Riverside novel Chapter 5

I woke up the next day on Saturday to my cell phone ringing over and over again. I was tempted to just keep ignoring the calls and turn it on silent, but I sat up and decided to answer it once I saw Ronnie's name on the screen. She knew how much I liked to sleep in on the weekends, so the only reason she would call with a possibility of me still sleeping was if she really needed something.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Don't tell me you were still sleeping," Ronnie said. "It's noon."

I looked at my alarm clock and sighed. "Yeah, I was. So, why are you calling?"

"Uh, because I would like to know where you were yesterday during the basketball game," Ronnie said. "We were waiting for you to show up and you never did."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"Arden, we had a performance during the basketball game yesterday. The one you never showed up to."

"What? But Peggy told me that I wasn't performing. You guys had a vote just because I missed one practice."

"Huh? We never had a vote, and it definitely wasn't after I left, because I was the last to leave."

I couldn't believe it. Peggy lied to me just so I wouldn't show up. I mean, I already knew she wanted to be head cheerleader --she wasn't so secretive about it. I didn't think she would ever do something about it, though, especially trying to get rid of me.

"You know what? I'm going to go talk to Peggy," Ronnie said.

"No, don't," I said. "She already got what she wanted. Just drop it."

"Arden, I'm not going to drop it," Ronnie said. "She lied to you just so you wouldn't show up and she could take charge. Yesterday at the game, she was even going on and on about how if she was head cheerleader, she would never miss a performance without telling anyone."

"Unbelievable," I said. "But I'm serious. Don't go talking to her. You'll make things worse. Just drop it. I have bigger things on my mind anyway to think about Peggy's attitude."

"Oh, River, right," Ronnie said. "How's everything going with the case?"

"It's hard," I said. "Right now, all the evidence is pointing towards River being guilty. I don't know if we'll be able to prove otherwise."

"I don't think you should worry on proving that River is innocent," Ronnie said. "Instead, I think you have to find out who actually did it."

"You're right," I said. "I'm going to go visit River now, see if he could think of anyone who would ever do such a thing."

"Okay," Ronnie said. "Tell me how it goes."

After we hung up, I pulled myself out of bed and went to my washroom to brush my hair and teeth. Afterwards, I went back in my room and got changed before grabbing my sweater and keys. I headed down the stairs and left, luckily having neither of my parents home to ask where I was going. Mom wasn't coming home until the next day, and Dad was at work as of right now.

I drove to the prison and once I got there, I told one of the guards I was there to visit River. He led me to the visiting area and gestured for me to sit down on one of the seats. Shortly after, River showed up on the other side of the glass and we picked up the phones hanging on the wall.

"Hey," I said. "Sorry for the sudden visit but...." I cut myself off when I noticed a bruise forming near River's ear. "River, what happened?"

River's hand reached up, gently resting on the bruise. He sighed and looked down. "I, um...." I was a bit surprised when he started talking because from what Zara told me, he didn't talk to anyone.

I even thought he was going to continue talking, but he did.

"I'm quite hated here," he said in a quiet voice, his eyes resting on the ledge in front of the glass.

"What?" I asked. "Why? You don't talk at all."

"Exactly," he said. "They all think I'm snotty because I'm not talking, so I made quite a few enemies. So, what's with the sudden visit?"

"Nothing, you have enough to worry about."

"I'm serious, I want to know," he said. "That, and you look like you need someone to rant to. Come on, I'm all ears."

"Okay, well, I have three friends," I said. "Peggy, Colette, and Ronnie. We're all on the cheerleader squad and I'm the head cheerleader. I ended up missing one practice, only one, when I came down here with Marilyn to talk to you, and the next day when we were supposed to perform at a basketball game, Peggy told me that they had a vote and thought I shouldn't perform."

"Just because you missed one practice?" River asked. "That shouldn't be a big deal, especially because since you're the head cheerleader, you should know all the routines like the back of your hand."

"Exactly what I told her," I said. "But that's not all. Since Peggy told me that I couldn't perform, I decided to miss the game completely and go with Marilyn to talk to Zara, the maid that used to come by your house. Then, this morning, Ronnie, she's the friend I'm closest to and even covered for me when I missed practice, called me and asked why I wasn't at the game to perform. Apparently, the squad never voted on it. Peggy lied to me just so I wouldn't show up and she could take over."

"Wow, what a....hold on, let me think of a word."

"Bitch?"

Well, I was going to say female dog, but sure, let's go with that. Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Nope. There's no point, really. She already got what she was trying to get, so I'm just going to drop it. And hopefully I won't have to miss any practices."

"You definitely shouldn't if you're just coming here with Marilyn. She is my lawyer after all, not you. It's not like I'm going to get mad at you for not coming by."

"I know. But since I'm the one who hired her, I feel like I should come by too, especially to make sure you're doing okay."

River smiled faintly. "Thank you, Arden. Really. You're the nicest person to me since, well, ever. I'll find a way to repay you if I get out of here."

"When, not if," I said. "Marilyn and I are getting you out of here, no matter how hard it is."