𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓜𝓻𝓼. 𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓜𝓮𝓽 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓽...

Chapter 14

Philosophy class was pretty interesting today. It's always more interesting, though, when Emerson is here. He was debating for almost the whole class why it's so important in our lives, and almost took Mr. Watts's position as teacher, to our amusement and his dismay. He registered a little late for the class this month, but Mr. Watts was kind enough to let him attend and learn. I strongly believe that Philosophy is Emerson's favorite class, since he seems to live and breathe the material. This and art are two of his most favorite subjects in this school. I've seen him draw in his notebooks and on his desks, and it's like something seen in a dream. He has such a unique skill that remind me of the artists from the Renaissance era. It seems to be the only thing that calms him down and make him smile. It was fascinating to watch and I wonder if he would use this skill in his career someday.

When class was over, I had lunch with Delilah before I had to go to work for the rest of the day. We talked about our goals for the future, and she told me how she looks up to Diana Ross and hopes she can follow in her footsteps and become a female power band. It made me emotional with pride and anticipation to see such a talented and determined singer like her take her place in the world and make history. I mentioned how I wanted to produce music sometime in the future and help aspiring artists find and create the sound they want to share with the world without butchering their music to become something it's not. Del told me that it was a very bold career choice for me since there aren't many female producers nowadays, but I would certainly be one of the best in the business. I blushed in modesty when she said that, and when she was about to speak again, she looked at my blind side and groaned with a look of disappointment.

"What is it?", I asked curiously. She turned to me and said, "It's that Remington Leith." I tensed when she said that and didn't want to make eye contact with him. "How come you hate him?", I asked, "besides the fact that he's just annoying and self-centered?" She looked at him once more before answering my question. "Well, before, I didn't care about him or any of his brothers." "Wait. I thought he only had one: Emerson." "Yeah, but there's one older than both of them named Sebastian, and he doesn't really go here anymore. So, no one's seen him that much." I nodded to confirm my understanding. "Anyway, he didn't really bother me much, until after I met you and I heard what happened that night near the music store. And I also hated when he tried to flirt with you in class. No friend of mine should be picked on by some school reject, and as long as you hate him and he causes you trouble, I hate him as well."

I smiled when she said that, and then we heard yelling outside of the school and people running toward it. I looked at Del in confusion, then we both headed to where the crowd was going. It was packed when we walked through the hallways and then when we got to the campus center, there were a bunch of police cars outside of the school. We walked through the people surrounding the scene, and when I was able to see what was going on, I felt a pang of fear go though me. There were officers taking in a student with his hands cuffed and his head hanging down. I asked a girl standing next to me, "Hey, what's happening? Why are they taking that boy away?" She looked at them,then at me and responded gravely. "He was found playing Rolling Stones records in the accounting building and he was wearing a Stones shirt underneath his jacket. They're going to take him in for questioning and determine his status at this school."

I looked back to the boy as they put him inside one of their cars, and saw as he looked back at the crowd through the car window as they drove away. I felt a sense of fear for the boy they took, and slightly of myself. I didn't think a student's ability to keep studying here would also be endangered if they were found glorifying rock n' roll. This town probably has no mercy whatsoever for listeners like that boy, no matter how noble or law-abiding they might be. "Carina, are you okay?", Del asked me while lightly shaking my arm. I turned to face her and was about to answer her when I noticed something peculiar behind her.

Remington and his brother, Emerson, were leaving the school like they were running away from something. Could the cops have scared them? It doesn't seem possible since it wasn't them who caused trouble. But the look on Remington's face made me question whether the reason they were running was much bigger than just a simple break-in. He looked like his life was in jeopardy and something bad might happen if they had stayed any longer. I knew this guy was shady since he was in a gang, but maybe the secrets he was keeping were life-threatening to him and his members if anyone found out. I turned back to Del and said while shaking my head, "Yes, Del. I'm okay. Just didn't expect to see something like that happen in school, you know?" She nodded and then rubbed my shoulder to comfort me, "Yeah, I get it, girl. You'll probably get used to seeing things like this happen in time, and then be happy it won't ever happen to you" I chuckled nervously. After hearing those last few words, they kept echoing in my head for the rest of the day. Be happy it won't ever happen to you...

OOOH! A bit of an exciting and unexpected event to happen at school and show just how serious the town is about their ban on all things rock n' roll. But why exactly were the Kropp brothers running away from a crime that wasn't theirs...? All answers will be revealed eventually as we continue the story and see what happens. I love you all so much!!! 😇😇😇