Perilous Assurance

  ******

  Mattie removed her watch and gold hoop earrings and handed them to the matron.

  "Is that all?"

  "Yes, but I don't understand why I'm being held." Mattie brushed her hair back to the side. "I was trying to help my student."

  "They'll figure it out in due time." The matron folded down the top of the brown paper bag, and stapled the top. She picked up a marker. "Name again?"

  "Mattie Shaw." She watched the woman write her name on the bag, and frowned in frustration as she walked out of the small room ahead of the officer.

  "That way." The officer pointed to her left, and Mattie turned and walked slowly.

  "I need to have my leg checked out." Mattie reached her left arm out and leaned a little against the beige cinderblock wall as she walked. "My prosthetic twisted..."

  "Miss...You're lucky you were allowed to keep it on your leg." The matron sounded a slight bit more sympathetic to her now. "Normally, they have to be removed when a person is brought in."

  Mattie sighed and walked slowly down the hall until she reached a large enclosure to her right, seemingly packed with women of various ages. She scanned the group as they stopped their discussions and turned and eyed her warily. The officer unlocked the bars and indicated for her to enter. Mattie walked into the cell. This had to be some kind of horrible dream. She hadn't done anything to warrant this kind of treatment. She noticed that a bench at the opposite end of the cell was vacant, and she headed slowly in that direction, wincing slightly as she walked. The bars clanged shut behind her.

  "Are you all right, honey?" An older woman leaned over to her as she sat down on the bench. She noticed that the woman had short, teased, overly-bleached hair and was wearing a black sequinned mini-dress. Mattie looked up into her watery blue eyes, heavily rimmed with blue eyeshadow and black eyeliner and mascara, but despite that, she could see the woman's sincere concern.

  "My cheek and leg were injured when they arrested me." Mattie smiled at her. "Thank you for asking."

  "It's all right, honey. You'll get through this," the woman smiled and smoothed the side of her blonde hair. "My name's Trisha."

  "I'm Mattie." She wasn't about to ask her why she'd been arrested. The woman smiled at her again and walked off to stand with a group of women dressed in a similar fashion.

  Mattie sighed, seeing for the first time that her clothes were covered with dirt and grass stains, and the bottom of her skirt was ripped, a sliver of material hanging from the bottom hem. She touched her cheek gingerly and felt the crusted blood, annoyed that she hadn't been given the chance to even clean up. She leaned her head back reluctantly on the cinderblock wall, closing her eyes with the intention of blocking out her surroundings.

  "Aren't you the art history professor?"

  Mattie opened her eyes to see a young girl in blue jeans and a black tee shirt sitting next to her on the bench.

  "Yes, I'm Mattie Shaw," she smiled at the girl and turned toward her. "You're a student at Brooksford?"

  "Yes, I'm Susan Graves." The girl twisted a strand of her long, dark hair, then flipped it behind her shoulder. "I thought I recognized you. There are a few more from the school. Over there." She pointed to the left corner of the enclosure where four young women in jeans huddled together. Mattie nodded as she squinted over to see if she knew any of them. "What happened to you, Professor Shaw? How did you end up getting involved?"

  "I was arrested at the demonstration, too," she smiled at the girl. "I was trying to help one of my students."

  "That was a very frightening experience, wasn't it?" Susan shook her head, and Mattie agreed with a nod. "My parents should be here any moment, and I'm afraid that I'll be in for another one as well."

  "I'm sorry you'll be leaving Brooksford, Susan."

  "Thanks, but it was important for me to be at the demonstration." Susan looked at her somberly. "My boyfriend, Todd, graduated last year, and has just been drafted. There are more important things to think about now than my education, although, my parents won't agree with me on that, I'm sure."

  "Susan Graves." The booming, stern voice caused them both to jump and she watched as Susan stood up, and she smiled up at her.

  "Good luck, Susan. I hope everything works out for you and Todd."

  "Thank you, Professor Shaw." Susan nodded to her and turned to leave the cell as the female warden opened the barred door. Susan turned and waved to her, and Mattie smiled and lifted her hand. She sighed heavily and adjusted her long, lightweight flowered skirt, smoothing down the juncture of her prosthetic, and folded her hands on her lap. She was a little worried that she may have injured the end of her leg in the fall, and she probably would need to see someone at a later time. Amid the sounds of quiet chatter, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, seeing Clay's dark gaze in her mind. He'd been arrested twice, and now she knew what it had been like for him.

  "Why are you in here?"

  Mattie sighed and lifted her eyes to stare blankly at the group of women standing across from her in the cell, then turned to see a young woman in her early twenties sitting beside her. The young woman reached back and readjusted her long, blonde pony tail, then crossed her arms as she smiled at Mattie.

  "I was arrested at the college demonstration." She took a deep breath, and folded her hands in her lap. She really was not interested in why the other woman was in a holding cell, but she asked her anyway, her voice flat. "Why are you here?"

  "I was at a party last night, and the police busted a bunch of us," she sighed and twisted her mouth. "We're being booked for possession of marijuana, and LSD, I'm sure."

  "Oh," Mattie nodded, without a lot of sympathy, since she'd never used drugs and didn't plan on doing so in the future.

  "Have you made your phone call yet?"

  "Yes, I'm just waiting now." Mattie smiled.

  "Aren't we all."

  Mattie reluctantly leaned her head back again on the dirty cinderblock wall behind her and closed her eyes, feeling too exhausted to engage in conversation at that point. The woman got up to look for someone else to talk to.

  "Vivian Gray and Leslie Turner." The booming voice made her jerk up, and she stretched her neck muscles and watched benignly as two more women left the cell and the bars clanged shut. She gazed around her as some of her cellmates argued in hushed voices with the large matron. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Mattie leaned her head back, and closed her eyes.

  "Gloria White."

  Mattie sighed and opened her eyes. How long had she been sitting here? She knew it had to have been several hours, but she'd lost track of the time now. Was it still Saturday? They'd taken her watch. She adjusted her filthy skirt on the hard bench. She stared at the other women, huddled together near the wall of bars, and she knew she needed to be alert if she were asked to recount the events of the past day. She leaned her head back again and closed her eyes, going over in her mind what she could remember.

  "Mattie Shaw."

  Mattie blinked several times as her head jerked up. She must have fallen asleep again. She noticed that there were only five other women with her in the holding cell now, and the stern-looking woman guard was standing at the bars looking at her.

  "Yes, I'm coming." She stood, and wavered for a moment, trying to get her balance without her cane. She took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and walked as steadily as she could manage to the bars and the officer opened the door for her and she walked out, and the door clanged behind her.

  "Your friends are here for you." The officer told her wearily as they walked down the beige cinderblock hallway.

  "Am I being booked?"

  "No. No charges are being filed against you. They paid your fine."

  Mattie sighed as they entered the front office, and she saw Fran and Jerry leap out of their seats and rush toward her.

  "Are you all right, Mattie?" Fran hugged her and she could tell her friend had been crying. "This has been a true nightmare for you....a true nightmare. We couldn't s
ee you after you ran onto the quad. You just disappeared into the cloud of tear gas, and we couldn't find you." She looked exhausted as she wiped her puffy eyes. "Oh, Mattie, look at your cheek...and your clothes." Mattie looked down at her blue tee shirt and long, flowered skirt.

  "I'm all right, Fran," she smiled at her. "...just really tired right now. Thank you for taking care of the fine. I'll repay you."

  "We were glad to help, Mattie. They're not pressing charges against you, I understand. They told us that much a few minutes ago." Jerry held her elbow as they made their way to the desk to pick up her belongings. "This place is packed. We lost count of the number of protesters they've brought in."

  "And, unfortunately, a lot of them are...were... Brooksford students." Fran lamented. "Our student body will be sorely depleted."

  "It's strange, but there were only a few students in my cell." Mattie raised her brows at them. "Thank you both so much for being here. How long has it been?" She smoothed her shirt down over her skirt.

  "We've been here six hours, I think." Jerry glanced at his watch. "But, we didn't mind. It was just frustrating not hearing how you were." He reached in his pocket and pulled out his Marlboro's, tapping out a cigarette.

  "How is your prosthetic?" Fran rubbed her shoulder as they stood in line at the front desk.

  "Not good. It twisted under me when I fell. I tried to tell the matron, but no one will listen, it seems." Mattie moved up in line. "I'm just anxious to get home now." The young man ahead of her walked off, and she was finally at the desk.

  "Name."

  "Mattie Shaw."

  The officer looked around him and found a small paper bag with her name scrawled across it, and leaned over to retrieve it.

  "Make sure everything is there, please."

  Mattie looked in the bag and saw her watch and earrings. "Yes, it is, but do you have my cane?" She peered over his shoulder, scanning the small enclosure behind him.

  "There was no cane. Sign here please."

  "Oh, Mattie, we left your cane by our chair...Jerry's going to get it now." Fran whispered to her and she nodded. "He picked it up after they took you off."

  "How do I find out about my student, Samuel Blankenship?" Mattie leaned toward the officer. "He was injured."

  "Are you family?"

  "No, I'm his teacher."

  "I'm sorry, but you'll have to call the general precinct number and try to get information. You can see it's been crazy here today."

  Mattie twisted her mouth and sighed in frustration as she signed the form, and they turned to leave just as Jerry ran up to them with her cane, and she gratefully took it from him and leaned on it for a moment.

  "Professor Shaw."

  She swung around as she heard her name, seeing Peter, one of her students, standing with his paper bag in his arms, as two adults, obviously his parents, hovered protectively beside him. Their eyes and mouths were tight, and Mattie could see their palpable frustration.

  "I saw what you did for Samuel." He made eye contact and spoke quickly, as it was evident that his parents were in a hurry to get him home. She nodded at him, trying not to burst into tears. She was so very tired. "Thank you, Professor Shaw, that was brave of you." She reached over and gave him a hug, then pulled back and eyed him seriously.

  "Do you know how he is? They won't tell me here."

  "I heard that he was transferred to the hospital with a fractured jaw."

  She put her hand over her eyes for a brief moment, then peered at him. "I'll try to see him tomorrow. I'm glad you're all right, Peter."

  "We have to go now, Peter." His father put his hands on his son's shoulders and the three nodded at her as they turned and left.

  "Well, that's that." Mattie felt like she could just drop and crumple like paper right then and there. "I need to get home."

  "You look like you're going to pass out." Fran grabbed her arm and the three friends walked slowly out of the precinct into the cool evening air, and Jerry headed off to bring the car around to them. "Something substantial to eat and a hot bath is in order for you, my friend." She spoke sternly to her, and Mattie nodded in agreement. That did sound good. For some odd reason, she felt as if she were floating above herself, viewing everything from a distance. Who was she now, after this? What did she stand for? She believed...no, she knew she had done the right thing, and, she wouldn't hesitate to do it again. As far as her job? She couldn't even begin to think about what her actions would cost her now. She'd find out soon enough, she had no doubt about that.

  "Thank you, Fran." Mattie wiped her eyes and absently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "That sounds wonderful."

  "Here he is." Fran announced as their green and white Impala pulled in front of them. Jerry exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke and tossed his cigarette out his window as she slid into the back seat.