On the day of the hearing, Olivia and Thomas were up early; Olivia made us vegan waffles while Thomas showered. When he emerged, Olivia went into the bathroom to shower. I decided to go last as a form of procrastination. I thought that if I took my time with my morning routine, the day wouldn’t quite seem real. Olivia’s father had spent the entire previous day going over every single detail. I felt almost like an actor reading a script and memorizing lines. But I knew that nothing I would say was a lie or any form of perjury. It was the truth; just in a more specific and careful way.
I was a nervous wreck. I hadn’t slept much in two days, my stomach was in knots and I couldn’t seem to eat a whole lot of the breakfast Olivia had made. Even though I was sure it was delicious.
When it was finally my turn in the shower, I took my time, scrubbing at my skin and trying to make myself presentable. I shaved and struggled into the stuffy shirt and dress pants.
I was staring at myself in the bathroom mirror when there was a tiny knock at the bathroom door. It opened slowly.
“Can I come in?” Olivia asked in a tiny voice.
“Yeah.” I replied, opening the door wider.
She smiled at me. “You look very handsome.”
I sighed “Thanks.” I draped the neck-tie around my shoulders and began to line it up.
“Want some help?” Olivia offered. Before I could accept or decline her invitation, she moved in front of me and was already holding both ends of my tie in her hands.
“Thanks.” I replied breathlessly.
“Are you nervous?” Olivia asked gently.
I nodded. “Yeah. Shitting bricks.” I replied.
The corner of her mouth turned up in a small smile. “You’ll do fine.” She insisted. “I know it.”
“You have a lot of faith in your father getting this all fixed for me.” I surmised.
She nodded. “I do. And I have a lot of faith in you too. I know you’re going to beat this.” She insisted. “I know the court is going to see the same sweet and gentle man I know and care about. I know they’re going to see past your mistakes and your flaws to see the generous and altruistic person I know.” She smiled gently.
I sighed and leaned forward, lightly kissing her lips. “Thank you, Liv. I’m so lucky to have you. I know I don’t say that enough.”
Olivia smiled, tightening my tie. “You’re all set. Are you ready to go?”
I nodded. “Yeah. As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She laid her palm gently against my cheek. “You’ll do fine. Tell the truth, just like my dad instructed. Everything will work out.”
I wanted to argue that she couldn’t possibly know that, but I kept my mouth shut. She took my hand and pulled me out into the living room where Thomas was waiting.
“Ready?” I asked, yanking on my coat and following Olivia out the door.
Thomas nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be. I hate public speaking.”
I sighed, clapping Thomas on his shoulder. “Me too, man.”
Thomas sat up front, and I took the back seat during the drive to the courthouse.
I felt like a kid in trouble.
I got out of the car, and Olivia took my hand, squeezing it tightly as we walked into the courthouse. We walked down a long hallway and met her father.
“Hey, kids. Ready?”
I nodded.
“Okay, We’re going to take you into a jury room to wait. Then once they’re ready for us, you’ll all come into the court room. Like I showed you yesterday, we’re sitting on the left side. The judge is a friend of mine, and he’s going to hear Officer Locke’s side of the events first, just like I told you yesterday.”
I nodded, absently.
“Then once his credentials, his list of evidence and all of that is reviewed by the judge, you’ll all have a chance to speak. Olivia, you’re going to go first, okay?”
Olivia straightened up and nodded.
“Thomas, you’ll go next.” He informed Thomas. “Isaac, your parents are here. Your mother is going to give a character statement on your behalf. Your letters from your teachers and the headmaster will be entered into evidence, and then finally you’ll go last. I’m hoping that if you go last, your testimony will have the biggest impact on the judges decision.”
I nodded slowly. I glanced around and spotted my parents standing at the far end of the hall.
“We should go and say hello.” Olivia whispered.
I shook my head no. “Later.” I offered. “I swear.”
She nodded knowingly, slipping her hand into mine.
I squeezed her hand for a brief moment.
“Okay, so if you kids just want to come with me, we’ll get you settled, put on some coffee and wait until the judge is ready for me to go in.”
We followed Olivia’s father down a narrow hall and into a small board room. There were two long tables pushed together in a big rectangle. There were grey office chairs surrounding the table.
“Oh, good. Coffee.” Thomas said with perky enthusiasm.
I smirked lightly and plopped down in one of the chairs.
Olivia glanced around the room and noticed a stack of magazines. “Ooh, ‘Vampire Baby found in Bolivia’.” She mused with mock interest and plopped down next to me.
I sighed and leaned back in the chair.
Thomas fiddled with the coffee maker and Judge James stood in the doorway, with his eyes trained on his phone.
I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms behind my head. I shut my eyes and tried desperately to focus. I had to push away the nerves. I had to make sure that I did everything I could to make all of this legal mess go away.
I didn’t want to go back to jail.
I didn’t want to let my family down.
I didn’t want to let my friends down.
And above all, I couldn’t let Olivia down.
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