A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Author:Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2024-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

26

Tuesday

Back at the Shahs’ home, Ajay had already been through a grueling day. It took Jonathan Stern a long time to get the full picture of what had happened on Saturday. Then he began preparing Ajay for the kinds of questions the detectives might ask, encouraging him to emphasize certain answers: he had consulted flight schedules to determine when the airspace would be empty, his drone could not fly above 1,000 feet, the police officers had confused and upset him, and he didn’t understand what they were asking of him. He didn’t intend to crash the drone (and on this front, Ajay was very convincing, as he was already quite upset about Drummond), and he wasn’t trying to run from the officer—he was just scared.

Ajay’s mother had made him wear the stiff shirt he’d worn for school pictures. It was uncomfortable, the way the cuffs rubbed against his wrists. At least he was able to choose the chair he liked best (the one with the curved armrests) and eat his favorite lunch (warm-not-hot tomato soup with grilled cheese). But he really didn’t like the way all five grown-ups in the room were watching him now, so he didn’t look back.

First, Mr. Stern had asked him questions all morning, and now the lady with the tight bun was asking him again, mostly the same questions. At least she was nice, nicer than the man who sat next to her writing in his notebook the whole time, even when Ajay wasn’t saying anything.

His mother had promised that if he answered all their questions, maybe he’d be able to get Drummond back afterward. So Ajay was concentrating hard: describing how Drummond worked and the images he was trying to capture above the airport, how some of the runways were parallel and others intersected. He told them how the man in the uniform yelled at him, but he couldn’t understand; how he knew he should leave when the window closed and the planes started flying overhead. He answered all their questions, and finally, at the end, he asked about Drummond.

Evidence. Custody. Hearing.

When Ajay heard those words, he looked at his mother. It had taken him months to build Drummond the way he wanted. They couldn’t mean he had to do that all again, could they? That made no sense. Didn’t his mother understand? She came over and sat next to him, put her arm around his shoulders and whispered other words.

Not yet. Not now. Later. Don’t worry.

He couldn’t hear anymore. He couldn’t stand all those people looking at him. He couldn’t bear the irritation on his wrists. He yanked at his shirt cuffs, he covered his ears, trying to block it all out. Finally, his mother said he could go. But before going upstairs, he ducked into the kitchen and took the rest of the grilled cheese dippers up to his room. As soon as he could change into his softest hoodie and open his Percy Jackson, everything would be all right.

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