The Fixed Life

Chapter 1: Jail Time

Sirens wailed as troubled teen Mara Calvert ran from the police. She had just robbed a convenience store for her boyfriend, Mark. Eventually, she is caught and brought into custody. For 5 continuous hours, they tried to get her to reveal why she would do this and who she works with. She didn't say anything. They give up and put her in a cell, getting ready to charge her with Robbery. Not long after, Alex showed up to bail her out (again). This time, he had a 30-minute lecture for her.

" Mara, you have to know by now that Mark is bad news.. like, it doesn't sound weird to you that he wanted you to rob a store for him. "

" Okay, first of all, we've had this talk about a hundred times, and this time he said that he needed the money so we could buy a house together. Also, it was fun." Mara said, laughing a little afterward.

" So you would sacrifice your well-being just to get money for a boy who probably isn't going to use that money for a house."

" What do you mean by 'Well being' "

" Mara, have you seen this place-"

" Yeah, plenty of times,"

" I don't need your sarcasm" (even though he wanted to smile).

Mara rolled her eyes playfully. " So how much is my bail?"

" $200, I think."

" Shit, gotta love juvie, right?"

" Yeah, you gotta stay here for at least two weeks." After he said that, one of the guards came in, " Visiting times over."

Alex looked back at Mara and sighed, "Stay safe, Calvert."

She smiled at him and waved, " You too."

The rest of the night, Mara expected Mark or her mom to come and get her, but they never showed. She was saddened by this. This being her third time robbing a store, Mara expected herself to be all over the news. Maybe they haven't checked the Tv yet, she told herself. They still hadn't shown up for a couple of days. One day, she was fed up and...

" Yo guard, don't I get that one call or something? Can I call my boyfriend?"

" We already used it to call your boy toy, Alexander Morrison."

" Without my consent though."

The guard rolled his eyes. " Fine anything to get you to be quiet." He let her out of the cell.

She walked over to the phone, and as soon as she got the phone in her hand, she whacked him outside the head with it and ran. Mara still had handcuffs on in front of her, but that didn't stop her. Amazingly, she managed to get past the other guards and get out, running far as soon as she had the chance. The guards ran out and chased after her when they realized where she was going. She was too quick, though, escaping them, but barely.

Mara ran to Alex's street, calling him in advance with a phone she got from a nice homeless man (who didn't need it anymore). She also got the handcuffs off with a bobby pin she got from one of the people she was sharing a cell with. When she saw Alex waiting at the front of his house, she ran into his arms. He was actually kinda surprised she made it this far.

" Hey, Calvert."

" Again with that nickname,"

" Hey, I can't help it." He put his hands up, " Anyways, I have to sneak you through my window cause my mom is not a big fan of you right now."

" So I did make the news?"

" Pretty quickly too,"

Alex turned and put his arm around her shoulder, and they walked the rest of the way toward his house. As they made their way to his window, he helped her up the railing to it. "Thanks," Mara said. He smiled. He really likes her, but he's not sure if she likes him back.