"What are you in here for?"

"Excuse me?" Rachael gave a glance to the boy sitting on the opposite side of the worn, lumpy couch they shared.

She unraveled her writhing hands, keeping a watchful eye on the officer sitting in his petty not-so-little office across the vast hall, knowing he was dissevering every detail in which they gave him to help him decide her punishment.

"Why is such a pretty girl, like you, sitting in a place like this, instead of doing what normal girls do, like shopping?"

Rachael's thoughts were jolted from her head. She snapped her head in his direction. "I'm not a normal girl. As you can tell, we are in here for the same reason. Trouble."

The boy snorted, tossing his hazelnut hair out of his face. "I'm not here for any old reason. I did not lie, cheat, steal, vandalize, kill, or rape."

"This what did you do?" A tad of curiosity squeezed itself into her voice.

"Not unless you tell me why you're here as well." Was the brunette's sharp reply, a smirk twitched at the corners of his mouth.

Rachael took a moment to herself to think. He might freak out, but, if I'm lucky, we might not ever met again. Anyways, I don't think my so-called 'crime,' was as half as bad as his. She gave him a good, long, hard look as he waited patiently for her reply, taking in his image. Tall, lean, couldn't be out of his teens, but what's up with the lab coat?

This made her all the more curious. Taking in a deep breath, she let out; "Fine." In a sigh.

He smiled.

It made her want to cramp that single word back down her throat. Not a good sign.

He leaned over and said in a low voice, "I'm in here for mixing uraninite and pitchblende into three isotopes, one of which is customarily used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and weapons. But this is going to be for a new top secret project I'm working on, and is also highly illegal."

Rachael's eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me. I'm a mad scientist." He shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

Rachael burst out laughing, doubling over from short of breath. The brunette sat stiff-backed and straight faced as he waited for her spasm to subside.

Once Rachael had caught her breath, she straightened up to meet his stern gaze.

"So that explains the lab coat, the nerdy glasses, and whacked out hair." She paused. "Alright, my crime was a bit different, too."

He leaned forward a bit, awaiting her confession.

"Well, I, um, you see- I went up to the Blue Diamond Cooperation building, you know the tallest one in town? And when I thought no one was looking, well I… I jumped off the roof." Her eyes stayed firmly planted on her hands.

"You did WHAT?!" The boy burst out, practically leaping up from his seat in surprise.

Rachael winced, shrinking back, trying to make herself seem as small as possible. "I didn't mean for the lady," she nodded at the woman talking with the officer, their voices muffed behind the glass door. "To call 911 when she saw me jump."

"But-but, under the ideal conditions, the acceleration of gravity is a constant rate of 9.8 m/s squared and the building was at least 1610.56 feet tall, and you must be about 114 pounds? That means it would take only 10.3 seconds for you to reach the ground, which is clearly impossible to survive!" His eyes were wide with horror. "How could you have possibly lived through a fall like that without a scratch?"

Rachael crossed her arms. "I said I'd tell you my crime, not my secrets."

"Well that determines one thing for certain." The boy said, easing himself back down onto the couch.

"And what is that?"

"That we're both going to some insane asylum."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" She laughed sarcastically, but stopped short for more effect. "No. My dad will be here soon, and then everything will sorted out."

"Awe, I thought we could be roommates." He said with a wink.

"Wow, your sleeves must be packed."

"Uh, with what? I swear I don't have any chloroform on me!"

"Cheesy jokes." She said with an eye roll. "And might I ask why you have dangerous chemicals on you? I bet the sergeant would love to know about THAT."

"You are so full of it."

"Alright, you two, break it up. You should be ashamed of yourself Oz, picking on a girl. Tsk. Tsk."

A tall man with a short, glossy ponytail, strode over to them, his face masked with a scowl.

"And you are?"

Name's Randel. Rendel Peterson, my friends call me Randy, until you both are old and mature enough, you will address me as Chief."

It was Oz who spoke up first. "OK, 'Chief,' what are you in here for, oh wait let me guess, metal therapist! No, no! A probation officer! Oh, wait I've got it! A guidance counselor!" Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Actually, I'm all those and more!" Chief rose his arms in a dramatic shrug.

Rachael couldn't suppress the laugh that bubbled up her throat. She bit her bottom lip, Chief's eyes locked with hers, making her giggling and squirming come to a halt. Oz had somehow managed to keep his lips pressed into a straight line, there wasn't any sign of humor to be found on his features.

"Now, I must explain briefly, for we don't have much time. After your both finished up here." He indicated in the officer's direction, "There will be a black Toyota waiting for you right outside. The password is 'double A.' now whatever you do, do NOT let the police have you real name of finger prints. Understand?"

Both teens gave him a quick confused nod.

"Good then I'll see you again. Very soon." His last words had an edgy tone to them, he gave an anxious glance to a passing man, before walking away briskly, not glancing back once.

"Do you really think we should trust this weirdo?" Rachael asked Oz, but before he could answer her, the officer popped his head out from his office to quickly beckon Rachael in with two fingers before ducking back inside.

"Wish me luck." She mumbled solemnly, trudging through the dreaded doors.

She came back out minutes later, a toothy grin large enough to look painful spread across her face, and a light spring had tucked itself into her step.

See ya later, I've got a ride to catch!" She sneered as she bounced past Oz.

"Hey, wait! We're supposed to go together!" He yelled after her.

She frowned, a big contrast compared to a face-breaking smile she wore a moment ago. "Thanks for ruining the moment. I'll be waiting in the car." She flung over her shoulder

Hello my duckies! This is my first post, like, ever, I hope you enjoyed it and I will have the next one out sooner than you think.