Thursday Nights | ✓

TWO | 4/9/15

TWO | 4/9/15

THE FOLLOWING THURSDAY, I walk into the police station, greeting Carly with a light smile. Going into the Sheriff's office, I immediately stop tracks, finding my dad already sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee. He's reading a few papers with his glasses hanging down the bridge of his nose.

I peel off my hoodie as I slowly turn towards the cell, finding it occupied with a certain someone.

Harrison Gage somehow managed to get himself arrested once again. On a Thursday night, out of all the nights possible.

"Really?" I voice out, "Again?"

He must be stupid, crazy, or dumb. I mean, seriously, who wants to get arrested twice in a span of two weeks?

Harrison grunts in acknowledgement, pulling off his gray beanie due to the warmth inside of the building, "Yeah, again."

"What the hell did you do this time?" I ask, placing the dinner on my dad's desk, who smiles gratefully.

"I didn't do anything wrong, in my opinion. I was just, y'know, exploring an abandoned building."

"Yes," my dad sarcastically replies, not looking back up from his papers, "because exploring is the new word for vandalizing."

Harrison ignores that statement completely, grumbling out, "Sheriff Banks, when will my parents get here?"

"They're at a meeting, so they won't be here anytime soon," my dad replies.

"Great."

"Did you eat dinner, kid?"

Even with Harrison's dour mood, his lips twitch into a ghost of a smile, "No, sir."

"Too bad, you aren't getting any food."

"Dad," I scold, "Be nice."

"Nice? This is the second time he's been in that cell," he takes a bite out of his taco, being spiteful, "At this rate, I'll probably have to buy him dinner, too."

"Excuse me? I'm the one who buys dinner!"

"With the money I give you!"

Harrison watches the both of us with hints of amusement leaking through his blue eyes. I shake my head, picking up a taco and some napkins before handing it to the imprisoned boy.

"Thanks," he pauses, "um...."

I realize that I never told him my name.

"Arden," I smirk, "The name's Arden."

"Thanks, Arden," he lets my name roll off his tongue, as if committing it to memory.

I nod, pushing up the sleeves of my shirt and biting into my delicious taco. The food warms me up, fighting off the slight chill that I still felt from being outside. The three of us quietly eat until my dad breaks the silence.

"How was school today, Arden?"

I shrug, "It was alright. I have a crap load of homework to do, though."

"What about you, Harrison?"

Harrison looks up, surprise evident on his face. The expression leaves a quickly as it came, "It was... okay, I guess. Nothing extraordinary or anything."

"I know you're good person, Harrison," my dad says, sipping on his coffee, "I don't know why you like getting yourself into all this trouble."

He repeats what he said to me last week, "It's the thrill of life; I can't resist."

We let that sink in.

"Aren't there other ways to enjoy life?" I ask.

"I'm sure there is," Harrison replies, "but it's not my way."

I don't understand how sitting in a prison cell with no freedom is fun.

"That's insane," I scoff, "All you're doing is ruining your chances of anything."

"I'll be fine," he retorts, crossing his arms.

A few minutes later, my dad excuses himself from the room, leaving me with the delinquent. We're both staring at each other, not knowing what else to say.

"What do you want to be?" I randomly ask, turning my gaze towards the ceiling.

I expect Harrison to ignore my question, but he does answer it, "I always wanted to be a psychologist, you?"

"I don't know what I wanna do with my life," I laugh, "which is pathetic, considering that I'll be graduating in a few months."

"Take a year off?" Harrison suggests, "Set your mind straight."

I nod in consideration before changing the subject, "You're seventeen, right?"

"I'll be eighteen next week, actually."

"Please don't tell me it's next Thursday."

He remains silent and then says, "That would be lying."

We continue chatting. It should be weird as to how well I get along with him, but it isn't unnerving at all. Even though this is the first time I properly spoke to him, it feels like I've known him for years.

It just sucks that we're on different sides of the cell.

"--and then Nathaniel, my older brother, took his cake and threw it at me. He hit my younger brother, Lucas, instead."

He tells the story with such fondness, which makes me wonder whether or not it's like that anymore.

"Man, it must be really nice to have siblings."

He opens his mouth to respond, but someone knocks on the door before pushing it open. My dad stands with Mr. and Mrs. Gage at the door, sheepishly looking at the two of us.

"Sorry for interrupting the conversation, but we need to talk to Harrison."

I send Harrison a small smile as I get up and dust off my jeans. I firmly nod at the intimidating couple before slipping out of the room and into the main lobby.

Carly seems busy with something, so I just sit on one of the waiting chairs and scroll through my phone. I decide to go home once my dad finishes speaking to Harrison's parents.

It takes a good fifteen minutes before all four of them come out of the office room. I kiss my dad's cheek as a departure, knowing he wouldn't be home for a couple more hours. I wave goodbye to Carly before leaving right behind the Gage family.

I'm about to enter my car when I notice Harrison jogging up to me. He chuckles at my bewildered expression, "Thanks for the chat, Arden. I'll see you around?"

Nodding, I smile at him, "Yeah. Of course."

______________________

I AM COMPLETELY INFACTUATED WITH THIS STORY. I HOPE YOU GUYS AGREE.

991 WORDS. THIS IS SO DIFFERENT COMPARED TO WRITING TENDER CONVERSATIONS.

vote•comment•follow

--islandarc