They sit me down in a cold steel chair in a room with a large one-way window that reflects me. The officers leave the room and Jesus appears from a dark corner.
"How are things, Judas?" Jesus asks.
"Well, I just got arrested for a crime I didn't commit."
The door to the room opens and I recognize the face of the police officer. He's got a grey mustache and a receding hairline. He's dressed nicely, and he holds a stack of papers in one hand and a coffee mug in the other.
"Officer Nick," I say, "Long time no see."
"It's detective now," he says, his voice still sounding like gravel in a garbage disposal, "Still talking to that Jesus friend of yours, huh?"
"I'll never stop."
He sits down and scoots his chair in. His eyes have bags under them. He must be tired from all the new work he's getting.
"Look, Judas," he starts, "I've known you since first grade. You don't have a violent fiber in your body. So when I heard that your phone was used to call in a bomb threat at your high school, I knew something was up."
He pulls out a baggie with my phone in it. Except it's got blotches of water and some green river vegetation covering it.
"We tracked the call to the bridge in Vesto Park," he continues, "We didn't have to look hard to find it at the bottom of the river."
Vesto Park. That's the same park I walk through to go to and from school. Lucy also jumped off of the bridge there.
"Do you have any idea who would use your phone to do something like this?" He asks.
"No. I really don't."
"Do you have any idea who stole your phone? When was the last time you used it?"
I think about it, "I don't use my phone a lot. Maybe two days ago?"
He ponders on my answer and sips from his mug.
"Well, your mother's here," He starts, "And since she's your alibi, we know it wasn't you who made the call with your phone at the bridge last night."
A weight is lifted off of my shoulders.
"But if you have any idea who did it, or if you just want to talk, give me a call," He reaches into his pocket and hands me a business card. He then escorts me to the lobby and my Mom is waiting for me. But when we leave, I ask my mother if I can take a walk alone. She asks if I'm okay and I assure her I'm fine. I just need some time to talk to Jesus.
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I begin to cross the street into a neighborhood when Jesus catches up with me.
"What are you thinking?" He asks.
"There are only three people who could've stolen my phone that night. First, is Squid. They could've done it while I was sleeping on the couch downstairs."
"Why would Squid frame you for such a thing?"
"I don't know. Especially after what they told me. I thought we were getting closer. It still doesn't really make sense."
"Who else?"
"The next possible choice is Lucy. She could've grabbed it when she snagged the drugs. And Lucy is, well, Lucy, so I wouldn't put it past her to do something like this. But would she really frame me for something like this? And if so, why? I still don't know the full extent of her plans."
"And the last one."
I stop walking. I don't want to say her name. I don't even want to consider it.
A SUV parks in front of me and I can see two men in their mid-forties in the front seats. The back door opens and out comes a blue-haired woman embracing me in her arms.
"Delilah..." I say.
"Are you okay?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. They don't think it was me. Where's Squid and Lucy?"
"Squid's at your house. I sent Lucy home."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? This was obviously Lucy's doing."
"Well, I'm not so sure about that."
"Why? She literally calls herself the Devil. Did I ever tell you why we stopped dating? It wasn't because I got adopted."
"Our past isn't who we are. Lucy may identify with some—intense beings, but she's a kid like the rest of us. She's just trying to figure out this life thing like we are."
She shakes her head, "You have no idea, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"She wants you, Judas! I see the way she looks at you. Like a hungry dog drooling over a T-bone. And she knows I know. But she does it anyway, which pisses me off even more."
"Lucy has feelings for me?"
"And probably every girl in Hawkins. Do you realize what you look like Judas?"
"But I'm Jesus Freak. No one wants to be near me."
"Do you think that bothers her? You're an outcast. A black sheep. You're exactly the Devil's type."
Is that possible? Maybe Lucy likes me as more than just a friend?
"And you just don't know Lucy like I do, Judas," she continues, "Trust me, she's bad news. The only reason I'm going along with her being in the group is because she's got connections."
Then a thought hits me. Another possibility. Delilah could have stolen my phone when we recorded her music that night. She could've then called the threat in through my phone, thrown it into the river, and is now blaming it on Lucy to convince me she's no good for us. But would Delilah really do something that heinous out of jealousy?
"After all," Delilah whispers into my ear, "What would you rather have? An angel, or a Devil?"
I put my hand on her right cheek and kiss her. All I know is this. One of them is framing me for something. If it's Squid, their motives are undecided. If it's Lucy, their plans are unknown. And if it's Delilah, there's a lot about her I don't know.
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The car is silent while driving to school the next morning. It's still a possibility that someone I don't know did this to me. But it makes more sense for the person to be in the car with me right now.
When I find parking, we get out of the car and begin walking to the north entrance.
"Nobody should know, right?" I ask the group.
"We should be good," Squid says, "I didn't say or post anything."
"Neither did I," Lucy says.
"My lips are sealed," Delilah says.
"Okay. So no one knows that I was framed except for us. We should be fine," I say, holding the door open for everyone. Squid enters first. Then Delilah. Lucy is about but she lingers in the doorway before taking a step back.
"Hey, Judy," Lucy starts, her eyes twinkling, "Just know that I got your back, okay? I would never hurt you."
I see Delilah watching us from inside the building.
"I know, Lucy. I feel the same with you."
She smiles and I follow her into school. Immediately something feels off. Everyone is staring at me. Squid and Lucy are to my left while Delilah is to my right.
"Why is everyone staring at us?" Delilah asks.
"I don't think they're staring at you," I say.
They're all staring at me because they know that my phone was used to call in the bomb threat.
"Hey, Jesus Freak! Since when are you Russian?" Someone shouts.
Some laugh. Others whisper. Others take pictures like I'm an animal at the zoo.
Squid breaks off from the group and heads to their first class. Lucy is about to do the same until she turns to me and says: "I'll see what I can do as far as damage control goes. For now, just do what you do best. Tell the truth. And be yourself."
She walks away and begins to talk to a crowd of people. I grab Delilah's hand and she grabs mine back.
"You okay?" she asks.
"I'm sorry," I tell her.
"For what?"
"Your name is just going to get dragged through the dirt because of me now."
"Judas, look at me."
I look down at her and her ocean-green eyes pierce into mine.
"I don't care what they have to say about us. Because I know you. It doesn't matter what they have to say because you're worth it. Okay?"
I look away and let go of her hand once we get to our first class. We're early, so no one is here yet.
"Now everyone thinks I'm a terrorist," I say, setting my backpack down.
"I'm sure that's not everyone."
"You know, I just don't understand what God is planning sometimes. I mean—no one does. But it would be nice to be in the know at least a little bit. Like, I have no idea what good will come from this."
Then I see someone I realize I didn't want to see walk into the classroom. Daniel Martinez. Oh God, he's definitely got something to say about what's going on.
I watch every step he takes as he makes his way to his desk. He hasn't looked at me yet, so maybe he hasn't heard about what happened.
He then sets his backpack down and takes a seat. His eyes meet mine and I prepare myself for the crude joke that's about to be hurled my way.
"Hey, Judas," he says, "Can we talk? In private?"
Not what I was expecting.
"Whatever you have to say you can say it in front of me," Delilah says.
"Right," Daniel stammers, "Well—um—here goes."
He runs his palms up and down his jeans. Is he nervous? I've never seen him like this before.
"I—um—heard about the bomb threat thing. And don't worry. I don't think you did it. Not after what I saw in the video with Squid in it."
"What video?" Delilah asks.
Daniel pulls out his phone, taps on the screen a couple of times, holds the phone screen sideways, and shows us a video of someone recording Squid. From the looks of it, it was just recorded a few moments ago.
"Why are you defending Jesus Freak?" the recorder asks.
"His name is Judas," Squid snaps back, "And he doesn't deserve this. He's one of the best souls I've ever met. I know he would never do this. He just wants to help. Someone is framing him. And he hasn't had an easy life. Imagine always being bullied for trying to help people. Imagine being made fun of for being an orphan. It's not his fault his mom abused him and killed herself in front of him."
Squid's eyes widen. My mother must have told them. I know they didn't mean to share that much but it's out there now. Now everyone knows my past.
"You didn't tell me she killed herself in front of you," Delilah says.
I can't bear to look at her.
"I didn't see it," I start, "She was sitting behind me. I just kept watching the cartoons. But I heard it all."
She grabs my right hand and I gently squeeze her fingers.
"My little brother killed himself," Daniel starts, "He'd be sixteen this year. I found his body in his closet. He OD'd"
I close my eyes, then slowly open them to meet Daniel's gaze.
"I'm really sorry you went through that," I say to him.
"I'm—if I knew you went through that, Judas, I would've never treated you like that," Daniel admits, "And I know it's probably worth for shit now but—I'm sorry."
He stares at the ground, fiddling with his thumbs.
"Daniel," I say. He looks up at me, "I forgive you. Do you want a hug?"
He laughs and stands up. I rise from my seat and embrace him. I see Jesus standing behind him and I know now. We embrace each other for a while before I pat him on the back and we break apart. When I turn around, Delilah's looking at me as if I've just slain a dragon.
"Do you wanna hang with us at lunch today?" I ask.
"Sure," he says "If anybody says anything to ya I'll beat their face in."
We laugh.
"I appreciate it," I say, "But violence isn't necessary. If I'm going to clear my name, it's going to be the way Jesus intended. With love and peace."
"Now that I'm friends with you it doesn't sound so crazy," he says.
"Right?" Delilah exclaims.
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A cleric, a bard, a wizard, a rogue, and a barbarian. Sounds like a well-rounded party for a campaign to me.
Delilah and Daniel are sitting to my right and getting along better than I expected. He's gotten some pretty hefty laughs from her. It seems like what Lucy has said about him being a comedian is true.
Lucy finds us at my locker and I'm expecting Delilah to say something or shoot a dirty look, but she's too invested with Daniel. Lucy takes a seat to my left and she leans her head back into the lockers.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Redemption is tiring," she says, slowly turning her head towards me, "You have no idea how hard it is to convince people your friend is being framed for a crime they didn't commit."
"You'd be surprised."
"How are you though? Making it through classes okay?"
"Delilah's helping a lot. Though I feel bad for her."
"She knew what she was signing up for. If she says she can handle it, I'd trust her. She's a tough cookie."
"Yeah. She is. But she doesn't deserve the fallout. None of you do. You shouldn't have to be working out here to try to clear my name."
"Sure. We don't deserve it. But we want to be in it. You know why? Because we want to be here for you Judy."
"Why though? What makes me so special?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you think everyone else is so special."
"Hey, Judas!" Daniel says. I turn towards him and he's done talking with Delilah, "Lucy told me the talent show might be coming back this year. I was hoping you could help me with some of my material for my act."
"Oh well—I'm flattered," I laugh, "But I don't really have a sense of humor."
"That's fine! I just have some questions about God. I'm gonna write some jokes about him."
"Oh. Hm."
"And I could really use your input. God talked all the time in the Old Testament right?"
"Oh yeah, all the time. He'd right stuff on rocks and appear in burning bushes."
"That sounds wild. You know, I don't really believe in God, but because of that I really hope there isn't a God."
I laugh.
"Because that's a bad thing to be incorrect about," he starts, "Imagine I die right now and I'm like 'Awww fuck. Awww your kidding me with the beard too and—fuck—Yep. No. I'm going to Hell. I get it'."
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'Yep, get in the coffin. You're trash now.'."
"When did you decide you wanted to be a comedian?" I ask.
"I kinda just always liked making people laugh. Making them feel better about things that you normally wouldn't laugh at."
"Well Daniel, I'd be glad to help you with your material. Unfortunately, I don't have a phone at the moment, we're just gonna have to schedule a date."
"I'd like that."
Squid then rounds the corner.
"Squid! Hey!" I say.
"I am so sorry," Squid says to me. All of us are looking at them.
"Why?" I ask.
"Everyone knows about your mom now. I didn't mean to tell them it just slipped out."
"It's okay. If anything it might've helped," I suggest.
Then a student I've never seen before comes up from behind Squid and takes a stance in front of us.
"Hey, who am I?" He asks. He then makes his hand into the shape of a gun, puts it up to his head, and pretends to shoot himself in the head, "I'm Jesus Freak's Mom!"
Daniel shoots up from the ground and charges at the student.
"What the fuck did you just say to Judas?" Daniel says towering over the student. I realize then the student is a freshman and he completely regrets his decision with the way he's cowering under Daniel's mass. I stand up and squeeze myself in between them.
"Hey, hey, hey, no need to cause a scene," I say, even though people are already pointing their phones at us, "Daniel. Back off. I got this."
Daniel gives the kid a death stare and takes a few steps back.
"Walk with me," I tell the freshman and he does.
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When we're a few paces away, the freshman asks me: "Why did you save me?"
"What's your name?" I ask.
"What?"
"What's your name? Mines Judas. What's yours?"
"Matthew."
"That's a powerful name. What was your question again?"
"Why did—"
"Why did I save you—yes. Well, Matthew, would you have preferred if I didn't?"
"Fuck no! That guy would've beat my ass!"
"And there's your answer."
"You saved me because he was going to beat my ass?"
"I saved you because I know what it's like to be beaten up for saying or doing something others would find offensive."
I stop walking and he stops beside me. I turn towards him.
"Have you ever been in a fight where you can't fight back?" I ask, "It isn't fun. And I couldn't bear to watch that happen again."
"Why didn't you fight back? In the fight?"
"I believe in an age where no blood will be spilled. An age of peace. Prosperity. And I believe that age is coming soon. But just because others act like that age isn't upon us doesn't give me the excuse to do the same."
His eyes look to the bottom right corner. I pat him on the shoulder and tell him: "If you ever want to talk. About anything. Come find me. I'd love to discuss anything with you, Matthew."
I wink at him and make my way back to my friends.
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