Chapter 16

Laura was a ball of uncontainable energy and passion when she saw me in the halls before our first classes on Monday morning. So much so I thought I was going to drown in her kisses, right there in front of my locker. I wasn’t one to say no to that, but it still caught me off guard with how aggressive she was.

Dana had a surprised look on her face as she watched the two of us. She had seen Laura and me kiss multiple times before today, but even Dana was surprised by what she was seeing. When Laura finally broke off the kiss, she waved sweetly, and skipped down the hallway towards her class. Dana smirked knowingly. I could tell there was a comment coming and I rolled my eyes in response before she could even open her mouth and turned to root through my locker. Dana started laughing as she too headed towards her first class, leaving me all alone in front of my locker.

The rest of the morning raced by. Before I knew it, I was walking through the door of my photography class on campus.

My team was already in their seats when I got there. The girls all smiled when they saw me, and Jerry started waving as if I couldn’t clearly see him sitting in the row next to the three girls. Alyssa smacked Jerry hard enough that he almost fell out of his seat. What that was all about I had no idea, but I couldn’t help the smile that appeared seeing the affronted look on Jerry’s face.

Usually, I would sit on the end next to Jerry. This time, for whatever reason, Samantha scooted over, leaving an opening for me to sit between her and Alyssa.

“You get to sit over here today,” Alyssa announced, pointing at the now abandoned chair.

“Yup, Jerry is being an ass so you can sit with us today,” Samantha added, smiling.

“Oh, thanks?” I replied tentatively.

“Just sit down already,” Jerry complained. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, do what the women say, or you’ll regret it.”

“Wha—”

“Don’t listen to him, Josh,” Alyssa cut me off, placing a hand on my arm, taking my attention away from Jerry. “He got in trouble earlier and he was just hoping you would side with him. I told him you were smarter than that.”

I looked at the three girls surrounding me, all of them smiling and then saw Jerry poignantly looking in any direction that didn’t involve Samantha, Alyssa, or Angie. Whatever he had done, he had stepped into it fully. My curiosity nearly got the best of me. I really wanted to know what Jerry had said or done but the one time I was about to ask, all three girl’s eyes bore into me, and I bit my tongue, swallowing my question whole.

Thankfully, the classroom filled up quickly, saving me from any potential disaster. I saw Jeff when he showed up, I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t even glance in my direction as he took his seat across the room from us.

I had hoped I would hear from his friend April over the weekend, but that call never came, not that I was surprised. I still felt bad that I had just blown her off like that. I never would have done that if I had known.

Professor Zarnick was the last to show up and wasted no time getting everyone’s attention and immediately launching into the day’s lecture.

The next week went by in a blur. That was until I found myself waiting on the steps of my front porch for Laura, my heart racing with both anticipation and unbridled fear. Laura and her mother were supposed to be here any minute to pick me up so I could meet Laura’s father for the first time. I kept looking to the corner where they would eventually turn onto my street—so far, nothing.

Mom, if she had her way, would have been right next to me but Dad thankfully had somehow convinced her to wait inside. That didn’t stop her from watching out the living room window though. Every time I glanced at the end of our street, I could see her doing the same thing out of the corner of my eye.

I checked the old Fossil watch, something I never usually wore on my wrist but thought it would be a good idea for this occasion. You only get to make a first impression once and this was the biggest of first impressions of my life thus far. Two minutes until four o’clock ... two minutes until they were supposed to be here ... That meant I had been sitting here on the porch steps for almost half an hour but it felt like hours.

I was already starting to sweat through the white dress shirt my mother had forced on me when I got home from school. I wasn’t wearing the tie she had tried to put around my neck, thank God. Still, the unbuttoned collar felt as tight now as if I had that stupid tie cinched around my neck.

I looked at the corner, saw nothing, and checked my watch again, one minute until they were supposed to be here. Surely it had been more than two minutes since the last time I checked.

I looked up at the window and saw Mom staring down the road, oblivious to the fact I could see her. She was chewing on her nails nervously, a nasty habit she had been trying to break, but always failed when it came to watching Nebraska football games, and apparently, waiting for my girlfriend to show up to take me to prison.

I was too busy watching Mom to see when Laura’s mom’s car appeared, but I clearly saw it when my own mother’s hands suddenly covered her mouth, as if she had gasped in surprise and hoped no one had noticed. I had, but there was something a lot more important coming down the street for me.

Laura had her head out of the front passenger seat window, a huge smile on her face as she waved excitedly at me. I couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Laura’s face when I saw her. I waved back, which only excited Laura further. Her mother, however, didn’t look at all pleased about the whole situation. Still, the car slowed in front of our driveway and before it came to a complete stop, Laura had the door open and was racing towards me as fast as her incredible legs could carry her.

The moment that the passenger door opened, I was on my feet, jumping down the porch steps. I knew what Laura was about to do, and even though her mother was sitting right there, only feet away, that simple fact wasn’t about to stop her. I opened my arms and readied myself for Laura’s assault. She was a good five or six feet away before she launched herself through the air and right into my arms.

“This is going to be so amazing,” Laura said enthusiastically when she finally pulled back so I could see her face. Her legs were wrapped around my waist and her hands locked behind my neck while my arms were straining to hold her up. “You’re going to love my dad.”

“Laura!” Laura’s mom barked from the driver’s seat of their car.

“Josh, you better get going. You don’t want to keep Laura’s mom waiting,” I heard my mom say from behind me.

I reluctantly let Laura’s feet back on the ground and looked over my shoulder to see my mom and dad standing on the porch. Dad was smiling, but my mom still looked conflicted, so she was defaulting to giving me commands rather than say anything else about the situation in general, for which I was thankful.

“She’s right, come on, let’s go!” Laura squealed, her eyes twinkling as she grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards her mother’s car.

I waved back at my parents while putting up a token resistance against Laura’s eagerness. My father returned it, but not my mom, oh no. She gave me a look that I understood right away. Behave and don’t get into any trouble ... or else. There wasn’t any risk of that, no matter how well this visit went. I was going to prison. Not exactly the place you want to screw around. Besides, Laura’s mom would be all too eager to get me back home and away from her only daughter for any remotely solid reason.

I was happy, and surprisingly excited to meet Laura’s father, right up until we turned right off Old Cheney Road and onto Fourteenth Street. As we crested the hill, that’s when I saw the massive, bland, beige, razor wire capped walls as we headed down the hill towards Highway Two.

My family and I had driven past the prison more times than I could count. Not once had I given it a second thought. This time was obviously different. I couldn’t help but focus on what was inside those thick cement walls. Seeing those guard towers reminded me there was probably some sniper up there, rifle in hand pacing behind the glass, watching over the men locked up inside.

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