This Is Your Second Chance, There is no Third
"Mr. Merrill, you stand before this court after serving 10 months in the Chamberlain Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility for three counts of assault and battery on a minor."
The judge recited the formalities and I tried to take my public defender's advice and stand up straight and look repentant. "You exhibited exemplary behavior, promising academics and what your instructors describe as true talent for automotives." The judge raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm hoping that upon your release you channel those talents into something positive."
"Yes sir, I've made some mistakes in the past and I just want to give myself an honest living. I'm sincerely trying to put those bad decisions behind me." Just say what he wants you to hear. Anything to get the hell out of Chamberlain.
He squinted his eyes. "I understand your parents aren't here today."
"No your honor, unfortunately they aren't in any shape to attend a preceding of this nature." My lawyer interjected. "My client's mother has been out of his life for several years and his father is an abusive alcoholic." I winced at the phrase. Pops was a real bastard, but to hear him be reduced to those terms, and especially as a tactic to garner sympathy, made my skin crawl.
The judge leaned back in his chair. "And who will be maintaining custody of Mr. Merrill? He is still only 17 and I hope you aren't here with a plea for emancipation."
"Your honor, Mr. Tom Carter is here and will speak on behalf of the boy. He's a close family friend who is of legal age. Mr. Carter owns a car service station and is prepared to give John a place to stay and continue to develop skills in his trade." I glanced over to see Tom sit up a little straighter on the bench behind me. Tommy offering me a place to crash to escape my father was one thing, but for him to step up in open court and tell a judge he is willing to look out for me was something else. No one had ever come through for me like that before.
"Mr. Carter." Tommy stood. "Are you prepared to claim legal guardianship of Mr. Merrill until he turns 18 next April?" "I am sir. He's a good kid who's had some tough breaks, he knows he's better than this. He's family to me and I promise that I'll do my best to keep him on the straight and narrow." The judge nodded and Tommy sat.
He turned to me. "Mr. Merrill, the administrators at Chamberlain Hills have expressed that they believe you have served your time and are in a place where you could return home and effectively re-enter society. I am prepared to release you to Mr. Carter's custody upon the conditions that you re-enroll in high school and maintain an excellent attendance record and passing grades. If you get in any trouble with the law and end up back in this court between now and your graduation, you will serve the full consequences of the law and be tried as an adult rather than a juvenile. If you successfully make it to graduation, your juvenile record will be sealed and you'll have a fresh start. This is your second chance, there is no third. I hope you will make the best of it." The judge slammed his gavel.
It was over. A year of my life was wasted in Chamberlain for pounding Eyeball's kid brother and his friends. I felt my face get hot as I thought about those four little shits, but realized that I had to fight every impulse to hunt them down and put them each in a pine box six feet under. I rubbed my eyes and tried to push those thoughts out of my mind. I should just be happy I'm out of here and that I don't have to head back to my pop's place. My public defender patted me on the shoulder. "Congrats kid, don't mess this up for yourself and end up back here in three months. We'll get your release paperwork taken care of and you'll be headed back to Castle Rock."
Leaving the courthouse was a blur, I only remember getting into Tommy's car and getting on the highway back to Castle Rock. "Ace Merrill, free man!" He smiled at me. I nodded. "Time to straighten out Johnny, you don't want to spend the rest of your life going in and out of courthouses."
We were quiet for a few minutes. Tommy helping me out was a big break for me and I knew I couldn't fuck this up. "Thanks again man, I don't know what I…" I trailed off. "Johnny you're the only thing close to a family that I got left. I can't watch you head down the road that I swerved off last second before I straightened out. Don't thank me, just don't blow this shot." I nodded and looked out the window, eager to put distance between myself and Chamberlain.
We pulled up to the gas station and wove behind the garage bays to the small white house behind it where Tommy lived. I smiled to see Eyeball and the gang waiting on the front steps. "Thought you'd want to see your boys after being locked up for so long." Tommy smiled as he parked the car. I climbed out of the car and was glad to see the Cobras. It didn't seem like much had changed. "The king of the rock has returned!" Eyeball raised a beer and tossed me one. Tommy laughed. "Keep it in the backyard, the last thing we need is for you morons to get pinched on Ace's first night home." We moved to the backyard and I slapped Charlie's extended palm and I greeted Vince and Billy, Mudge and Fuzzy.
Mismatched lawn chairs lined a mostly dirt yard with a stone fire pit in the middle. The cold beer hit my lips and for the first time in a year I felt like myself again. Mudgett held out his pack of cigarettes and I smiled as I soaked in the long since experienced combination of a cold beer and a cigarette.
"So how bad was it man? What's it really like in there?" Charlie pressed.
I shrugged. "You expect to see thugs, but what you don't expect are the god honest lunatics they have around there. I lived with some kid that tortured puppies for a few months, so that was pretty unpleasant. It's mostly boring though, it feels like way more than a year since I had one of these." I held up my beer bottle and watched beads of condensation roll off and hit the ground.
"So are you off clean? What's your deal?" Vince asked as he leaned back in the lawn chair. I wasn't sure how much Tommy had shared with Eyeball about the terms of my probation.
"Mostly. I gotta keep off the radar until I turn 18 and somehow manage to graduate high school. If I do that and reappear in court next summer they seal my juvenile record and it's like it never happened."
Mudgett laughed. "Jesus man, when was the last time you put in any time in school?" Mudgett and Eyeball had officially dropped out and had been working landscaping and odd jobs ever since. I had always stayed enrolled in school but my attendance and academic record weren't exactly what you would call exemplary.
"They made me catch up on sophomore and junior year while I was locked up so I get to stay on track as a senior. It's one year, I get the piece of paper and get to put all this bullshit behind me." I shrugged, hoping my tone wasn't as defensive as I worried it had sounded.
"Principal Fletcher's gonna shit when he realizes he's stuck with you for a year." Billy guffawed.
I laughed. "Listen, I just want to get in there and get it done. Tommy's gonna have me working on cars with him as long as I keep my shit together so gotta play it low key for a while." The words were hard to get out of my mouth. I had been getting into trouble with these guys for my entire life, and to tell them that I was gonna be courtside for a few months was tough.
"Man, we get it. It was a wake up call for all of us when you went away. We tried to keep a couple of the side deals going when you were gone, but Fuzzy had a close call with the cops and it spooked us all pretty bad. It's been a boring year, we've only gotten shooed away for fighting and drinking really. We were worried you thought we'd gone soft while you were gone." Eyeball meekly smiled.
The Ace Merrill that had sent Chris Chambers on a trip to the ICU would have called the guys standing in front of me pussies a year ago. But honestly, I was relieved to know that they weren't exactly jumping at the chance to boost cars and do the cheap break-ins we used to do. It all seemed so convenient, but I knew the second someone offered me a chance for some easy cash for a less than legal deed I'd probably have a tough call to make. I just had to get through the next few months and wait until my record was sealed until I could go back to picking up some jobs on the side.
"Well at least you asshats still have some of your priorities straight. If you had shown up here with ice tea and cookies I'd catch the first bus back to Chamberlain. Let me get another beer." Vince tossed me one and Charlie started giving the rundown on highlights from the last year. For the first time in a year, I felt myself exhale and put my guard down for a minute. It felt good to be home, but I wondered how long I had before something got fucked up.