"Did your brother really get beat up by Alan and Donny?" Emma Preston asked me as I was pulling my books out of my locker.

"What? No!" I told her. At the time, it seemed like one little rumor that Donny and Alan started to get at me wasn't a big deal. But the rumors grew on and on- I had been beaten up by them, I had paid them not to tell, I told them that they were the coolest kids in school... I knew it was all lies, and so did James, but that didn't matter. No one else knew.

We were eating lunch in the cafeteria when Alan sat down beside James. "Thanks for telling us that we're so cool." He said smugly to me.

"Get away." James said. "Just leave us alone."

"I don't think so."

I made sure that no teachers were looking before flicking a forkful of peas at him. "There you go, cool kid." I said. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't take him anymore.

"Think you're funny?" Alan said, his smug look dissipating. "Well, you'll pay for it. I'll make sure of it."

It was cold for October. I was glad I had remembered my jacket as I walked towards the gas station. It was beginning to get dark, but my dad had sent me to get pizza for my dinner while Rob was at the football game and he and mom had a movie night together.

When I walked into the gas station, I immediately realized that Jim wasn't working the counter like he normally was. Instead, it was a kid who looked like he was in his teens.

"Slice of pizza and some water." I said and put my money on the table.

The guy behind the counter took my money and began to work on getting my pizza.

From the other side of the store, near the tables, someone came towards the counter. Their face was hidden behind a hood, but I didn't think anything of it. It was cold in the gas station, too.

"Money." The figure said.

"Huh?" I was confused. I didn't realize that the person concealed by the hood was talking to the guy behind the counter.

"Give me the money." The figure demanded. "Get out of here." The person said. "Now."

I bolted out of the gas station. I was running towards my house when I saw that someone was chasing me. I stumbled and fell into the grass before I jumped back up and kept running. I wanted to scream for help, but for some reason, I couldn't.

From far off, I could hear the sound of music- the band performing at the football game. And somewhere in the distance, a siren rang out.

I kept running long after the figure behind me had disappeared. I nearly knocked down the door and yelled for my parents. "What is it?" my mother called from the kitchen.

I spilled everything from the robbery to being chased. My parents were shocked.

It wasn't but a few minutes later when there was a knock on the door. My dad left to answer it. "Mr. Mills?" a voice asked. I looked over and realized that red and blue lights were shining through from the open door, and two policemen were waiting outside. "Yes?" my dad said.

"We're looking for your son, Tom. Is he here tonight?"

"Yes. And you should know-,"

"We know all that we need to know, sir. Please step to the side."

The officers stepped into my home and called me forward. "Hands behind your back, son." One of them said and pulled a pair of handcuffs out.

"Why am I under arrest?" I asked and took a step back.

"We have a number of eyes witness testimonies that tonight, you attempted to commit an armed robbery at the Little Town gas station. You're under arrest. You have the right to..."

The rest after that was a blur. My parents began yelling. The police began yelling back.

"Give us your description!" my mother screamed. "What did your little robber look like?"

"We were told he has green eyes, brown hair, and was wearing a blue jacket." An officer said. I was already handcuffed when I realized this much: I had green eyes. I had brown hair. And I was wearing my blue jacket.