Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
Consequences And Court Appearances For My Actions
Rochelles POV
The last few days have been really stressful between my parents constantly fighting and me having to meet with a lawyer to discus my case before I go to court. My brother and sisters know what is going on because my parents told them. I have been cooking and cleaning around the house. I also have been walking the neighbors dog which is my normal job but I had to do it without pay. I believe that my parents are not fighting over what I did so I wonder what they are fighting about. My parents did get a really good lawyer for me. She has told me that she strongly believes that the court will only give me community service. I have to come up with what I am going to say in court. I am walking into her office to meet with her again today and this time only my mom is with me.
"So have you typed up a statement stating what you are going to say in court?" My lawyer asked
"Yes, I have it right here with me." I said
"Can you read it to me?" My lawyer asked
"yes" I said
I read my statement to her. I talked about how I made a mistake and I was willing to accept any consequences that came with it. I also talked about how I was a good student in school and how I had not had any prior court appearances.
"That sounds really good, did anyone help you write it?" She asked me
"Yes, my mom helped me with it." I said
"That is good, I am glad that your parents are helping you. Do you have any more questions for me?" She said
"Yes, What could I do for my community service?" I asked
"You can chose from a list of things like tutoring kids that are having trouble in school, volunteering at the animal shelter, cleaning up the trash from parks and roadways, or working on the community gardens around town. That will all be arranged after you appear in court and the judge decides your case. Did that answer your question?" She said
"Yes, Thank you for meeting with me today." I said
Then my mom and I walked out of her office and walked back to my moms car. When I got in her car I decided to thank her for helping write my statement.
"Thank you for helping me write my statement." I said
"I wanted to help you with it so it was no problem." Mom said
"Are you and dad fighting about me or is it something else?" I asked
"It is something else but we do not want you to worry about that right now." Mom told me
"What is it that you are fighting about? I want to know what is going on because you and dad never used to fight." I said
"I hate that we are fighting but I cant tell you. If you want to know ask your dad maybe he will tell you. Mom said
When we got home I did some of my homework. It was hard to do the work because I had to teach myself from the books. I am good in school and have mostly all A's and B's but I am am used to my teachers teaching me what to do before I have to do the work on my own. A few hours later my dad came home from work and I wanted to ask him what was going on with him and mom.
"How is all the homework going?" He asked me
"Not good." I said
"You are really good at school so it should not be that hard." He said
"Usually it is not hard but when you have to learn stuff all on your own in order to complete the work it is hard." I said
"Well do you need help on anything? I am sure either mom or I can help you." Dad said
"Mom already helped me with Algebra 2 and World History so I think that I am okay now." I said
"Well If you need help on anything just ask and I will be glad to help you." Dad said
"I asked mom why you and her are fighting so much." I said
"What did she tell you?" Dad asked
"She told me that it was not about me and to ask you if I wanted to know more." I said
"Well my company has been having some financial troubles but other then that there is nothing to worry about." Dad said
"How bad is it dad?" I asked
"Well it is bad enough for your mom and I to fight about and we never fight so it is bad." Dad said
"You are not going to lose the company are you?" I said
"I have no idea but right now I do not want you to worry about it. Your brother and sisters do not know about this so don't tell them. You have court in a few days and right now that is what you need to focus on not your mom and I." Dad said
"Okay" I said
Well at least I know what is going on between my parents. I am glad that it is not about me but I am worried about my dads company. My dad is right though I do need to focus on court. The next few days are going to be as stressful as the last few were.
I wake up on the morning I am supposed to go to court. My brother and Sisters have already left for school. I have a nervous feeling in my stomach. I hope that everything goes well today. Both my parents took the day off of work so they can come with me to court. I take a shower and dried my hair. Then I put on my court outfit which my mom helped me pick out and got ready to leave for court. My mom then drives us to court. Before we walk into the courtroom they both wish me good luck. My parents take a seat and I walk up to the front of the room and take a seat up there. My lawyer is sitting with me and the judge should walk into the room any minute. When the Judge arrives he takes a seat at his podium and court is ready to begin.
"We are here today to decide the punishment for Rochelle Cavanaugh. Will you please stand up and plead your case Rochelle" The judge said and I stood up
"You may start with why you are here today." The judge said
"I am here today because I vandalized property and trespassed onto my rival school." I said
"Who else was involved in the crime?" The judge asked
"Most of the varsity field hockey team at my school." I said
"What do you have to say for yourself about this crime?" My lawyer said
"Even though I was not the one to come up with the plan to vandalize my rival school I went along with it and I will take responsibility for my actions." I said
"If we look at you grades and attendance record what kind of student are we going to see?" The judge asked
"A model student who tries her best at school." I said
"Is that true?" The judge asks to my lawyer and to my parents
"My client is usually a model student. She has mostly A's and B's in her classes but her attendance record shows far more absences this year then other years." My lawyer said
"Rochelle has been on out of school suspension this past week." My mom said
"Out of school Rochelle has been a good kid. She has accepted her punishment at home and has been keeping up with all her missed school work this past week." My dad said
Questions were then asked for two more hours when the judge said that now it was break time for one hour so the judge could decide the outcome. My parents and I went over to the cafe in the courthouse to eat some lunch.
"You have done a really good job so far." My mom said
"Thanks both of you for being here for me." I said
"Well you are our oldest daughter and we care about you." My dad said
"Yes, but you are also supposed to set an example for your younger brother and sisters and this was not a good example for them." My mom said
"How about you two. They know that something is up because they hear you fighting just like I do. They know about me but they don't know about dads company going bankrupt." I said
"We don't want them to worry about it and we will tell them as soon as we know what is going to happen." My dad said
"If there is a possibility of dads company closing and him being out of a job then they should know about it." I said
"Rochelle, Just worry about your self right now and not your dad." My mom said
"They should know that something is going on. It is not fair for them to hear fighting and not know what is going on." I said
"I agree with you but right know your mom and I don't know what is going to happen. I am trying everything that I can to keep my company from closing so don't worry about it." My dad said
"I will try not to worry about it but I think you should tell them before anything happens." I said
"We will tell them tonight and you need to pretend like you had no idea about it before we tell them." My mom said
"So I was never supposed to know what was happening." I said
"No one was supposed to know but we will tell them tonight about what is going on and you have to act like you did not know." My dad said
We ate our lunch and then went back into the court room. I cant believe that my parents are going to tell my siblings about my dads company tonight and I have to pretend that I had no idea about it before they tell them.
"Court is now back in session for Rochelle Cavanaugh. During the one hour break I have decided what punishment she will get." The judge said
"What is my clients punishment?" My lawyer said
"This is the first time that Rochelle has been in court so the decision has been made based on that fact. The court has also noticed that she has 3 traffic tickets on her record so her licence will be suspended for 90 days. Also Rochelle will have to preform a minimum of 30 hours of community service within the next 90 days. She will now meet with me and her lawyer to decide what community service she will do. Also since she is under 18 her parents will be present in this meeting." The judge said
The judge, my lawyer, my parents and I then went into a meeting room to discuss what I will do for my community service.
"You will be able to pick from a list of things of what you want to do. You can choose more than one option but I would not recommend choosing more than two." The judge said then he gave me the list. I looked at the list and made my decision
"I would like to tutor kids and volunteer at the local animal shelter." I said
"Here is the forms that you will need. One is for tutoring and the other is for the animal shelter. You fill these forms out and then every time you volunteer you have an adult log how many hours you spent that time and they sigh it." My lawyer said
"You also have to fill this form out saying that you agreed to a 90 day suspension of your drivers licence and a minimum of 30 hours community service in the next 90 days. You and both of your parents have to sigh it. A copy of this form will also be sent to your school so your principal can sigh." The judge said
"Any other questions for me or the judge?" My lawyer asked
"When will I be able to return to school?" I asked
"Now it is after school hours on Thursday so I would say Monday. Your principle has to sigh the form and send it back to me so you can go back to school on Monday." The judge said
"Also after the 90 days is up what will happen?" I asked
"You and your parents will come back to meet with me. If you have completed your 30 hours of community service then the case will be closed. If you have not completed it then you will be back in court." The judge said
My parents then talked to the judge for a few minutes. They told him there plans for me and that they were glad how this ended up. We then left and were on our way home. When we got home my brother and sisters were waiting at home to hear how court went.
"Everyone I want you to come sit with us in the living room as we have some things to discuss as a family." My Dad said
My brother and sisters sat on the big couch with me and my parents sat on the smaller couch next to the big one. I cant believe my parents were going tell them about my dads company. I had to act like I had no idea what they were about to say.
"How did court go today Rochelle?" JT asked me
"It went good, I ended up getting a 90 day suspension on my drivers licence and I have to do 30 hours of community service. I also get to go back to school on Monday." I said
"I guess I will be the one driving you and taking you home then." JT said
"Yes since Elizabeth and Rosie are not old enough to drive yet." I said
"So is that what you wanted to talk about, how Rochelle did in court?" Elizabeth asked
"No, as you have heard us your dad and I have been fighting and we want to tell you why." My mom said
"We were going to wait and tell all of you but we thought that now was the right time to tell you." My dad said
"We have been fighting a lot and the reason why is because." My mom started to say and then got interrupted by Rosie.
"You are not getting a divorce are you? None of us want that to happen and we know that you both love each other." Rosie said
"No our marriage is fine, The four of you do not have to worry about that but we do have something to tell you and we are not sure what will happen in the long run." Dad said, Thinking about how he was going to tell us
"Can you just tell us already?" JT said
"You do not have to tell them if you don't want to." Mom said
"I want to tell them I just don't know how to say it." Dad said
"What is going on?" I asked pretending that I do not already know
"Your fathers company has filled for bankruptcy which is causing a lot of stress on the two of us. That is what we are fighting about." Mom said
"How long has this been going on for?" JT asked
"A few months but the bankruptcy was just filled two weeks ago. Your mom did not even know about it to a week ago. I had been hiding it from her and when she found out that is when all the fighting started." My dad said
"So you lied to mom and us about it, Why would you do that to us dad?" I asked
"I did not lie to mom, I just did not tell her how bad it was." Dad said
"That is the same thing as lying." Elizabeth said
"So how did mom find out about it." Rosie said
"I found the bankruptcy papers hidden in the house last week and I confronted your dad about it. Ever since then when one of us brings it up it always leads to a big fight." Mom said
"So is your marriage really okay or are you lying about that to." I said
"This has put a strain on our marriage but I don't think your mom would leave me over this." My dad said
"No, I still love him even though I wish he had not lied to me about it for months. We hope this will work out over time." My mom said
"I should have told all of you about it months ago but I did not think it would get to the point were bankruptcy was filled." My dad said
Then we ended the conversation and my parents went to go get carryout for dinner. We ate dinner and my brother, sisters, and I did our homework downstairs while our parents were fighting again upstairs. Even though they said that they are not going to get divorced I am worried that they will. All of the fighting stopped and then my parents both came downstairs. My dad checked on how all of us were doing on our homework and my mom left the house. My dad said not to worry about mom leaving and that she would be back tomorrow because she did not take anything with her but herself and her purse. Dad checked the garage a few minutes later and moms car was gone. None of us had any idea were she went. Dad tried to call her cell phone but she did not answer so he left a message saying that he was sorry and for her to come back home.
This story line will be continued in the next chapter. Please review or pm me with comments, questions, suggestions, or anything else you want to know.
