Oklahoma was home. Boston was not. Neither was my dorm room or any apartment my mother got. I lived in Oklahoma most of my life and I hated change. Change was what happened when my parents got a divorce and change is what happened when I started law school. Change is what happened when my parents pulled me out of Tulsa elementary school and home schooled me in Boston then shipped me off to law school on scholarship, as we didn't have any money, but due to pressure, I always made good grades, and a scholarship was only natural. I didn't want to be a lawyer but my parents were set on it so I studied hard (like I always did) and graduated. I am fresh out of school. Graduated a month ago. I tried to find work in Boston but everyone down there is a big shot lawyer with million dollar shoes and leather briefcases. I never really fit into anything. My mom made some calls and hooked me up with some fancy law firm. Well I up and quite that very night.
"Where are you going to go, Robyn?" She yelled.
"Somewhere that's not here!" I yelled back and got in the car, clenching the wheeled. I hated driving during the nighttime and I didn't know really where to go. I pushed the gas and speed away from the house. I pulled up at a local bar and got out of the car. The Green Dragon Tavern. It's actually where the Sons of Liberty met and I found that be a little unsettling as most of them were lawyers. I got out and walked in, my feet aching and the reality of my life was wearing me down. I was an unemployed girl with a law degree and no clients. I lived in a city I hated and I had no one in the entire world that I could talk to.
"Nice night out, Miss Woods." Henry remarked. He was the bartender and an old friend of my parents.
"I guess."
"How have you been doing?"
"Fine."
"How's your mom and pa?"
"Divorced. They have been for the past god knows how long, Henry."
"You stayed with your ma?"
"Yes."
"Hard day?" He asked sympathetically as he cleaned some glasses.
"Screw the world and the Johnson and Sons Law Firm." I snapped and he smiled.
"No one could ever tell you what to do, Woods."
"That's what screws me over every time." I said and Henry held up a glass. I bit my lip. Alcohol was something I tried to stay away from since I moved. Henry could see me flinch.
"Trying to sober up are we?" He asked, good-naturedly.
"Not hard 'round these parts. Every freaking beer here tastes like ass." I snapped, as to avoid any temptations.
"Awww, Robyn, Boston has the best liquor." He said and passed me a shot. I looked at the glass. When I left Tulsa I swore off of alcohol. But their it was sitting and staring me in the face. Teasing me, taunting me. I took the shot and downed it. Henry clapped. "Atta girl!" He said. I blinked. What had I just done? I stood up, shocked and looked around, dazed. Henry laughed. "Another one?" He asked and I nodded and sat down, breathing easier. He poured me another and I squinted a bit as I looked at the back of the bar. A newspaper stand. Tulsa Boy Killed in Brutal Stabbing. That was the headline. Henry placed a shot in front of me. I downed that one to.
"Hey, Henry, can you get me a copy of that paper?" I asked and he nodded.
"Sure thing! You got twenty five cents?" I fished in my purse and paid him. As he passed me the paper my mind flashed back to the times that I lived in Tulsa. I looked at the paper. The picture was of a boy. He had tan hair and big brown eyes. The other one had reddish brown hair and green-grey eyes. I bit my lip. They had both turned themselves in. They were Greasers if I'd ever seen them. I knew about Greasers and Socials. They'd been fighting since the beginning of time. I scanned the page and saw another picture of the boy that had been stabbed. Social. I felt a pang of guilt and tapped the bar.
"Henry! Grab me another shot." I snapped and placed the money on the counter. He snickered but poured another glass. I sipped it and sucked in the bit of lime that he added as I read the article. When I got to the part that talked about all of Bob (the socials) good grades and how Johnny (the brown eyed kid) was violent at home I almost threw up my guts. "That's not fair!" I said and slammed the paper down and quickly drained the glass.
"What's not fair, princess?"
"The way Tulsa is run! It' so-so-so-" I started and then was unable to finish my sentence; as the right words had not come to mind, but a slammed the paper down on the bar.
"Prejudice?" Henry suggested and scanned the article. I nodded.
"I bet that theirs more to this case than any of us know. I bet that the Johnny kid got beat up before he stabbed him " I said and snapped up.
"You're a lawyer, Robyn Woods. Why don't you go and see if they need help? You can do it and make a name then come back to Boston and see if you can open up a private law firm." I nodded. The more I thought about the idea. The more it appealed to me.
"Henry, you're a angel!" I said and hugged my old friend. He smiled.
"Go get 'me, Robyn Woods, defense attorney!" He said and I stood up and walked back to my car. I was a bit tipsy but I figured that I was all right to drive. I was. Thank heavens. I drove back to my house and imminently started to pack. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was late. Eleven o'clock. I wrote a not, for my mother and started to drive to the airport. I'd catch a flight over to Tulsa and when I got there I'd find that Cade kid and see if he needed a lawyer. If so, I'd do it for free and make a name for myself. If not, then, hey, at least I got out of that dump my mom called home and back to Tulsa.