Pirouette

6: A Thousand Miles

"I... I don't think so," She said, but felt an uncertainty in her chest. How could he be a criminal? Adam? The hyper-active, always-happy smiling boy who brought sunshine with him wherever he went? Was it all just... an act?

Adam laid his phone down and slowly walked over to where she was stretching on the floor. He sat down and grabbed her foot and bent it and rolled it around to help her stretch. "It wasn't like that, Fee. I was in juvie, but it wasn't for a hardcore crime. You can ask me, you know. It's not a secret."

Fiona looked up. Most people preferred not to talk about their dark past, and if they did, they always did it with a somber look.

Adam was meeting her eyes with his jungly green ones, smiling a little with a crooked lip. He didn't seem like he was about to have a series of traumatic flashbacks. Instead he looked like he was open to discuss his delinquent past.

And maybe, that was the reason why Fiona took a deep breath and slowly asked.

"Why'd you do time?"

His smile stretched and he released a sigh. Letting go of her foot, he then joined her in the stretching.

"I was young and stupid. I was alone and I wanted to fit in, and everyone was either part of a gang or joining a gang. So, I joined a gang."

Fiona watched as he followed her lead when she stretched her legs out in a middle split. She leaned over forward on her elbows and pointed her toes, and so did he. "So you got busted while riding with a crew?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Naw. I almost wish it was something as cool-sounding as that, but it was much less fancy, I'm afraid. I was too energetic to be part of a gang, so they got me delivering products instead."

"A mule?" Fiona asked. She'd seen those kids around the block. They were easy to spot if you knew what to look for. In their world, it was the same as passing a test; showing that you were loyal and willing to do the hard work. Once you paid your dues, you were in—provided you didn't fuck up along the way.

Adam nodded. "I didn't know what I was carrying, only that my backpack had a padlock, and if the padlock was gone by the time I arrived at my destination, I would get a front window in my head. Considering the crew I hung with, that was an easy threat."

Shit, Fiona thought. She couldn't imagine him being a part of that – the smiling, positive fool in front of her trafficking drugs through town. Things must've been bad for him back then if he decided to join a gang. And that was even harder to imagine.

"So my job was to ride the merch to the dealers and ride back again with the money. It was an easy gig as long as I didn't open the bag," He told. "All I had to do was be one place, then another. Always the same route."

"So, what happened?"

"I got tagged," He shrugged. "Some cops started noticing my daily routines. They didn't have probable cause to stop me, though. I was a school-kid with a backpack, nothing out of the ordinary there, so they started following me instead. One day they flashed their lights at me to spook me and I shat a brick," He chuckled. "I tried to bike from them in my stupor, which was about the dumbest thing I could've done."

That much was true, Fiona thought. That was the golden rule; you didn't run from the cops if you were innocent. Only the guilty ran.

"Obviously they ended up catching me," Adam continued. "They caught me in an alley and busted me. I was in for three months."

"Three months?" Fiona slightly gaped.

"That's a low sentence," Adam pointed out. He shifted off his elbows and leaned towards one foot. "I had no priors and the cops took pity on me. I could've gotten away jail free if I wanted."