Game of Life

1: I'm An Infamous Child Of John Cena

1: I'm An Infamous Child Of John Cena

December 13, 2013; Chicago, Illinois; 22:29 PM

I'm very aware that Chicago isn't a great place to be during Winter, and it's not a good place to be at night. But I was attempting to speak to my parents, who were in prison. I sat in a chair in front of an officer, my eyes just about as cold as the air outside of the station. The officer, whose name tag read Francisco, but I called him Antsy because I'm annoying, stared at me as if he was wondering what to do this time.

It wasn't the first time I'd shown up here, either. I tried every month to see if a new officer would show up and let me in to talk with my parents, but every month it was the same officer, who told me that I couldn't see them. He never told me why. But every time, he said I couldn't see them.

I liked to have a bit of fun a few times by giving him weird names when he wouldn't look up at me when I walked in. Sometimes I'd just joke around when he said I couldn't see them. This time, I said, "Listen, as cool as it'd be, John Cena is not my dad!" He covered his face, laughing, and I smirked, proud of myself. Honestly it was fun to make Antsy laugh. It was fun making everyone laugh. If I couldn't have a dad to give me dad jokes, I would make them myself, and teach him when he gets back.

Once Antsy calmed down, he sniffed and spoke to me as calmly as he could manage. "Okay, as great as it is for you to be joking around, I need to pay attention to the phone, and not to you, alright? So why don't I call up your guardians, and get you home, then I can continue my job."

"Alright, but first I want to visit my parents. They're supposed to be here." I insisted, and I knew I looked like a child, but I really was. I was fourteen and I'd lost my parents at nine years old. "They're my parents!"

"Your parents aren't here, Azalea," he said, and then he realised what he said and his mouth snapped shut. I felt something in my eyes die. In fact I thought maybe I had just died, then suddenly I realised I hadn't, and wanted to die. Nothing came out of my throat except a few choked sounds.

"...what..." I couldn't finish my sentence, because I still hadn't finished processing the reason why I couldn't see them. "Not here? But the Azules... Everyone says they went to jail here, in this very prison! All these years you could've told me and I could have-- I could have visited some other prison and been out of your hair, but you just lied to me!"

Antsy looked like he was truly sorry for me, and I didn't like the pity at all. "I thought you were crazy when I first met you. But my heart went out to you, and I knew no other police station would treat you nearly as well as this one would." he explained, but it didn't justify the lie. "I even looked through every station across the country, at the records, and your parents aren't in any of them."

"But I saw them! They were dragged from my house in the middle of the night!"

"By whom, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. I found it hard to find the right words, still shaken from the so-called truth.

"They wore suits, suits like yours. They said he'd murdered a couple...and-- and I don't remember anything else because I was so put out..." I struggled to remember that night because I often refused to.

Bertha, the other police officer who stayed at the station, came out of the door to Antsy's right. "Lea? I think it's time we bring you home." she said, the light that was usually in he eyes gone just like the hope I had that I'd meet my parents at last.