Only Time Will Tell

Innocent or Guilty?

Hey guys, it's Jasper. Everyone at school heard about Jake and Emily's failed attempt at a regular high school date. They all began to treat our friend group really nicely, no more burns, no more yelling. I think it's because they all understand what we are going through. We almost lost two friends to an incident that they didn't deserve, and no student has almost lost something that big, so we're the center of attention, for a bad reason too.

They all give me sympathetic glances, the teachers ask us how we're doing, they lay off on the homework because they know our time would rather be spent in the same cramped hospital room, waiting, eager to hear some news about the people who had had our backs through all of the years. Even the principal, who would shrug off a kid being held against his will asked if I was feeling okay in the second period. I guess he was told to be nice to his students from his boss, the only one who would be successful at telling him what to do and what not to do. The assistant principal, Ms. Blossom, tried to lead him through the day and make him a decent person, but one person can't control the other.

"Hey Jackson, you feeling alright boy?" He asked as I picked up my binder and was about to head out the door.

"It's Jasper, and I'm fine sir," I mumbled. I hated calling him sir and treating him with respect when I knew he didn't deserve it. At least today he was taking a step in the right direction.

"That's good to hear. If you need anything, then you can come to the counselor or me okay?" Ms. Blossom entered the room and her frail body leaned against the door. How much of the conversation did she hear? I wondered, clenching a fist.

"Okay, thanks for the help," I said reluctantly as I shuffled past her and walked down the rusty ramp that was probably ten years old, leading to the classroom where Mr. Jacson and Ms. Blossom were standing, staring at me as they disappeared out of view.

Just then I got a text from Kendra, she had been in contact with me more often after the accident.

Are you coming to school? Jake is free to go in the afternoon, and I promised I'd drive him home.

Okay. I replied back, happy that she thought about me. How's Emily's?
A minute later she responded as if checking herself. She is coming out in three days.
Oh. I replied. She must have gotten pretty hurt if she had to be out for four days! Jake must be worried sick, and since Emily's mother was a safety mom, she probably would never give Jake a second chance with her daughter in his car, maybe even anywhere. Just because some dumb guy crashed into Jake, his life was turned upside down, and so was Emily's. It's crazy how the world works.

I believe in karma since I've had many examples of it in my childhood. In Little League, this guy hit me with the baseball and I cried. He never said sorry. We ended up winning by so much that I wasn't the only one who was crying at the end of the game. Also, while playing basketball, (I only played one season and hated it) I called someone a jerk in sixth grade and shortly after I missed two of my shots. Now that I think about it, maybe I was just missing the baskets since I sucked.
The point is, karma is real in my opinion, and Jake had to have some part in the traumatizing event. Maybe he wasn't looking when the guy came, or maybe he was so obsessed with Emily that he drove in the wrong lane. What if the guy who crashed into him was completely innocent? Jake could be telling half of the story and be playing the victim, and no one would know what really happened, except Emily, who had been in the awake and the passing out stages her whole stay with Doctor Lister.

My little visit was not only going to be helping Jake, I needed to find out the truth, and since Jake didn't lose many brain cells in the crash, he had to know what happened that night, and who really was responsible.