“I couldn’t get here sooner, Peak,” Mom said. “With the twins, and the attorneys, and...”
“Never mind,” I interrupted.
Juvenile Detention Center was an hour-and-a-half drive from our house. In addition
to everything else, Mom worked full-time at the bookstore she owned. Still, I would have
liked to have seen her sooner. She walked over to me and looked at the stitches on my face.
“Ugly,” she said.
“Thanks.”
She started pacing.
“How are the twins?”
“They haven’t stopped crying since you got arrested.”
I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. It was one thing to upset my mom,
but I didn’t like upsetting Patrice and Paula. “Two peas in a pod,” as Mom and Rolf
(my stepfather) called them.
“You’ve really done it this time, Peak. Six skyscrapers! They’re going to get you. Rolf
got your first trial in the court delayed, and tried for a second delay hoping that the publicity
would die down, but after last night that’s all in the media.”
“Wait,” I said. “What happened last night?”
“You didn’t hear?”
I shook my head.
“A boy fell from the Flatiron Building. He’s in hospital.”
I stared at her.
“What does that have...”
“To do with you?” she yelled. “It’s because of you, Peak. The boy had all your news
articles pinned up in his bedroom. He’d never been climbing in his entire life, which explains
why he only made it up seventy-five feet. But the fall was enough to nearly kill him,
and enough to keep you in jail for the next three years.”
“What do you mean ‘three years’?”
“That’s when you’ll be eighteen.”
I started pacing now. All I did was climb the Woolworth Building. I didn’t boast about it
or post it on the Internet. It was only my way of ... Well, I didn’t know exactly why I had
done it. I was sorry for the other kid, but it wasn’t my fault.
“Did you tell Dad?” I asked, meaning my real dad, not Rolf.
This made her laugh harshly.
“He’s in Nepal. I left him a message with a Sherpa who barely spoke a word of English.”
She took a deep breath.
“Look, I’ve got to go. Rolf and I are meeting with the attorneys.”
“Attorneys?” I hoped Rolf would be my attorney.
“Two of them. Rolf can’t represent you. He’s your stepfather.
Conflict of interest.”
“Do you think...?”
Her whole demeanor changed when she noticed how scared I was. She softened and her
eyes filled with tears.
“I hope so, Peak,” she said quietly. “But I’m not optimistic. The city wants to make
an example out of you.” She turned away and wiped her eyes.
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