Episode 1: Turnabout Tickets

Part 1-2: Trial

"Excuse me, young man, but what business do you have here?" The judge asked politely.

"I see the defense failing… So I figured that I should take over!" Tristen smirked.

"Tristen?! Are you serious?!" Hazel's eyes widened as Tristen made his way to the defense's bench.

"Excuse me man, but do you mind if I take over for a while?" The fourteen year old asked.

"Not at all." (Not like you'll make any progress.)

"Young man, what is your name?" The judge smiled.

"Tristen Lawful, son of Hazel Lawful."

"I see. Well, how old are you?"

"Age doesn't matter. Says it right on the piece of paper with court rules. Anybody that the defendant chooses, if they feel that that person can defend them, they are allowed to. So I'm taking over."

"Yes, but for formality's sake, how old are you?" Mr. Erik asked.

"Fourteen."

(This kid is going down…!)

"I suppose you should be given a short recess, for you to prepare a case." The judge grabbed her gavel and lifted it up. "I will grant you a thirty minute recess."

July 18th

Courtroom Lobby No. 5

10:55 AM

"Tristen, what are you doing?!" Hazel grabbed his son's shoulders and shook him around.

"I'm going to defend you!" Tristen stepped away from his father and immediately went to questioning Trotter. "What did you find when you investigated?"

"I found these floor plans, I got a picture of the front of the store, and here's a Pre-Autopsy report."

"…Shot in the head, died instantly…" Tristen read off the list of conditions on the victim. "…Hm… I'm ready. I'll prove you innocent dad. Don't worry." Tristen walked into the courtroom, but first, he picked up a shiny object off the ground. (An attorney's badge…)

July 18th

Courtroom No. 5

11:25 AM

"Court is back in session." The judge calmed the court down with her gavel. "Is the defense prepared?"

"More than ready. If I may… I would like to review the witness testimony from a few minutes ago."

"Yes, I would like that too. Any objections?"

"None from the prosecution." Mr. Erik smirked.

Witness Testimony – The Night of the Crime

I had been pulled over at a small mini-market.

The police officer did his usual business that he always did with tickets.

He walked back to his car to grab his ticket book, then…

I heard a loud crash! Then, a gunshot!

I walked out of the car, and went to investigate.

I walked into the store, and found the dead body along with a hole in the wall.

(Interesting… Well, I can see one problem already.) Tristen smirked.

Cross-Examination – The Night of the Crime

I had been pulled over at a small mini-market.

"Hold it! Why exactly were you pulled over?" Tristen crossed his arms.

"I missed a sign that confused me a bit of its placement." Hazel rubbed his chin.

"Tch, just like last time, this isn't very important." Mr. Erik yawned.

"Hm…" Tristen looked at the floor plans of scene. (This shows the inside of the store, and the parking lot outside… Leading into the parking lot is a road, and apparently, you can't go in through there… Going past the parking lot splits into two roads, one of which is a one-way drive. "Dad- I mean witness, can you show me where the sign was placed?"

"Uh… Here." Hazel put his finger over where the road splits into two. "Next to the one on the left."

"...And you got pulled over because you went into the parking lot?" Tristen recalled the events of last night.

"Yes."

"Mr. Lawful, I doubt this has anything to do with the trial at hand." The judge said.

"I would like this added to the testimony. You'll see, your honor." Tristen smirked at himself.

The "Do Not Enter" sign was placed next to the left road.

"Objection." Tristen quietly said. Nobody even looked at him. "Uh… Objection…?" (Fine, want me to be loud? I'll be loud.) He pulled his finger back, and flung it forward as he yelled "Objection!"

He had everyone's attention.

"Good. Witness, that doesn't make any sense." Tristen placed his hand over his face.

"What do you mean?" Hazel crossed his arms.

"If the sign was on that road, why did you get pulled over for going into the parking lot? Besides, there isn't any other way in." Tristen cupped his chin with his index finger and thumb, and put an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Objection! This has nothing to do with the case at hand!" Mr. Erik quickly yelled.

"Hmph. Yes, it does. It's clear that my father got pulled over for going into the parking lot. So do you mean to say that he shot the victim from there? Why would he go to all the trouble to get a rifle if he was a few yards away? He might as well got a small handgun, or something close to that nature."

"So you're saying that this helps us pinpoint where the suspect would have shot the victim from, eh? I guess I'll need to pull this card…" Mr. Erik smiled evilly.

(What is he up to…?)

"I'd like to call up Gard Cooper to the stand!" Mr. Erik yelled.


"You're doing great, Tristen!" Hazel walked over to the defense's bench.

"Thanks dad." Tristen smiled at his father.

"Where did you learn to do Cross-Examinations like that?"

"From you, obviously." Tristen watched as he saw a police officer wearing his normal uniform, a pair of one-way shades, and a buzz cut (of a blond color) walked to the stand.

"Name and occupation, officer." Mr. Erik raised his chin.

"Gard Cooper. I'm a police officer that protects these lands." The cop had a stoic look on his face.

"I'd like for you to talk about the night of the crime from your perspective."

"Yes sir."

Witness Testimony – A Night to Remember

I was about to leave my post when I saw a car drive into the parking lot of that store.

I followed the man and pulled him over.

I did my usual business, and walked back to my car to grab my ticket book.

And that's when I heard a gunshot, so I took a look over at the car.

And I see him holding the rifle, pointing at the store.

"Well, this won't do us any good, will it?" Hazel chuckled.

"I'll need to press him. I got this dad. You'll have an innocent verdict in no time."

(And here I thought he was going to become a prosecutor. Funny how things work out.) Hazel thought as the cross-examination began.

Cross-Examination – A Night to Remember

I was about to leave my post when I saw a car drive into the parking lot of that store.

I followed the man and pulled him over.

"Hold it! Why would you pull him over? There isn't any other way to get inside the parking lot!" Tristen exclaimed.

"Hmph. It was undergoing construction. No entrance allowed." Gard rubbed his chin.

I did my usual business, and walked back to my car to grab my ticket book.

And that's when I heard a gunshot, so I took a look over at the car.

And I see him holding the rifle, pointing at the store.

"Hold it! Why would he point that gun in that direction? Heck, what motive would he have to even pull it out?!" Tristen facepalmed again.

"How should I know?" Gard rubbed his chin again. "Maybe he wanted to rob the store and the customers inside."

"…!" Tristen recoiled.

"If this doesn't seem important, I'll just continue-"

"Objection!" Tristen slammed the tips of his left hand fingers on the desk. "How would there be customers inside…? I thought the place was under construction." Tristen smirked.

"Objection! Only the parking lot was under construction, you could easily walk in on foot." Mr. Erik crossed his arms.

(Well, goodbye confidence.) Tristen started to sweat. (Confidence, anytime now?)

"Let us continue." The judge announced.

(R.I.P. Confidence…) Tristen sat up straight.

"Still… Can't think… Of anything…?"

(Huh? W-What was that?! M-Maybe just my imagination. Yeah, that's it…) "Uh… Hold it! But wouldn't that be a health hazard?"

"Still hung up about this? It would depend on what they are constructing." Mr. Erik folded a piece of paper and folded it into a paper airplane, and threw it at Tristen. "That's a chart explaining everything about the construction."

(…Fixing pipes… Nothing too bad I guess. But wait…)

"Figure… It out…? The picture…"

(Right! The picture! If they were fixing some pipes, then they would need to break through the tar! But in the picture…) "Objection! This doesn't make any sense!"

"What do you mean, Mr. Lawful?" The judge asked politely.

"Look at this picture your honor, it clearly shows no construction!"

"How do you know that this photo wasn't taken before construction?" Erik retaliated.

"Look at the timestamp. Just a few hours after the murder." Tristen smirked.

"T-The police had to move all the clutter away to investigate!" Erik pulled on his black suit's collar.

"Still wouldn't make sense. They were digging in the tar to fix some pipes. They wouldn't be able to cover that up!"

"Nya!" Erik pulled a paper fan from his pocket and began to cool himself.

"Witness, prosecution, what is the meaning of this?" The judge looked cold and quite intimidating.

"I-I don't know! I obtained that information from the witness!" Erik's eyes widened.

"Is this true, Mr. Cooper?"

"…Yes. I'll gladly testify about this."

(Awfully calm for a police officer that could have forged evidence.)

"I see… That we are on… The same page…"

(G-Get out of my head! Get out, get out, get out!)

"Tristen!"

"Huh?" His father's voice woke him up.

"You zoned out on us. Are you alright?"

"…Just fine. You may continue, witness." Tristen coughed.

To Be Continued…