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Truant
By
Tina K Burton

Carol answered the knock at the door to find a policeman standing there. He introduced himself as PC Ryan.

'Oh no! Amy hasn't been playing truant again has she?' Carol asked.

'I'm afraid it's more serious this time Mrs Spooner, she was caught shoplifting in the mall'.

'STEALING! Oh for heavens sake; where is she now?'

'Down at the police station. Seeing as it's her first offence, the shopkeeper has agreed not to prosecute. We've given Amy a good talking to, but I thought we'd keep her there for a bit, let her sweat, until I'd come and got you. I'll run you down there now and bring you both home again if you're ready.'

'Ok, let me get my bag and I'll be right with you. I just don't know what's got into her recently.'

Carol collected her bag and coat and followed PC Ryan out to his car. This was the third time in as many weeks that the police had contacted her. The first time, when she'd opened the door and saw a policeman standing there, her heart had leapt into her mouth. She was terrified that her husband had had an accident on his way to work, or that Amy had been taken ill. Thankfully, it was neither of those things. Two police officers doing their regular beat of the shopping mall, had received a call over their radios to say that Amy was hanging around, acting suspiciously. Several shopkeepers had spotted her and called the police who had picked her up and taken her back to Carol.

Amy had no explanation, other than she'd wanted to have a look around the shops.
She'd done it again the following week, and this time the police had taken her back to the station, before phoning Carol to go and collect her. As before, Amy didn't have a lot to say about it. Carol just couldn't understand her. It wasn't as if she'd been with a group of friends even, she'd done it all on her own.

'Just wait 'til I get my hands on her.' Carol said now. 'I'll give her shoplifting! She's old enough to know better. She has no need to steal, we give her everything she wants.'

'Has she ever been in trouble before?' PC Ryan asked.

'No never. Her behaviour is usually exemplary.'

'Well, has anything happened recently to upset her? Has she fallen out with any of her friends or been feeling a bit depressed for instance? We often find, that when someone who is usually well behaved starts playing truant and shoplifting, it's either because they've got in with a bad crowd or it's a reaction to some problems in their personal life.'

'She's not in with a bad crowd. All Amy's friends seem nice and I don't think anything's upset her either. In fact, far from being depressed, she's been really happy recently. This is so out of character. I'll have a good talk with her and see if we can get to the bottom of it.'

'I think it's a good idea, because if it keeps happening, we'll have to get the authorities involved, and we don't want to do that if we can help it.'

'Okay constable, I'll find out what's going on, don't worry.'

They arrived at the police station, and Carol followed PC Ryan, to find Amy sitting in the reception area with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Carol sat down beside her. 'Right madam, this is the third time you've been in trouble with the police in as many weeks, what on earth has got into you?

Amy just shrugged her shoulders.

'I'm warning you, you better start talking, or I'll ask these policemen to keep you locked up in a cell all night. So come on, what have you got to say for yourself?'

'I'm sorry darling, but a few of us at the old folks home have made a list of all the things we haven't done yet. I've been so straight-laced and never done anything illegal. They dared me to run away and go shoplifting. I tried it twice and didn't have the courage, but I managed it today, so I can cross that off my list now.'

Amy told her daughter with a big grin.

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