Ronnie gazed at Arson with a face as empty as her homework sheets but eyes as full as the night sky. In fact, she was capturing every facet of him, committing him to memory in the way a painter would a glorious sun rise they’d never see again. As each sun rise is new, it proudly explodes in the sky with new features every day. She wanted to lock Arson in, forever remember the feel of his moderately acned skin, the stubble of his peach fuzz, the bushiness of his eyebrows, and piercing on the corner of his bottom lip that matched hers. They got it eight months ago when they’d skipped school just for the occasion of getting matching piercings. Ronnie never wanted to forget him. So, if it took remembering him by heart to make sure that never happened, that’s what she’d do.

She stared a second longer, musing over his query. “My heart would never forget you,” she promised, responding in the same low tone Arson had spoken. Doing so kept their voices from bouncing off the iron walls of the empty traincart.

Arson blinked, which made Ronnie do the same before shifting her gaze to the permanent opening in front of them. A light breeze blew around them, rustling up hay and dirt that setteled in the bed of the cart. Maybe it’d been a transport for animals at one point in its route, or maybe it transported the food for the animals. They’d been there for hours already, sitting, chatting, a kiss now and then. It was their spot, where they would go to get away from the world. Where it was only the two of them. Where all the troubles, errors, and negativities were non-existent. To a couple of teenagers, that’s all that mattered. Live and forget, forget and then live.

Arson’s cool lips kissed Ronnie’s chin, then he wiped it off with his thumb. He did that each time he kissed her. She couldn’t wrap her head around why he would need to, but being three years into their relationship, she was, in her own way, used to it. She’d come to the assumption, four months in, that he didn’t want it to linger.

A kiss . . . lingering.

It’s what they did. Kisses. After lips were gone, the feeling of those cool lips stayed pressed against her, allowing the skin to become used to the sensation. And Arson always wiped his away, never wanting the caress to serenade the flesh. It never lasted long enough for Ronnie to record the feeling and sew it into her memory. When remembering Arson’s caresses, all she recalled was his moderately roughened thumb scraping over whatever part of her he’d kissed.

It drove Ronnie insane.

Arson tapped his index finger on Ronnie’s nose. “We should take off. It’s getting late,” he suggested.

Ronnie remained seated, leaning against the cold, rustic metal. She swiped at the hay resting on the wood planks beneath her legs. Leaning her head back, she sighed, “I’m not ready to go. Let’s stay here a little while longer. Maybe we can sit around ‘til sunrise.” She lifted her gaze to a standing Arson, starting at his skater boy shoes. That night he wore the shirt she’d stolen from the Spencer’s in the mall for his birthday eight months ago. It read ‘badass’ across the bottom with a boy mooning whoever looked at it.

Arson’s head dipped to the side a bit, and he took in Ronnie with deep grey eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about having some place to sleep tonight?”

“I worry about having someplace to sleep every night.” Ronnie responded. Left to fin for herself after the passing of her grandmother, since her elementary school years, Ronnie had been taking care of herself. She lived by a code she’d made up “foster homes were for those who needed fostering. Not for a girl who knew how to foster.”

“You can crash at my place, Nonie. You never have to worry about this.” Arson bent over and grabbed Ronnie by her forearms. He tried to pull her to her feet but she wouldn’t budge.

She tugged at him. With her hands around his wrist, she pulled back as he pulled her forward until he gave in, forfeiting, sitting back beside her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, mumbling, “I can’t sleep at your house every night. Your mom is going to get tired of me.”

“My mom’s cool. You know that.” Arson wiped Ronnie’s face with his shirt. “How’d you get dirt on your cheek?”

“When we were running from those narcs, I probably rubbed on a truck. My shirt’s dirty too.” Ronnie pulled at the hem of her shirt, revealing the smudged dirt stains changing certain spots from white to grey or black.

A heavy sigh expelled from Arson. “You can’t run forever, Nonie.” The words released with his sigh in a toneless drone. Those words she was so used to hearing. They replayed again and again in her mind when she slept and on days the silence was too loud. “One day, you’re going to find comfort in a place you least expect. And that place is going to change the way you look at everything in your life. I promise.”

“I can run as long as my legs move. They’ll never catch me. I don’t fit in at a foster home, orphanage, and especially not that detention center. And I’m sure after some of the things I’ve done, juvi would be where Mama Henry would send me.”

Mama Henry, the current, temporary foster home. . . Ronnie had been warned over and over to stay put, stay out of trouble, or Ronnie’s favorite, stay in school. Just words. Mama Henry was only in it for the checks. And Ronnie always found a perfect time to get away, doing the very opposite of what she was warned.

“As long as I’m around, you’ll never get caught. I won’t let them take you away from me. But if one day I’m not, Nonie, promise me you’ll do right, you’ll give whoever a chance who gives you a chance, you’ll be better tomorrow than you are today. It’s important to me. Okay? You’re important to me.”

Ronnie smiled. She loved that about Arson. He made her feel warm—welcome—unlike any other person or place. She was already at that place, giving that person a chance who’d given her one.

After turning away from her last foster home in West Virginia, she had landed in Avon Lake, Ohio. Arson had come upon her roaming the streets one night. Where she was going? Ronnie didn’t know. Why and how she ended up in Ohio? She’d caught a ride on a transport train carrying crates and cars. She’d rode it until lights appeared in the distance and a faint scent of bread blessed the air. As she trailed a path, following the smell, a sign had welcomed her to Avon Lakes.Population 3,564. Finding the bakery accountable for the delicious smell of croissants and rolls, she’d sat for hours before skipping out on the bill. Not ten minutes following her departure, the police sirens had blared. Ronnie had fled the cops, who she believved were destined to send her to yet another home. Evading narcs was Ronnie’s specialty, the story of her life in fact.

That normal night, however, it was unusual to see a young girl getting chased by the police in the small town of Avon Lake. Arson had thrown his mother’s pickup truck in park and raced on foot to catch up with her. He’d ran at her side, causing confusion to flare in Ronnie. Her head had whipped back and forth from him to her path as she chased her freedom. And by her side, he’d remained, saying nothing, leading her to the train’s dock. And to her surprise, he helped her escape.

“You are so totally awesome, Arssy.” Ronnie mocked a high-pitch, fake country accent, fluttering her short eyelashes and fanning herself with her right hand. “I just love you more than cream pies and alphabet soup.”

Arson chuckled, chaffing, “Nobody likes alphabet soup, Nonie.”

Appalled, she reasoned, “I love alphabet soup. And one can fills my stomach.”

“You’ve never eaten real food. C’mon, let’s blow this popsicle-stand, toots. My mom has probably cooked. You can eat, shower, and sleep in a nice warm bed tonight.” Arson pulled her a little closer when Ronnie laid her head on his shoulder. “I’ll take the floor this time.”

“Why do you care so much, hum?” Ronnie joked. But honestly, the thought continuously crossed her mind. What did Arson see in her, her mother or father failed to acknowledge? He stuck around and put up with her for three years. She might have felt she wasn’t worth it, but he’d made sure to prove she was.

“Because I love you. If you don’t want me to care, stop being so perfect for me.”

An ear-to-ear grin spread across Ronnie’s face as she stood, pulling him with her. “Okay, you win, Arssy.”

Chapter 2

Arson and Ronnie laughed, walking the tracks, jumping over the missing wood planks. They were perfect imperfections. Two teenagers living an experience of young love. Arson tried to keep Ronnie out of trouble. But, trouble followed Ronnie around like a boy and his dog. They were young, they were happy, and even though they didn’t have the answers or reasons. . . This was enough for them.

“Arssy, tomorrow, let’s skip school and go to the carnival. I bet the lines are short for the rides in the day time.”

“Nope. Tomorrow is Ms. Alison’s science test. We’re going to school, Nonie. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

Police sirens rang in the distance, alerting them. Ronnie’s name announced over a megaphone prompting a run in their steps.

“Should’ve known our secret hideout wasn’t going to last for long,” Ronnie grumbled.

“This way,” Arson said, running to their left into the trees. Ronnie hurried behind him.

Running through the thick shrubs, they couldn’t see clear enough in the dark in order to avoid being smacked by hanging tree branches packed heavy with leaves. The beam of the police’s flashlights sliced through the forest, cutting into the shadows. Their calls shot through the silent night. Ronnie’s nerves attacked her stomach. She couldn’t be caught.

Ronnie’s name and picture were posted on every police officer, teacher, and mom’s desk in their town. The only places she was allowed were school and home. But her foster mother was always so plastered, if Ronnie ran a car through the house she wouldn’t hear it. But if Ronnie wasn’t there when she came looking, the first number she dialed was 911.

Ronnie sprinted behind Arson as he led the way out of the woods, trying to make it to safety. It’s what he did. Looked out for her. His mother made sure of it. Mrs.Waters was a dream mom, better than any Ronnie had met. But they couldn’t convince her to adopt Ronnie. After the third ‘no,’ eight months ago, they had given up and sought revenge with piercings.

Arson and Ronnie hastened through the forest preserve, tripping over roots and avoiding stumps. Ronnie recognized the upcoming road with moderate traffic. I-10 Freeway. Arson’s house was on its other side. It was less than ten minutes away if they kept at their speed.

The flickering lights grew closer, the howl of the dogs’ grew louder, and the call of the police officers grew more annoying.

“Hurry,” Arson called. “We’re close, just cross the road and past the trees. We’re almost safe.”

Ronnie picked up speed, following behind him, eager to make it. They hit the road in record time, Ronnie right on Arson’s heels.

“We’re almost―.”

A hollar bled through the air and the tires of a car screeched. Arson hit the hood of the black car, and as the car kept going, his body rolled off and hit the concrete pavement of the black top road.

The mirror of the car, that’d knocked Arson off his feet, smacked into Ronnie’s side, cutting her open. She spun on her heels and dropped to the ground on the right side of her body, submerged in pain. Ronnie screamed, holding her side, staring at her Arson—scratched and bloody—sprawled across the ground. A sight of him she couldn’t stand to see. An arm and a leg were bent in directions they shouldn’t have been and his head was twisted in a way that should’ve been deemed impossible.

She knew. . . She already knew.

Ronnie screamed again, pulling herself nearer him, sliding her body over the wetting road. The screeching of tires cut through the air again, this time, stopping. It was as loud as the howling dogs that were approaching, and the police officer calling them off.

“Arssy. Arssy, please say something,” she begged, not close enough for her fingers to caress his cheek. But she knew Arson would not be making a sound. Arson would not be moving his hand to graze her neck or kiss her chin after telling her goodbye one last time. She knew the one person she had left in the world that loved her for who she was, was now gone forever. She was alone again. She was regrettably aware her best friend sceist to exist in her world permanently.

Ronnie lay next to Arson, growing faint from the pain while red, blue, and white lights blurred in her vision. The police voices grew softer. And the world faded.

Chapter 3

Two years later.

“Hey Ronnie.” Oh no. . . Bad Breath Betty. She was always hoping Ronnie to come to her house after school. Ronnie didn’t have many friends, too afraid to get too close to anyone. She kept her distance from just about everyone with the exception of a small group of people. Plus, Betty had bad breath and it would crush Ronnie’s image, being seen with a Goodie Two Shoes like Betty.

Ronnie pulled the collar of her black turtleneck over her nose. “Hi, Betty.”

Betty smiled. Her snaggletooth grin was hard on the eyes. She was seventeen and missing her two front teeth. Betty was the victim of the worst breath and smile jokes, but it never seemed to bother her. She marched the halls of their school  with pride. “My mom is throwing a party for my brother’s birthday, you wanna come over? There’s going to be cake and fun games!” Betty gave Ronnie a hopeful smile, giddeily jumping on her toes.

Ronnie dragged her gaze from Betty’s tongue wiggling behind her smile to Betty’s eager eyes. “Um. No, thank you, Betty. I’m still on probation. I have to be in the house by three thirty or the ‘boys’ will send the dogs out for me.”

Moving on was hard.  Though years had passed, Ardent was still a strong memory. Losing the one person who saw a light in her that the rest of the world continued to dim made it difficult to keep promises she’d agreed to. It didn’t get it easier, but she’d stopped heavily dealing and hanging out with gangs her new foster mother labeled as ‘critically debauched minors.’

Ronnie was arrested four months after the accident for distribution of meth and marijuana. Someone dimed off the principal a prior school and upon entering, she was searched on command. They took her entire stash, all her money, and shipped her off to Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Godforsaken Harrisburg . . . Pennsylvania. She hated it here. But she was stuck.

“Sorry to hear that, Ronnie. One day, this is all going to turn around and you will be able to come over to my house for pie.” Betty smiled again, showing that hole in her teeth, tongue wiggling behind it. She patted Ronnie’s shoulder.

Ronnie forced a grin and nodded. “Okay, Betty.”

Betty turned her wide load of a butt around and walked to her mom’s tan van. When she opened the passenger’s door, Ronnie heard Betty’s mom scold her, from that distance, for talking to Ronnie. None of the parents wanted their child to have anything to do with her. This was fine with Ronnie because she also wanted nothing to do with their children.

Ronnie started her walk home, looking forward to enjoying her day out tomorrow. Something she rarely experienced unless she snuck, which was the hardest thing to do on the planet Earth. She’d yet figured out a plan to avoid the teachers and lurking security gaurds at her school when she’d be ditching tomorrow, but just because she was getting out, it made that slight inconvenience easy to ignore.

Ronnie approached the sidewalk and did her usual looking of both ways before she headed across the street.

Out of nowhere, a black truck flew by, sending Ronnie scrambling to keep her footing as she backed back onto the curb. “Hey!” she shouted, shaking her fist. “Watch for pedestrians! Asshole!” Ronnie’s ears buzzed as she watched the truck pass, not caring to acknowledge her scold or the fact that it almost ran her over. The buzzing, more like ringing through her ears soon turned into tiny whispers that were difficult to understand. She continues onward, swatting the air around her.

Standing in the middle of the street, Ronnie vigorously shook her head, throwing her hands over her ears, annoyed by the buzzing whispers she couldn’t make out.

A loud horn drew Ronnie’s attention to an awaiting car eager to pass. She pulled her hands from her ears and the sound was gone. After another shake of her head, she realized the pesky whispers were gone and in it place she was comforted by the sound of tweeting birds and the soft wind. She breathed, relieved.

God, that was weird.

Ronnie threw her hand up in apology to the car waiting for her to move. “Sorry,” she mumbled. They blew again. “Sorry!” she said louder, running from the street. “Geez!”

“Lay off the drugs, loser!” The impatient driver of the night-blue car yelled as it sped past.

“I don’t do drugs, jerk!” Ronnie returned, but was ignored.

***

“Ronda?” Cassie, Ronnie’s foster mother called for her when Ronnie’s house arrest bracelet beeped, alerting everyone she’d arrived.

“No, Cassie. It’s somebody else wearing a bracelet that tells you when the criminal has walked through your front door,” Ronnie called back. “And please do not call me Ronda. My name is Ronnie.” Everyone Ronnie has ever met has called her Ronnie, even her judge and probation officer. But Cassie, Ronnie couldn’t pay her enough to remove the -da and add a -nie.

Cassie tiptoed down the stairs. She always walked on her tiptoes with a slight bounce. She reminded Ronnie of a poodle, petite and perky, with curly hair. “Ronda is a pretty name,” Cassie encouraged. “You should be proud of it. It was your mother’s.”

Ronnie hated her name for that reason. “I’m going to the room you’ve provided for me. Please excuse me.”

Cassie’s Shirley Temple curled hair bounced as she did, coming over to Ronnie. “It is your room, Ronda. You can claim it.” Her hair was a shiny ginger that stood out against her pale, freckled skin and blue eyes.

“That’s okay,” Ronnie called, her back now to Cassie. She opened the door that lead to the basement, which served as her room. The basement door didn’t have a lock or anything to secure it's closing or Ronnie’s privacy. The judge instructed Ronnie to be checked on every two hours while she was at home, and each teacher was to inform on Ronnie’s attendance through a check system on their computers. Because of Ronnie’s runaway and criminal record, she had no freedom. Privacy only existed in the bathroom. Or through the help of Leland, Cassie’s son.

“Ronda?” Cassie called.

Ronnie ignored her. If she made it seem like she was too far in the basement, she’d get away with it.

“Ronda,” Cassie called from the doorway. “Will you be joining us for dinner? Should I save you a plate? Or, will you prefer I bring you it?” There was a pause. “Ronda?”

Ronnie waited long before she answered. “I’ll do what I did last night, Cassie. Thank you,” Ronnie replied. She then followed more to herself, “And the night before that, and before that, and before that. . .”

“Thank you for responding, Ronda.”

“Yeah. . .” Ronnie whispered.

Ronnie kicked off her boots and threw herself back on her full-sized bed. “I wish someone could come and rescue me from all of this. From my life. From this place where I’m a prisoner. I have a house arrest bracelet on every wrist and ankle. Why don’t they just lock me up somewhere?” Sighing, she closed her eyes and dreamed of a time she felt freedom internally and experienced it in reality.

The computer dinged. It was provided to her for the completion of homework, but equipped with the internet and help from Leland to help bypass the firewalls that were inplace to block Ronnie from contacting the outside world, she’s stayed up-to-date with all the must know news. She sat at her desk and opened her email.

Alex: Meet me by the old Cringle’s shed.

Ronnie: I’m on lock down. I’ve already walked in the house.

Alex: Ronnie, come out. Do what you do best. I need you tonight.

Ronnie: I can’t Alex, sorry. . .

Alex: Please???

Ronnie: The moment I step out of this room, my bracelet is going to screech loud enough for the neighborhood to hear.

Alex: Awww, Ronnie, please!!

Ronnie pushed away from her desk and rolled to her television stand. She knew if she went on and on with Alex, that girl would find the right thing to say to get her out of the house.

Ronnie broke the rules so often, Cassie and her parole officer, Mr. Allen Cassimere, found a way to be signaled on every door she passed through. Only one window was not rigged, and she couldn’t get to it until after Cassie and her husband, Richard, were out cold. That’s because it was the living room’s front window, and she had to do a few tricks just to get past the basement door sensor and the other sensor at the end of the hallway.

Ronnie’s computer dinged again.

She pushed herself from the stand back to the computer.

Alex: Ronnie, I’m not going away. Eddie’s gotta stash for me. I need to go get it. I’ll be over at 3:15 am. You don’t have to touch anything. Just run with me.

Ronnie: Oh NO! NO NO NO. I can’t. If I get caught with anything, or anything on anybody. I don’t even have to touch it. They will tag me if I’m just in its vicinity. I’m not taking a fall for you, Lex. I only go down for myself.

Ronnie wasn’t a selfish girl, and oddly enough, the friends she did have were trouble makers she met randomly, either at a home, in overnight custody, at a market, or in transport. But, Ronnie refused to take a fall for a reason no fault of her own. If she was going to go down, it was going to be because she got herself into trouble, not because she let someone convince her to do something. She learned that the hard way.

Alex: Ronnie, who else am I going to get help from?

Ronnie: Call Marty. He’s down for anything. Just mention you’ll throw him in a little extra since you’ll be laced.

Alex: Thanks. I have him on the phone now. He said he’ll do it. I’ll be at your house by 5:05 to drop you off a couple of dimes.

Ronnie: No. I sold seven stickers today. I don’t need anything. I’m out, and I’m going to stay empty for a while.

Alex: You’re trying to do riiight?

Ronnie: Yes.

Alex: . . .

Ronnie: Bye.

Alex: See you at 5:05.

Chapter 4

The computer dinged for five minutes straight. Someone tapped on the Basement window on the side wall and the one above her bed. The computer dinged again. The window was tapped on again.

Trying to ignore it was pointless.

Ronnie typed through the haze of her sleepy eyes.

Ronnie: I’ll meet you in the front.

Ronnie climbed the stairs, stopping before she made it to the top two. She spread her arms and her legs out to climb up the wall until she reached the top of the door frame. Like she was throwing herself over a high beam, she grabbed the edges of the frame and threw her legs over the invisible beam she knew would sound off her ankle and wrists bracelets.

The entry way from the hall to the living room required her to do a backbend through the beams, crab crawl halfway through, then lift her legs over the lower beam at the hall’s edge. She slowly somersaulted to a stand, nailing a move she learned from Arson long ago. Alex was visible from the window, cheering her on like she was a cheerleader instead of a professional jail breaker.

Alex always wore a black hoody, black high top boots with the tongue flopped over, and her dirty blonde hair draping her shoulders. They met a little after Arson passed. Two street rats in the same outfit, dressed in the same color, and headed to the same old town on the exact same transport bus. They’d swapped emails and stayed in touch.

Ronnie climbed out of the window into the morning night. The street lights beemed brightly and the air was a bit chilly, but it was quiet with the exception of the awakening bird’s light chirping.

“Nice moves,” Alex complimented, nudges her elbow against Ronnie’s side.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Ronnie asked, pushing the window closed.

“Hey, Ronnie,” Marty greeted, words dragging. “You didn’t want to tag along? Lex’s all the fun.” He grabbed her butt.

Alex shoved him so hard he fell into the bush. Marty was a high school dropout. He only cared about getting high. Those were his words. He had heavy eyelids that never seemed to rise, and he moved as slow as he spoke. Ronnie was convinced he had come out of the womb plastered.

“Lex, sorry. You know I can’t. I need a clean record for at least eight more months to get these bracelets off.” Ronnie flashed the flawless black band that flashed its little red light every three seconds. Late nights, to keep from thinking of Arson, she counted the seconds until it blinked again.

“Don’t sweat it, Ronnie. I know. I had ten months probay. Had to stay clean that long.” She popped a wafer, coated in who knows what, on her tongue. “Now that I’m off, I’m floating.” She waved her hands and arms like water in front of her face. Alex’s eyes were always outlined in black eyeliner and her lips were covered in a deep red lipstick. She had perfect honey colored skin but stayed too high to keep her face clear.

Marty climbed to his feet and grabbed a little baggy from Alex’s pocket. He popped his own narcotic drenched wafer. “Keep sitting out the runs, Ronnie. I don’t mind running with Lex.”

“I mind running with him, though.” Alex shoved him away from her again. “Here. There are fifteen. Keep some quick cash in your pocket.”

“I can’t cover fifteen, Lex.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ronnie. I owe you big for the plug. And the cash you threw my way when we met. Took me a while to pay you back.”

Ronnie shoved the small baggies into her pockets. “Well, Thanks.” She thought she could use the cash, and she knew more than fifteen people who were looking for the strawberry laced wafers. “I’m going to get back before they wake up. Stay out of trouble.” They hugged and Alex kisses her cheek.

“Alright, Ronnie. Reach out to me if you need anything,” Alex told her, turning off.

“Catch you later, Ronnie.” Marty and Alex ran off down Forest Street in the direction toward the city.

“If you keep sneaking out, I’m going to let Mr. Cassimere know.” Leland stood in the doorway of the basement. He was too good at catching her and it made Ronnie suspicious. “Would you happen to be trying to get back downstairs, climbing walls like a little kitten?” He flicked her nose.

Ronnie drew her fist back.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”Leland’s finger moved back and forth in front her eyes. “Your wrist just might pass your sensor.” He tapped the basement door’s edge.

Ronnie fumed, lowering her fist. “What do you want?”

“I want two chips.”

“I’m empty, sorry.” She tried to push him away from the doorway.

Leland was tall, awkwardly skinny, and was on everyone’s hate list. Had to be. He used whatever he could to blackmail his way to what he wanted. From what Ronnie picked up from school, he only passed his classes because he was able to get dirt on every teacher.

Ms. Nelson, his math teacher, she was having an affair with the principal who happened to be married to Mrs. Crammer, his biology teacher. And she was the teacher that kept a bottle of booze in the left drawer of her desk. He’s had an A in her class every semester but never does his homework or attend class. Mr. Sanders, his English teacher, he caught him at a gentlemen’s club, with Lady Lucky. Her real name is Mr. Luckett, his gym teacher. . . Mr. Luckett. Who knew what Leland was doing at the gentlemen’s club. . .? But, he’s passing both classes and gets glowing reports from his teachers.

“I know you’re not empty, Ronnie. I saw you stash,” Leland revealed.

Ronnie dug in her pocket. “I’ll throw in a third if you can get me out the house tomorrow night.”

“Keep the third. Get me a couple of all-nighters. I’ll get you out.” He winked his deep chocolate eye. “Promise.” Snatching the two little baggies from Ronnie, he asked, “What time you heading out?”

“I don’t know, be ready when I tell you.”

“I’ll be ready after you get my solid dust.” Ronnie was the only person in town who knew where to find all-nighters. They were pills that performed like their name. Kept you high all night, kept you up all night, and kept you locked up all night if you were ever caught with them. Who knows what those people lace that stuff with.

Ronnie never tried it; she never tried anything. She wasn’t into killing her brain cells yet. But if you wanted to kill your’s, she’d sell to you to keep some money in her pocket. It might’ve been wrong, but the good and evils of the world weren’t what was important to Ronnie. “I can’t get it unless I’m out. Where’s your cash? He charges a hundred for two pops.”

“I’ll go with you. I’m scared you might run off with my money.”

“Whatever. Move.” She shoved him but Leland didn’t move.

“I’ll hit the switch. Wait.”

“Tell me where the switch is.”

“Absolutely not. If I tell you where the switch is, I could never get you to do anything for me. I’ll be back.”

Leland walked his lanky legs down the hall, easily passing the beams that would bellow if it were Ronnie at this hour. She could hear him take the stairs two at a time. A soft beep sounded, and Ronnie took the chance to walk past the basement doorway. It didn’t sound off her bracelets or the house alarms. She’d make it her business to find out where that switch was in the near future.  Pulling closed the current that kept people from looking into the basement at her bed, she went to her bed and back to sleep.

***

“Thanks for coming up for breakfast, Ronda.” Cassie placed a bowl of cereal in front of Ronnie. “Eat up, you’ll need to head out for your walk to school.”

“Oh, Mom. I’ll drop Ronnie off at school,” Leland offered, slamming his plate of toast on the table.

“That’s nice of you, Leland. Ronda, is it okay that you ride with Leland to school?”

Leland winked at Ronnie.

Ronnie rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she solomnly replied. She knew Leland only wanted to keep up with Ronnie today to make sure she gave him his hit. She tapped her index finger on the cherry wood table that matched the cherry wood cabinets, and the cherry wood back door.

“It’s great you two are getting along. Ronnie, I think you’ve finally found a home. No more running.”

Yeah, whatever. The moment I can get out of here. I will. “Okay, Cassie. Thanks for taking me in.”

“It is my pleasure, Ronda.” Cassie bounced around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for her and her husband.

Ronnie wanted to mean it. She tried to be that grateful girl who appreciated a stranger going out of their way to take her in. But, the bracelets and tabs they were required to keep kept her from feeling that way.

“Let’s go, Ronnie.” Leland grabbed his backpack from the floor, throwing it over his shoulder. “We don’t want to be late.”

Chapter 5

“I’ll make you a deal, Leland.” Ronnie fastened her seatbelt. If she could, she’d double up on the seatbelt, but she still wouldn’t be safe with Leland behind the wheel.

“What’s up?”

“Get me out after second period for the rest of the day without them tipping off my PO, and I’ll get your hit for free.”

“Deal!” he cheered.

That was too easy. “Okay, let me know when I’m good to go.”

“Oh, I’ll be there to take you where you need to go.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes. She should have expected there to be some kind of contingency. “Where I’m going, you can’t tag along. Your creased slacks, loafers, and sweater vest won’t fit in.”

“These are not loafers,” Leland defended, pointing at his shoes. “These are Barbados slip-ons. I don’t like sneakers and boots like the average man who needs to blend in with society. These are comfortable. And pants look nicer when they are ironed and creased.” He swiped his hand over his pant legs.

“Un huh.”

They arrive at the school with time to spare. Ronnie strolled the halls, looking for her friend Star. She’d be able to sell her stash of wafers to him to get them off quick. “Hey, Star.” She found him by the old art room that was no longer in use thanks to a prank gone wrong. Another friend, who was expelled, created a bomb that exploded and caught the room on fire. The purpose was to possibly get out of an art test that day, but it went horribly wrong and the school shut down for a week.

“Wassup, Ronnie?”

“I got thirteen strawberry wafers. You want ‘em?”

“Yeah. Definitly. I gotta few heads I can get them off to before the first bell rings.”

“Awesome. Here.” She grabbed the flat baggies and stuffed them in his backpack. “I’m headed out at second. Going to check out the skate yard and talk to a few old friends.”

Star handed her a hundred and fifty bucks. “I’ll meet you up there. How are you getting out?”

Ronnie looked up at the tall ceiling on the third floor. She laughed a bit. “Bribed Leland. I have to get him a couple all-nighters for free. I told him if he helps me get out tonight I can get them.”

Star gave Ronnie and encouraging smile, nodding. “Got an all-day free pass.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping.”

“Cool. Leland is the mastermind of getting what he wants. He’ll probably want to tag along with you. Here, I have three shots on me now. Give them to him so he won’t need to leave with you. I’ll provide us the ride.”

“Awesome, Star. Thanks.” Ronnie grabbed the small baggy possessing three, small, dark blue pills.

“Catch you later, Ronnie.”

Ronnie couldn’t be late for class, but she couldn’t go with the pills on her either. She also couldn’t just leave them stuffed in her pocket, so she took the quick three minutes before class to search for Leland.

“Ronnie White,” Dr. Crammer, principal of Grimmer High School, called from down the hall.

Ronnie continued down like she didn’t hear him. If she went to him, he’d demand a search right there in front of everyone. Just her luck, she passed off some wafers but kept something worse. Those all-nighters would get her busted for sure.

The school’s police officers accompanied the principal. She heard the clinking of their keys and buckles as their paced quickened behind her. Dr. Crammer called her a second time with a warning thick in his voice. It seemed they knew when Ronnie was up to know good. As if a little alert went off on their phone! The instant she’d make the decision, it seemed like they’d appear around her demanding a search. She had to get out of there, turn off down a hallway, and stash the ‘ohnos.’

Ronnie continued to ignore their request for her to stop. She nodded at a few people that greeted her and hoped it was a good deviance for her blowing them off.

She hit a corner and took off full speed to the stairwell. She jumped down the stairs by fours and fives. Ronnie leapt, clearing two flights before the door of the third floor opened. She took the exit to the first floor and bumped into Leland.

“God, thank you!” She yanked his arm to her and ripped the small baggy with the three pills from her pocket. “Here, I got it for you. Go, they’re after me for a search. Remember, get me out at second. Since you got your hit, you don’t have to come.”

The pounding footsteps were approaching the first floor’s door. Leland only had enough time to nod and flee before it ripped open and out bursted three officers and the principal not far behind them.

Ronnie took position on the wall with her palms pressed to the white concrete wall and legs spread, ready to be searched by the female officer. “You’d think I’d committed a crime the way you narcs are after me.”

“You’ve done enough for us to lock you up off assumption.” The female officer’s said as her fat hands glided over Ronnie’s pockets.

“That’s illegal,” Ronnie snarled as the female officer continued to pat her down. It was embarrassing being fondled by a cop in front of the entire school. But, if she hadn’t run it wouldn’t have to be like this. If she hadn’t done a lot of things, she wouldn’t have to get searched period. Knowing this, however, changed nothing.

“She’s clean,” the female officer informed. “You can go, Ronnie.”

Ronnie turned around and scoped the officer’s name tag. “Thanks, Officer Carson. Next time, I’ll make you buy me a drink first.” She winked.

“Detention, Ronnie,” Dr. Crammer demanded. “And for every word that follows, I’ll add an hour.”

Ronnie pinched her lips and considered the principal’s threat. She thought long and hard about her next words. Ronnie had too much to do today and detention was not in the plan. She couldn’t leave school, hang out, come back to school for an hour of detention, and then leave back out again. All of that back and forth traveling was out of the question. She didn’t have a car, and she wasn’t going to spend all her money on bus fare.

Ronnie smiled bright and innocently. Her own threat bubbled in her throat, then without warning, charged from her mouth. “Dr. Crammer, Mrs. Crammer and Ms. Nelson seem to be getting along quite well. I mean, under the circumstances, you’d think they wouldn’t be so cordial with each other.” She flashed him a smile, a quick wink, and took in his red flushing, astonished face.

His lips twisted and brows furrowed in fury. But without his follow up threat, his reinstatement of his original demand. . . Ronnie knew she was in the clear. She skipped off down the hall, humming Wham.

Today is going to be a good day.

TO BE CONTINUED... in Left in Your Memories