in no time.”
Fuck, that’s all I need right now. “George, please don’t.”
Another boy piped up. “Yeah! Make it shareable. I’ll post it on my page. It’ll spread like the flu. We’ll make some posters and storm the police station in protest.”
Oh, shit! “Aaron, not a good idea.”
The rest of the team joined in, chanting, “Free Miss Miser! Free Miss Miser!”
Principal Bradshaw clapped his hands in sheer delight. “See what you started, Miss Miser? Disrupting student activities. Encouraging them to misbehave. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
Really? I’m so done with this! One look at the gloating troll’s face change my mind. “You’re actually happy about traumatizing these kids. You know what, post away, Aaron. It’s gonna be real funny when dipshit here finds out he’s out of a job.”
“The only one out of a job is you, Miss Miser. Let’s hope you’re out of jail before you give birth.”
The click of the handcuffs brought reality crashing down. Shit, I was going to jail tonight, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Even worse, Bevvie, Connor, and the kids had left for Disney World early this morning. The drive took about eight hours, which meant they should be pulling into Mickey’s place about the same time I arrived at the police station.
My students looked to me in horror. “Does everyone have rides home, either waiting or driving yourselves?” Several nodded. “Good. Please make sure you get home safe, try to have a good holiday tomorrow, and don’t forget to study for the meet next week.”
“You’ll be in school Monday morning, right, Miss Miser?”
“You bet I will.”
The officer jerked my arm forward, and I almost stumbled. “What the hell is your problem?”
He sneered in my direction. “Fucking sluts, that’s what. You got the right to remain silent, so why don’t you shut the hell up?”
He finished spitting my Miranda rights at me as he directed me to the police car, lights flashing red and blue. My clumsiness in getting in the car irritated him further, but the first officer had his act together and even fastened the seat belt for me.
I took the dickwad’s advice and stayed quiet throughout the drive to the station. All the episodes of Law and Order I’d watched hadn’t prepared me for what I faced. I thought I’d get put in a room for questioning. Instead, they took my personal information, mug shot, and fingerprints. I kept it together when they took my purse, jewelry, and phone. When I had to strip out of my clothes completely and put on the beige-colored prison garb, I lost it.
“Dammit, I’m pregnant. Don’t you have special circumstances for this?”
The female officer ignored me. Humiliated, hungry, and forced to be naked under the watching eyes of two strange policewomen. It was too much. Tears of frustration flowed down my cheeks and I held my breath in an attempt to stem the flow. “This isn’t happening. When do I get my phone call? When can I see a lawyer?”
“Be lucky to see one o’ them ’fore the weekend. Er-body’s out for the holiday. Getchoo a phone tomorrow. Lucille brung some punkin pie in the break room, and I’m gettin’ me a piece ’fore it’s all gone.”
They led me to a small single cell that smelled of Lysol and puke. I had to step inside and hear the crash of the bars as they slammed the door shut. The only other person there lay passed out on the cot in the cell across from me. I had a similar cot, a metal sink, and an open toilet. Fuck, this was real.
I’m sitting in a jail cell, and no one knows I’m here. I knew the charges were completely bogus, and one little DNA swab would prove it, but still, facing tonight and perhaps more nights in here just might break me. I sat on the edge of the thin mattress and let my sobs out. Once I got to call someone, who would that be? Bevvie and Connor weren’t around for several days. My parents wouldn’t bother coming, probably preferring to stay away from any scandalous mess. Magnus would show up just to take pictures and revel in my disgrace. The only other person I could call was Owen. I knew he would come get me even it if meant dragging a date with him, but until the officers bothered to bring me a phone, I was alone.
No support. No help. No one around to care. I’d been alone most of