"Dan...."
Entering the classroom, I immediately heard Frank's concerned voice. Turning in his direction, I saw Linel with a hand outstretched to catch Frank's attention. Shaking his head, Linel whispered something to Frank.
Walking over to my seat, I gently placed the book on the table, and sat down. And the moment my butt hit the chair, Frank leaned forward, his voice lowering.
"About Andrew..."
Stopping midsentence, I saw the uncomfortable expression on his face. Nodding my head, I opened the news book to the article.
Looking down, Frank read the title; his face paled and his mouth straightened.
"No way."
Beside him, Linel didn't bother to read the article, instead moving closer to me.
"My Dad tried his best. Could you tell Oliver I'm sorry."
I saw Linel, for the first time in the short time I had known him, lower his head with an upset expression.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, I comforted him, and the three of us descended into solemn silence. Finishing the article, Frank pushed the book away and closed it with disgust. His eyes were uncharacteristically dark, and he opened his mouth, but nothing but a long sigh exited his mouth.
Not in the mood to talk, the three of us returned to our seats and waited for the teacher. But before that, I passed the book to Frank and told him to read it first.
"I have something to do later, so I won't be joining the two of you today."
At my words, a light of understanding flashed through their eyes, and they nodded. Taking my book, Frank bit his upper lip before replying with a small thanks.
Turning around, we were each absorbed in our own thoughts as the teacher entered the classroom.
Dragging through the school day at a snail's pace, as the bell for the last lesson rang, I collected the book from Frank and said goodbye to the two. Rushing out of the classroom, I weaved through the large crowd and popped out the school doors. Then, with no hesitation, I started walking back to my apartment with the news book under my arm.
I approached the door, slid my lock into it, and opened it. Sitting in the kitchen, my mother saw my entrance and stood up. Then, as she headed to her bedroom, she told me to prepare myself to go out.
Entering my own room, I paused at the sight of Oliver reading a paper on his chair.
"I'm back."
Swinging my bag down, I left it near the table as I filed the newsbook onto the bookshelf.
"Welcome back."
Oliver put down the paper as he answered back. Then, with no words, the two of us exited the room after one another and headed towards the front door. In no time, I heard footsteps approaching us.
Exiting our apartment, my mother locked the door behind us as we made a beeline to the road heading to High street. The road started out unpaved and slightly rough. However, the closer we got to High street, the cleaner and more pleasant it looked. Then, after crossing the junction between the two words, we followed the dark and well-paved road to a large gray block.
In front of the gray block was a gray sign reading 'High Prison'. And next to the sign was a small booth leading up to a larger gate. Beside the gate was a metal fence stretching as far as the eye could see, adding to the intimidating atmosphere of the prison.
Heading towards the small booth, the officer took one look at us before calling out.
"Ms Evans. Please head inside."
Getting out of his chair, I heard the rattling of keys as he opened the door and signaled to his colleague inside. Then, passing us over to the next officer, he lowered his head and tilted the dark blue cap on his head.
"May you have a pleasant visit."
Although his words were polite, his tone showed the sadness behind them. Looking back at him, I could see a frustrated expression appear on his face. However, the moment he noticed I was looking, he covered up his expression with the hand holding his hat and subtly nodded his head.
"Please, follow me."
Returning my attention to the officer leading us, our small group walked past the large gates and headed straight into another set of smaller black doors. Then, past those doors, we turned left and walked straight all the way until a pair of white doors met us.
"The visit rooms are over there."
Gesturing towards the doors, the officer didn't lead us directly to them. Instead, we took a surprise turn before them and were brought to a room with unassuming-looking metal doors.
Sliding a hand into his pocket, I saw him bring out a gray key and unlock the door. Gesturing at us to enter, he waited until all of us were in the room before closing the door tightly behind us.
"Oliver."
Past those doors was a small, clean room. And in that room were three people. Two of them were guards, and the last was an unshaven man with fire burning in his eyes.
"Andrew."
Stepping forward, Oliver walked towards Andrew. However, before he reached him, he stopped.
The two were separated by a short distance of only a few feet, and yet it seemed as if a thick wall was blocking the two of them from ever meeting.
Seeing Oliver just standing there, Andrew brought a hand to his long and messy beard and combed his fingers through it. His eyes avoided Oliver's straight ones, and he seemed to be digging through his brain for words to break the ice. His back was straight, as if he were trying his best not to buckle under a tremendously heavy weight.
"I don't think you killed Alex."
Out of nowhere, without any prompt, Oliver declared in a loud voice. His eyes were black, but they never wavered as he looked at Andrew.
Showing a face of shock, Andrew's shoulders dropped, and the tension in his body loosed as he showed a large smile.
"Thank you."
Taking the couple steps forward, Oliver walked into Andrew's embrace, and the father-son duo leaned into each other for warmth.
After an emotional couple of minutes, the two separated, and Andrew lowered his voice so that only he and Oliver could hear.
Standing near the door, I saw my mother stare at Andrew for a couple of seconds with pitch-black eyes. Without thought, I slipped my hand into hers and snapped her out of her daze.
Swirling her head towards me, she gave me a smile and bent down to hug me. Then, after a couple minutes, we separated.
Turning our attention back to Oliver and Andrew, the two seemed to talk for a while, then embraced each other once more before they separated and Oliver waved goodbye. His back facing Andrew, I saw the two of them go their own ways.
Walking up to the officers, they seemed to talk for a while as Andrew held up both wrists. Then,. As one of the officers took out a set of handcuffs, they gently placed them on Andrew's wrists before leading him away.
"I'm back."
Returning, Oliver gave a tired smile as the officer led us out of the prison. In my mind, a million questions swirled like an out-of-control tornado, picking up all my emotions and smashing them against each other. My mouth felt hot, like a loaded cannon with it's fuse lit.
But one look at Oliver, and the fuse went cold. His face said it all.
Reaching out a hand, my mother placed it on his shoulder and brought him closer to her side. Then, without any more words, we left the prison and headed home.
The walk back to the apartment was silent. Olifver, the one most affected by this, was staring straight ahead at the road, his hands in my mother's. However, based on how unfocused his eyes were, I doubt he even knew he was holding her hand. As we walked beside him, following his uniform pace, I shared a look of concern with my mother.
We had both expected this to hit him hard, but not to the extent that he would space out.
In the midst of our 'conversation', my mother suddenly started slowing down, and we both turned our attention to Oliver. Slowing his pace to a stop, Oliver stood still for a couple seconds as the haze within his eyes cleared. Then, gently removing his hand from my mother's grasp, he blinked a couple times.
"Sorry for spacing out."
Smiling at us, I saw my mother shake her head at his apology.
"There's no need to apologize. It's normal."
And with those words, the three of us walked side by side back to the apartment. Upon entering, Oliver made a beeline to our room. Stopping at the doorway with his hand on the door, I saw him turn around to smile at us.
"I think I want some alone time. Sorry, I'm going to borrow the room for a while."
And with that, I watched as the door closed behind him and heard the familiar sound of the lock. Glancing at my mother, the two of us shared a look before heading towards the kitchen.
"Today's lunch is going to be special. I heard there's a sale at the market for eggs and some cuts of meat. Your father is going to bring them back when he returns. He said he has half a day off today."
Taking out the pot from the counter cabinets, she placed it under the sink and turned the tap. Then, as I heard the sound of water splashing, I sat on a chair and watched her cook. It was going to be a long day today.