On the Ledge

Up To No Good

OCTOBER

MONDAY 7:20

" So, when's your next match?" Sophia asked as they walked to school.

" In three weeks." Sam replied.

" You know, watching you fight in the ring is the second most stressful thing for me.." Sophia said.

" Were you nervous?" Sam chuckled.  Sophia scoffed.

" Yeah! When he knocked you down for a brief moment I was actually afraid you wouldn't get back up." she gazed at him with admiration. He kissed her on the forehead.

" Wait, what's on the first place?" he asked after a while.

" Driving with my instructor." she grinned cheekily.

As they walked on, Sam saw Harrison by the woods near the edge of the school. He was acting weirdly. Looking around frantically from left to right. It was so early in the morning and there was no one around the area except for Sam and Sophia who were far away by the bus station. Either way, Harrison acted like he didn't want anyone to notice him. Ironically, his erratic behaviour didn't go unnoticed by Sam. Even Sophia expressed her concern.

" Do you think he's up to something?"

" I don't know. But he's been acting weirdly lately even before he hosted the party. Something's not right..." Sam slowed down. Sophia stopped too when another boy showed up.  He was wearing a hoodie over his head and they could only see him from behind but the person was walking toward Harrison. They briefly shook hands and the boy walked away. Sam could already tell by the expression on Harrison's face that the encounter was anything but innocent.

Sam exchanged a  meaningful look with Sophia. She shook her head in disbelief.  On the other side, Harrison started toward the school. He didn't see them though.  Sam and Sophia followed him into the school.

" Harrison!" Sam called out. Harrison turned and when he saw who it was he grinned.

" Oh, Sam. You nearly scared me."

" Is there a particular reason to be scared?" Sam asked.

" Uh...no. I guess. Is everything alright?" Harrison asked when he saw the worried look on Sophia's face.

" I don't know, you tell me." Sam raised his brow.

" Okay...Imma leave now." Harrison was about to turn.

" We saw you, Harrison." Sophia spoke. He turned and the look on his face was completely different now.

" Let's go somewhere private." Harrison beckoned to his left. As they entered the girl's bathroom, Sophia  made sure no one was around.

" Okay, we can talk now."

" What exactly did you see?" Harrison asked Sam.

" Enough for you to go to prison. Why would you drug deal around the school area?" Sam asked.

" Okay, calm down and let me explain. First off, I only deal around here cuz that's where I can get most of my clients."

Sophia scoffed. " Are you being serious right now?"

" Second, I will stop dealing as soon as I get the money I need." Harrison continued.  Sam laughed at that.

" You live in a mansion, for Christ's sake. What do you need the money for?"

Harrison looked down, exhaling. "I got into trouble."

" What kind of trouble?" Sophia asked.

" I owe someone money because I made a stupid bet and now he won't leave me alone."

" Well, how much do you owe? Can't your parents help?" Sophia asked.

" I owe too much to tell my parents. If I ever did that, my father would gut me alive that's for sure."

" How long have you been doing this?" Sam asked.

" Since June."

" Did you deal at the party too?" he asked.

Harrison nodded. " In fact, that's the reason why I  threw the party. That night I made a lot of money. More than I made in a month."

" Who's in charge of this whole thing?" Sophia prodded on.

" I can't tell."

" Harrison, you have to get some sort of help. You can't keep doing this." Sam said.

" No, you're not gonna tell anyone, right?"  he glared at him.

Sam shrugged. " I don't know about that, man.."

" I thought you were my friend!" Harrison yelled.

" That's exactly why I'm doing it!" Sam yelled back. " You can't keep doing this, Harrison! The only path this leads to is prison. And I don't know about you but I wouldn't fancy spending the rest of my life in prison for a stupid bet!"

" Why did you make that bet anyway?" Sophia narrowed her eyes at him.

Harrison looked away, shrugging. "I had an episode that day. I regret it now."

" Excuse me?" Sophia frowned. "An episode of what?"

" I'm bipolar." Harrison confessed, looking down in shame. For a moment no one spoke. Sam was shocked to hear this. Sophia seemed confused and looked at Sam for explanation.

" What's that?" she asked. Sam gave her a weird look.

" I'll explain later. Look, Harrison, I think you should tell someone. I'm sure they'll understand if you explain the situation."

Harrison  laughed nervously. "You don't understand, do you?! It's too late, I'm already a dead man. If I tell the police, they'll lock me in. And if I don't pay up, those people will make sure I never see the light of day. "

A student opened the door and they all fell silent. The girl looked from Sam to Harrison with a disapproving look on her face.

" Uh, in case you didn't know this is a girl's bathroom!" she snarled at them.

" Beat it!" Sophia got in her face. Silence between the three prevailed once again as the girl used the toilet. She flushed and opened the door. She glared at Sophia while she washed her hands.

" Am I interrupting something?"

" Yeah, the happiness we felt when you weren't in the room." Sophia answered sarcastically. After the girl left, Harrison turned to them.

" All you have to do is keep your mouths shut! Both of you!" he looked from Sophia to Sam. " Promise?"

" Okay, I won't tell." Sophia crossed her arms. Harrison looked at Sam for confirmation.

" Deal." Sam nodded. "By the way, you're so obvious, man! I could tell something was fishy from a mile away. If you deal, at least do it right!"

Harrison hugged him. "I knew I could count on you."