“Bad hair day?” self-consciously I twisted a tangle of long, frizzy sandy brown hair around my finger and sheepishly looked up. “You don’t have to look at me like I’ll stab you, you just look like you stuck your finger in a socket” It was a comment that wasn’t intentionally rude, kind of like a toddler commenting on someone’s age. My eyes met a girl dressed in an oversized flannel and leggings with snags up the thighs. On her head hung dark red locks.
“Every day’s a bad hair day” I replied pulling my hair into a messy bun. The girl smiled like I was telling a joke. “And what about you?” I braved, “You look like you stuck you head into an antelope.” When I glowered at her, she burst out laughing
“You’re the nutcase right?” Her hair hung over her right eye as she looked at me hard. So she had heard. I looked around the station. They had taken the cuffs off, but I had every watchful eye turned on me. I suspected most of the town knew, but I guess I didn’t know how fast the news had spread.
“You’re in here too, so what does that make you exactly?” The girl tilted her head back and howled, revealing a silver ball atop her tongue.
“I like you.” Her eyes narrowed like maybe she’d take that back.
“I’m Lenny,” I said, holding out my hand to shake hers. Scoffing she grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the couch she sat on across from me.
“We’re not in Kansas anymore Dorthy and I don’t do handshakes.” Even before I got expelled, these we’re not the kind of people I hung out with, these we’re the losers, the freaks. Her green eyes bore into mine and she let go of my hand to spit into hers and press it to mine again.
“Kaylea.” She said simply. Before I could be disgusted, they called me into the officer’s office.

“Are you aware that you caused $250,000 worth of damage?” The officer looked at me with tired eyes. I glanced down, his tag read “Officer Johnson” and his belly looked as if he had had one too many donuts. His pre-maturely grey hair was slicked back in a way that made me cringe. “Well?” He said impatiently “Do you?” his voice raised. I said nothing and he sighed. “Go back to the lobby.”

Kaylea wasn’t there when I got back, I assumed had been called inside shortly after. I sat down on the same couch I had been on before I was called in. My parents we’re probably at home fretting on how to not ruin the family reputation. A daughter in jail doesn’t serve you so well to your name. When I had used my one phone call to talk to them, the only person who would speak to me was my 12 year old brother John, who was told to tell me that I would have to figure things out for myself. So I spent most of my day at the station. The court hearing was Monday, but I already knew they would send me to the correctional facility for a year or two. I cringed, thinking about how much changes in the years from 16-18. My friends would be graduating by the time I was done with all this. Had I had parents who cared, they would’ve hired me a good lawyer to bail me out, and I would be graduating with them.

A door swung open and Kaylea sauntered out, smiling like she’d won the lottery.
“So Lenny, we’re friends right?”

“Best friends, by this point. Since we’ve shared these lovely past 15 minutes together.”

“Right, so that means we’ve got a nice 2 years coming up to spend with each other.”

I sunk my head to my lap.

“Yeah, I guess we do.”