Police leave me alone....

Hey everyone!
Y'know the craziest thing happened a few nights ago!
Well, I've found that sometimes, I just need to get out of the house. So I'll get my coat and go for a walk. If I'm stressed, depressed, or upset in any way, I'll just take my mp3 player, turn on some relatively emotionally inconsequential music, and then walk down the street for a while. And then I'll come back feeling better.
Anyway, that's what I did last night. Usually, I take the back roads, but Mom didn't want me to, because there's no sidewalk, and she's afraid that I'll get hit. So, she told me I had to walk on the main road, which has sidewalks, but is incredibly busy, and I reluctantly agreed.
So, anyway, I turned up "The Jesus Record" by Rich Mullins and a Ragamuffin Band (hey, I needed something spiritual), and just started walking down the street and absently singing along. Yes, I sing along to my music while I'm walking down the street. Not loudly of course, given the hour, and the fact that I didn't feel like hearing obcenities from the residents of my street when my voice interrupted whatever they were doing. I walked all the way down one side of my street, then turned around, given that I was heading into the town adjecent to mine. Now, the town adjecent to mine, which is where I go to school, is not the prettiest town on the planet. And needless to say, when the town isn't particularly pretty, neither are the people. And though there was very little chance that I was going to be jumped, I didn't want to risk it. So I turned around and walked down the other side of the street. Now, around where I go to catch my bus in the mornings, there's a murky lake with a waterfall. Well, it's not really a waterfall. If you stand on the sidewalk and look over the stone fence, you can see the water from the lake running down a slanted gravel surface, coming out in a small river on the other side.
So, I ended up down there, and I stood, looking down at the water. The night was bitterly cold, and even with my gloves on, they did very little to keep my poor fingers from going numb. And the wind coming off of the lake, much the way that it comes off of seawater, oddly enough, was making it even colder. I didn't want to go back home yet, but it was getting kinda cold, and I just wanted to sit down for a bit. I wasn't going to sit on the stone fence. If I lost my balance for a second, that would mean a nasty fall onto a stone wall, and then being washed down into a river of icy water. No more T-WAC writing these posts.
So, I decided to sit on the ground against one of the posts of the stone fence. I shoved my hands deep inside my coat pockets, and then looked up at the stars. I couldn't see much, given the brightness of the streetlights, but the one directly above me was going out, so I could make out orion, and some of the brighter stars.
I have to say, it was very nice. Just sitting there... under the stars... yeah, every two seconds, a car rushed by, and yeah, I was cold, even with two jackets, but I've always enjoyed the night. There's something really special about it.
Here's where the weird part comes in.
A few minutes later a white-and-blue car pulled into the small parking lot across the street. Its lights weren't flashing, but they didn't need to be. I knew it was a police car.
I just sat there and looked up at the sky, pretending not to see it. One thought crossed my mind: "God, please don't let him be coming for me."
Though I was looking up at the sky, I could still see a man of a small to midsize build getting out of the car. A bright light shone for a moment, then I saw him cross the street.
"Oh God," I thought, "he's coming for me."
I continued to look up until his light shone in my face. "Hey, buddy."
Pretending I had just noticed him, I got up. "Oh, um, hello."
Now, at this point my mind was racing, trying to think of what offense I could have possibly committed. I wasn't loitering. At least, I don't think I was. I mean, I was on the sidewalk next to the lake. Not private property or anything.
"What are you doing out here?" the cop asked. His voice was a bit gruff, but not unkind. "You alright?"
The man was tall, a bit taller than I was, clean-shaven, and had his hair almost buzzed down to his scalp. He was a handsome guy, and he did have a cold demeanor, but it was only there because he needed it. He was, after all, a cop.
"I'm fine," I said immediately, pretty much without thinking.
"Where do you live?"
I pointed. "Down there. That way. On [censored] street."
I probably sounded like such an idiot, but oh well.
"Down there?" The cop asked gruffly. "What's your address?"
I gave him my address.
"And why are you carrying a flashlight?"
"Mom told me I needed to bring it." Then I added, "I hope I'm not breaking any laws or anything."
At this, the cop smiled briefly, then returned to his serious expression, though it had softened a bit. "No, I got a call saying that you'd been out here for a while, and I wanted to check up on you. You're not thinking of hurting yourself, are you? You're not gonna throw yourself off of the edge?"
Oh. That was it. Here I am, a teenager, on a bitterly cold night, in jeans and a black leather jacket with my hood over my head, sitting against a stone post by the lake, more specifically, by the slanted gravel surface that led beneath the road, a surface that, if I were to jump, would not only cause injury through the fall, but would lead me to a wet, icy oblivion. Okay, that image practically screams "DEPRESSED SUICIDAL TEENAGER" in capitalized letters.
"Oh no," I responded. "No, suicide is not an option for me."
Yeah, I know. Not the smartest thing to say. But it's true. Suicide ISN'T an option. God gave me my life, and I'm darned well gonna live it. Things have been bad for me for a while, but not THAT bad.
"Isn't it a little cold to be out here at this time of night?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine," I responded. "I'm wearing two coats and gloves."
"What were you doing out here?" He fired another question at me.
"Just, y'know, listening to music and looking up at the stars. That's all, really."
"Isn't your backyard a better place to be doing that?"
I sighed and then explained. "Sometimes I just need to get out of the house. I have a very crowded house. I mean, I have four, soon to be five younger siblings. I just needed some time to myself."
The cops expression, though it still retained some hardness, had softened substantially. "Do you have an ID on you?"
"No, I left my wallet at home."
"What's your first name?"
I told him.
"Last name?"
I told him.
"So, what's your date of birth?"
I told him that as well. He was taking down the information I was giving to him on a small yellow notepad with, judging by the way his hand moved, a pen.
He looked up at me, most of the hardness gone. "You should probably be heading home now. Do you want me to give you a ride?"
"No thanks, I'll be fine," I said, smiling. The cop smiled back. "Alright, bye then. Stay safe."
I began walking home, and the cop walked back to his car, and then walked up the street towards one of the buildings, probably to inform whoever had seen me that I was going home now.
I noticed that my earbuds had fallen out of my ears, and I plugged them in. Judging by the song, the whole encounter had lasted five minutes at most. But I was feeling better. I didn't want to go home yet, not until the album was over, but y'know, I did feel better.
I walked down my street, until I came to my house, and upon entering, I related the whole event to my mom, who seemed a bit concerned at first, but then calmed down when I told her I'd handled it well. My sister, Banana, on the other hand, thought that it was HILARIOUS that someone had called the cops on me for sitting by the side of the road.
After that, I drank a cup of tea, and then went to bed.
Yeah, they're probably concerned about me, or something. I mean, that cop did have to take down my information. I'm probably on their record for kids who are a potential hazard to themselves or something....
But I'm surprised that Mom and Dad haven't recieved a call about it yet. I mean, Mom knows what it's like to need space, as she grew up in a house with four younger siblings, just like I have, so she's fine with me going out for a walk if I need to.
But I can picture clearly in my head the voice of the cop on the phone:
"Ma'am, were you aware that your son was sitting by the side of the road near the lake on Thursday? Does he happen to have a history of depression, self-harm, and suicidalness, by any chance? ...are you sure? He hasn't had any thoughts of that lately, has he? ...no? Are you sure? ...Alright then. Has he been behaving strangely lately? ...no? Are you sure? ...Right. You should just keep a close eye on him, alright? ...alright. Alright ma'am. Yes, just make sure. ...Yes. Yes, yes. Goodbye."