Tom slouched in the uncomfortable chair, his arms crossed over his chest. His knuckles throbbed and still had blood on them, but he made no move to clean or nurse his hand in any way. Because it was a reminder.
Not of something he shouldn't have done. He regretted nothing. More like proof that sometimes, the right thing was perceived as wrong by most. He didn't care. He'd always considered himself a part of a minority. Now was no different. He was going to suck it up and take the punishment like a champ.
But it wasn't the angry principal or the two policemen that had him worried. It was the tornado he knew was Jimmy. And in no time at all, the door opened and his brother stormed in, looking like an ancient God of revenge. Tom was definitely screwed.
"What the hell is going on?" he demanded looking from Tom to the authorities.
"We're sorry to pull you out of your classes, Mr. Greene," the principal started.
Tom and Jimmy both huffed. None of them recognized the last name because it wasn't theirs. It was a name given by the state for social purposes, held no real value. They could as well have named them Unwanted.
"Yes, okay, why is the police here?" Jimmy's probing eyes scanned Tom and stopped on his bloody knuckles. The scowl on his face was alarming. "What the hell did you do, you idiot?"
Tom flinched. "I punched Collins," he mumbled. Now that Jimmy was here, there was no point keeping quiet. He had nothing to hide.
His brother frowned. "Collins? Biology professor Collins? Why?"
"He touched Angie."
Jimmy's balled fists fell limp to his side and he tilted his head, no longer looking furious. He looked exactly how Tom felt. Helpless, resigned. Jimmy wasn't going to blame him, but he knew everyone else would.
"Excuse me?" the principal asked.
Tom took in a big breath. "Collins was sexually harassing my... A friend of mine. Brilliantly may I add. So I punched him in the face and told him to stay away from her."
The two policemen started scribbling furiously on their notepads while the headmaster stared like a fish out of water, eyes bulging, mouth stupidly opening and closing. It would've been funny if it wasn't tragic.
"Care to expand on that?" one of the officers said.
"I ran into Angie on the hallway. She was crumpled on the floor, crying. When I asked what was wrong, she showed me a biology test she'd gotten an F on. I know her. She's a straight A student and she's very good at biology. We worked on some projects together. She told me Collins modified her multiple choice answers because she wouldn't let him grope her." He hesitated a little and bit his lower lip. He hated having to say this, but it was important. "She also said he implied a blowjob would fix her situation."
Jimmy cursed so savagely, the principal stood from his chair. "Mr. Greene, please watch your language or you'll be facing suspension yourself."
Suspension... So they weren't outright expelling him?
"I can talk however I want and you can't do anything about it because I'm here as Tom's legal guardian, not your student," Jimmy snarled.
"If your friend was being harassed, why didn't she report professor Collins?" the other officer asked.
Tom faltered. "I don't know. You'll have to ask her that because I didn't get to."
He didn't get to say anything to her. Not that he'd missed her, that he was so sorry she had to go through this shit, that she should've told him sooner, that he had her back no matter what... That he thought he was in love with her already. And now, if he went to jail, he wouldn't get to either. Maybe she'd come visit him sometime.
"I don't think that's possible," the principal said, wiping the sweat off his balding head with a handkerchief. "Professor Collins has a spotless reputation..."
"You should be more concerned about your students' safety than your teacher's reputation," Jimmy shot back. He turned to the policemen. "If Angie was indeed harassed, wouldn't what Tom did count as self-defense?"
"He wasn't the one being harassed," the principal said alarmed, but Jimmy only waved him away annoyed.
"Hard to say, since he didn't actually catch him in the act," one of the officers said. "But his attack could be deemed justified."
"Am I going to jail?" Tom asked. "Or getting expelled?"
Everyone fell silent and just stared at him as if they didn't know. Well, Jimmy really didn't, but the others? He wanted to know in how much trouble he was so he could start planning where to go from there.
"You're not getting expelled," Jimmy said, glaring at the principal. "Or arrested." His gaze was questioning as he turned to the police.
"Professor Collins has pressed charges, but given the circumstances..." The officer sighed. "You'll have to come with us. A judge will decide."
"And should your claims be true, you will face suspension," the principal piped in. "Should it be slander, you will be expelled."
Tom nodded and got off the chair. Fair enough. The officers flanked him and they all stepped out, Jimmy bringing up the rear.
"Are you going to talk to Angie?" Tom asked quietly.
"Of course," one of the policemen said.
"Please go easy on her. She's been through enough."
"You should be a little more worried about yourself, you moron," Jimmy mumbled from behind.
"I did what needed to be done," Tom said stubbornly.
Jimmy grabbed his arm and turned him around. The two officers took a few steps further to give them some privacy.
"Trust me, I know that it needed to be done. But you're still an idiot. A suspension looks awful on your resume, diminishes your chances of a full scholarship."
"Why do you keep insisting?" Tom yanked his arm out of his brother's grip. "It's you who shoud be going to college, not me."
"No. You should've told me about Collins and I would've taken care of it."
"Really?" Tom asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "How?"
"Same way you did."
"You're not my bodyguard."
"And you're not Angie's. It could've been me and you wouldn't have screwed your future!"
"Jimmy, I don't have a future! In a few months, we won't have a place to stay. We'll have to worry about rain. Forget college. That's a luxury none of us can afford."
Jimmy stepped back from him, his eyebrows raised and Tom felt bad for breaking his heart again, but it was time to have it out, quit pretending that what he wanted was possible.
"There's no way college will work," Tom said on a much quieter tone. "Especially not now. If I get arrested, and I will, there's no way I'm getting a full scholarship. And even if I did, I don't want to leave you behind, working, throwing away your potential for me. That's not right."
"That was my decision, not yours," Jimmy said between his teeth.
"Yes, and letting you do that is my decision, and I don't want to. I sort of found a solution for us..."
The anger disappeared from Jimmy's face, and he looked at Tom questioningly as he started telling him about the fraternity. By the time he was done explaining, his brother's scowl was back, deeper than ever.
"That's your solution? An illegal street gang?"
"Well, when you put it like that..."
"How else am I supposed to put it? No! You're not joining or going anywhere near that thing. Not after all we've been through. Not after everything we've sacrificed."
"Jimmy--"
"Jimmy nothing! I've never laid a hand on you in my life, but if you don't knock this stupid shit off, I'm beating the crap out of you."
Tom fell silent. It had seemed like such a good idea when he was talking to Mizrelle about it, but he could see why Jimmy didn't like it. They'd tried so hard to lead a good life, follow the rules and make it through like everyone else. Jimmy used to joke that they were playing at the impossible difficulty level, but that didn't make the game unbeatable. It would have been so easy to turn to stealing or other ways to make cash and survive.
And doing that, joining the fraternity, would be like a huge middle finger pointed at their efforts. But what else could they do? Where could they go? Apparently, in his case, to jail. At least he'll have a roof over his head.
A sense of loss suddenly weighed him down. Jimmy was right. He'd just screwed his future. It was all he could think about on the way to the police station, as they led him to the temporary cell. What the hell was he going to do now? How was he going to make this go away?
"I can make it go away."
Tom looked up in shock. Billy stood outside his cell, a grim expression on his face. It was weird to see him looking so serious.
"What? Billy, you can't--"
"Yes I can. My father has money and lawyers. I can make it so that none of this ever happened. Everything disappears."
Tom shook his head. "I can't let you do that."
Billy frowned. "Why not?"
"Because it wouldn't be right. I fucked up and I deserve to pay. At least to some degree."
His best friend smiled, but it was humorless. "You see, this is why you deserve me to make it go away. Life's not fair, Tom, but you and Jimmy always act like it is, like you can beat it. And I love you for it. But it has to stop."
"It can't stop, Billy. If it stops, we lose." Tom shook his head and turned away from his friend. "You know, I always thought there was a sort of balance. You get some things at the expense of others. Sure, Jimmy and I are poor and unwanted, but there were always other things that balanced it out. Like being able to learn quick and being good at sports, and me changing my voice..." Angie. "That sort of stuff. But this?" Shit, would Angie come in and tell him that she loved him? It would totally be worth the jail time.
"Sam always says the same thing," Billy mumbled.
"Who?" Tom asked distracted.
"My cousin. He says it to make me feel better. That my father being the neglecting douche he is blanaces out with me being rich and having friends and doing okay on my own. But he ignores the fact that all is going pretty damn well for him. No drawbacks, no nothing."
"Your cousin kinda sounds like a pompous asshole."
Billy laughed honestly this time. "And he's the nice one. You should see the other two."
Tom smiled bitterly. He'd like to have asshole cousins and douchey neglectful father. Someone who cared enough to come and bust him out of here.
"Fine, be stubborn." Billy sighed. "But as soon as they set bail, I'm getting you out of here. Consider this me buying you off for being my only friend."
"You should totally have more friends."
"I don't like other people." Billy waved and walked away, leaving Tom alone.
He dropped on the only bench thingie in the cell which probably also served as a bed. He couldn't believe he was alone. The cell was huge, obviously meant for a lot of people. Apparently he was the only criminal in that part of Tucson.
"Tom, are you okay?"
He stood quickly. Gina waited outside the bars, a paper bag in her hands, a concerned look on her face. Tom's spirits sank. Not exactly who he wanted to see.
"I brought you a sandwich."
Okay, maybe Gina wasn't so bad either.
"Thanks," he mumbled taking the bag from her.
"I'm really sorry about what happened. Seeing you in here..." She looked around the room and shuddered. "It's just not right, you know?"
"Tell me about it."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Of course you know. But they have to let you out. I mean you didn't do it for the wrong reasons. "
"Thanks." This was beyond weird. He was having normal conversation with Gina. He'd forgotten she was capable of something like that.
"I... I don't know what else to say." She looked at her feet. "Except that I really care about you, Tom. And if you need anything, I'm one call away. I'll come back later and bring your dinner."
She made to leave, but he reached out between the bars and took her hand. She flinched as if his touch burned.
"Thank you. I mean it. I really appreciate this."
Her old confident smile was back. "No sweat, Tommy. See you later."
Once again alone, Tom dropped on the bench, his head between his hands. He had a sandwich. Gina had been really nice and supportive. Angie was nowhere is sight. What the hell was going on?
"Karma, you bitch, what are you up to?" he muttered into the silence.
🔱🔱🔱
So, I'm really really really curious what you think about this chapter. Did it feel right? Believable? What do you think will happen now? And where is Angie? Why hasn't she shown up?
After this drama, it will keep on coming. The next chapter will be fully loaded. Grab your drama hats and get ready for the big dance.
At this point, any and all thoughts are welcome because I've done like zero legal research and I'm very nervous to make it work.
Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote and comment.