So, let me get this straight, "Marcus says, pacing back and forth at the foot of the Mound. "You think we should confess to what we did over there?" He stops abruptly, points across Legion Park in the general direction of the mall, and fixes me with a stern look in the dull glow of the lights reaching us from the basketball courts. I swear, if he were a little taller, you'd think he was a lawyer, not just a teenager who's definitely going to become a lawyer.
"My father's taking me down to the station after school tomorrow," I say, "if that's what I finally decide."
"But, you haven't finally decided?" Marcus says in that superior tone that I don't really care for.
"I've decided," I say. "I was just hoping that we could all go in together, Jimmy included."
"And that actually makes some sense to you, Page?" Marcus rants, turning to where Page sits a few feet further up the Mound.
She shrugs, her head resting on her arms. "He makes a good point, Marcus. I mean, do we actually think we're going to get away with this forever?"
"But don't you see," he says, "we're not solely responsible anymore. There's a lot of blame to go round. Every day, the odds get better that if someone gets caught, it's going to be someone other than us-"
"It's going to be Jimmy," I interrupt. "Justify this to yourself any way you like, but if anyone's going to take the fall, it's Jimmy, and that's not fair. We can't bail on him."
Marcus and I lock eyes for a second. "Why postpone the inevitable?" he says, turning away. "Kid's going to end up in jail sooner or later."
I spring to my feet, but Page manages to grab the tail of my sweatshirt before I get very far. Marcus whirls around and takes a few quick steps back, his eyes widening as if he's just seen a ghost. A lunatic is more like it.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" I shout, the words flying out of my mouth by their own power as I drag Page a couple of feet toward Marcus.
"Take it easy," she says, finally getting a firm enough grip to stop me.
"Marcus and I stare at each other for a while, with no one saying anything. A jet screeches faintly on the horizon, growing louder second by second, as if some cruel deejay in the sky is slowly bringing up the volume.
"Damn, Mitch," Marcus finally says. "I didn't mean anything by it."
"You did mean something by it." I grab a rock off the ground and fling it down into the playground, where it rings off the swing set. "You've written Jimmy off, just like everyone else around here." I face Marcus again.
He's staring at the ground.
I look at Page, and she's staring at her shoes.
"I'm going to the mall," I say, glancing at my watch. "As soon as the Chair closes up, I'm having him take me to get Jimmy. I'll bring him back here. If you're with us, fine. If you're not, fine. But just so you know, "I'll need all the help I can get convincing him to end this insanity." I start heading for the cut-through behind Pizza Hut.
"Mitch," Marcus says, his voice rising to compete with the approaching jet thunder, "what could we possibly tell the police that won't get us all sent off to Cedarbrook?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something," I shout back. "You always have something smart to say!"