Sophie, Marie, and her dad walked into the waiting room of the prison on Tuesday night. At first Marie wondered how they would survive waiting a week, but it turned out there was a ton of paperwork to fill out before they visited the Germains. It kept them pretty occupied.

They were given badges to wear. Marie linked her arm with Sophie’s as they walked into a room. It was large and white with a table and some chairs. Sophie could not sit. She was pacing the length of the room, wearing the carpet out beneath her always moving feet. The room was big enough, though with two more adults coming, it would feel more cramped.

Sophie wasn’t the only one who was nervous. Marie could sense a lot of nerves coming from her dad. He had always felt intimidated by the Germain’s with their wealth and status in the city, but now things were different. Honestly, Marie didn’t know what to expect.

The sound of jiggling keys came from the other side of the door before it opened and a police woman walked in. She smiled politely at the group inside before standing aside and letting the Germains file inside. Sophie had asked Marie to come, and it was something she would willingly do for her best friend, but she couldn’t help but shake the feeling she had encroached on something private. Sophie stopped pacing when her parents came in and unfolded her arms. The Germains wore bright yellow jumpsuits, their faces hard to read. The policewoman left the room, though there were cameras to keep an eye on them. Mr. and Mrs. Germain didn’t take the seats on the other side of the table, a shared family trait in nerves. Mr. Germain looked like he was ready to start pacing right where Sophie left off.

Mrs. Germain was the first to break. A tear fell down her cheek as she reached out to Sophie. Sophie was in Mrs. Germain’s arms in two long strides, hugging her tightly. “I’m so sorry, Soph. For everything.”

Sophie nodded as she continued to hug her mom. Marie studied the pattern on the desk, trying to both give her best friend support and privacy. They hugged each other for a long time, Mrs. Germain sobbing softly and Sophie remaining quiet in her mother’s embrace. If Marie knew Sophie, though, Sophie had a constant stream of tears in her eyes. Marie’s dad reached out under the table and squeezed Marie’s hand. Marie smiled and squeezed his hand back. Once again, unprepared as always, grief struck Marie hard. Sophie had an opportunity to rebuild a relationship with her mother. Marie would only have memories of what her relationship with her mom was like. Grief struck, making her feel a moment of selfishness before her face brightened. All the more reason to give Sophie every opportunity to rebuild. Life was hard without a mom.

Sophie broke away, wiping her eyes. Sophie’s posture stiffened when she noticed her dad. Mr. Germain seemed content to stay behind, but noticed Sophie’s eyes on him, and looked uncomfortable. He rubbed his upper arm as he glanced at the other wall, and Sophie fidgeted with her short hair.

“So,” Mr. Germain began. Sophie didn’t say anything, just watched her dad. “You’ve been studying math for a while now?”

Sophie paused, then gave a short nod. “Yeah.”

Mr. Germain nodded, seeming to take this in. “Okay.” There was another moment of silence as Mr. Germain tried to gather his thoughts together. “I don’t know much about it. Maybe you could tell me what you’ve been studying sometime?”

Sophie gave another nod. “Yeah. I could do that.”

There was a pause, then Sophie went over and hugged her dad. It was an awkward hug, there was no doubt about it, but Marie saw it for what it was. This hug looked like it was once a common thing, but had gone years out of practice, and now they were trying to start it up again. It could never go back to what it once was. Too many things had happened. But it could grow into something else.

Sophie smiled as she broke away. Mrs. Germain turned to Marie’s dad. “Our lawyer will be getting in contact with you. We might be in here for a while. If it is okay with you and Sophie, we have no other living relatives. We’d prefer her custody to be officially with you, Vlad.”

Marie’s dad nodded, a bit surprised. “Of course. I’ll be happy to.”

Sophie smiled as she looked at Marie. Marie could tell what Sophie was feeling, because it was exactly what Marie felt. Sophie had dreamed of times when Marie’s dad adopted her, but now there was a bitterness to it. Of course, it wasn’t actually adoption, but still. Sophie and Marie would be living under the same roof for however long it was that her parents would be in prison. Marie could sense the quiet hurt that came from the realization of this fantasy.

Marie turned to Mr. Germain. “I heard you saved Albert’s life.” Mr. Germain glanced at her, but said nothing. “Thank you.”

Mr. Germain smiled. It was a smile Marie had never seen on his face before. It was weird, because Marie had seen Mr. Germain smiling all the time, but this one seemed different. “I’m sorry he was in that situation in the first place, but... you’re welcome.”

It was a humble smile. That’s why Marie hadn’t seen it before. It suited him, though.

***

The police lights reflected against the Official’s houses as Marie, Sophie, and her dad walked back home. Marie’s dad slowed, taking a hold of the two girls to keep them close.

“What’s going on?” Sophie asked.

A police officer was dragging a man away in handcuffs. He was screaming at anyone who could hear him. “It’s not right! They can’t do this!”

Marie spotted a familiar figure on the sidewalk, watching the proceedings. “Percy?” Marie asked.

“Ah, hello,” Percy said.

“What happened?” Sophie asked.

“The protests are getting more violent,” Percy said quietly as he held his toddler daughter in his arms.

“They don’t deserve these houses!” the arrested man screamed. “They don’t deserve our pity! There are thousands and thousands of people in the poor section, and these scientists are given the finest houses in the city! Wake up people! The government doesn’t care about the arts anymore! They are being brainwashed by all these mad scientists to give them everything they want!”

Marie winced and instinctively moved closer to her dad. He responded by putting his arm around her tightly, as though he alone could somehow shield her from the world.

“A brick through almost every window on some of these houses,” the policeman said, holding a brick with a gloved hand. “We’ll double the security here tonight, but we’re certain we’ve arrested the ring leaders.”

“They’ll come after us!” the man screamed as another policeman helped drag the man toward the car. “They’ll come after your children! Do you want your children to forget their humanity like them! Evil! Every single one of you!”

There was a quiet mumbling as the police door slammed shut. Percy’s daughter started to cry. Marie’s dad was hugging Marie and Sophie as though they were going to fuse into each other at any moment. Marie stared at the man screaming and sobbing in the back of the car. A lot of the group looked angrily at the man, but she couldn’t. Fearful, yes. Nervous? Without a doubt. But the anger wasn’t there. She understood what this man felt right now. He was afraid his way of life was gone. His life he hoped for was slipping from his fingers because of the choices of others. The fear in its concentrated state woke up something primal in him. A desire to act to save his way of life and protect the people he loved, even though it inevitably caused pain to others. There was an enemy, he was told, was the cause of this, and this enemy needed to be gotten rid of.

Marie closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of her dad’s hug and Sophie right next to her as the memory of Billy’s screams echoed in her mind.