I was kinda thinking about alot on the bus. One thing that kept floating through my head though, was how the hell was I gonna walk in and start a freaking therapist session with Cindy? She was a rape victim who hasn't had anyone come to her for anything because she was so hard to approach, and when she moved away, nobody kept in contact with her. How was I supposed to say I cared when I haven't contacted her in months to check up on her?
I got off somewhere near Myrtle Avenue and I got into the train station, got on the J train and sat down in the corner of the train. When I was sitting down I began to atleast attempt to think of what I would say to Cindy.
Paulas death was pretty near after the time of Cindy's rape, so I could have easily. Used that as an excuse to why I never contacted. Cindy was never even told about Paula's death, so I figured that could be a posible way to break her chain of recovery, and send her right back into the same depression she went into after her life went to shit.
I was still fumbling around with the things I could use to make Cindy believe I cared, when I felt a small tap on my head.
I looked up and was actually more than less surprised to see that John was in front of me with a plastic knife held in my direction. "I'm gonna rob you! Do you got a gun I could borrow?" I let out a small smirk and replied, "Shutup you bum, sit down." He returned the smile and sat down next to me placing the plastic knife in the middle of his two knees creating a small bridge that he made for his fingers to cross over.
Still looking down at his lap and knife bridge he asked, "So what are you doing outside on a school day young lady?" "I guess I could ask the same to you, how are you gonna make new ideas and laws skipping classes?" I looked at him only to notice that he somehow had taken out a pad of graph paper and some pencils and was sketching his knees balancing his plastic knife. "Well the entire school system is messed up, like all of it, so I gave up on it midway ninth grade, my parents disowned me for it, and now I got my own life traveling New York. That's my sad yet wonderful truth, now explain to me your truth."
He said all of what should be been a pretty depressing description, yet in a joyous tone of voice. I looked at him to not be surprised that he was still sketching down the details of his knife and jeans. "Well uh... to be honest, I just skipped school to use your advice, I'm gonna help a friend who has been through what I think is more than Marcus."
He looked at me and I saw that he was suddenly interested in what I had to say. "So you're using my method? You know it was only a suggestion, I honestly didn't expect you to use it." "Well yeah of course but I mean I liked it, it made sense and I kinda need an excuse to see that person again, she was a really great friend, but then... yeah..." He nodded his head and went back to sketching.
"Do you mind explaining to me her problem?" I sighed and gritted my teeth, but then I explained the entire story to him, how she was so excited to come home and tell her parents that she was runner up for valadictiorian, and how her dad was the only one home, and he was drunk. "Well, that's... wow." I looked away from him as he stopped sketching to take in what I had just told him.
"Yeah I mean, that's just life when you think about it, what happened happened." I put my headphones on full blast again and sat there just waiting to get to Essex street. I guess I drifted off to sleep because I woke up later to John waking me up violently. "You getting off or nah girl we ain't got time!"
I looked up with my droopy eyes and realized that I was on Essex street and there were two people holding the doors of the train from closing and yelling at me to hurry. "Oh crap yeah yeah! I'm coming!" He then ran to assist the people holding the doors as they were now being forced to get closed. I got up and bolted out the door and John quickly followed behind me.
"How the crap did you know I was getting off here!?" He looked at me and stayed silent to wait for the rumbling of the departing train to leave. "Well to be honest it was a lucky guess, just kinda thought you were going here like everyone else was." He began to walk to the staircase that led to Delancy which was below us.
As we began to walk we ran into two MTA employees who had a police officer with them. The bigger and menacing MTA employee saw us and asked us, "Hey weren't you the two kids that were holding the doors to the train! You two are in..." John didn't let him continue because he grabbed my hand and bolted down the stairs. "Try and keep up Katherine! The f train is close I feel it!" I began to run down the stairs faster when I heard the officer and employees scream at us to come back.
"Move move!" I kept screaming as people kept clogging up the skinny stairway that me and John were trying to escape through. My heart sank when I made it down and saw that the f train we thought we felt was on the opposite side, and it was already leaving either way. "Get back here Jesus Christ!" I heard the officer say as he ran up to me and John and grabbed us by the arm.
"I demand to be read my rights you bums!" The officer hand cuffed John and put him up on the wall. "Shutup kid right now you don't have the right to speak." He began to approach me with handcuffs until I heard my name being screamed. I turned and to my downfall saw my dad walk up to me. "Katherine? What the hell is going on?"
The officer stopped in his tracks and looked over at my father. "Is this your daughter sir?" he asked. "Yes that's my daughter officer, what happened? Katherine what are you doing here being arrested!? You should be in school!" The officer explained the story of how John got the train to be held at Essex for almost 5 mins causing some delays for other trains and cutting the train off schedule.
"Katherine... you said you would stop this nonsense!" I looked down and muttered to myself, "Yeah and you said you'd never love anyone else other than mom." He pulled my chin up and had his face two inches away from my face. "What'd you say young lady?! You're lucky I haven't called your mother yet!" This time I was to angry to even mutter it, "Yeah like she ever picks up your calls big boy."
"Hey you respect me when I'm talking to you! I'm having half a thought to take away your stupid laptop and phone young lady watch what you say!" This time I knew I lost it. "So your thoughts are the same as your faithfulness, half, huh, that explains why you left mom for that stupid bitc..." he got mad and slapped me straight across my cheek. "Shutup okay! Me and your mom weren't working out and we just decided to end what we couldn't continue!"
By this point I was now in tears. "Screw you bastard! Ugh I sometimes wish you would just stop lying and give up on us so we wouldn't have to deal with your crap anymore!" He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to the approaching F train. "No! John! This wasn't his fault I'm not leaving..." he pulled me into the train car once it had stopped and he pushed me down onto a seat. "Yeah well I don't care you can't hang out with that boy anymore! I'm telling your mother and you're being grounded for skipping school!" John looked at me while I was still bawling and he had a face that told me that all would be okay, even if it wouldn't be.
I tried to slow my tears down and realized that the train was getting ready to leave. It announced the next stop and began to shut it's doors. My dad was sitting down looking for something in his bag, and I didn't wanna go where he was going, so I did something that surprised me. I got up and bolted to the door and jumped out just before it shut behind me. "Katherine! You get..." the doors shut on him and I never heard him finish.
I glared at him as he was screaming at me through the door and his veins were popping out. As he grew more furious and the train began to depart, I muttered under my breath, "Yeah... love you too." I then went back over to the MTA employees who were no longer with the police officer, and they turned to be quite surprised to see me.
