You don't run with the crowd
You go your own way

* * *

Nineteen year old Alice Bennington glanced into the compact mirror that her friend Marilynn Wojahovits gave to her. She blinked and wrinkled her nose staring at the dark eye shadow over her sapphire blue eyes. The small mirror only gave her a tiny framed image of what she looked like, and just that small bit made her feel ill.

“It’s way too dark on you,” Marilynn said shaking her dark brown head and pulled out a handkerchief. “Why did you let your Aunt put gray on you anyway?”

“She said it would bring out my eyes,” Alice replied softly and Marilynn pushed back the younger girl’s long black bangs. She sighed, Alice was a smart girl but when it came to family she had a bad habit of letting them have their way. She dipped the cloth in some water from the fountain.

“Yeah, well all its doing is making you look like you have a pair of black eyes.” The older woman frowned and brought the handkerchief gently up to Alice’s eyes. “Hold still, I don’t want this to get in your eyes.”

Alice nodded and held still, closing her eyes. The two young women were standing outside the Police Academy’s main building in the early June heat. Alice sighed as her friend gently wiped the make up from her face. It seemed strange to her how they could be such good friends coming from so different a background. Marilynn, being the newly appointed assistant DA, was dressed in a dark gray suit with a pink shirt, and pearls. Alice had always admired the woman even when she was younger. Marilynn was only six years older, yet she acted like she was thirty rather then twenty four. Her brown hair was piled on her head in a pinned hairstyle and she always seemed so adult. Alice figured it was from her growing up with seven older brothers and dealing with them. She was…tough…that was the only word for it. Marilynn never balked at anything, she never let anyone push her around either, and she never let anyone forget where she came from. “An apartment on the west end with only two bedrooms, with very little money, and always having to pawn gifts for cash.” That was how she would describe it when anyone asked.

Alice, on the other hand, had grown up on the Gold Coast of Chicago. Her father had been a well placed accountant for the Chase Morgan Bank, while her mother was a socialite. Their house had been a old mansion converted to two smaller houses, and Alice had grown up in a rather sheltered environment. That was until two years ago, before Alice had to move in with her Uncle and Aunt, after her parents deaths. Her older brother Stephen was away at Graduate school at Harvard for Law so he could not take care of the sixteen year old girl. So her mother’s brother had taken her in. Alice’s mother’s brother, Howard Anderson was one of the most influential Councilmen in the city. With two grown children already, a daughter and son who were both in their later twenties, he’d gladly taken the young girl into his home treating her like a second daughter.

Their families were so vastly different that it always made Alice wonder why Marilynn had taken a shine to her in the first place. Her family was full of lawyers and politicians, while Marilynn’s had more to do with the cleaning up of buildings that Alice’s family members worked in.

They had met when Marilynn was interning at her Uncle’s office. Alice found quickly that Marilynn was not the sort of person to give false sympathy. The women’s first meeting had left Alice with a very good impression of the sort of prosecutor she would make for the state.

“Marilynn Wojahovits, this is my niece Alice Bennington,” Howard Anderson had said and Marilynn had taken a good look over of the sixteen year old girl. She nodded to Alice quickly as Howard had excused himself to deal with a phone call. Alice smiled some quietly, but Marilynn was the first to speak as she went back to her desk.

“Ms. Bennington, I’ll make this perfectly clear. I’m not going to sit here and play the overt compassionate. Yes, I’m sorry that your parents died, but words are meaningless is these times. You mourn, and then you get on with your life,” Marilynn looked at her. “You don’t seem the sort to lock yourself in your room as your Uncle has told me. He mentioned you’ve been doing that a lot.”

Alice had stared at her, mouth a bit open, but then she closed it and nodded as Marilynn went on. “I’ll make this pretty clear. I have no sympathy for anyone who can not stand on their own feet. So, you had better learn how to do that if you want me to be friends with you. What are you going to do now? Any plans?”

“I….I don’t know,” she answered honestly and Marilynn had smiled.

“Well that’s a good start. You’re not giving me B.S. about following in your parents’ footsteps.” The older woman had crossed her arms, and gave her a sly sort of smile, “So then you’re going have to figure out what it is that you’re going to do with the rest of your life. And I’d be happy to help you, if you want.”

After that Alice had taken Marilynn into her confidence. She trusted the older woman more then even her Aunt Lauren and Cousin Nicole.

“There, it’s off,” Marilynn said and smiled, she took the compact back. “Gray doesn’t go well with that dress you know.”

Alice smiled gently. Her Aunt had put her in a light, white gauzy summer dress with small blue flowers over the see-thru cover. Everything about Alice seemed light and soft, and her black hair only highlighted the silky skin. “Well you know how she is. Always has to try something on me.”

Marilynn nodded lightly, “Well don’t let her boss you around too much. She may be older, but it doesn’t mean she has the right to turn you into her little china doll.”

Alice laughed, waving it off. “I know…I know…” She linked arms with the older woman. “Let’s get back to them. Uncle Howard’s going to be upset if his protégée doesn’t get to do her little speech.”

Marilynn made a face, she disliked being known as that, “I’m not his protégée, and you know it. I earned being ADA on my own.”

“I know that, I just like to tease you about it,” Alice laughed lightly. Marilynn was proud of being very independent, and Alice wondered if she could ever get out from her Uncle’s power. Everything seemed to be handed to her, and she wanted something that was just her own. She knew that Marilynn was right though, her family did boss her around quite a bit. Especially her older brother whom she wanted to please, he was, after all, the last living member of her immediate family.

Coming around the corner of the large brick building the two young women entered onto the grassy field where the cadets normally trained and practiced. The field was set up with numerous white folding chairs in rows, before them was a stage decorated with eight seats on each side of a podium along with a center chair for the Commissioner of the Detroit Police Department. Alice smiled at the sight of the simple decorations of summery flowers and variations of the city flag. She glanced around and saw a few of the cadets from the graduating class mingling and thought they looked very handsome in their uniforms.

Marilynn saw her looking and teased quietly, “Men in uniform do something for you, eh, Alice?”

She blushed some, “No…I mean…yes…but…” Alice knew her Uncle would be upset with her if she even thought to talk to the young men. He didn’t trust the police, namely because he thought that the department was full of crooks. Marilynn smiled and patted her arm.

“It’s okay…it’s our secret,” Marilynn laughed and Alice smiled back. Her eyes took in everything, drinking in the rich colors around her and the sounds, Alice felt so happy. Nothing could spoil the moment, or so she thought.

“Alice!” her Aunt Lauren called out to her as she walked over. Alice glanced over to see a gray haired lady in a striking blue dress and light blue trimmed straw bonnet, heading for them. She held in a light sigh as her Aunt approached. Alice knew full well that the reason her Aunt was coming to get her was to make her do something for the newspaper. She put on a cheery smile, her blue eyes carefully trying to read the gray blue eyes of her Aunt’s, clearly she was up to something.

“Dear I need you to take some photos with Eric for the society pages,” Lauren told her sweetly. She frowned some seeing her niece’s face, “Dear did you take off your makeup?”

“The eye shadow was too dark on her Mrs. Anderson. I wiped it off her,” Marilynn replied, with her arms crossed and a ‘Got a problem with it?’ attitude. Alice blushed hoping there wouldn’t be a spat between the two women. Lauren stared at Marilynn and gave a light sniff.

“I see, very well then,” Lauren took her nice by the arm. “Come along dear. Your boyfriend is waiting you know.”

Alice nodded lightly as Marilynn gave her a sharp look that read, ‘Stand up to her.’ Alice blinked and cleared her throat. “Can…can’t we take the photos later?”

Lauren shook her head. “No.We can’t, they’ve been waiting for you as it is. They’ll be too busy with your Uncle and the Commissioner later to photos of you and Eric. So now is the best time.”

Alice sighed and let herself be taken away from her friend. She could feel Marilynn’s eyes upon her back, probably narrowed and clearly scowling at Alice’s Aunt. Lauren and Marilynn had never gotten along, the elder Mrs. Anderson felt that Marilynn was too harsh and didn’t know her place. While Marilynn felt that Lauren was too possessive and didn’t allow Alice enough freedom. The one good thing about the fighting between them, Alice observed, was that it kept them from noticing the troubles she was having with her older boyfriend Eric Misrith.

Eric was the head ADA that worked with Danielle Chambers, the Prosecutor for the State of Michigan. People were already talking about him taking over her job next year after she retired. He took the comments graciously and seemed the poster boy for the job, acting like he was very excited to take it. Alice, however, knew that wasn’t his true aspiration, he wanted to be a Councilman like her Uncle. He was twenty four, a year younger then Marilynn, though he acted like he was only fifteen at times. Or so Marilynn would say to Alice in private. Alice knew that this was true; Eric was always flirting with various women like a teenager, never once thought of the consequence of his actions. Or how they were hurting Alice in the end. In fact, she had started to realize, more recently, that when they fought about his actions, she would be the one apologizing, even when he was the one in the wrong.

“Eric dear,” Lauren called out waving her hand. “We’re over here!”

A good looking blonde man lifted his head. His dark jade eyes twinkled under long lashes. He had been talking with one of the teachers at the Academy, hearing his idol’s wife calling made him stop. He smiled seeing Alice and Lauren. For a short girl Alice was cute, just the type of girl that he needed to be seen with. Innocent and sweet, orphaned for sympathy so that he looked more like the hero type. ‘Saving her poor heart from becoming cold and hard’ the tag line under the movie poster that was their romance would read. This was how he saw it. She was the damsel in distress, and he was the heroic knight.

It was not, however, how Alice saw it, but she would never say it to his face. She had always seen their relationship as a deal that had been brokered. Eric has only started to pay her attention when he seemed to realize that it would please her Uncle if she got a beau. And, at first, she was flattered. He was the catch in their circles, up and coming and very good looking or the women that seemed to envy believed. They teased Alice cruelly about her relationship with him. “What would he want with a teaching undergraduate like you?” they would tease her and remind her that the only reason that Eric was with her was due to the fact she was Howard Anderson’s niece, and nothing more.

Alice would laugh this off, knowing that the Eric that these women longed for was just a façade that he created. After the first few dates Alice found out how quickly Eric turned any conversation to some achievement of his, and that treated her very much like a child. They never saw the side that she got to; the superficial cool part of him that came out when no one was looking. It was the shallow nature that Alice had gotten to know very well. That was what Alice disliked the most about him. Yes he was a excellent lawyer, and good looking, but his attitude about how good he was just made her angry. Eric had a habit of talking down about the poorer people that he prosecuted, and in some cases he was down right bigoted in his comments. It made her queasy when he spoke like that, but she didn’t know how to get him to stop.

The young blonde man approached them quickly, excusing himself, and waving some. He was dressed in a formal gray suit with a dark silver tie, and his blonde hair combed neatly to the side. Eric grinned putting his hands on Alice’s shoulders and kissed her cheek gently.

“How’s the prettiest girl in all of Detroit?” He asked then to Alice added, “And you look lovely too, Alice.” Lauren thought it was cute and giggled in her girlish way, while Alice gave a false smile. She hated the joke; it always felt like he honestly didn’t think she was pretty and she had no doubt that he probably told other women that he thought they were beautiful.

“I’m doing well,” Alice’s Aunt said and nudged her niece. “Dear….Mr. Misrith is waiting…tell him how you are.”

“I’m fine,” she lied and smiled graciously and then looked around. “So where are these photographers, Aunt Lauren?”

Eric smiled gently; he was a bit annoyed by her not doting on him when she came over. Alice used to when they were first dating but had over time stopped doing so and he liked being doted on. “They’re over there with your Uncle, Alice. Right this way.”

Alice nodded and allowed him to lead her towards the stage where there was a conglomerate of photographers all flashing pictures. As they approached Alice noticed that they were taking pictures of a tall cadet with black hair and a bright grin shaking hands with her Uncle Howard. He was dressed in his blues and had a pin on his jacket indicating that he was the Valedictorian. The young man seemed genuinely pleased to have the honor of standing beside the Councilman.

Howard Anderson was the most well known politician in the city of Detroit, only second to the Mayor of the city himself. Alice noticed at once the very unique comparison that would be made when the photo was printed the following day. Her Uncle was beefy man with a thick neck. His round, jovial face had a large nose and small eyes, with a double chin. Howard’s style had not changed since the fifties. He was dressed in a gray suit with a maroon tie highlighting his iron gray hair, which was up in a pompadour. A set of light hazel eyes hid under thick lashes, and even thicker black and gray eyebrows. He was standing beside the young rookie clutching his hand and grinning brightly.

Howard glanced over after a moment or two and waved to Alice and Lauren. Thanking the young man he walked over and Alice gave him a genuine smile. Unlike with her Aunt, Alice had a good relationship with her Uncle. Strolling up to them Howard let Alice kiss his cheek and kissed his wife gently. Alice grinned softly, “You’re all sweaty, Uncle Howard.”

Howard chuckled some, “Heat of summer, Alice. We thicker men get like this.” He turned to face the photographers and grinned introducing Alice and Lauren to them, “Ladies and Gentlemen I’m sure you know my wife and niece,” they nodded as Alice smiled gently. Then Howard in turn went over by Eric and clapped him on the shoulder with his thick hand, and grinned gaily, “And this is Eric Misrith, as I’m sure you already know, a man who has become an integral part of this city’s defense against crime, and soon to be in my family.”

Alice looked at her Uncle confused as he said this and Eric leaned over to whisper something in Howard’s ear. He made an ‘OH’ face and nodded then smiled at Alice gently. Alice blinked, but had no time to ask questions as she was shuffled with Eric to take photos. The photographers took shots of Alice with her Aunt and Uncle, then with the four of them, and then with her alone with Eric. As this was going on she glanced out over the crowed that was gathering and saw Marilynn watching them.

Alice felt the ADA’s eyes upon her, and from her body language, it was clear that the older woman was unhappy with what she was seeing. Marilynn’s arms were crossed and she was leaning on her left leg with an annoyed looking scowl on her face. Alice inwardly sighed; she knew why Marilynn was upset, she was posing for photos and faking her happiness. Marilynn hated that and told Alice every chance she had. “Why do you take posed photos with them? You’re not happy; you can see it in your eyes. It’s like those pictures that they take of Hollywood stars. They look happy, but they’re not, it’s all fake and false, and I really hate that. I don’t like watching you take those photos Alice, why do you do it? I want you be genuinely happy not pretending to be for your family’s sake. Screw them, if they won’t support you, then I will. If your not, don’t pretend you are Alice.”

Alice knew that Marilynn was right, but that didn’t change the fact that Eric was a secure relationship. He might not be her ideal man, but in reality there wasn’t such a person, and Alice had always known that. He was well off, and not a controversial person, at least not in public. Then there was the fact that her family liked him, and most other guys that she knew they seemed to scowl upon. Eric was able to put up with them; anyone else would just give up and break it off with her. She loved him, or at least Alice believed she did, and that was what was important. Wasn’t it? Still a part of her felt that Marilynn was right, and yet, she felt worried that it would disappoint her brother and family. And disappointing Stephen was something that she wanted to avoid at all costs. When the photographers were done, Alice found Eric quickly absorbed with a reporter. She touched his arm, but he gently shrugged her off and said quietly. “Not now, I have to finish this interview.”

Alice frowned; this was how it always was. When she wanted to talk to him, it was ‘Not now I’m busy with something’ but wave a reporter or someone in a high political position in his face and he happily dropped everything to talk. She let out a bit of a mutter as a man, dressed in a suit with a clipboard and a microphone/ear set, came walking over towards her Uncle. The band around his jacket sleeve indicated he was part of the Graduation Presentation support team. He calmly walked up to Howard as he talked with another District Attorney. The man whispered something to Howard who nodded, and then reached into his breast pocket as if searching for something. He felt around his pants and frowned.

“Something wrong Uncle Howard,” Alice asked walking over and Howard nodded as Lauren suggested,

“Check your back pockets.”

Alice lowered her eye lids slightly. “What’s missing this time?” -her Uncle was always loosing things at the worst of times, and Alice knew exactly what would happen. He would ask her Aunt who would then get miffed at him for loosing it in the first place, insisting that she wasn’t his ‘private file cabinet’.

“My speech, I’m supposed to go first after Captain Waller gives the introduction,” he explained and Alice thought a moment.

“Did you go inside? You usually leave things lying around when you go inside buildings.”

Howard thought a moment or two, and then nodded slowly, “Yes…I was. I went in to go to the bathroom to freshen up, and I wound up in one of the classrooms in the main building talking to two of the officials for the ceremony.”

“Do you remember which room?” Alice asked knowing that he probably pulled out the speech to show the two officials and had left it on a desk or table. Howard nodded again and gave her the room number he thought it was, four forty five, and she nodded. “Alright I’ll go get it, you just stay calm.”

Howard gave her a sheepish grin, “Thank you, Dear.” Alice smiled back and hurried off in the direction of the Academy’s main building. She passed by Marilynn who, grabbed her by the arm, and asked her where she was off to.

“Picking up a missing speech,” Alice explained and quickly pulled from Marilynn’s grip as the man that had talked to her Uncle came over to talk to the ADA. “I’ll be back soon. No worries.”

Marilynn nodded and shouted back, “Don’t get lost, and if you do call my cell!”

Alice nodded and hurried up the few steps to the back door to the main building and went inside to cool air. Cadets were hurrying out to the grounds, dressed in their dress blues, and she found they were looking at her. Alice blushed but hurried along hoping to find the room quickly, but she soon discovered finding the room was a lot harder then she first expected it to be.

* * *

Inside the men’s restroom Antonio Ferano fixed his dark navy jacket, smoothing out the lapels and fixed his black tie. He pulled at the white gloves and looked at himself in the mirror one last time. Anyone seeing the twenty one year old officer would notice that he cut a sharp figure in his dress blues. He let out a snort. Tony just wanted this over with; the faster it was done the better he would feel. Taking up his hat he put it under his arm and walked out of the rest room and down the quiet hall. His polished black shoes made sharp clicks on the polished floor.

Why’d I give into Boyds' pushing? He thought as he saw several cadets hurry past. It was the first time in a long time that he had given into peer-pressure. He wasn’t about to start running like an idiot, there was no one out there waiting for him. While the other officers were sure to get hugs and congratulations from fellow officers and family members, Tony knew there would be no one to hug him or say they were proud. He could only be proud of himself. His parents had died when he was eleven and left him as ward to the private boarding school they had sent him to. The teachers there didn’t even write to congratulate him when he was accepted to the Academy, so why should he expect anyone to be there to cheer him on now. He’d lived his life on his own, enduring the teases of fellow classmates. Even in high school, where most teenagers felt like social outcasts, he kept to himself and was fairly antisocial. In the Academy he rarely tried to get to know anyone, except for those few who dared to force themselves into his life.

As he walked along he saw a young woman with black hair in a white sundress with blue flowers hurrying down the corridors looking lost. He blinked, most of the guests, he was sure, were outside. So either she was looking for someone, or was lost. “Miss, can I help you?”

The young woman Tony noticed was fairly petite. At most she stood an inch shorter then he did. At five feet four inches, he knew he was one of the smallest officers in the new recruits, but it didn’t bother him. He was a small fire cracker, as Boyds had said to anyone, and everyone, when describing Tony. She turned her head as he spoke and slowed.

“Um yes, officer,” she said politely, “I’m looking for room four forty five. You wouldn’t happen to know where that is?”

“Four forty five?” Tony repeated and pointed to a staircase. “Up those stairs, make a right, fourth door on the left. You can’t miss it.”

The young woman grinned, “Thank you so much.” And she was gone again. Tony shook his head chuckling. She seemed to be in a good mood, he figured that she was a girlfriend of one of the cadets. Probably going to pick up something for him, he thought and quickly forgot about her.

“Hey Antonio!” a shout came from outside the main door as he exited the building. A strapping, very muscular, cadet with brown hair, bright light brown eyes, tan skin, and a very bright frat boy like smile was leaning against the wall. Tony let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes in a ‘Why me, why now’ way and turned to the young man as he came over and patted Tony on the back.

“An...tony …ne…oh!” the young cadet said in a mock Italian accent that typically annoyed Tony, today it was more then just annoying. With a quick motion he brushed the hand off his shoulder.

“Don’t call me that, you know how to pronounce my name Marcus,” Tony said flatly. His dark brown eyes narrowed some, under the light of the sun. Having to look up at the six foot four inch man was not a fun task, especially since he was towering over Tony. “What do you want?”

Marcus grinned animatedly, his eyes dancing, “Aww Toto’s all nervous.”

Tony gave him a dark glare, turned on his heels and walked away. He wasn’t going to stand around listing to his name be made fun of. Even if Marcus was teasing, he hated it. There wasn’t anyone he let tease him, it was just too much a reminder of time at the private school. Marcus shouted and ran to catch up. Even though he was short, Tony was quicker then a number of the taller and older Cadets, including the twenty three year old Marcus. He’d pushed himself the hardest to do his best. The only reason he didn’t get Valedictorian was because of a few test scores where he didn’t get a hundred. But the man that had gotten Valedictorian Tony had known since enrollment, and he knew that the cadet was a decent person who would do a good job with the speech and deserved it. Slowing some Tony let Marcus catch up to him.

Breathing quickly, to catch his breath, Marcus said, “Man…I was just kidding you.”

“I don’t like that type of kidding and you know that,” Tony said coolly. He crossed his arms. “Now what was it you want?”

Marcus smiled, “Some of the guys and I were going to go out to get a drink after the ceremony. We thought you might want to come along.”

Tony kept a blank expression on his face; Marcus wasn’t an easy person to say no to. He’d managed to get Tony to agree to coming to the ceremony, but only after he’d worn him down after months and months of bringing up the topic. It got to the point where either Tony would slug him to get him to shut up, or just give in this once. So he gave in, rather then to deal with getting into trouble with the Captain of the Academy. After all it was going to only be one day, not like it was going to make significant changes in his life.

“Well what do you say?” Marcus asked in his good natured way that irritated Tony. The younger man snorted, then dropped his arms as he heard the PA announcing for all Cadets to line up. The ceremony would be starting soon. Moving past Marcus Tony simply said, “I’ll think about it.”

Marcus nodded and followed him. Tony knew he’d be asked again after the ceremony, but by then he’d have thought of an excuse, the main one being his neighbor’s dog. Tony lived in a small apartment, while most of the other Academy members stayed at the school in a dorm. This also contributed to his lack of friends since they didn’t see much of him outside of class, or where he worked as a clerk at a book store.

The old dog excuse was one that he tended to use a lot, seeing that it was the truest of the excuses that he used to get out of going anywhere with Marcus. The man that neighbored him across the hall was a traveling sales man, so he was always asking Tony to watch his basset hound. Tony, at first, had no idea what to do with the dog, but the two over the four years of dog sitting had become good friends. Monty, as the hound was named, was as loyal to Tony as he was to his real owner, and most people thought he was Tony’s dog and not his neighbor’s. Monty knew more about Tony then most people did.

Once again the man had left on a trip, and Tony was watching Monty, so it would be simple to tell Brodys that he had to get home and take care of the dog. If he called later Tony figured he could just say the dog was sick or something, and leave it at that. Marcus was the sort of person that didn’t like dealing with sick animals. Cutting across the grass, Tony glanced up when a blue and white blur rushed past him. The girl he’d seen earlier was running in heels, and rather well at that, holding a piece of paper in her small fist. He let out a little laugh, seeing the reaction of some of the more dressed up women watching her do this. Her hair had come out of its braid, and she didn’t seem to mind in the least bit.

Tony saw her slow when she came to one of the presentation officials and hand him the paper. The man took it and hurried into the crowd that was gathering at the back of the grounds. The girl was standing with a woman in a gray suit, and talking quickly. She suddenly looked up and caught his eye. She smiled, and waved at him. Tony grunted and didn’t wave back. Rather he quickly walked towards the growing crowd of cadets and vanished into them, disappearing from the girl’s line of sight

* * *

“What was that about?” Marilynn saw Tony grunt and walk away after Alice had waved to him. Alice dropped her hand, a bit disappointed. She had just wanted to say thank you to him. She shrugged trying to ignore the bit of displeasure that came over here. He’d seemed so nice inside.

“Nothing, he just helped me find the room that Uncle Howard had left his speech in.” Alice explained and Marilynn let out a snort.

“That so?”

Alice nodded, “Yes, but he probably didn’t recognize me or something.” She tried to laugh it off. “Come on lets go sit down okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right, didn’t recognize you,” Marilynn thought with an annoyed snort. Alice knew what she was thinking and thought the same thing. He probably just didn’t want to seem too familiar with her. Maybe he knew who she was and didn’t like her Uncle. She decided it wasn’t worth the time worrying about it, even if he was sort of cute.

As they walked back to their seats Marilynn sat next to Alice and took out her program. She leafed through the various cadets and their messages to their family. Alice nudged her gently, “Shouldn’t you be with the line? You are speaking.”

Marilynn shrugged, “Nope, I was told that since I’m not a featured speaker I should just sit on the end of the row with the audience. I’m supposed to be sitting up front with the cadets, but you know what, it’s nicer back here.”

She smirked and Alice rolled her eyes, “If anything you are rebellious.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Marilynn grinned and went back to looking though the program. Alice laughed and looked over her arm at it. Beside their name was a photo of each cadet. The messages all varied from, ‘Cadet Bennet wishes his mother and father the best and thanks them for helping him get through the harder parts of his time at the Academy.’ to longer lists thanking various family members by name. Some just had little blurbs about thanking friends at the school and such, or who the person was the son or daughter of. Marilynn glanced over the names carefully, knowing one day she probably would have to interview these officers for a trial. She paused coming upon a name with no comment at all.

Alice noticed her friend’s brow furrow, “Something bothering you?”

“Kinda,” Marilynn admitted and showed her the picture and name. Alice blinked; it was the same young man that she had run into earlier.

“Antonio Ferano,” Alice read. “Graduating with honors…” included in this was the list of honors that he had been given, but Alice saw no note of thanking anyone. She looked up at Marilynn. “Do you think he just didn’t feel like putting in a comment?”

“Maybe,” Marilynn said, and tapped the picture. “But still, it’s not like they have to pay to put in a notice. The only people that would have to pay for that would be his family members.”

“Does it have a congratulation ad in the back for him then?” Alice asked as a cadet hurried by. The woman in blue paused just for a moment and glanced over at the page.

“Don’t bother looking.” Alice glanced up at the young blond officer who quickly said, “Antonio’s parents aren’t around. So there’s no ad. Probably no one showed up either.”

Alice scowled some at the candor the officer stated this fact. She knew what it was like to have no one there for you at the most important moments in life, and she really hated it when people would just shrug it off. Glancing at Marilynn, then back the blonde cadet, Alice commented, “Well then someone should at least cheer for him. Thank you for that information.”

Marilynn raised her eyebrows, as the cadet nodded and walked away to join her classmates. “You…Your not serious, are you?”

Alice nodded, “Well he was nice enough to help me.”

“So…Alice he didn’t even return the wave,” Marilynn pointed out and Alice shrugged.

“So, he’s probably shy like me...”

“Which is a very good reason to not do this,” Marilynn pointed out smiling. She patted Alice’s hand knowing that her words were falling on deaf ears. The young woman had already made up her mind and nothing Marilynn said would change her decision. Alice’s Aunt soon joined them and informed Marilynn that she would be going after Eric did his speech. Marilynn nodded, “That means that I’m last. Alright…”

She pulled out her speech and read it over very carefully, then ripped it apart and stuffed it in her bag. “That takes care of that.”

Lauren gasped and stared at the younger woman, “Wh...why did you do that Marilynn! You just wasted a wonderful speech.”

“Yes, it was a wonderful speech, for someone who wants to give them a lot of sugar and lemonade. I’m not about to fill their heads with hypocritical nonsense. They need to hear the truth, and that is what I’m going to do,” Marilynn said with a nod and crossed her arms, indicating that there was no room to argue. Lauren sighed, no wonder her niece was becoming more impolite, and she was taking examples from Marilynn.

The sound of the entrance march caught their attentions seconds later, and everyone turned to watch the procession. Alice caught sight of her Uncle who was walking very quickly, and, when he saw her he waved. Marilynn nudged her upon seeing Eric, who was trying to act rather important, and Alice had to giggle since he seemed to be a bit nervous. She tried to spot the young officer that helped her, but due to his stature she could not. Eventually Alice resigned herself to waiting till he showed himself on stage. She was patient and could wait.

* * *

Tony’s first thoughts upon seeing the speakers grouping together was of a bunch of geese. They seemed to flock to their own kind rather then talking with the cadets. He scowled some; to Tony it felt like a slight in a way. These were the men and women who were supposed to address them and tell them how important their job and future was? If they acted this way for just a graduation ceremony what were they like behind closed doors. Did they think that they were too important to talk to the cadets? Not that he cared about talking to anyone of the speaker, but it would have been nice if they, at the very least, acknowledged the cadets’ existence. He let out a huff when Boyds once more found him and tried to talk him into coming for a drink after the ceremony.

“Can’t,” he grunted. “I have a dog to take care of.”

“So what? Can’t you just let it alone for a while?” Boyds asked and Tony raised his eyebrows.

“Would you ask the same thing if it was a baby?” Tony asked, and Boyds shrugged.

“Kids are different then dogs,” he smiled. “Don’t tell me you’re a dog lover, Antonio.”

Tony snorted, “No.” He truly wasn’t a particular animal lover, but he never had a dislike for them either. Pets could be more loyal then friends and family ever could, and he was already leaving Monty alone for longer then he really wanted to anyway. The hound had been alone since ten that morning, it was already noon, and Tony hoped this ceremony could be wrapped up quickly. But, glancing at the speakers over his shoulder, he knew that was a futile wish. They all seemed to be the long winded types.

He heard a loud laugh, and caught sight of a tall young man who seemed to stand out amongst the other speakers. Tony frowned some; the guy certainly didn’t look like the type that would give a quick talk. Probably go on for hours about him-self, Tony thought as they lined up and marched to the stage. Tony watched Eric and had an amused look to his eyes that underlined the fact that he could tell Eric thought highly of himself. Wonder if he even notices that most of the cadets already are calling him an arrogant jackass?

Tony kept his eyes forward as they walked for the stage and he tried not to think of the fact that he was going to have to go up there to accept his award of merit. It was one of the things he dreaded, he didn’t like attention being drawn to himself. As they neared the front of the stage the Headmaster of the Academy was waiting. Here, using him as a wedge, the line forked and the cadets split apart in two groups. Tony sat with the first group three rows in front of Alice, un noticed by her due to the taller cadets that sat behind him.

As it turned out he was right about the number of long speeches that they had to listen to. Most were flowery nonsense, at least that’s how Tony saw them, about how proud the members of the city council were of the new officers. How they were supposed to be dedicated and loyal to one another. How their job was to protect the people, and how people would respect them for it. And on and on it went. Tony growing fidgety and found his left leg shaking some from the tense feeling; He wanted the ceremony to end already so he could go home, shower, eat, and read. That was going to be his party. Tony, Monty, and some take out from the deli down the street from his apartment.

“And now, it is my pleasure to present to you a gentleman of unprecedented talent. Like most of you he discovered his calling, and has worked hard to make this city safe. I’m pleased to present to you, Eric Misrith, the future District Attorney of the City of Detroit and the state of Michigan.” Danielle Chambers announced. The elegant gray haired woman stepped aside allowing the young man with the loud laugh to come forward. Tony furrowed his brow as Eric grinned out at the crowd. Some of the female cadets started to whisper, clearly finding him good looking.

Eric glanced out over the crowd to see if Alice was watching. He wasn’t really looking to impress her, but it always helped to make sure that she was watching him. After all he was going to ask her to marry him after this ceremony, so making sure she was in a good mood was going to make things easier for him. From where he stood at the podium Eric saw she was looking up, not noticing that her eyes looked a bit glazed over from hearing the many speeches. Even though her Uncle’s had been thoughtful, and well written, she was bored with the whole ceremony. Besides, she wanted to know what Marilynn was going to say now that her speech had been shredded.

Eric smiled and looked over the audience, catching Tony’s eyes for a moment and he shuddered inwardly. Something about the young officer challenged him, and he didn’t like it. What was it in his face? He was upset about something, did he not like the ceremony? Well too bad, Eric thought, coughing. This is my moment to shine, and I’m going to show Howard just how good a speaker I am.

“Thank you DA Chambers,” Eric said politely. “If not for you I wouldn’t have figured out my calling. And if not for the officers of this illustrious city, we would not be so well protected….” Eric then went on at length about his childhood in the city. Leaving out the fact that he had grown up in the rich suburbs, and how when he was younger he had stolen from a store and his father had kept him from getting it on his criminal record.

Tony listened politely, although, throughout the speech his eyebrow twitched once in awhile when Eric started to give praise to various members of the force. He has no clue what he’s talking about, Tony thought disgustedly as Eric tried to sound like he and the police cadets were entering on the same journey. Using words like, ‘Comrades in justice’ and ‘united front’ he peppered his lame excuse for a speech with catch phrases, and things that would please the audience; especially the parents and loved ones of the cadets.

Tony found the man to be quite annoying, and wished he would just shut up. He knew nothing about being a cop, nor the trials it took to become one. The more Eric talked the more Tony disliked him. It came to a point where Tony just tuned him out completely; ignoring the whole thing till he heard a round of applause showing that it was over. He breathed out, and prayed silently there wouldn’t be another speaker.

Alice at the same time was appalled at the speech. She knew Eric was going to say things in regards about himself, but comparing his time as a boy scout to being an officer was just…odd. She knew that the cadets must have felt awkward after hearing such a speech. After all, it was supposed to be their day. Eric came down to a round of applause from the back rows, but the front section with the new officers was quiet. Alice could only guess what they were thinking and she felt rather embarrassed. How could he be so arrogant? She had to wonder if there was anything that he wouldn’t twist around to make about himself.

“That was a wonderful speech, wasn’t it?” Lauren asked her, and Alice glanced up, nodding weakly.

“Yes, Eric certainly has a knack for giving those sorts of speeches.”

Her Aunt missed the dig and just laughed, “Indeed, you must be so proud of him.”

Alice nodded slightly, though proud was not the feeling or the word she would have used at the moment. Marilynn nudged her and Alice glanced up as the DA stood up again. Eric took his seat with the other speakers and Danielle then introduced Marilynn to the crowd.

“Wanna see me shock the old stooges behind us?” she grinned, stood, and walked up the aisle as her name was announced. The cadets looked a bit surprised to see her. Tony sighed deeply inside. Not another one. Can’t we just get to us swearing our oath so that I can get home? He was starting to seriously worry about Monty. How long can a dog his age be left alone? I should have asked before I took him in.

Marilynn glanced over the heads of the cadets as she approached the stage and noticed Tony’s worried face. She paused for a heart beat wondering what he was thinking. He seemed concerned about something, and when she heard Danielle give a small cough she gave a little shrug figuring she shouldn’t concern herself. Taking the stairs up to the podium she thanked Danielle like Eric, and then looked out over the crowd.

She met Alice’s eyes and smiled some at her young friend, then glanced at Tony. There was something in his eyes that when he looked at her gave her a feeling that he wanted something more then what he’d heard already. He’d listen, but he’d be the judge of it on his own, and not let anyone tell him how to feel about it. Somehow that look gave her strength, and Marilynn took a quick deep breath to calm before talking.

“I know you’re all tired and want to go home. So I’m going to try to keep this as short as possible. While most of my colleges came up here with speeches that were long ago prepared for this event, mine had an unfortunate accident,” she paused, “…I tore mine up.” There was a bit of a mummer that ran through the crowd and Tony sat up. He blinked. Was this woman serious? Had she really toren up her own speech? Marilynn waited till the murmur died down before continuing.

“I know…it seems a bit strange for me to do that. But it’s true. I have the remains in my purse if any of you would like to investigate it. I can assure you that no trees were harmed in this accident, since it was on recycled paper.”

There was a small round of chuckles that emanated from the audience. Tony just let a small smile slip on his lips and crossed his arms readying to hear some sort of tripe. What came next surprised him more then hearing that that Marilynn ripped up her speech.

“You’re probably asking why I tore up my speech. To be frank, I didn’t like it. It was a lie. It was a bunch of hypocritical nonsense that you did not need to hear, and I did not want to speak. Today you’ve heard from various people that you’re probably never going to meet with again…ever. Most of you are going off to become beat cops. Some will rise in the ranks, and become Detectives. Most of you will remain in your blues for the rest of your life. You will feel frustrated, and you will feel that you’re not doing anything. You will wonder why you became a police officer in the first place. You will feel depressed. You will see children die and evil men get off after murdering their wives, or friends, or lovers. You will learn that goodness is something that is not overrated, but underrated. You will strive and strive, and come up with nothing at times. You will see friends shot and killed in the line of duty.

“I will not stand here and tell you otherwise…you may die. You may very well find yourself standing before a man, or woman, who is more desperate, then anything and they will raise a gun to you. They may become so scared, and upset, and afraid, that they will shoot and kill you. This is the world that we live in. People are scared. They are scared of you because you carry a gun, a badge, and the ability to take away their freedom. Because they feel oppressed, and they can’t find a way out of situations that they have been brought up into.

“I refuse to stand up here and tell you that your path is going to be easy. I can’t do that knowing the world you will be facing on a day to day basis. It would be wrong and selfish of me. I know what I speak of when I talk about death, because where I came from it was a normal occurrence. I am one of the reasons that you may have decide to become a cop. Unlike my colleague here,” she nodded at Eric who scowled from his seat at Marilynn. “I was born in the ghetto. I grew up with gang violence around me, and could have gone down a path where I would have been dealing drugs on a street corner. What saved me, made me take another path, was a man that I will never forget. There was a shoot outs on my street. Friends of mine had been hit by stray bullets, and my mother would not let my brothers or me outside after two. This was my world, and then one day I met an officer on my way home from school. He had come to investigate a dealer in the neighborhood, and knocked me down taking a bullet for me.

“This man died due to his wound, the police did capture the gang member that shot him. But I never forgot that day. I never forgot the officer’s name either, Grayson Johnson, he was thirty five when he died. He was the beat cop around my neighborhood, and he was someone that made me feel that there was still good people in the world. Even as I saw death, I knew, because of him, that there were people out there that wanted to stop such violent behavior. His death was one of the reasons I chose to become a prosecutor. It made me want to make sure that no other officer, or individual, had to go through that sort of pain. I decided to become a lawyer so that I could prosecute the men that killed innocent people and help the officers that captured them.”

Marilynn paused and looked out at the silent crowd, before continuing, “I’m telling you all this because I want you to understand something. You will be hated. You will be told by some that you are worthless. You may have god knows what thrown at you, or on you because of who you are. You maybe attacked by someone who hates the police. But know this, for every person who voice up that the police are a danger to them. That Detroit is full of dirty cops and that anyone that joins the force will become dirty as well. Know that there is always one person that will look for someone that can help them. Before you go to bed at night, know that there is a child out there that is thankful for your work. For you risking your life, and for you being willing to give up your life to protect them. Even if everything seems lost, remember this, and you can’t stray far from your path. I wish you luck, and I hope that one day you too have the pleasure of meeting someone that can look you in the eye and say, ‘Thank you for risking your life to keep me protected. Thank you so much for that.’

“Even if that day doesn’t come, allow me at least this moment to say that then. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this choice, and for deciding to protect this city and the people of it. I thank you for protecting my life.”

With that Marilynn walked of the stage in silence. Tony sat quietly, not quiet sure how to react to it, and then he started to clap. Not very loudly but loud enough that the cadets around him could hear, and they soon joined him. The sound grew louder and louder as more and more people joined in. Eventually someone whistled, Tony suspected Boyds, but he didn’t care. This woman deserved her applauds.

Marilynn sat down next to a cheering Alice who gave her a hug, “That was a wonderful speech and I’m sure they’ll take it all in.”

The older woman smiled, patting Alice’s arm, indicating for her to let go. “I hope they will. I meant every word.”

The ceremony went faster after that. Tony was still dreading going up on stage for his award. But he figured if Marilynn could go up and say what she had, then he surely could suck up his fear and just accept the darn thing. Alice sat back as they started to hand out the awards and noticed that various sections of people were applauding for the different officers as they came up. When Tony’s name was called, there was silence, and she watched him get up quietly and head for the stage. He came up to shake hands with the headmaster, and then she started to applaud, nudging Marilynn who joined in.

“Way to go Ferano!” the ADA shouted then whistled. Hearing the applauding, Tony turned his head and stared in the direction the sounds came from. He narrowed his eyes seeing the girl in the white and blue sun dress and the woman who had just made the intense speech. Why were they doing this? He suddenly felt all eyes on him from his fellow cadets. They had figured that no one was going to applaud, and the sudden claps for him were surprising. He felt, annoyed and embarrassed. Who did they think they were? They didn’t even know him! How dare they do this to him!

Tony took the certificate, and headed down the steps quickly back to his seat. He kept his head low, trying to ignore the women. When this was over he was going to give them both a piece of his mind.

Alice blinked when she saw him come down and glanced over to Marilynn. “Is he mad at us?”

Marilynn shrugged some, “Could be. But if he says anything I’ll be more then happy to tell him a few things of my own.”

Alice gave a little nod, but felt bad. She had not meant to embarrass the young officer. Looking down at her hands Alice felt her Aunt’s eyes upon her and heard a soft ‘Tsk’ slip off the old woman’s lips. She sighed, there had to be a way to apologize to him for her apparent rude behavior. At least she thought he probably felt it had been rude.

Alice watched in silence as the rest of the cadets that earned an award came up. Tony by then had calmed down. He was still upset at being embarrassed, but he had a feeling that the two women had meant no harm. I’ll just tell them that I understand that they felt they were doing something nice, but that I would have really appreciate it if they would not ever do that again. He had felt uncomfortable at being the center of attention. He knew Boyds would want to know who the girl was, and Tony didn’t even know that. I knew I should have skipped this ceremony.

As the officers were sworn in with their oath, ‘"I solemnly swear that I will faithfully support the Constitution and laws of the United States of America and the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan, and that I will conscientiously and impartially discharge my duties as a police officer in the police department of the City and County of Detroit, State of Michigan, and any and all other duties devolving upon me in connection with such office.’ Alice kept glancing over at Tony who was still not looking at her or Marilynn. She felt anxious and wanted to apologize to him.

With the oath finished the presentation of the officers followed concluding the ceremony with cheers Alice soon found people swarming to greet the newly sworn in rookies. She felt Marilynn grab her by the arm as she tried to find Tony.

“What are you doing?” Marilynn asked perplexed. “Let him find us if he wants.”

“But I think we should apologize,” Alice insisted and Marilynn nodded.

“We will, but there are too many people here. And besides it looks like he’s busy with his friends.” She pointed Tony out to Alice; he was talking, or rather, not talking to Boyds who was trying to introduce him to his family. Alice let out a little sigh. Alright so he’s busy, but I’d still like to show that I’m sorry. She felt something tickle her cheek and saw a pair of daisies in Marilynn’s hand.

Alice raised an eyebrow, “Where did you get those?” Marilynn pointed to a woman who had several bouquets of flowers that she was giving to a young female cadet. “She dropped them, so I figured…you know…”

Alice chuckled, “You’re stealing in front of over a dozen officers you know.”

Marilynn laughed, “Yes, but it’s for a good cause.” She rooted out a bit of the torn speech. “Here write what you want to say.”

Alice nodded and crouched down to write a simple note to Tony. As she wrote she saw a shadow come over her light and glanced up. “Eric…I thought you were busy.” Eric smiled at her and tilted his head, “Well I was talking to Danielle but she had to see the Commissioner. So I came over to check on you. What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Alice lied and folded up the paper. Getting up she gently asked, “What was it that you wanted? You and Uncle Howard were talking earlier and I was confused.”

“Probably about DA Chambers,” Marilynn snipped and then looked at Eric who shot her a cool look. Alice grabbed his hand to calm him.

“Nice speech Marilynn, did you plan to upstage me like that?”

Marilynn just smiled, “Well sorry but your pathetic little self aggrandizing monologue bored me to tears. Any wonder that the cadets probably fell asleep. I just had to wake them up.”

Eric scowled, “Well you could have done it in a different way.” He looked to Alice and smiled gently. “Alice, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Do you have a moment?”

“I guess,” Alice said softly. “Just give me a second.” Eric nodded and let her hand go, and she walked over to the rows of chairs. A few items were left behind on the seats. Among them Tony’s program and Alice gently laid the note down next to the program with the flowers. Hurrying back over by Eric she smiled. “Alright, ready.”

H e nodded and guided her away from Marilynn who followed at a distance, frowning. She didn’t like the feeling she got off of Eric.

* * *

Tony counted slowly in his head as Boyds finished introducing his sister to him. Did the man just not get it; he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Period. It was futile to get him to want to go on a blind date. He shook the girl’s hand politely as she grinned at him. She was a lovely young woman, but not his type. To girlish, and the way she giggled so much got on his nerves.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Agnes,” Tony said and she giggled. He glanced at her. “Did I say something funny?”

“No, your accent, it’s very different.” Agnes said and Tony sighed. He supposed it wasn’t normal to have a Brooklyn accent in a city so far in from New York. His family had come from there and he had just never lost the accent. Tony crossed his arms and let out a huff. “I’m from Brooklyn.”

Agnes tilted her head and looked a bit confused and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “It’s one of the boroughs of New York City.” She still looked confused and Tony glanced at Boyds wondering if his family ever thought of anything outside of their small suburban city of Bridgewater. “There are five, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island.”

“I see,” Agnes said slowly, clearly not interested at all in this fact and Tony cleared his throat.

“Well it was nice to meet you,” he nodded to Boyds’ family. “If you’ll excuse me…”

He shook hands with Mr. Boyds, and then headed away from the family. Tony shook his head as he walked away. Boyds family was…unique. He wondered at the moment though what his parents might have thought of them. Tony rarely let himself think too much about his parents, feeling that it would just cause him to slip into a depressed state of mind. The day had been trying and he didn’t feel up for thinking about the past.

“Hey Antonio,” Boyds voice rang out as Tony was chased down by the taller cadet. A sharp slap on the shoulder told him that Boyds was in a happy mood, and he glanced up. Boyds smiled down, “About that drink?”

“Sorry, I have things to do,” Tony brushed the hand away. He left it at that not feeling up for an elaborate detailed excuse. Luckily Boyds was too excited to give him a hassle about it and he went back to his folks. Tony watched him go then shrugged his shoulders, and loosened his tie some.

Heading back over to his seat he blinked, surprised to find the flowers and a note. He stared, curious, and picked them up. A surprised shout from a large group made him jump and he looked to see the girl in the white dress looking rather embarrassed. The gray haired woman, whom Tony assumed was her mother, was making quiet a fuss.

From where she stood Alice felt strange. A girl was supposed to be happy when proposed to by her boyfriend, all she was feeling was numb. Eric grinned and looked at her in a way that made her feel like the ring was more a dog collar then a ring. She didn’t like the feeling, but she couldn’t say no with all the reporters around. Why did he have to ask her here, why couldn’t he give her more time. She met Marilynn’s eyes, and the older woman shook her head quickly, mouthing, ‘No. Say no.’

“Well?” he asked and she nodded once, not meeting his eyes. Eric gently kissed her and Tony snorted. He wished they wouldn’t make a spectacle of such things. Flicking open the note he paused and read it.

‘Officer Ferano, Congratulations on your award. Please accept these daisies as an ‘I’m sorry’ for making you uncomfortable on stage. I just feel that everyone should be appreciated for their achievements by someone, even if they don’t know each other. And also I want to say thank you for helping me earlier inside the building. Good luck and I’m sure that you’ll make a wonderful officer. Yours AB.’

Tony stared at the note, then glanced back to where the girl had been and saw that she was enveloped in various people clearly congratulating her on something. He shrugged, pocketed the note and muttered. “So now I’ve got to stop off at the store to get a vase for these.”

This story is incomplete. Get Back, JoJo!