D.A.R.E

"Come on man, lighten up! This will be good for us you know", Josh said as he massaged my shoulders for motivation as we walked.

I let out an aggravated sigh.

"How can this possibly be good for us?"

"This will help us build connections, let the public know us a bit better."

"Oh yeah?"

I opened the door.

"And how will a bunch of fifth graders help build our connections?"

"Uh...oh. When they meant school I thought like...high school or something?"

"You skipped the day we had D.A.R.E back in elementary didn't you?"

Josh let out a nervous chuckle.

"Well obviously."

"Let's get this over with", I said.

The class became quiet as we took our places up front.

"Boys and girls our officer friends came to visit us today to talk about some important things. Please take it away gentlemen", the teacher said.

She laid eyes on Josh who gave her a wink, causing her to blush. 

I nudged him in the side.

"Cut it out", I whispered.

I can't wait until I'm further along in my career so I don't have to do this crap. I can't wait to achieve my goal of being a detective. The boss says I'm very close. I'm very advanced in my class. He truly believed I'll become the youngest top detective of Illinois. We'll just have to wait in see.

"Hey guys, my name is Josh but you can call me officer White. This guy here is my partner, officer Hanson."

I nodded.

"Hey."

"So today we are here to talk about things like what we do for a living as cops and to stay away from things that can get you locked up."

A boy raised his hand.

"Go ahead", I said.

"Is the food in jail really bad?"

"Yes", I answered.

"Have you ever been there, like locked up?"

I can feel my annoyance build up as the boy continued asking dumb questions.

"No, we haven't", I said, trying my best to be nice to this brat.

"Is that a real gun?"

"Yes.

"Can I see?"

"Of course-"

"Okay guys, how about questions from someone else", Josh jumped in to say.

About an hour passed, and Josh came up with an activity for the kids to do, allowing us to have a break. 

"Man! This is a good reminder for me to never have kids", Josh said. 

"Not in my plans any time soon."

"You know you would need a woman to make it happen if you do have plans for the future. How are things with Cloe? Maybe you two will make a bunch of brats like these", Josh joked. 

"You know things aren't good. We haven't been together in a while, it's pretty much over."

"Seriously?! She's like your only girlfriend since adulthood man, I mean come on?! How can you live like this?"

"Look, I don't care about relationships. You know why I became an officer. Even where I am isn't enough. I need to keep going and I don't want anyone or anything getting in my way."

"Yeah I know. I just, I don't want life to pass by you. We are still young. You can enjoy your youth and achieve your goal."

"I'm just not interested. I know you just care a lot about me but, don't worry so much about that, okay?"

"Hey Mr. White, I'm done", a kid shouted. 

"That's officer White! You know how long it took for me to get this badge, huh? I had to go to college and that was a lot of work--"

I stayed back, watching over the kids as Josh handled everything. This is a part of being an officer, I can't ignore that forever. There will be lots of obstacles blocking my path. It will take years for me to uncover more information, more clues that will lead me in the right direction but for now...I guess I can enjoy myself just a little. 

"Alright guys, you're supposed to respect us officers", I said as the kids started talking back to Josh. 

"Yeah, or you all will be thrown in a cell", Josh threatened. 

The kids got quiet. 

"Yeah, I thought so."

I let out a chuckle. 

At least I'm stuck with him forever. It'll make this cop thing a whole lot better.