Tagged by Eric Walters

everybody to see, was red and blue paint.
    â€œAnd if I’m not mistaken, those are some of the colors and shades used on the latest painting,” he said.
    â€œYou mean the latest vandalism!” the mayor snorted. “Take him away and throw him in jail!”
    I grabbed Oswald’s other hand. “You’re not taking him anywhere!”
    â€œSorry, Ian, you’d better stay out of this—they’re police officers,” Mr. Roberts said.
    â€œThen they should know the law better than anybody. He’s a minor, and they can’t take him anywhere or question him without first seeking the permission of his parents or offering a lawyer to be part of the interview if parents or guardians cannot be found.”
    â€œLook who thinks he’s a lawyer!” the mayor snorted. “Arrest the one for vandalism, and the other for resisting arrest!”
    â€œIan?” Mr. Roberts asked. “How do you know this?”
    â€œI took law last semester. I got a 92.”
    Mr. Roberts turned to the officers. “Well?”
    â€œIf he isn’t eighteen, then we have to—”
    â€œI’m not eighteen, not for another month!” Oswald said.
    â€œSo is Ian correct?” Mr. Roberts asked.
    The officer looked like he didn’t want to answer. Finally he nodded his head in agreement. “He needs to have a parent or a lawyer.”
    â€œAnd he’s going to have both!” I exclaimed.
    I pulled out my phone, then suddenly remembered that it was against school policy to use it on school property or during school hours.
    â€œThis time, it is an emergency,” Mr. Roberts said, reading my reaction.
    â€œThanks, sir.” I hesitated for a second. I had two parents who were lawyers. They were both really good lawyers. But one of them scared me far more than the other. I punched in that number.
    It rang and rang and—“Mom, I need your help…no, I’m okay, it’s Oswald… the police are here, so I need you to come to the school…what?…sure…okay, I’ll tell him. See you at school.”
    I hung up. “Oswald, my mother said—and I quote—that you ‘are, for the first time in your life, to keep your mouth completely shut.’ Understand?”
    He nodded. He looked scared.
    â€œYour mother is a lawyer?” the officer asked.
    â€œBoth my parents are lawyers.”
    â€œWait. Your last name is Cheevers. So that means your parents are Sarah and David Cheevers.”
    â€œGreat,” the other officer said. “Just great.”
    That reaction and the looks on their faces gave me some satisfaction and a little confidence. I got the feeling they were more than a little afraid of my mother too.
    â€œI suggest we get out of the hall. It’s almost time for class change,” Mr. Roberts said. “We can wait in my office.”
    â€œThis is ridiculous!” the mayor bellowed.
    â€œWhat part of following the law do you find most ridiculous?” Mr. Roberts asked him.
    The mayor looked speechless, perhaps for the first time in his political life. I was going to say something now that would get him talking.
    â€œHe shouldn’t even be here,” I said, pointing directly at the mayor. “Separation of the legal and political process is as guaranteed in our system as separation of church and state.”
    â€œAre you trying to kick me out?” he demanded. “I can be here if I want to—”
    â€œNo, you can’t. This is a police investigation, and if you don’t leave, then I think somebody should contact the press,” I said.
    The mayor looked like he was going to pull a full Humpty Dumfrey and explode into a million small pieces. I wondered if his bodyguards could put him together again.
    â€œI’m surprised the kid only got a 92,” one of the officers said to the other. “Again, he is correct about those eligible to be part of police process.