Once Upon a Crime

Chapter Two

I don't see him grinning, but I know he is. I make the mistake of looking up at him and see he's staring at me, one eyebrow raised. "You're making a scene, Rosamee." He murmurs to me quietly, soft enough for the rest of the class not to hear.   I eventually sit up, letting out a soft sigh. Mr. Jipson is already giving the instruction on our assignment today, which involved dissecting a frog with a knife that's only sharp enough to barely break the frog's slimy flesh. I feel something touching my hand, and snatch it back when I realize it's James. He rolls his eyes at my movement and smirks. "I wasn't harassing you Rosie. I was simply trying to see who's hands would be best for cutting the frog. I would say you, unless you don't like frog guts and would rather I do it."  "I can do it myself." I snap, grabbing the knife from him and beginning to make an incision on the frog's stomach. "And don't call me Rosie."  "I wasn't trying to offend you, I was simply being considerate." I hear him chuckle quietly, then the fast scratching of pen on paper. "You keep working, I'll get the notes." He tells me when I look up from my work.   I must admit, working with him isn't as bad as I thought it would be. His notes are very neat and on topic, and he doesn't bother me much, unless he needs me to move slightly so he can see the frog again. We don't talk much the rest of class, until he smiles at me when the bell rings and says, "I'll see you later."  I watch him go, frowning slightly. I guess I've learned not to judge a book by its cover, or the rumors that are told about it. Because he isn't as bad as I had thought he'd be.

The first few periods before Lunch go by in a blur. James here, James there, in every class I have to take care of him, except our Second class. I'm glad I at least have one class to myself, and even better, it's my favorite Subject.   I've always been good at Language Arts. Maybe it's because I actually enjoy learning about writing and reading and words in general, or because I love to write. Either way, it seems like it's the only class I actually enjoy. My teacher, Mrs. Francis, is 64 years old, with curly brown hair that is streaked with grey. She's skinny and ears glasses, but she's the smartest person I know.  As I walk to lunch, I pass James with his gang at their lockers. As I walk pass, I try to go by undetected. Callum notices me though, and grins. After saying something briefly to Sam and James, I stand still and wait for him to catch up to me. "Rosamee!" He nudges me with his elbow and I can't help but smile. Callum somehow always makes me smile. "Do you want to sit with us at lunch?" He asks me, and I can hear in his voice how much he wants me to. "Cherry has Lunch Detention, she tried to punch a teacher, and I can't stand to watch you sit by yourself."  I raise an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling that this was planned? Callum, you've been trying to get me to sit with you for weeks. You know I don't like James." Okay, so I may have forgotten to mention that Callum is my long-time friend. I've known him for nearly six years, and he just happens to be James' best friend. That's sort of why I hate Janes so much, because he stole Callum from me. I mean, I know that Callum's a guy and can't be my best friend without people assuming he's my boyfriend... But I've still known him longer.  You're probably wondering how Callum got into this place. He sorta killed his mother. It was an accident, and I know cause I was there. Afterwards, he felt so bad that he nearly killed himself. But, the way it happened Is more important. It's kinda pathetic for this school's standards, and he wouldn't be popular if he wasn't so darn cute. But he was in the kitchen and tripped, spilled a glass of water that caused his mom to trip and crack her head. She died before the ambulance could get to the hospital. Poor kid went bad after that, and something happened that caused him to change drastically. But he was still my friend. I always has been.   "I know... But since he's your partner now, I was hoping you would anyways?" Callum nudged her with his elbow again. "Eh? Wadda you say?" I groan. "Fine. I'll sit with you and your lunatics!" I give in.  "Yes!" I smile as Callum rushes back to James and Sam, telling them what had happened. I can't help but notice James watching me. I sit next to them at lunch without very many issues. We just talk about our families, how we were before our crimes were committed. The usual.

When lunch ends, we all go to our last few classes of the day. As I sit down, next to James of course, I pull out my phone and check for any messages. My last class of the day is Social Studies, and our teacher doesn't come in until it's been at least fifteen minutes. She's not really dedicated to the whole 'Teacher' thing. I notice a text from my mom, and read it carefully. It's not good.

How are you sweety? You're father an I are good, he got promoted to an Officer the other day, so it's been pretty happy around the house. The only issue is that we have to go to a ceremony for his promotion. Why is this an issue? Well, you see, it's on the visiting day. So we won't be able to make it on Saturday. I'm so sorry sweety.

With love,

Mom.

Visiting day is the only day every four months that our parents get to see us. This will be my first visiting day, and of course, my parents won't be there.

James sees my disapointed face and frowns. "What's wrong Rosie?"

I look at him quietly for a moment before I sigh. "My parent's aren't coming to the visiting day." I say.

I'm surprised when James puts his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. My parents never come, and neither do Callum's. I'm sure they'll come next time, too. You're parents are nicer than ours."