Truth or Jail

It was finally my turn. In a game, my friends call “Extreme Truth or Dare”. I pick dare, feeling risky. I pick out of the jar and unfold the paper. The suspense is building. I stare blankly. “What is it Ember?” That voice sounded like Kai. “Commit a first-degree crime.” The room is silent. “Who put that dare in?!” I scream. “Not me!” say Kai and Jace in unison. “Well, I didn’t either.” Says Francesca. Everyone turns to look at Ava. “I swear it wasn’t me.” She whispers. “Well I didn’t!” I say back. If it was none of us, then who was it? “Ok…” I pause “Well arson is first degree right?” We have a strict rule of doing the dare regardless of what danger or trouble it puts us in. “Yeah?” Jace answers. I run to my kitchen to grab the matches. They all laugh. Without another word, we get our jackets on, and all climb into the small fiery red punch buggy. We drive around for a while until I come across the right target. My stepdad’s small gross apartment. I finally have a reason to do this. No one says anything because they all know what I’m thinking. I walk up to his door, 166. I turn the doorknob, but it's locked, and I don’t have a key. I stand there, feeling defeated. But then I have an idea. I run down the steps back to my car, and start driving to the gas station. “Why are you back? Did you chicken out?” Asks Francesca. “No. But the door’s locked. Don’t worry I have an idea.” We pull into Sunoco and I start up the gas, letting it pour into an empty beer bottle I found on the road. This time I pay for the gas, hop back in the car and drive back. I tiptoe up to his steps and start pouring the gasoline on his porch right around the door hoping it goes under the little crack. I take out six matches, quickly light the first, stand back, and throw it in. A big cloud of fire erupts and I run off his porch, deciding I don’t need the other five matches. I get in the car and Kai speeds away. “Oh my god Ember!!” “D’you think he’s home?!” “What if the police find you, us!” Everyone’s yelling but I stay silent. I give them a fake smile., starting to feel psychotic. But when we get back to my house, I fall right asleep. But in the morning, I regret everything that happened because the police are waking me up and handcuffing me. He tells me to get in the back of the police car. When I get to the police station, he walks me past several rooms. I see Kai in one, Ava in the next! Francesca’s crying and in the last one, Jace looks like he’s screaming. The rooms must be soundproof. He starts questioning me. But I’m not paying attention. I’m scared to death because I don’t know what my four other friends are saying to the police. Then I hear a door slam and a guy yell, “Stubborn morons!” Hopefully, they haven’t said a word to anyone. A police officer barges into my cell and starts interrogating me. “Do you know why you’re here??!!” he yells at me. I think carefully, making sure I don’t say anything I shouldn’t. “N-no..” I quietly say back. “Your dad died in a fire last night and-” I cut him off, “Stepdad.” “Alright well he was killed last night, in a fire. On purpose. So Emberly, I’ll ask you one more time. Do you know why you’re here?” “I’m assuming you think I killed him.” Then I quickly add, “I didn’t!” He looks at me like he doesn’t believe me. But before anyone says anything, a tall angry lady walks in. “Sweetie, don’t say another word to them.” She tells me. The police officers roll their eyes as she takes a seat next to me and starts laying out her papers. She puts out her hand, and says, “Alessia Whitlock” I shake it. “Em-Ember Dawkins, nice to meet you.” I answer. I’m trying to act as nice as possible, even though I’m scared to death! I’m confused. How did they catch me? Then my thoughts are interrupted by this lady’s squeaky old voice, “Honey I’m your lawyer, we’re going to go somewhere else okay?” “Oka-” I started to say, but she was already pulling my arm out of the room. I was handcuffed, and couldn’t do anything about it. We go to a somewhat nicer room, still nothing close to nice. But it has a dirty bed and a rusty table which look better than the last. Then she says, “Is there anything you want to tell me? It will be kept confidential.” “Yeah, why do they think I did this?” I ask. “Ember, they found your fingerprints on his door and a gas station told us they saw you buying gas a little while before the murder.” Shoot. Could that be enough evidence to put me in jail? “Oh. Umm..” I trail off not knowing what to say! “I’m gonna need an alibi hun, and if you were buying gas, why.” “I-I was just buying gas for my car.” I say. “Well, they said you were pouring it into a bottle, why?” “It was for my friend! I used her gas a few days ago so I was getting more for her.” I hope that makes enough sense. “Where were you from around twelve to three am?” She asks me. “I was.. at my friend’s house, Ava’s!” I say. “Well we’re going to have to talk to Ava then.” She decides. She gets up and walks out of the room. When she gets back, she looks a little upset. “So, Ava said you guys were at Jace’s house and when I asked Jace he said you guys were taking a drive. When I talked to Francesca, she was too stubborn to say anything except, “I plead the 5th.” So, do you want to tell me what really happened?” Her tone sounded a little mad. “Ok, fine. We went to the gas station and drove around for a while. That’s the truth.” Because it sort of is. I just left out the part about murdering my stepdad! “Let’s talk about this and when we’re on the same page, with the correct story of everything that happened, we’ll probably have to go to court.” She says. “Okay. What will happen to my friends?” I ask. “If the jury finds you guilty, they’ll probably find your friends guilty. In the second degree.” She answers. “Well, if I’m guilty it’ll be first degree right?” I ask her. “Yes, it will. I’m sorry.” she says sadly. I answer, “Well at least I accomplished something.”