the trash in the garbage can nearby the table.

Ronnie didn't think anything of my silence as we began walking to the lockers. "So, we are performing at the basketball game tomorrow, right?" she asked when we reached my locker.

I nodded. "Yeah, and we'll practice...." I stopped mid-sentence. "Is there cheerleading practice after school today?"

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. You should know. You're the captain."

I sighed and rested my forehead on my locker. "I completely forgot."

"Do you have plans after school?" she asked.

I nodded and looked at her. "Yeah, I do. Can you do me a favor and take over the practice?"

"Yeah, of course," she said. "What exactly are your plans?"

I opened my locker to grab my notebook for next period. "Just....a dentist appointment."

"Right," she said in a tone that told me she didn't believe me. "Even though you had one last month and they're supposed to be every six months." I was about to question her, but she cut me off. "Like I said, lawyer. I notice all the minor details. So, the truth? Ooh, is it a secret rendezvous?"

Oh, it's a secret alright. "Uh....Kind of, yeah."

"What's his name?" she asked. "Is he cute?"

I sighed. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Of course," she said. "So, who is it? A football player? A nerd?"

"It's River."

"What?"

"I'm going to see River in prison. I'm....I'm the one who hired Marilyn to get him out of prison."

"Why?"

I explained everything to Ronnie. I trusted her, anyway. She was always keeping my secrets, even ones I wanted to hide from Peggy and Colette.

"So that's why you weren't saying anything about River at lunch," she said. "Makes sense. So, you really think he's innocent?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I do. I don't know who did it, but I'm positive it isn't River. I'm going to the prison after school with Marilyn so we could talk to him more. Hey, when you went to middle school with him, did he talk? Like, at all?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"He doesn't talk," I said. "All I know is something happened and he chooses not to talk, and it was before the murder even happened. It sucks, though, because when he was arrested, he didn't say anything to the police officers, which made them think only more that it was him who did it. So, will you be able to cover for me at cheerleading practice?'

"Yeah, of course," Ronnie said. "Tell me everything that happens there when you're done."

After school, I quickly went to the parking lot and drove to the prison before Peggy could see me leave. If she did and even if I told her I had a dentist appointment, she would drag me to the practice and give me a lecture on how to be a good captain.

I got to the prison and waited outside for Marilyn to show up. We then went inside the prison and she talked to someone there before they led us to a bland room with a table in the middle. Soon enough, a guard led River into the room before standing by the door.

Marilyn introduced herself to River and began asking him questions, which didn't really help since River still refused to talk, so I had to tell her to ask yes or no questions.

Marilyn basically asked the same questions I had already asked River. She did get some new information, though. River did not get along with his dad at all, and that was only going to make River seem even more guilty.

"Is your dad the reason you don't talk?" Marilyn asked in a soft voice and River nodded. "Did he ever hurt you?" River hesitated before nodding again.

"River, I'm so sorry," I said. River only shrugged in reply.

"Did you ever think about getting revenge on your dad?" Marilyn asked and River shook his head. "Would you ever resort to violence to get revenge on anyone, not just your parents? My daughter told me that you got expelled for getting into fights."

River quickly shook his head, then sighed.

"Were you expelled?" Marilyn asked and River shook his head. "Did you drop out?" River nodded. "Why?"

River sighed again, closing his eyes as if he were trying to find a way to tell us why. He then opened his eyes and pointed to my hand. I furrowed my eyebrows and held out my hand. He opened my fingers and began writing softly on my palm with his finger.

B-U-L-L-I-E-D

"You were bullied?" I asked and he nodded. "So you dropped out?" Another nod.

River couldn't catch a break at all.

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It's past 5:30pm and I just got home from school. cx I wanted to post this before watching Hollyoaks, though.