Cooperation

The police officer sat down across the table with a little black notebook. He looked up and across at Isabella with the click of his pen and the flipping of its pages. She met his glance as she bounced her leg beneath the cold surface of the table.

“So,” he said, “tell me what happened.”

It was Friday night and there was no reason for Isabella to be studying in the quiet section of the library. But even at her favorite desk, second down the row, she could not focus on the Bio-Chem textbook before her. She was tired from the previous hours spent on her feet at the on-campus cafe. She was worried about her sick Abuela, and how she would make up all that tuition money she’d saved. And when she wasn’t feeling guilty, or frustrated, Isabella wondered about the party at K9. All the girls were going. And so was Brian.

He wore sweaters and raised his hand often. Their professor of modern lit would furrow his brow and respond directly to the tall boy relaxed at his desk. After class and before her shift, Brian had stopped her behind the academic center. She turned and tucked black strands behind her ears. He looked down at her and smiled with little dimples, and his sandy hair wisped in the breeze. He asked if she was going tonight.

And what else could she say? Isabella pictured him between the words of her textbook. In the noise of the party he sits pensively with a glass of whisky. A basic white girl spots him through the crowded apartment. She is a little drunk off clear liquor and confidence. And he’s just a boy.

Isabella closed the book and packed her bag. There was no point if she couldn’t focus. She blamed the tossing and turning of her mind on Abuelas chances, and left out the back door.

The night was clear and the quad was just as empty. She walked along the pavement lined with lampposts and tried to forget. How could she be so stupid? A boy? With all her savings gone, she would need to apply for another scholarship, and that meant the right GPA. She was the first person in her family to go to college. She couldn’t afford to fail. And even with her tuition savings, the family couldn’t afford the hospital bills. Who was she kidding? Out of everything, she was the least of it.

Isabella changed and quickly applied makeup before her bedside mirror. It’s Friday, she thought. The whole week she worked, and studied, and the next would be the same. She had the night shift tomorrow, anyway. This was her only chance. She took a final glance in the mirror and set off.

The music got louder as she climbed to the top floor. A husky and red faced boy Isabella didn’t recognize opened the door.

“Next time just come in. We thought you were the cops.”

There were only twelve people left. She scanned the faces for her friends. They were gone. But before she could text anyone, she noticed Brian playing beer pong in the corner. He leaned heavily against the table in a stained and collared shirt.

Brian placed a hand on his partner's shoulder and whispered something in his ear before walking across the room.

“Hey, Izzy, you made it.”

“Sorry, I was studying.”

“Oh yea? And I was just taking the final exam.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“What the hell are you doing studying on a Friday night?”

“I’ve got an exam on Monday.”

“That’s what Sunday’s are for. Here.”

He took her hand and led her into the kitchen. There was a bottle of flavored vodka on the counter and he poured them two shots.

“Catch up.”

After a couple more, Brian went to the bathroom and Isabella went to the couch. She pulled out her phone and texted the group chat:

Where is everybody?

Sorry forgot to say. We’re at Nano’s. Where are you?

I’m at K9.

Ew come here. Those guys are creepy.

It’s cool I’m with Brian.

If you say so. Have funn!

Brian returned and sat himself against her. Their legs and elbows touched.

“Could I ask you something?” he said. His breath smelled like beer and his eyes were drowsy.

“Sure.”

“I had this idea for the paper due next week.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. I’m so screwed.”

Brian laughed and placed his hand on her knee.

“You’ve got a week, relax.”

She noticed her palms were sweaty.

“Well, um, at first I was gonna write about that Yeats poem I always talk about in class.”

His hand started moving slowly toward her thigh. The boys from the beer pong table were watching. They gestured to the rest of the room and everyone else slowly started to file into the bedrooms.

“But then I had this other idea. It’s risky, but if it works, I think it would be, like, amazing. Do you think I should do it?”

She could hear her own pulse.

“Maybe you should think about it before you make a decision.”

His hand stopped and squeezed.

“But I always overthink things.”

He looked her in the eye. She stood up quickly.

“I’ll be right back.”

Isabella rushed through the hallway and into the bathroom. She locked the door and tried to catch her breath. The speckled stains on the mirror and the black dotted pattern of the counter began to orbit and vibrate. She held the cold surface tightly between deep breaths before she pulled out her phone and texted Andrea.

Hey are you at Nanos?

I’m at my place with Deshaun.

Are you guys in the middle of something?

No just watching Parks and Rec. Is everything ok?

Could I come over for a sec.

Yes bby.

She flushed the toilet she didn’t use (is that vomit?) and rinsed her hands in the sink. When she got into the hallway Brian was standing there against the wall. She froze. He walked up to her slowly and grabbed her by the hips. She could smell his breath clearly now.

“I think I know what I’m gonna do.”

He pressed himself against her and leaned in. She released herself. For a second Isabella felt resistance pull her back, but she pushed him off.

“Hey, Izzy.”

Isabella ran out of the apartment. She flew down two flights of stairs and knocked on Andrea’s door. The door opened quickly.

“What’s going on?”

Andrea stood in the doorway with sweats and a robe. She stepped aside and Isabella walked into the apartment. They hugged. Deshaun sat up on the couch before the blue light of the TV.

“I’m really sorry for interrupting.”

“Don’t even trip.”

Deshaun got up and walked over. He wore a tight t-shirt. The whites of his eyes and the studs of his ears gently twinkled as they caught the light.

“Are you ok? Do I gotta fight somebody?”

“Do I gotta fight somebody?” Andrea asked.

The three of them sat down at the table by the kitchen. She told them everything: her Abuela, the savings, the test, and Brian. They talked for a while until Isabella pushed out her chair and slowly started to get up.

“I think I should probably go.”

“Stay.”

“I can sleep on the couch,” Deshaun said.

“That’s sweet of you, but I kinda want my own bed.”

“Do you want us to walk you back?”

“I can see my window from here. I’ll be ok.”

The electric air of the night had become cool and quiet. There were only two other people out in the square. They stood close at the top of a small flight of steps. They became clearer as Isabella walked on. It was Brian. He was with some white girl beneath the yellow glow of a lamppost. She couldn’t make out their muttering until she was close enough to walk the other way. The girl giggled.

“Whoa, slow down.”

Isabella couldn’t help but listen as she walked briskly on. Brian said something she couldn’t hear.

“Hey, I said stop that.”

The soft waves of laughter had left her words. Isabella turned around. The girl was leaving the embrace when he reached down and grabbed her.

“Brian!”

She pushed him off. Brian stumbled and fell backward. He hit his head on the corner of the top step and tumbled down the stairs. The girl turned and started to run off. They looked at each other. It was Cassidy, the rich girl from her floor.

Isabella ran over to Brian. He was face down at the bottom of the steps. She checked his pulse.

Her phone buzzed as she waited for the sound of sirens. It was a notification from her bank. Twenty thousand dollars had been deposited into her account. It buzzed again. An anonymous text:

For your cooperation.

The officer stopped writing after Isabella was finished. He placed his pen on the page and looked up.

“He was just lying there?”

She shook her head.

“You didn’t see anyone else?”

She paused.

“No. I didn’t.”