"Are you sure you're supposed to be here?"
Jaden stared at her.
"I'm waiting on my mom."
"You've been walking around this parking lot."
"It's a public parking lot."
"I've been watching you."
Jaden's eyes widened.
"Watching me?"
"Yes."
"I told you why I'm here."
Karen shook her head.
"You keep looking at the cars."
Jaden glanced toward the vehicles.
"I'm walking."
"You're looking into windows."
"I wasn't."
"You expect me to believe that?"
Jaden felt his face getting warm.
He had done nothing wrong.
Yet somehow he was being treated like he had.
"Ma'am, I'm just waiting for my mom."
Karen pulled out her phone.
"I don't have time for this."
Jaden watched her dial.
"Security?"
His heart sank.
Karen spoke loudly.
"There's a Black boy wandering around the parking lot acting suspicious. I think he's up to something. Please send someone down here immediately."
Jaden's fingers tightened around his backpack straps.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
He knew stories like this.
He had seen them on the news.
He had heard his father talk about them.
He had listened to his mother explain that sometimes people judged others before learning the truth.
But hearing the accusation directed at him was different.
It wasn't a news story anymore.
It was happening to him.
Karen ended the call.
"Security will be here shortly."
Jaden swallowed.
"Why?"
"Because you're acting suspicious."
"I'm not."
"That's for them to decide."
Jaden looked toward City Hall.
He wished his mother would come outside.
He wished she would appear immediately.
He wished the world would return to normal.
But she didn't.
Instead, several minutes later, the heavy doors of City Hall opened again.
A tall security guard stepped outside.
His name was David Miller.
And he had no idea that the next few minutes would change more than one life.
The Accusation
David Miller had worked security at City Hall for almost twelve years.
He was six feet three inches tall, broad-shouldered, and usually calm under pressure.
He had seen arguments between politicians.
He had broken up fights.
He had dealt with angry citizens, intoxicated visitors, trespassers, and people who simply refused to leave after being asked.
But when the radio call came through about a "suspicious Black teenager," something about the wording bothered him.
Still, his job was to investigate.
He stepped into the parking lot.
"What's going on here?"
Karen immediately pointed toward Jaden.
"This boy has been wandering around the parking lot, looking into vehicles and acting suspiciously."
Miller looked at Jaden.
The teenager stood completely still.
His backpack was held tightly against his chest.
He looked scared.
Miller had seen that expression before.
Not necessarily on guilty people.
On frightened people.
"Son," Miller said, keeping his voice calm, "what are you doing here?"
Jaden swallowed.
"I'm waiting for my mom."
"Who is your mother?"
"She works in City Hall."
Karen interrupted.
"He's already said that."
Miller looked at her.
"And?"
"He won't tell me what she does."
Miller turned back to Jaden.
"Can you tell me her name?"
Jaden hesitated.
"Harriet."
Karen scoffed.
"Harriet what?"
Jaden looked at her.
"Harriet Brooks."
Silence.
Miller's eyebrows rose slightly.
Karen laughed.
Not because she found it funny.
Because she didn't believe him.
"That's ridiculous."
Jaden's expression changed.
"What?"
"You expect us to believe the mayor is your mother?"
Jaden stared at her.
"She is."
Karen shook her head.
"Stop lying."
Miller looked between them.
Something didn't feel right.
He had met Mayor Brooks several times.
He knew she had a teenage son.
But he had never connected the two.
"Jaden," Miller said slowly, "do you have identification?"
Jaden shook his head.
"No, sir."
"School ID?"
"It's in my backpack."
"Can I see it?"
Jaden carefully opened his backpack.
His hands were still shaking.
He pulled out a school identification card.
Miller took it.
The photograph was unmistakably the boy standing in front of him.
Jaden Brooks.
Miller looked at the surname.
Then at the teenager.
Then at Karen.
"He's a student."
Karen's expression remained hard.
"That doesn't explain why he's walking around here."
"He said he's waiting for his mother."
"He could be lying."
Miller looked at the school ID again.
"Why would he give me his real name if he were trying to hide something?"
Karen didn't answer.
Instead, she folded her arms.
"Security is supposed to keep this place safe."
"And I'm doing my job."
"Then remove him."
Miller looked at Jaden.
"Have you entered any vehicles?"
"No."
"Have you touched any vehicles?"
"No."
"Have you taken anything?"
"No."
"Why were you walking?"
"Because my legs hurt from sitting."
Miller almost smiled.
It was such a simple explanation.
But Karen wasn't satisfied.
"He was pacing."
"I was walking."
"You were looking around."
"Everyone looks around."
Karen's face hardened.
"You have an attitude."
Jaden stared at her in disbelief.
"I'm answering your questions."