The Apple Stand

The cops found me helping my grandma at her apple stand. Three of my classmates were dead.

I blinked my pale prosthetic eye at them. "Want an apple?" I asked. "Grandma grows the best ones."

1.

Three kids from my middle school, all guys, died. They were the ones who'd taken me out the day before.

Their parents were on me like a pack of wolves. They came screaming to Grandma's apple stand and started punching, yelling that I was the one who did it.

Each fist felt like a hammer blow, and all I could do was flail uselessly, trying to ward off the pain.

Grandma was sobbing, trying to pull them off me, but they easily pushed her away. Her cries got hoarser, like every punch they landed on me was hitting her heart instead.

They went from screaming accusations to begging on their knees, their voices cracking with despair.

By the time the cops showed up, I was a mess of bruises. Grandma was near fainting from crying.

They pulled the parents off me. "We need to ask you a few questions about the deaths of your three classmates," the young cop said, hesitating. He looked at my injuries. "First, we need to take you to the ER and then to the station to give a statement."

I didn't answer. My right eye, blurry and damaged, focused on finding a whole apple among the ones that had been crushed on the ground.

I picked one up, blinked, and the prosthetic eye in my left socket gleamed white. "Want an apple?" I asked. "Grandma grows the best ones."

The young cop just stared at me, trying to figure out what I was playing at.

"What are you waiting for!" shouted one of the dead boys' fathers. "He's a murderer! Officer, cuff him and take him to the station for interrogation!"

Officer Johnson ignored them. "Can you cooperate with us, please?" he asked, looking directly at me.

I lowered my hand and bit into the apple. "It's really sweet. We can't waste Grandma's hard work."

I looked at him directly. "Officer, if someone dies, you go looking for the killer. But if someone destroys what a family needs to survive, what do you do then?"

One of the parents cut in again, "You're a murderer! You deserve to die! You better confess quickly, or we'll wreck this apple stand every day until you do!"

I helped Grandma to her feet and looked at Officer Johnson. "Her apples are ruined, and they beat me up pretty bad. I got a pounding headache and my ears are ringing; probably a concussion and some hearing loss. I think I can press charges for vandalism and assault, don't you?"

Officer Johnson rubbed his temples, finally understanding. He sighed, "Would you accept a settlement?"

I smiled. "You have ten minutes. Then I'm heading to the ER for an exam, and then I'm pressing charges. After that's done, then I'll cooperate with you."

Officer Johnson nodded, turning to the angry parents.

It only took eight minutes for him to come back with six thousand dollars. They must be in a real hurry to figure out what happened.

I took the money and placed it in Grandma’s hand. I ben...