“Whatever. I’m from Lorial,” I say, giving in.
Amari’s eyes widen just enough for me to notice. “That’s one of those river towns, right? Where the rich people live?”
I laugh at the ridiculousness of the question. Anyone who knows anything about Lorial knows the only rich thing we have is history. “Absolutely not. There are other towns around us that are.”
She nods.
“You?” I ask.
“One of the rich towns around Lorial,” she says with a smirk.
I make a face. “That’s not fair. I answered,” I protest.
“I’m serious. I’m from Plainfield.”
“That’s not that close to Lorial, rich girl,” I say. I’ve heard of Plainfield. It’s about a half hour away from Lorial—and it is super wealthy. I’ve heard everyone drives a Porsche or a BMW. I wonder what someone from Plainfield is doing here.
Amari brushes her shoulder off and smiles at me. I like her attitude.
The phone rings and Mr. Rick answers it. When he hangsup, he tells us we’ve got a little more time to chat because Ms. Bree is running behind.
“She’s always late for something, you’ll get used to it,” Amari says, shrugging.
I want to ask her how long she’s been here since we’re already talking about things we shouldn’t. I look out the windows instead and imagine how long it would take to reach the sidewalk.
“You trying to leave already? You’ll get caught,” she whispers.
I look at the guard to make sure he didn’t hear that and then back at her. “No way,” I say. “Why? Have you tried to leave?”
She shakes her head. “I’ve accepted it. I’ll be here forever.” Her face gets somber for only a moment before her lips quirk back up.
“Well, what happens if you run away?” I ask.
“It’s calledgoing AWOLand it depends,” she says. “If you’re seventeen you go to jail, otherwise they extend your sentence.”
I shake my head. “Oh yeah, no. I’m not risking that.”
She looks at me like I said something strange. “Obviously, New Girl. Anyway, who’s your case manager?”
“I don’t think I have one of those yet.”
“Did your parents send you here or the court?” she asks.
“Both?”
“Then you’ll get one soon, because they decide when you leave,” she informs me.
I refrain from telling her what Director Brewster said in case there are different rules. I want to ask what she’s in here for but maybe it’s better I don’t know. She seems cool enough for now.
Mr. Rick taps his pen on the desk to get our attention. “Escort’s almost here.”
“Thank you,” we say in unison.
“Well, I think we’re gonna have fun together,” Amari says. “For however long you’re here.”
I look at her, confused.
She laughs a little too loudly and covers her mouth. “Don’t worry, you’ll see,” she says. Her eyes meet mine, holding my gaze for a beat. They’re the darkest brown I’ve ever seen.
