Coffee with Mr. Casey

22 - Invasion

Alana

The loud thud of the metal door shutting made me flinch. The police officer escorting us to the visitation hall eyed both Phillip and I as he locked the door with his hefty set of keys. Although, Phillip looked and smelled better than he did earlier, he still came off a little bit distraught.

Once the man finished fiddling with the lock, he led us into a small room with a table for three and cameras in each top corner. Phillip and I were told to sit and wait until they informed the inmate.

I could see the sweat building up on Phillip’s forehead again, and the nervous look in his eyes.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled quickly, before the door flew open.

Two guards escorted the inmate in the room and unlocked his handcuffs as soon as he was seated in front of us. Phillip’s eyes widened at the site of the sad old man in the orange jumpsuit. His hair was grey but there were clear signs that his natural color was blonde.

“Mr. Farber?” Phillip asked in a low voice as if he didn’t want anyone to hear him.

Michael Farber lifted his head and gave Phillip a perplexed look. “Who the hell are you?”

“I came to your house looking for Lola once. I was with her friend, Julia.”

“What the hell do you know about my daughter?” the man said, suddenly angered.

“Actually,” I said, chiming in, “we’re here to talk to you about her.”

“Why would I want to talk to you?” he snapped, forcing his eyebrows together. “I don’t know you, either.”

“It’s about Lola and the teacher she’s seeing.”

That shut him up quickly, but his expression gave me the hint that he already knew about this.

“Mr. Farber, your daughter is at the age where she can make her own choices, but what they are both doing is illegal. Teachers and students aren’t supposed to have intimate relationships, no matter the age.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” he said through his gritted teeth. “Why the hell do you think I’m in here? I went up to the school just to tell them exactly what was going on but no one was listening to a word I said.”

I sat back in the chair and rolled my eyes. Informing the school was not a part of my plan. Johnny would prove no good to me if he were put in prison.

“What are you planning to do about it then?” Mr. Farber questioned.

“I just want to make sure that she won’t make the biggest mistake of her life by being with him.”