Tiger Lilies

Escape

Jacklyn didn't look away from the officer once. She wanted to maintain eye contact so fiercely that the officer would begin to sweat. He couldn't have been any older than nineteen or twenty; scrawny enough that Jacklyn could probably take him down if she had to.

He led her into a familiar room. The ceilings were low and draping like they were about to cave in, the paint from what was probably decades ago was peeling, and the lights flickered feebly as little flurries of insects hid behind the bulbs.  

Truthfully, Jacklyn wasn't afraid. It wasn't her first time in this room, answering these questions, and facing this punishment. However, opposed to the past two times, Jacklyn was actually innocent. She was only walking home with takeout for dinner when a police officer grabbed her by the arm and forced her into the backseat of the police car. The last thing she saw was the new girl from school hiding in the bushes. Jacklyn immediately connected the sound of breaking glass and the girl, and she knew exactly what she was being wrongly blamed for.

"Jacklyn Vivienne Chen, resident of 210 Penny Lane, guilty of two previous acts of vandalism. One was the defacement of an exterior restaurant wall, another was the - the, um-" the officer paused, "you put makeup on every president's photograph in each history book?"

Jacklyn shrugged, "And wrote some nasty comments, too."

"I didn't even know that was a crime." the officer scratched his head, "Continuing on, you were caught at what appeared to be the vandalism of our very own Little Rockfall High. Your hearing will be scheduled-"

Jacklyn crossed her arms, "I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this. You officers will do anything to get someone arrested. Little Rockfall is smaller than Sloane's favorite mini skirt-"

"Who?"

"Let me finish. They added 'Little' in front of Rockfall for a reason. There is no crime for the police to solve and you know it. Realistically, you're wasting your time, Phil."

"It's Officer Ortega."

Jacklyn scrunched her eyebrows, "Oh, be quiet. You're Phil from the convenience store. Everyone in town knows you still live with your mom."

He leaned over so Jacklyn could hear him whisper, "Do they really?" his face turned red, "Have you heard the others saying that they think I'm weaker just because I'm still saving up for my first car?"

"To put it into perspective, I'm eighteen, and I emancipated when I was seventeen, so even I haven't lived with my parents for the past year." Jacklyn looked at him with pity. "The point is, I don't see why it matters that a teenage girl broke a window."

"So you admit it!"

Jacklyn stood up, "What? No! I didn't-"

The officer jumped around giddily, "I did it! I proved her guilty! I've never actually succeeded before!"

"I'm not on trial, remember."

"You're right," he pointed a finger at her, "you were on trial. Now you're in jail! Roasted!"

Jacklyn shook her head. It was a wonder that half the town wasn't dead. Jacklyn thought she could do better as an policewoman than the people they were hiring.

Another officer led her to a cell. It was quiet in the jailhouse; there was no one in the adjacent cells and Jacklyn was grateful for it, but the thoughts racing through Jacklyn's head made it sound as if it was a full house. She was angry; angry at the girl who broke the window, angry at herself, and for whatever reason, angry that Phil got a gun but she couldn't have one. 

The other officer weaved a telephone through the bars and waved it around, "You better call your parents to bail you out."

Jacklyn stood up, "No!"