Me, Nick and Shane: America's Most Wanted

by Vlad, age 16

So me and my friends Nick and Shane are walking to the store, right. We go in a Mini Mart we buy some chips and drinks and we leave. We go to my house which is like fifteen minutes away from the Mini Mart and we start watching the news and eating our chips. I haven't mentioned Shane and Nick are both fat. They both are obese and they like to eat and watch movies.

We see a news report on Most Wanted and they show a video of three dudes breaking in a store and stealing supplies and electronics worth a lot of money. So I say to Shane, "That dude kinda looks like us."

And he says, "You're right. He kinda does look like us."

Two of the guys were fat like Nick and Shane and the other one was tall like me.

So later we run out of chips and drinks and I say, "Hey, let's go to the Mini Mart and get some more food."

We end up going again and we're like half way there and all of a sudden a cop rolls by creeping and staring at us. He turns on his lights and pulls over to talk to us. We are thinking he is just going to tell us to get off the road. But instead he starts asking us if we had to do anything with the robbery at a Cricket phone store that we saw on the news.

The cop looks like he knows what he was doing. His badge is all shiny, he has a hat on and sunglasses, he looks like a professional, but really he's just a smart ass.

We start explaining how we were just watching that report on the robbery and it wasn't us. I tell him that he's talking to the wrong people. He doesn't talk nice to us. He is that kind of cop you don't want to talk to. He asks us ridiculous questions like do you have anything in your pockets that shouldn't be there? I just don't like his attitude and how he is just standing there with his eyes wide open, writing everything we say into his little book.

So later he calls in back-up and that's when we know we are going to get accused of something we didn't do. So the back up arrives and they start asking us more questions. The back up isn't so bad as the other one, he is more of happier cop--the kind of cop that likes his job and helping people out. But I can still tell what they are doing. They are playing good cop and bad cop to trick me into confessing.

And we tell them once again that we didn't do anything, that they got the wrong people. I know that they aren't going to believe us, so they start putting handcuffs on us and we are all in custody. They read us our rights and put us in the cop cars and take us to Downtown. When the cop is putting me in the car, I almost hit my head against the roof because my handcuffs are to tight and that is making me anxious.

We are all worried because we think we were going to get booked. Shane is in the other car, so it is just me and Nick. Nick starts sweating like crazy. He is really nervous and scared. Nick starts telling me how he can't get in trouble because his parents will kill him. I look at the computer that the cop is typing on and I see him putting my name in and my eye color, my hair color and I just think: what's the point of that.

I know that Nick is the one who gets scared the most about everything. Shane is the more tougher one. If Nick and Shane were not to snitch about something bad that happened, it would be Nick who would give up and snitch. So I tell him, "Dude don't worry. We didn't do it and I am sure that we can prove it. So we finally get downtown and we're driving in the cops' parking lot and Nick whispers, "I hate pigs."

They take us in the building and put us in a holding cell. It is really cold in there and the toilets are metal. Nobody is in there. I am alone and there's no sound whatsoever, all I can look at is the cement wall.

They call our parents and we are waiting and waiting. They finally let us out from the holding cell. Then one by one they take pictures of us and our finger prints. Then they put us back in the holding cell.

I ask one of the officers, one who has a mustache, what we were going to get charged with. He said, "You will most likely get charged with theft 2."

So our parents arrive to pick us up and they look mad. They start walking fast and screaming: what have you two done this time!

Nick and Shane are both scared. The officers take us from the holding cell to our parents and first thing Nick says to his mom and dad is that it wasn't us. Unfortunately they don't believe him. His mom is so angry with him, she gives him a big, painful smack on the head. And Shane's parents are just really disappointed, same as my parents. Even though I don't get yelled at, my mom still says I am grounded for a long time.

One of the officers explains to our parents what happened and gives us a court date. Then I tell my parents that it was not us.

"They have a video," I say. "I'll tell the cops to show it to you."

So our parents see the video and they tell the cops that's not our kids. And the officer says: deal with it in court. That really makes me mad. I clench my jaws and I can't wait until court.

Way later already it is almost time for court and we are all really nervous. We are worried the whole time waiting for the court. Couple of months later we go to court, we are prepared with what to say and our parents are the witnesses. We're all standing there, talking to the Judge and we're out there trying to prove that we didn't rob the store.

Next thing you know we win the court case. We walk out with angry faces because we got accused of something we didn't do. I think to myself: what if we never went to the store? And: if they had caught me later by myself I probably wouldn't have any proof or witnesses. I would have actually gotten charged with theft 2. I think I am glad we went to the store.