Something Different

Chapter 21

Alex's room was every average teenage girl's room. The walls were filled with posters of shirtless actors (and actresses, for that matter), bands and singers. The room was mint green in color. Her table was scattered with pencils and notebooks. The bed covers were stripped, and the mattress was flipped off the bed

'Why is the bed-'

'They searched my room to see if I was involved.'

'Oh.'

'Boy, I think I hit one of the agents when they forced me to let them in.'

'Oof, Alex.'

'Yeah, my violence has always been a part of me.'

Donna was still intrigued with Alex's room, so Alex left her there and walked to the room across. The door had quite obviously been broken down, as the hinges had come loose.

The bedroom was a mess. Curtains had come loose from their holders, and the floorboard below the bed had been pried apart. A photo frame that stood on the edge of the cabinet had fallen down, smashing the glass into pieces.

Alex remembered certain parts of that fateful day. She remembered being put into a police car, watching her parents being handcuffed, who desperately tried to call out to her and apologize. The tears came back to her eyes.

The next thing she remembered was being put in a questioning room, the hard, cold and unforgiving eyes of the police agents asking her questions.

'Please state your name for the record.' said a police officer, while she wrote something in a notebook.

'Alexandra Scott.'

'How old are you, Alexandra?'

'17. And please call me Alex.'

'Alright, Alex. Were you, in any way, involved in the crime you knew your parents were committing?'

Alex's lips trembled. 'No.' she said, looking the officer straight in the eye.

At that moment, there was a voice that came from the dining room. Alex snapped out of her daze.

'Hello? Who's there? Show yourselves!'

Alex hurried out of the room, on her tiptoes. She stared at Donna, who was also standing by the edge of Alex's room, and shook her head slightly. Donna mouthed something to Alex, which she couldn't figure out.

Alex whispered, 'I'm going down. You stay here.'

Donna whispered back furiously, 'Alex, no! No-'

Alex stepped out of the room, and Donna followed her hurriedly.

A woman, in her 50s, maybe stood downstairs, holding a frying pan in her hands. Her hair was streaked with grey, but she looked quite healthy for her age. She stared at Alex

'Alexa?' she gasped.

Alex stared back in shock. 'Mrs. Arnolds?'

To Donna's greatest surprise, Alex ran down the stairs, throwing herself in the woman's arms. The woman broke into tears.

'Oh darling, I thought you would never be back!'