*This chapter was very hard to complete. And it's really delayed thanks to me recently finishing college. But it's here, and I hope it was worth the wait.*
"Mae?"
Mr. Chazokov peered around his desktop into the mostly empty science room. It was a Friday afternoon, seventh period, so most of the class had finished their test as soon as they could to head into the cafeteria for the last bell. The only student left was Mae Borowski, still scribbling away in the essay section of the test.
"Mae. It is almost time to go," Mr. Chazokov said. "You're going to miss your bus."
"Almost…" Mae said without looking up. She normally couldn't give less of a shit about tests, especially at the end of the week. She could stomach her C's and rare B minuses if it meant getting to hang out with Gregg and Casey a little longer. Mr. Chazokov's class was different. She was clinging to her A for dear life, and this test was poised to drop her down to another B. Astronomy was the one subject this year that kept her attention, and she had worked her hardest to show that she actually cared about it. But she couldn't remember the name of one stupid star, and it was throwing her entire essay question off.
"Mae." Mr. Chazokov was suddenly standing over her desk. For a big fellow, he could move quickly when he wanted to. Mae once saw him almost teleport over to Lachlan McElroy's desk to confiscate his phone.
"I'm so close, please just give me a little bit more time." Mae begged, looking up at the bear. "I studied for hours last night."
Mr. Chazokov took advantage of her distraction to slide the paper away from her, examining her essay that sprawled onto the back of the page.
"I think this is more than enough." he said.
"But…"
Mr. Chazokov put a hand on her desk, looking directly into her eyes.
"I am not going to deny you credit for trying your hardest, Mae. This shows me that you care," Mr. Chazokov gestured to her massive essay. "Not only that, but you are one of the only students that talks with me when you do not understand something."
Mae shook her head. "I-I did terrible, I know I did…"
"I will be the judge. Astronomy is a tricky subject. If you feel that you did your very best, I am sure that will earn you some credit."
"Is that allowed?" Mae asked.
"I am the teacher. This is my classroom, I make the rules." Mr. Chazokov said with a soft smile.
Mae felt her body decompress, letting out a long, shaking sigh. "Thanks, Mr. Chazokov."
"Go home and enjoy your weekend, Mae." Mr. Chazokov replied, adding Mae's exam to the pile on the front table.
"No, really… thank you," Mae repeated as she grabbed her bookbag. "You're too cool for school."
"Just try your very best, Mae, and you will go somewhere that you are happy." Mr. Chazokov said.
"I didn't listen…"
Mae whispered this with a raw throat. She sat in Interrogation Room 1, her parents on either side of her, Aunt Molly and Officer Palahniuk sitting across from her, taking notes.
"Didn't listen to what, Mae?" Mr. Borowski asked.
"He… Mr. Chazokov told me to always try my best." Mae said.
"Did you see anyone suspicious leaving or entering the Forrester's before you arrived?" Officer Palahniuk asked.
"No. ...It's my fault he's dead, isn't it?" Mae asked. "If I hadn't told you all about him, no one ever would have gone after him."
Officer Palahniuk gave a short sigh, closing his notebook. "We're not getting anywhere with her. Let's move on to the two boys."
Mrs. Borowski gave a short, offended gasp at the officer's behavior. Molly shot her partner a searing glare before getting up and sitting on the edge of the table.
"Mae. The only person at fault here is whoever attacked Mr. Chazokov."
The younger cat didn't reply, her father squeezing her shoulder.
"You did the right thing recommending him as a witness, he had a clear view of the street and a fantastic memory."
"Well it won't do any good now, will it?!" Mae shouted. "He's dead, dead, because I couldn't close my fat mouth! He was my friend..."
"I know you're heartbroken, Mae… But this is it," Molly put a firm paw on Mae's knee. "You have my word, as an officer of the law and as your family, that no one else is getting hurt on my watch."
Mae sat back, a faint tremble visible on her shoulders.
"You have to have some idea of who did this, right?" Mrs. Borowski implored. "DNA evidence or a footprint or anything?"
"We're only getting closer, Candy," Aunt Molly replied, tucking her notebook into her front pocket. "And right after I talk to Mr. Delaney and Mr. Lee, I'm headed to the mayor's office to instill a curfew. The town's shook up enough already, the last thing we need is people going out at night trying to be heroes."
"We would have liked to avoid public outcry, but we can barely keep the press off our tails. Whoever did this is probably loving the publicity." Officer Palahniuk shot an accusing glance at Mae.
"Screw you, asswipe!" Mae snapped.
"Mae!" Mr. Borowski exclaimed. Mrs. Borowski only glared at Palahniuk, giving a slight nod of approval.
"As tactless as Officer Palahniuk is being," Molly began, over-enunciating the consonants in the word 'tactless,' "He has a point. We're going to try and keep the circumstances of Mr. Chazokov's passing under wraps to avoid press attention. Hopefully if we take all the spotlights off these crimes, the perp will lose interest, maybe even let his guard down. So that means you keep your lips sealed about this, all three of you. What we just discussed doesn't leave this building. You three are free to go."
Molly patted Mae's knee before getting to her feet and snapping her fingers for Officer Palahniuk to follow her, heading to Interrogation Room 2 to speak with Angus and Gregg. Since so many people were potential witnesses, there was no room for anybody in the already cramped station. Gregg and Angus were waiting in Interrogation Room 2, and poor Selmers had to sit in the holding cell, which was thankfully unoccupied.
"Mae, hon, do you need anything..?" Mrs. Borowski asked as the family got to their feet. "We'll buy you dinner tonight."
"Not hungry." Mae said in a flat voice.
"Do you want to stay with us? I'm sure Aunt Molly wouldn't mind you on the couch." It turned out that there was no safe-house at the police station, so Mae's parents had been staying in Aunt Molly's spare bedroom at her apartment uptown.
"I'll be okay," Mae replied. "Germ's house is safe."
"I want you where I can see you, Mae." Mrs. Borowski insisted.
"I said I'll be okay. Germ's house is out of the way, there are more people there and more doors to hide behind."
"Mae-"
"Candy, Mae has a good point," Mr. Borowski cut in. "All of this happened in town."
Mae felt the knot in her stomach tighten. Her dad was right, all of the bodies turned up in the city limits, practically all on the same street. Which meant that pretty much everyone she knew might be next to go. Selmers' house was a stone's throw from Bea's apartment, and Gregg and Angus weren't too far away from them, a short walk at most. If the killer could sneak into Selmers' house undetected, he or she would probably have no problem getting into a cheap apartment, stealthily or by force.
"Back in a sec, I need to talk to Selmers." Mae said, ignoring her parents' bickering and approaching a police officer she didn't recognize. The cop, clearly near the end of her shift, grabbed a key off of the nearby rack and led her to the back of the station, past the other Interrogation Room. Mae glanced inside to see Gregg and Angus, but the glass on the door was too scratchy and faded to see anything clearly. The cop unlocked a thick metal door at the end of the hall.
"Make it quick, you're not supposed to be back here." she said, opening the door and letting Mae inside. The cop followed her into the chilly room and shut the door behind her, leaning against it and checking her cell phone.
Selmers sat behind bars, alone, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. She looked up at Mae with swollen red eyes and gave her a smile.
"Hey…" she said, in a voice as fragile as tissue paper. "You okay?"
Mae leapt forward and grasped the metal bars, Selmers getting up and placing a warm paw on the cat's.
"You're not a suspect, are you..?" Mae asked. "You didn't do anything!"
"They told me it'd be better if I stayed here 'til they finish dusting for prints. They want to make absolutely sure." Selmers said with a tone of familiarity..
"You've got somewhere to go when they let you out, right?" Mae asked.
"My uncle's condo in Durkillesburg. As far away from here as possible." Selmers replied.
"Good. I want you to stay safe." Mae finally let go of her girlfriend, spotting the two jewel-bright tear drops that had leaked from her eyes. Mae had never seen Selmers cry, and it made the time-bomb waiting to go off inside of her click closer to zero.
"Sorry," Selmers wiped her face. "You stay safe too. I'll text you when they let me out..."
After another mutual promise to stay safe, Mae left the room, the cop leading her back to her parents without looking up from the game she was playing on her phone. It wasn't until later that Mae realized Selmers was supposed to start her first official job since being paroled at the library tomorrow. Life had once again gotten it's stupid face in the way of Selmers moving out of her parents' house and starting her own life.
Mae sat silently between her parents and waited for her Aunt to finish questioning Angus and Gregg. Gregg probably wouldn't have needed to be there at all if he hadn't dashed into the house upon hearing screams. He broke a lamp in the sitting room on his way up the stairs. Mae could hear him promising to pay for the damage once they finally exited the Interrogation Room, probably costing him and Angus some of their scarce savings to move to Bright Harbor.
"I think it might be prudent of you boys to get a ride home with the Borowskis," Molly said. "It'd be a tight fit, but it'd spare you all the nonsense out there." She jabbed a thumb towards the front door, where the paparazzi was no doubt waiting to pounce on them.
Mae had no energy for objections. She, Gregg, and Angus were shepherded out the front door, the crowd of reporters descending on them. Her dad shoved microphones and the occasional tape recorder out of their path, warning anyone against getting too close. They eventually managed to reach the door of her mom's old car, the three young adults squishing into the back seat, Angus sandwiched between Gregg and Mae. Mae laid her head on Angus' shoulder, which he didn't object or react to.
The ride back to the apartment was spent in an aching silence only broken by Gregg giving directions. The unfairness of the situation had begun digging its claws into all of those that had grew up around Mr. Chazokov. He had never hurt a soul in his life, only to be murdered and mocked by a wannabe thug that probably thought themselves the next Zodiac Killer. Mae's lower lip gave an involuntary twitch. One tick closer to zero.
Mae's parents let the three of them out at the sidewalk, wishing Gregg and Angus a safe evening.
"We'll wait for you and Jeremy out here, sweetie." Mae's mother said, her dad puzzling over how to get Germ's bicycle into their car.
Upstairs, they found Germ still seated in front of the couch, his character duking it out with a massive, steely-gray dragon on the television screen. His subtle smile dissolved when he saw the looks on his friends' faces.
"What happened?" he asked.
Angus pressed a hand to his eyes, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead. The bear inhaled a sob before hurrying out of the room. Gregg took a few steps after him before halting in the middle of the rug, giving a Mae a desperate look.
"We'll talk later, you can go." Mae said. Gregg took his leave while Mae sat on the couch. She could sense Germ's eyes on her, but it took a moment for her to actually meet them.
"The murderer got Mr. Chazokov." was the only thing she felt she had permission to say.
Germ blinked a few times, slumping back against the couch and letting character get mauled.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"My parents are gonna give you a lift back to your house. We don't want you riding home in the dark."
"Thank you. Are you okay?" Germ asked again.
"No," Mae said after a long pause. "I'm feeling pretty shit right now."
"My parents are gonna make sloppy joes tonight." Germ replied.
"We gotta go like, now, Germ." Mae said.
"Alright." Germ turned the console off and followed Mae out of the apartment. Mr. Borowski managed to squeeze Germ's bicycle in the trunk, Gregg's bike and Eve's bike were still at the Forresters, cordoned off as part of the crime scene. The cops were supposed to deliver them back to their owners once they were finished sniffing around.
"Hi Germ!" Mae's mom said in a cheery voice. "Long time no see."
"Hi Mrs. Mae." Germ said, waving a bit before climbing into the car. Germ called all of his friends' parents by their kid's name. Anyone that knew Germ had simply grown to expect it, and it was up to them whether they got used to it or not.
Mae heard none of the ensuing conversation between her mother and Germ. She only gave a vacant stare to the buildings and trees that she passed by. She felt her phone buzz, a rare moment where a message actually cut through the abysmal reception.
It was from Bea. "Hey."
Mae texted back. "Hey."
"I don't even know what to say at this point." Bea replied.
Mae wrote and erased several possible replies before finally sending "me neither." Her phone buzzed angrily back at her that the message had failed to send, and she shoved it back into her pocket, returning to stare at the rosy twilight.
They reached Germ's front yard just as the sun was disappearing completely. Mae hugged her parents, returning their wishes to be safe and promising to call them later. She followed Germ into the backyard, where he locked up his bike and let her into the basement.
"Want me to call you when dinner's ready?" he asked.
"Not hungry." Mae said again.
"Okay. I'll save you some food. I think Sean keeps drinks in the rec room mini-fridge if you want any." Germ said before heading upstairs.
Mae went into her bedroom and laid down. The time bomb in her stomach clicked to zero and exploded. She sobbed until her lungs and throat ached from overuse and her tears soaked through the pillowcase.
Mae glanced up at the digital clock when her blubbering finally made the pain in her gut back off for the time being. 10:55 at night. An hour and a half had gone by. She was struck by a choking thirst, a result of both not drinking much all day and emptying half of the water in her body onto the pillow. She got up to go check the mini-fridge, praying that no one was down there.
The rec room was thankfully empty, with a rainbow of yoga mats and colorful exercise balls strewn about like an oversized playmat. The fridge sat at the foot of yet another bed, the tacky floral sheets and comforter neatly dressed. Mae got onto her knees and opened the fridge, wiping her nose on her sleeve.
All available space was occupied with cans of beer, mostly the super manly stuff that bikers drank with their giant imported cigars. Through smeary vision, Mae saw a mason jar full of cornshine as well. She remembered Gregg talking about how his dad used to pound it down like soda, but she had never seen any in person before. If she tried any, she would probably immediately die of alcohol poisoning.
Mae grabbed the closest drink available, a tall black can of Guinness, and snapped it open, whitish-brown froth burbling out of the top. Without hesitating, she greedily drank half of the can. The beer inside was dark, thick and unapologetically bitter. After a pause to catch her breath and let out a hideous belch, Mae drained the rest, tossing the can to the side and grabbing another. She made it about a third of the way through before the room began to blur, and a bubble of laughter made its way out of her throat.
"Mae?" A voice from the door asked.
Mae turned to find Germ standing there, holding a solo cup.
"...Germinator." Mae replied, laughing again.
"I saved you some food." the little bird said, shepherding Mae into the main room past the pool table. Mae clung to her second can of beer as she stumbled over to the plush couch. Though grief had neutered her appetite before, the alcohol in her belly made her realize how empty it was.
"Thanks…" Mae said as she sat down on the couch. A paper plate with a sloppy joe, green beans and out-of-the-freezer macaroni and cheese sat on the coffee table, and Mae tore into the sandwich.
"Sorry about Mr. Chazokov." Germ said.
"Mmm." was Mae's only reply. She didn't bother talking through a mouthful of ground meat and a tangy, homemade sauce that was both delicious and probably going to give her terrible heartburn. She washed it down with beer.
"That's Sean's Guinness." Germ said, looking over Mae's shoulder at the beer can she left on the floor. Mae swallowed and looked at Germ with glazed eyes.
"You said to help myself." she grunted before taking another too-large bite out of the sandwich.
"I know. He's probably gonna blame Perch for it anyway. You look three sheets to the wind."
"I look what to the who..?" Mae replied, this time not bothering to swallow. A fleck of beef fell from her mouth onto her jeans. She didn't notice.
"Three sheets to the wind. It's what Gramma says when someone has too much to drink." Germ replied.
"Your Gramma's weird…" Mae said after swallowing, immediately wishing she could take back what she just said.
"Maybe a bit. Has she talked to you alone yet?" Germ asked.
"Talked to-" Mae's slowed mental capacities coupled with her shock at Germ not reacting to hearing his grandmother insulted left her unable to complete her sentence.
"You should talk to her alone." Germ said.
"Why..?" Mae asked.
"You just should." Germ replied.
"N- Germ, are you screwing with me..? 'Cuz I'm not in the mood..!" Mae snapped.
"Sorry." Germ said in a quieter voice. Mae felt a jab of guilt in her stomach.
"Germ… Listen, you're so effing nice. You let me live with you, eat your food and drink your beer… I'm such a dumpster fire I'd probably not even notice if something effed up happened to you…" She hiccuped and took another long gulp of beer.
"You're not a dumpster fire." Germ said.
"I'm a total friggin' burnout, Germ..! I can't even finish college..! All I do is embarrass people..! My parents, Bea… I bet even Gregg thinks I'm embarrassing..!"
Mae was aware she was shouting, but couldn't stop herself.
"Anybody that trusts me to grow up or do something with my life winds up let down or dead..! I don't deserve any of this, the food, the bed, the friends… I deserve a box. A cardboard box in a sewer…"
"I'd like to live in a sewer. No neighbors or rent." Germ said.
"Are you even listening?!" Mae bellowed, pounding a fist on the coffee table. The tremor knocked her can onto the floor, dark beer gurgling out onto the carpet.
"Oh shit! Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Mae fell to her knees to pick the can up, smacking her bruised torso on the corner of the coffee table on the way down. A yelp later and she was on her back clutching her side.
Germ stood up and retrieved the can, going into the bathroom for something to clean up the beer. Mae remained on the carpet beside the stain, whimpering drunkenly. By the time Germ returned with a wet towel, Mae's incoherent whining had turned into sobbing.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Germ took a few minutes to sponge the beer out of the carpet with the damp towel, finally setting it down on the coffee table and sitting on the carpet beside Mae. The cat had curled in on herself, mewling into her knees.
"Every person does shitty things." he said. "You let me hang out with you guys and watch your band. That makes you pretty alright to me."
Mae didn't say anything in return apart from a loud, wet sniff. Germ crossed his legs and watched her for a while. When her crying eventually slowed to a stop, he climbed to his feet, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket and heading upstairs.
Mae caught him halfway up the stairs in a wet, bitter kiss.