Learning to Live

Chapter 3: " I was telling quality knock-knock jokes in there.."

Hey everybody! First of all, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. Almost 200 reads, 50 comments, and 25 votes! I know it doesn’t seem like anything compared to some of the popular works here, but for my first story I am seriously so psyched that it got this much attention!

Second, I wanted to upload this weekend, but then I got sick and had a show and stuff just…exploded. I am so sorry I went past the time I said I would upload by a few days, but knowing my life, it’s bound to happen once in a while. This actually isn’t everything I wanted to write, but I felt like I HAD to get something up to thank you guys for all the support! Bright side, that means most of the next chapter is already planned, which means it will be up faster!(:

Ok, so I’ll stop rambling now so you can go ahead and read!(:

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Logan came back after a few minutes and led us over to the oh-so-intimidating “interrogation room”—more like a closet-sized room with two chairs and a table. Yeah, I’m terrified.

“Wait…is this like a real interrogation?” Jess asked excitedly, “Like an I-have-a-right-to-a-lawyer interrogation? Because that would be AWESOME!”

Logan chuckled-Is it bad that after only hearing his laugh a couple times, I already wanted to hear it again, and be the one that makes him laugh? Maybe I should- NO. Snap out of it Sarah. You’re in (admittedly a kind of sucky) jail right now. No ogling cute guys right now. And definitely no telling bad jokes right now.

“No, it’s just a formality really,” he said, “They just want your statement for the records and all, so as long as you don’t confess to a bank robbery or something in there, it should go pretty well.”

“Ok…” Jess responded, “so it’s basically just deny, deny, deny. That’s doable. Wait, if I mention this one thing from when we—”

“Deny, deny, deny, Jess.” I cut in, afraid of what horrid tale about our adventures she might pull out. “And no one needs to hear any of those stories. Ever. Until long after my death. Actually, no, I’d rather not have my memory tarnished. You just can’t speak of it.”

The light in Logan’s eyes tell me I’m going to definitely be regretting that. “Well..” he said slyly, looking at me the whole time, “how about Jess goes in first while Sarah does the paperwork for the two of you, and then when Sarah goes in Jess and I can finish this conversation here?”

Dammit.

Jess, oblivious as always, chirped happily, “Ok! Ready or not, coppers, HERE I COME!”

I really wish I could have seen the expression on the poor policeman’s face when she literally burst through the door, already speaking a mile a minute as she flies into her seat.

Once the door shuts, Logan and I are left in an awkward silence-at least, awkward on my part. He saved it, however, by quickly saying, “How about I show you that paperwork now? And if you need help with anything, just ask me.”

Going back over to the desk in the corner, I follow him as he riffles through and pulls out a few different forms. And then a few more. And then a few more...

"..so you'll also need one for your own involvement, description of what happened, list of involved persons, and a contact sheet," he mutters to himself as he pulls out the final papers and throws them on to the desk, "there you go!"

Looking at the mountain of forms on the table, I already felt a headache coming on. "...um, what?"

"Here, just sit down with the papers and I'll show you where to start," Logan said as he guided me over to the desk and sat me down. Leaning over the cair, he picks out some of the forms from the bottom, "Just fill out a summary of what happened, and how you were involved. Try to be exact. The clerk can do the rest--he just sits on his ass most of the time anyway. Oh, and you'll need to fill out one form with your information on it too."

Tongue-tied by the fact that, from the way he's leaning on to the desk, he's pretty much pressed against my back, I managed to nod and stammer out a response that must have made some sense, since he seemed staisfied and retreated back to the wall. 

"If you need help with any of it, just let me know, ok?"

"Uh-huh," I muttered absentmindedly as I tried to race through the forms. Silence resumed as I worked my way through the ones on the desk that were required of me until I got to the one describing my involvement in the "situation."

"Hey Logan, am I supposed to include you in my involvement with this whole thing?"

"Well, was I involved in it?" He asked jokingly, continuing on with an exaggerated air. "Yeah, feel free to write all about how I heroically dove into the fountain, at the risk of my own life, all to rescue a damsel in distress."

"Oh, my hero!" I exclaimed sarcastically, "How shall I ever repay you?"

"I'm guessing that you can't knight me, so I'll take a raincheck and think of something later."

"Sure..." I responded, returning to the forms, "Oh wait, for the list of involved persons, I need your last name."

            "It's McDermitt. And yours?"

"Thompson," I replied. "Do I need to fill out the rest of the questions it asked about you? I mean, I could fill out all the info for Jess since I've known her for a while, but since I just met you, I don't really know your birthday and all that."

As soon as I finished my sentence, I saw Logan stiffen, almost as if what I had said hurt him somehow. "Oh, right," he covered up quickly, "I almost forgot about that stuff. Yeah, you don't need to fill it out, the guys know me--hell, I practically work here!"

"Yeah, I was wondering how you knew so much about this place."

"When I moved up here in high school, let's just say I thought I was pretty badass. One thing led to another, and I was "recommended" to volunteer here--I'm assuming that's because no one wanted to see what hell I could stir up working at a real police station. I guess I just kinda stuck with helping out after I got to know the guys here."

I was dying to know more about the past he had just hinted at, but the vague way he spoke about it told me he wasn't necessarily open to sharing more on that point, so I turned the conversation back to less murky waters. "So, where did you come from if you moved here in high school?"

"Funny you ask that.." Logan paused, "Actually, I ought to tell you. I---"

“DEAR LORD I’M FINALLY OUT OF THERE!” Jess barged back in, stopping Logan from continuing, “Sarah, you’re turn to go in now. And be warned, that dude has no sense of humor. Seriously, I was telling quality knock-knock jokes in there, and not a single chuckle, giggle, snort, anything! That man is a robot. Or a cyborg. What’s the difference between the two anyway?”

Having tuned out of Jess’s rambling about cyborgs and whether or not they could shoot lasers, I tried to make eye contact with Logan to see if he was still going to tell me..whatever it was. But when I looked over at him, he was facing the ground and almost seemed..embarrassed? Relieved? Ok, I obviously suck at reading faces if I can get those two emotions confused. And why did I care anyway? No falling for strangers, I chided myself. Especially mysterious hot strangers who hang out at mall jails.

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Again, sorry for it being a bit short ): but I have what I want to happen in the next chapter already planned out. And this way, you guys get some definite foreshadowing on what’s going on between the two characters and you get to know a little more about Logan before I move on with the story!(:

PLEASE don’t be afraid to give me feedback or criticism—I know that I need it. Also (again), thank you so much to the people who are reading this, along with commenting and voting. It really inspires me to write!(: