Chapter 1
Nix P.O.V
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you by the state. Do you understand these rights that have just been read to you?’ Said the slightly overweight police officer, pressing me up against his squad car as he placed handcuffs around my wrists.
“Kinky,” I replied, winking at him when he tightened the cuffs and pushed me into the back seat.
My parents were going to kill me, this was my third arrest this year and I was lucky my father was friends with the police commissioner, golf buddies, I believe. Anyway, I’d been let off the hook for my past misdemeanors scot free. However, it would not be the case this time.
My latest antic might just be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Grand Theft Auto, a fire and evading police officers seems just serious enough to warrant filicide.
“We’re here,” I was snapped out of my musings when we pulled into the Laguna Beach Police Department.
Officer McNelly, the kinky, slightly overweight police officer, escorted me through the station and into the holding cells, after finger printing me and making me smile for my mug shot.
Fairly familiar with the drill, I waited for my one phone call which resulted in my parents frantically barging through the police station, almost making me wish I’d waited before I called in hopes of giving them some time to cool down. But again, there was no way I was going to spend a night in a holding cell with Chastity and Peaches, both of whom were there for assaulting their cheating, scumbag of a boyfriend.
My parents are formidable to say the least, my mother is a retired model of now runs her own organic health food company and my father is an entertainment lawyer with more connections than God. But this time even they couldn’t save me from my consequences. A little high and more than a little drunk, I managed to hotwire and crash our beloved Mayor’s even more beloved vintage Porsche 911 and not just crash it, in the sense that it will need some bumper work but instead I wrecked it so bad it went up in flames and burned down part of my high school’s science wing.
Thankfully, my parents were able to bail me out and fast track my court date so it would be on Wednesday, giving me four days to enjoy my last bit of freedom, provided they let me live till my court date before I was sent to prison.
As soon as I got into the back seat of my father’s ostentatious G-wagon, my mother, Cassandra, lay into me, “How could you be so fucking irresponsible? You could have died, you could have been hurt or hurt other people. You have everything, everything you could ever want, your entire life is handed to you on a silver platter and yet you insist on being the biggest disappointment I’ve seen till date.”
I went to apologize but before I could get a word out, my mother continued, “Do you know how embarrassing it is? We got a call in the middle of your father’s gala to pick up our daughter from jail? And you went and stole the mayor’s car? The mayor?!? That man has had it out for our family ever since your father made quarterback in high school. You know he’s pressing charges, right? You’re not going to be able to get out of it this time.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, I didn’t want to think. But, you’re right, you’re always right. I was stupid and I know I disappoint you all the time and I know it was embarrassing, but it’s done now. It won’t happen again.” I said, quietly.
I did feel bad, I knew I was a handful and we’d all been through enough shit in the last few years without me adding on to it but my brain sometimes had trouble catching up to my actions so my act first, think later attitude really did fuck life up sometimes.
My father, Sebastian, finally spoke, “It won’t happen again? Or you won’t get caught again?”
I rolled my eyes at his question, we both knew I’m bound to do something stupid and reckless sooner or later.
He looked back at me in the rearview mirror and I saw his mouth twitch a little as he tried to suppress his smile, if mom saw it he would be in the dog house for a while.
The remainder of the drive home was spent in silence, mom was pissed and when she was mad it was best to leave her alone.
Once we got home I was instructed to go to my room and stay there while my parents figured out what to do with me, dad was already calling our lawyer and mom was pouring herself a glass, or more like a jug of wine.
I knew better than to hang around either of them right now anyway, so bidding them goodnight I headed to my room, hoping I could make it through with minimum consequences.
I spent the rest of the weekend at home, my lawyer advised me to stay out of the public eye while they brokered me some sort of deal. It was probably the longest weekend of my life, if I’m being honest. My lawyer, Roxanne, was a nice lady in her 30s and from what my father said, she was a tough cookie so she managed to get my DUI discarded, the grand theft auto down to misdemeanor from a felony and school agreed not to press charges for the destruction of property as long as my parents paid to have science wing revamped and ‘donated’ a new computer lab to the school.
By the end of this very expensive weekend, Roxanne also managed to convince the D.A presiding over my case to suggest a school for troubled teens as part of my punishment rather than a short stint in juvie. So after a lot of thinking, which was really just me checking out the website for Worthington Academy for Juvenile Delinquents and then looking up the state juvenile detention centre, I was all set to leave, bright and early Monday morning to go to Worthington Academy for Juvenile Delinquents in Boston rather than spend 3 months in juvie.
6 a.m on Monday morning my parents dropped me off at the airport and I was en route to the school for naughty, rich kids.
