There is also a piece of chewing gum stuck to the top of the curled wire that connects the earpiece, and judging by its shape, it has been here for a long time, because it has begun to harden and turn yellow.

William did not dare to touch it for fear that it would be stained with saliva from an AIDS patient.

Above the telephone hung a warning sign with a skull that read, "No smoking, no drugs!" ”

William wasn't sure if anyone was secretly doing these two forbidden things here, but one thing he was sure of was that someone was eating here. Because, at this moment, a team of ants is forming a neat long line, not knowing where to transport the breadcrumbs that fell on the silver tin platform.

The phone rang three times in a row, and the senator's secretary answered the call, and William said eagerly: "Alice, I'm William, yes, I have a hundred thousand urgent things to find Mr. Ryan......"

"Hey! Okay, okay, I'll get you into the senator's extension right now, he's in the office right now. Through the earpiece, William could feel Alice's pleasure.

Presumably, after answering the boring phone calls of the day's routine, Alice must have felt very kind when she heard her voice at this moment.

You know, Senator Ryan is usually a busy man, at this moment, he is neither in a meeting nor on a business trip, William secretly congratulated himself on his good luck, but, in the next second, he began to regret it.

Senator Ryan usually values himself the most, what would he think of himself if he knew that he was involved in this kind of thing? Will the good impression that has been left in the hearts of senators for so many years be completely subverted all of a sudden?

Before he could think too much, the senator had already picked up the phone himself: "Hey, William, I heard that you were admitted to Harvard, and you didn't tell me the first to tell me such good news!" But I still want to congratulate you......"

William was silent.

This ordinary blessing sentence sounds a great irony to William at the moment, a lethal irony!

Remembering Senator Ryan's usual appreciation and affection for him, he felt more and more guilty, and suddenly became stammering, hesitating whether to hang up the phone immediately.

On the other end of the phone, the senator seemed to be keenly aware of something, put away his cheerful and joking tone, and asked, "Is there anything wrong with calling at this time?" ”

"No, sir, I ...... I ......"

After a little thought, William immediately realized that with his current situation, there was no one in this world who could help him except Senator Ryan, so he said like a child who had made a mistake: "Sir...... Some people say I'm guilty of rape ......"

This time, Senator Ryan was silent, an embarrassing silence that seemed to William as long as a century.

After waiting for a long time and not hearing the senator speak, William wondered in his heart: Did his words disappoint the senator, and he didn't want to have anything to do with him?

Maybe for the sake of the previous employment relationship, the senator took pity on him and didn't hang up immediately?

Isn't it the senator's heart attack again?

After waiting for another ten seconds, William even began to wonder if the senator was still on the other end of the phone, and suddenly, Senator Ryan's voice sounded in the earpiece again.

He sighed, and the intimacy of Fang Cai was no longer visible in his voice, and he became detached and official: "Okay, you can roughly describe the situation." ”

William knew that the senator's time was precious, so he gave a complete and clear account of what had happened, and the information he had received from the sheriff, in the clearest of terms.

"Listen, William. First, as far as I know, you are over 18 years old, the Romeo and Juliet Act does not apply to you, and the age difference between you and the girl is more than four years, which also contradicts the content of the bill, so it is not feasible to recognize the reality and want to follow the provisions of the exemption from prosecution and commutation of sentence for minors. Second, if the charges are confirmed, the two charges combined, even if you have a lawyer who is very skillful, they can sentence you to at least seven years in prison. Therefore, do not admit guilt easily, the plaintiff's inability to provide conclusive evidence is a high probability event, and you can only gamble. Third, find a good lawyer to deal with them and find a way to delay time. In addition, I know that you are excellent in character and learning in school, so you must ask a lawyer to go to the school to mobilize a wide range of contacts, and ask teachers and classmates to be your personality witnesses to vouch for your character......"

Having understood Senator Ryan's words word for word, he glanced at the police officer who was staring at him outside the phone booth with trepidation, and secretly rejoiced, but fortunately the police could not hear the conversation on the phone.

At this moment, his mood became extremely complicated. To his pain and chagrin, the situation was not as simple as he expected, but Senator Ryan showed him a clear way.

He told himself that the man's words were perhaps the most helpful professional advice he could ever hear.

William felt an indescribable feeling in his heart that the senator actually did not turn his back on himself, and he even felt that the world was really not as bad as he had just cursed.

He began to naively covet that he could get further help from the senator, so he boldly said his request: "Senator Ryan, I don't have any money at home and can't afford a lawyer, can you be my attorney?" ”

"I'm sorry, William, I admire your personality and talent, but, you know, I'm already preparing for the next election, and time and energy don't allow me to be distracted. In addition, criminal cases, especially sexual assault and juvenile juveniles, are not my specialty. However, you don't have to worry, if you don't have the money to hire a lawyer, they will appoint you a lawyer for free. You know, the sentencing scale for sex crimes is very broad, and last year Turner was sentenced to just three months in prison with a three-month suspended sentence in the Turner rape case at Stanford University. You do what I think will work in your favor. ”

As soon as the conversation ended, William heard a busy tone ringing in the phone receiver, and he wondered if Senator Ryan had hung up the phone first, or if the money on the small denomination phone card had been depleted.

William felt chills all over his body, the telephone receiver slowly slipped from his palm, and the curled telephone cord suspended it in the air and swayed gently, and the disgusting piece of chewing gum on it was as shocking as a scar.

He slid down the glass siding of the phone booth to the cold concrete floor, tears of despair streaming down his cheeks.

He has no money to pay bail, and even if he is proven innocent, he will be held in this detention facility from now until trial. And according to the normal process, it is likely that the time between now and the court session will be far away.

He thought of the long-awaited prom, of the fact that President Nong had told him that he would speak at the graduation ceremony on behalf of all 12th graders this year, and that he might not be able to attend Harvard's freshman activities before the start of the summer vacation......

When the black cop knocked on the glass door of the phone booth, William didn't know how to get out of the phone booth, he followed the black cop like a walking corpse, completely uncaring where he would be led.

After a keychain sound, the black cops opened a door, and after walking somehow far, they stopped in front of a small dark red iron door.

William heard the click of the key against the metal cylinder, and a large golden lock opened, and a heavy, small door with a prismatic wire grid opened.

Everything around him became blurry and unreal, and William's eyes were fixed on the big golden lock on the door, and his breathing was a little short.

Without saying a word, the black policeman pushed him through the narrow door. Before William could react, the heavy iron door slammed shut behind him, and the click of the lock sounded distinctly clear in the silent hallway.

"Let me out! Let me out! ”

William screamed like madness and threw himself on the door, pressing his face against the cold grid above the iron door.

The face was cut off by a prismatic steel grid, but the footsteps of the black cop had long since disappeared at the end of the hallway.

He lowered his eyes in despair, and his gaze fell beyond the steel mesh of the door to the large lock hanging from the door.

He seemed to have been burned by something, and countless beautiful scenes reproduced before his eyes:

Girl running on the Brooklyn Bridge in the afterglow of the sunset;

Under the starlight, in the sea of lights, the girl's flower-like delicate smile, and the sweet voice of "I love you!" ”；

the abrupt but piercing golden lock hanging from the steel cable of the bridge;

There are also colorful gemstone boxes, merry-go-rounds, magical music, and girls' crisp laughter......

The images are stacked jumbledly, twisted, and jumped......

The pain in his hand made William have to let go of the hand holding the steel grid little by little, and he noticed that the cable-stayed grid on the iron gate was exactly the same as the steel cables of the Brooklyn Bridge!

He felt a splitting headache, and his blood seemed to be about to burn in his body.

In a trance, he heard a sweet female voice in the room singing softly:

"How many dawns, perched in the rippling waves,

Seagulls flicker their wings and circle,

Spreading throbbing white circles,

Beyond the entangled chains,

In the waters of the harbor rises a ...... of freedom."

William shook his head vigorously, trying to banish the voice from his head.

The feeling of vertigo made his spirit unsustainable, and he clearly realized that it was not the sound of the body falling, but the soul being thrown out of the body......

***

"You don't have to worry, before I graduate, our current choir management will have a full exchange with the new choir officials, telling them all about the experience gained in the choir in the previous four years and the detours they have taken. You know, I applied to Yale this year thanks to four years of choir experience and one year as a leader and lead singer. I hope you will consider my proposal. ”

"Well, please let me think about it......" Before Yu Yu's words could finish, Elizabeth's cell phone rang.

She said "sorry" to Yu You, and then picked up the phone: "What? No, no, no, how is this possible? Where are you? I'll go right over! ”