The Revolution
The Beginning
"Do you know why you're here, Jeremy?"
I stared at the blank steel floor while the officer questioned me. I couldn't help but sense all of the things around me. There were thousands of little details that I could feel with just a touch on the metal table. An ant crawled near the corner of the room, looking hopelessly for a crumb of food. A group of heavily dressed officers boarded the elevator nearby. A cat passed by on the sidewalk outside of the building. I would have kept feeling the vibrations, but I was interrupted again.
"Jeremy?"
"Oh, sorry, ma'am," I told the officer. I told my hand off the table. She looked down at the table and then back to me.
"You were doing it again, weren't you? Sensing vibrations?" The officers treated my exceptional metal bending skills like they were a crime. It wasn't my fault that I could sense vibrations from far away. I guess the fact that I was a better metal bender than them bothered them.
"No, ma'am," I lied. "I'm just a little tired is all."
"Well then, let's make this quick and then you can go home and take a nap," she said sarcastically. She knew, of course, that I didn't have a home. "Now, you didn't answer my question. Do you know why you're here?"
I shrugged casually, trying to seem innocent. "I'm not sure. One minute I was walking down the street minding my own business. Next thing I know, a fire bender's picking a fight on me."
"Are you sure that it wasn't you who initiated the fight?" the officer asked.
"Yes ma'am," I told her. That much wasn't completely a lie. What had actually happened was that I had walked up behind a man, slipped a couple coins out of his pocket and into mine, and walked the other way. The only problem was that those coins were worth more than a week's worth of food for a hungry family. It didn't take long for the man to notice the loss of his money and for him to point out the nearest person to him as the prime suspect.
"Jeremy, you were found with the man's money in your pocket. You don't think that this was your fault?"
"I didn't start the fight." Once again, I wasn't lying. But I certainly wasn't innocent. I guess I had just picked the wrong guy to pick on. The man turned out to have a bit of a case of OCD. Everything had to be in the right place at the right time. Therefore, he was very attentive to his money. He was the kind of guy that checked his pockets every 30 seconds to make sure everything was there. Everything wasn't there at that moment. And unfortunately for me, he was a very hotheaded fire bender.
"You may not have started the fight, but you started the situation. Stealing money is illegal, and the man had reason to be angry at you."
"He blindly picked me out as the culprit-"
"And he happened to be correct," she snapped. Then she leaned back in her office chair and sighed. "Jeremy, this is the third time this month that I've had you in my office for an incident like this." She gave me a strange look. It was one of frustration but almost pity. I could tell that this woman had a conscience. She was just doing her job.
"I know, ma'am," I replied, apologetically. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, son, it isn't going to do anything." She leaned forward and folded her hands across her desk. "Now the man you stole from has already been released from the hospital. He's lucky to only have minor injuries. He was fined for attacking you. We don't have time to drag him through the standard procedure." She sighed again and a look of shear exhaustion filled her face. She obviously had her hands full with day-to-day crime. "But you, on the other hand, are a problem. You have done this kind of thing on a regular basis. What is more important is that you always win."
"I'm sorry?" I asked, confused at what she had said.
"What I mean, Jeremy, is that whatever the situation and whomever your opponent is, you always come out the victor. This costs us the expense of treating their wounds, arranging facility repairs, and most importantly, dealing with you. And the fact that you can't lose makes you feel like the rules don't apply to you. That's why this happens so often."
I looked away from the officer, disliking her criticism. She sighed again. I could tell that she was frustrated with me and that she really didn't want to talk to me any more than I wanted to talk to her. "Here's the deal Jeremy," she said. I held my breath, expecting to receive time in jail. "I will let you off the hook one last time. I understand that you are struggling just like many others at this time, so I won't put you in prison."
I found myself almost collapsing in a moment of relief. "Thank you ma'am."
"Don't thank me yet," she warned. "I am scheduling you for a community service session." Community service was a pathetic attempt to make juvenile criminals pay for their wrongdoings. It was basically just a large group of bad kids sweeping up the city of any waste. I had yet to attend a community service session. "Be sure to make this one," she said. "Pretty soon you're going to have a criminal charge on your head for the number of community service sessions that you've missed."
"Ok, I'll be there," I lied.
"Good," she said, adjusting her glasses so that they were perfectly symmetrical. Then she stood up, pushed her chair back into place, walked to the door, and opened it. "You know the drill. I have to escort you out of here." I stood up slowly, leaning slightly on her desk again to see if anything unexpected was ahead. Nothing more than a few officers and lawyers occupied the main lobby of the police station. "Come on," she said. "I've got other problems to take care of today."
"Alright," I said, making my way toward the door. The officer walked me down the long and wide hallway. I wondered why they made everything so big and grand at the police station. It was probably to remind people like me how much better off they were than us. We arrived at the lobby and the officer showed me to the door. As I opened it, she practically shoved me out.
"Thursday. 2 o'clock. Community service. Don't miss it."
I nodded and gave her a fake smile.
"Alright. Stay out of trouble Jeremy. I don't want to see you in my office again."
"Will do, ma'am," I said as I walked to the steps. As I walked, I glanced back and saw the officer watching me intently as if I were going to attack her at any moment. But the second I started to walk down the steps, she turned and walked back toward her office. I survived the police station once again, something I wouldn't have to deal with ever again.
I stared at the blank steel floor while the officer questioned me. I couldn't help but sense all of the things around me. There were thousands of little details that I could feel with just a touch on the metal table. An ant crawled near the corner of the room, looking hopelessly for a crumb of food. A group of heavily dressed officers boarded the elevator nearby. A cat passed by on the sidewalk outside of the building. I would have kept feeling the vibrations, but I was interrupted again.
"Jeremy?"
"Oh, sorry, ma'am," I told the officer. I told my hand off the table. She looked down at the table and then back to me.
"You were doing it again, weren't you? Sensing vibrations?" The officers treated my exceptional metal bending skills like they were a crime. It wasn't my fault that I could sense vibrations from far away. I guess the fact that I was a better metal bender than them bothered them.
"No, ma'am," I lied. "I'm just a little tired is all."
"Well then, let's make this quick and then you can go home and take a nap," she said sarcastically. She knew, of course, that I didn't have a home. "Now, you didn't answer my question. Do you know why you're here?"
I shrugged casually, trying to seem innocent. "I'm not sure. One minute I was walking down the street minding my own business. Next thing I know, a fire bender's picking a fight on me."
"Are you sure that it wasn't you who initiated the fight?" the officer asked.
"Yes ma'am," I told her. That much wasn't completely a lie. What had actually happened was that I had walked up behind a man, slipped a couple coins out of his pocket and into mine, and walked the other way. The only problem was that those coins were worth more than a week's worth of food for a hungry family. It didn't take long for the man to notice the loss of his money and for him to point out the nearest person to him as the prime suspect.
"Jeremy, you were found with the man's money in your pocket. You don't think that this was your fault?"
"I didn't start the fight." Once again, I wasn't lying. But I certainly wasn't innocent. I guess I had just picked the wrong guy to pick on. The man turned out to have a bit of a case of OCD. Everything had to be in the right place at the right time. Therefore, he was very attentive to his money. He was the kind of guy that checked his pockets every 30 seconds to make sure everything was there. Everything wasn't there at that moment. And unfortunately for me, he was a very hotheaded fire bender.
"You may not have started the fight, but you started the situation. Stealing money is illegal, and the man had reason to be angry at you."
"He blindly picked me out as the culprit-"
"And he happened to be correct," she snapped. Then she leaned back in her office chair and sighed. "Jeremy, this is the third time this month that I've had you in my office for an incident like this." She gave me a strange look. It was one of frustration but almost pity. I could tell that this woman had a conscience. She was just doing her job.
"I know, ma'am," I replied, apologetically. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, son, it isn't going to do anything." She leaned forward and folded her hands across her desk. "Now the man you stole from has already been released from the hospital. He's lucky to only have minor injuries. He was fined for attacking you. We don't have time to drag him through the standard procedure." She sighed again and a look of shear exhaustion filled her face. She obviously had her hands full with day-to-day crime. "But you, on the other hand, are a problem. You have done this kind of thing on a regular basis. What is more important is that you always win."
"I'm sorry?" I asked, confused at what she had said.
"What I mean, Jeremy, is that whatever the situation and whomever your opponent is, you always come out the victor. This costs us the expense of treating their wounds, arranging facility repairs, and most importantly, dealing with you. And the fact that you can't lose makes you feel like the rules don't apply to you. That's why this happens so often."
I looked away from the officer, disliking her criticism. She sighed again. I could tell that she was frustrated with me and that she really didn't want to talk to me any more than I wanted to talk to her. "Here's the deal Jeremy," she said. I held my breath, expecting to receive time in jail. "I will let you off the hook one last time. I understand that you are struggling just like many others at this time, so I won't put you in prison."
I found myself almost collapsing in a moment of relief. "Thank you ma'am."
"Don't thank me yet," she warned. "I am scheduling you for a community service session." Community service was a pathetic attempt to make juvenile criminals pay for their wrongdoings. It was basically just a large group of bad kids sweeping up the city of any waste. I had yet to attend a community service session. "Be sure to make this one," she said. "Pretty soon you're going to have a criminal charge on your head for the number of community service sessions that you've missed."
"Ok, I'll be there," I lied.
"Good," she said, adjusting her glasses so that they were perfectly symmetrical. Then she stood up, pushed her chair back into place, walked to the door, and opened it. "You know the drill. I have to escort you out of here." I stood up slowly, leaning slightly on her desk again to see if anything unexpected was ahead. Nothing more than a few officers and lawyers occupied the main lobby of the police station. "Come on," she said. "I've got other problems to take care of today."
"Alright," I said, making my way toward the door. The officer walked me down the long and wide hallway. I wondered why they made everything so big and grand at the police station. It was probably to remind people like me how much better off they were than us. We arrived at the lobby and the officer showed me to the door. As I opened it, she practically shoved me out.
"Thursday. 2 o'clock. Community service. Don't miss it."
I nodded and gave her a fake smile.
"Alright. Stay out of trouble Jeremy. I don't want to see you in my office again."
"Will do, ma'am," I said as I walked to the steps. As I walked, I glanced back and saw the officer watching me intently as if I were going to attack her at any moment. But the second I started to walk down the steps, she turned and walked back toward her office. I survived the police station once again, something I wouldn't have to deal with ever again.