Notes: I can't promise that this fic will go much longer. I'm like drained of ideas. Started a fic that I'm tempted to change into the sequel to this called New York Snob School. But I really want to keep them separate fics. And I really don't want to make Adam's senior year into that. Sophomore year in a different fic yes ;). This is another one of those poor Banksie chapters. The way I did the trial is probably wrong but oh well. Don't know anything about Juvie court so this is regular court.
Not Letting It Go
Wednesday, against doctor's orders, I sat in the courtroom. They were going to let me speak first so I could go home. I still felt like crap. When I was younger, I went to a trial my dad was working. There was a group of people that were the jury.
Charlie sat down next to me. "You okay?"
"They won't let me take my medicine so I'm okay. My mother said if I get pneumonia she'll sue the person who decided this." I said with a smile and started coughing. My dad handed me the bottled water he purchased from the soda pop machine.
I sat up straighter when Josh was brought in. His eyes seemed to be looking for me. When they found me, he glared. I guess it's a good thing he has handcuffs and an officer standing next to him.
I saw other students that weren't really involved. I wonder if Eden Hall didn't have classes today. Marcy, Lenny, Brandy, Eric, and Clara took seats behind me. Guy was next to Charlie. The other Ducks were sitting in the first three rows. The Football team and the rest of the group sat on the other side.
The judge came in. "Just a reminder to Mr. Huddy and Mr. Cranston Adam Banks will be called first. Ask what you need to now. He won't be available for questioning again."
Mr. Huddy. Hmm I think Coach Bombay talked about him once. How they competed in the courtroom against each other. He was supposed to be a good DA but not as good as Bombay. I hope that Bombay's presence doesn't bother Mr. Huddy.
After the opening arguments, they called me onto the stand. I wonder why this is necessary and then I find out why. Josh is trying to say that he hadn't intended to shoot me. Oh yeah like that's going to work. Unless Connie, Brian, and Tina lie. Would they lie? I wondered. I wouldn't know but the others promised to fill me in later.
I was called up. I took a seat in the chair. I was asked to state my full name. Which I said Adam Bartholomew Banks.
Frank Huddy smiled at me. I guess hoping to reassure me I don't know. "Adam what happened on September eighth of 1996?"
"Tina Johanson, who was my girlfriend at the time, and I went to Mall of America to see All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 and Ace Ventura. When we were leaving the mall to go to the bus stop, we ran into Cole and two other people. They beat me up a little and then my friend Les and his two cousins saw what was going on and stopped them."
"Objection your honor!" Cranston said. "What does this have to do with Josh?"
"It has a lot to do with Josh." Huddy interjected. "Your honor I was just getting to that."
"Objection overruled."
I sighed. Good. Huddy continued. "Rick Riley was found to have set that up correct?"
"Yes."
"What happened on September 23 1996?"
"I had been at home. Dean Buckley sent me home for a week after someone dumped red paint in my locker and then destroyed my locker. I spent the morning cleaning out my father's desk. I found a stack of old Eden Hall newsletters that my father had been getting since my brother Jeffrey went there." I was stopped as I was seized by a coughing fit. I took a drink of water.
"Did you find anything of interest in those newsletters?" Huddy asked.
"Yes. I found a list of the original 1995 Eden Hall JV Hockey team that the Ducks replaced. I was on there as well as Brendan Inez, Mikah Riley, and William Armstrong. Who are all on Varsity now? I found one name that surprised me the most. Josh Walker. I had known he was on the golf team but I had no clue that he was a hockey player. I tried to call the others to tell them but no one answered. I asked Martha, our housekeeper, to drive me to Eden Hall. She dropped me off at the rink because the Ducks usually played on the weekends against each other. What I found was some a group that called themselves the ignored. I was shocked to find my girlfriend, a Varsity teammate, and two people that I thought were my friends were a part of the group. Josh Walker was the leader."
"Objection your honor! That is purely speculation!" Cranston said.
"Your honor Eden Hall already found this to be fact. May I present exhibit a which is the decision of the board?" Huddy handed both Cranston and the judge copies of it.
"I'm sorry Huddy but Cranston is correct. Objection sustained. The jury will ignore that part of the witness's statement. Continue counselor."
"Adam how did the rest of the year go? Did you have any more problems?"
"No not with them. Hockey season ended with us winning our twelfth consecutive state title. I was chosen captain for the next year and everything went fine until the first day assembly."
"What happened that day?"
"I was giving a speech about the hockey season when someone yelled for me to look out. I moved just before a light fell where I had been standing. I was grateful for whoever warned me but worried about maybe the group was back."
"Anything else happen after that?"
"No not for a week or two. Someone cut out part of my jersey and then dropped golf balls with the number nine on them. Later the football team and some of the Varsity cheerleaders were harassing me. Right before the crowning of the Homecoming Queen, Sam West made comments about how the football team should be getting more attention. At the dance a paper mache fish fell and hit me in the head. A couple days later the football team came to my dorm and started pounding on the door. They left after giving me a warning. After that, someone started sending me email from an AOL account that they hacked into. At first I had thought it was being sent by Terry Hall until his mother called me and told me someone must have hacked into their account because their computer had been disconnected for a month and a half." I was glad that Cranston hadn't objected to any of that.
"What happened on Halloween?"
"I was sick and spent almost all day in the nurse's office. When she allowed me to leave, I decided to go to the game. I knew Coach Wilson wasn't going to let me play so I sat with some friends. Halfway through the game I started feeling sick so I went back to the dorm. That's when I got a phone call from Mrs. Hall about the emails. I had to tell the others. I didn't feel like walking so I planned to drive my BMW. I saw Connie and Josh standing next to it talking. I waited for them to leave before going to my car. When I got to the rink, I had to park way back because of all of the other cars. While walking to the rink I was pushed forward. That was when I saw Josh standing there with a gun pointed at me. The gun went off. When I opened my eyes, I saw Connie and Josh fighting over the gun. When Connie had the gun, I tackled Josh. The security guards took Josh away."
"Thank you Adam. Your witness counselor." Huddy said going back to his seat.
"Adam I know you have Bronchitis and you being here was against doctors orders but there are questions I must ask you." He was pretending to care. I already didn't like Cranston. "First question. Before you found out Josh was a part of the ignored were you two friends?"
"Yes."
"You actually tried to get your Duck friends to be nicer to him is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Then why would a friend try to shoot you?"
Whoa now there was a question I hadn't anticipated. "Wait Josh and I weren't friends at the time. I'm not even sure if we were friends at all. Josh said that night that I had taken what should have been his. That he should be captain and not me."
"Interesting." He went back to his desk and picked something up. "Let me read something from this. It says: I can't believe Adam was going to kill himself! I walked in when he was about to swallow a handful of pills. I grabbed them out of his hand. What had he been thinking?" He put the papers down. "Does that sound familiar?"
I knew what that was! It was Jesse's journal! How'd he get that? It had been sitting on my desk at home. There was no way anyone could have gotten it! Terry had had it. But would he have photocopied that? "That's Jesse Hall's journal. How'd you get that?"
"I was asked not to reveal the source. Do you admit to having been suicidal?"
"I was twelve years old!" I yelled. "Read the rest of it! You'll see why!"
"Mr. Banks please calm down." The judge said.
"Adam isn't it true that Jesse Hall, who was your best friend, jumped off a cliff in 1995?"
"Yes but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Objection your honor!" Huddy said quickly coming to my defense. "What happened to Jesse has nothing to do with this!"
"Objection sustained."
I was almost crying. Why were they bringing that up? Huddy was right. It had nothing to do with it.
"Your honor if Adam has a history of attempting suicide and his best friend killed himself could he have invented this that Josh fired at him?"
"What? But if you read it I never even swallowed those pills!"
"Mr. Banks you need to calm down or you will be held in contempt. Objection is still sustained."
"Fine. I have no more questions." Cranston said.
"Mr. Huddy would you like to question the witness any further?"
"No your honor."
"Mr. Banks you may leave."
I walked out of the courthouse worried about what the outcome would be.
***
Dedication: To my friend Doug Hilkey who was killed 6 and a half years ago after 'accidentally' being shot. He was only sixteen. Still say it's bs. A friend of his pointed a gun at him, pulled the trigger, and swore he thought it was empty. Not that I'm planning to kill Banksie but still...
Not Letting It Go
Wednesday, against doctor's orders, I sat in the courtroom. They were going to let me speak first so I could go home. I still felt like crap. When I was younger, I went to a trial my dad was working. There was a group of people that were the jury.
Charlie sat down next to me. "You okay?"
"They won't let me take my medicine so I'm okay. My mother said if I get pneumonia she'll sue the person who decided this." I said with a smile and started coughing. My dad handed me the bottled water he purchased from the soda pop machine.
I sat up straighter when Josh was brought in. His eyes seemed to be looking for me. When they found me, he glared. I guess it's a good thing he has handcuffs and an officer standing next to him.
I saw other students that weren't really involved. I wonder if Eden Hall didn't have classes today. Marcy, Lenny, Brandy, Eric, and Clara took seats behind me. Guy was next to Charlie. The other Ducks were sitting in the first three rows. The Football team and the rest of the group sat on the other side.
The judge came in. "Just a reminder to Mr. Huddy and Mr. Cranston Adam Banks will be called first. Ask what you need to now. He won't be available for questioning again."
Mr. Huddy. Hmm I think Coach Bombay talked about him once. How they competed in the courtroom against each other. He was supposed to be a good DA but not as good as Bombay. I hope that Bombay's presence doesn't bother Mr. Huddy.
After the opening arguments, they called me onto the stand. I wonder why this is necessary and then I find out why. Josh is trying to say that he hadn't intended to shoot me. Oh yeah like that's going to work. Unless Connie, Brian, and Tina lie. Would they lie? I wondered. I wouldn't know but the others promised to fill me in later.
I was called up. I took a seat in the chair. I was asked to state my full name. Which I said Adam Bartholomew Banks.
Frank Huddy smiled at me. I guess hoping to reassure me I don't know. "Adam what happened on September eighth of 1996?"
"Tina Johanson, who was my girlfriend at the time, and I went to Mall of America to see All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 and Ace Ventura. When we were leaving the mall to go to the bus stop, we ran into Cole and two other people. They beat me up a little and then my friend Les and his two cousins saw what was going on and stopped them."
"Objection your honor!" Cranston said. "What does this have to do with Josh?"
"It has a lot to do with Josh." Huddy interjected. "Your honor I was just getting to that."
"Objection overruled."
I sighed. Good. Huddy continued. "Rick Riley was found to have set that up correct?"
"Yes."
"What happened on September 23 1996?"
"I had been at home. Dean Buckley sent me home for a week after someone dumped red paint in my locker and then destroyed my locker. I spent the morning cleaning out my father's desk. I found a stack of old Eden Hall newsletters that my father had been getting since my brother Jeffrey went there." I was stopped as I was seized by a coughing fit. I took a drink of water.
"Did you find anything of interest in those newsletters?" Huddy asked.
"Yes. I found a list of the original 1995 Eden Hall JV Hockey team that the Ducks replaced. I was on there as well as Brendan Inez, Mikah Riley, and William Armstrong. Who are all on Varsity now? I found one name that surprised me the most. Josh Walker. I had known he was on the golf team but I had no clue that he was a hockey player. I tried to call the others to tell them but no one answered. I asked Martha, our housekeeper, to drive me to Eden Hall. She dropped me off at the rink because the Ducks usually played on the weekends against each other. What I found was some a group that called themselves the ignored. I was shocked to find my girlfriend, a Varsity teammate, and two people that I thought were my friends were a part of the group. Josh Walker was the leader."
"Objection your honor! That is purely speculation!" Cranston said.
"Your honor Eden Hall already found this to be fact. May I present exhibit a which is the decision of the board?" Huddy handed both Cranston and the judge copies of it.
"I'm sorry Huddy but Cranston is correct. Objection sustained. The jury will ignore that part of the witness's statement. Continue counselor."
"Adam how did the rest of the year go? Did you have any more problems?"
"No not with them. Hockey season ended with us winning our twelfth consecutive state title. I was chosen captain for the next year and everything went fine until the first day assembly."
"What happened that day?"
"I was giving a speech about the hockey season when someone yelled for me to look out. I moved just before a light fell where I had been standing. I was grateful for whoever warned me but worried about maybe the group was back."
"Anything else happen after that?"
"No not for a week or two. Someone cut out part of my jersey and then dropped golf balls with the number nine on them. Later the football team and some of the Varsity cheerleaders were harassing me. Right before the crowning of the Homecoming Queen, Sam West made comments about how the football team should be getting more attention. At the dance a paper mache fish fell and hit me in the head. A couple days later the football team came to my dorm and started pounding on the door. They left after giving me a warning. After that, someone started sending me email from an AOL account that they hacked into. At first I had thought it was being sent by Terry Hall until his mother called me and told me someone must have hacked into their account because their computer had been disconnected for a month and a half." I was glad that Cranston hadn't objected to any of that.
"What happened on Halloween?"
"I was sick and spent almost all day in the nurse's office. When she allowed me to leave, I decided to go to the game. I knew Coach Wilson wasn't going to let me play so I sat with some friends. Halfway through the game I started feeling sick so I went back to the dorm. That's when I got a phone call from Mrs. Hall about the emails. I had to tell the others. I didn't feel like walking so I planned to drive my BMW. I saw Connie and Josh standing next to it talking. I waited for them to leave before going to my car. When I got to the rink, I had to park way back because of all of the other cars. While walking to the rink I was pushed forward. That was when I saw Josh standing there with a gun pointed at me. The gun went off. When I opened my eyes, I saw Connie and Josh fighting over the gun. When Connie had the gun, I tackled Josh. The security guards took Josh away."
"Thank you Adam. Your witness counselor." Huddy said going back to his seat.
"Adam I know you have Bronchitis and you being here was against doctors orders but there are questions I must ask you." He was pretending to care. I already didn't like Cranston. "First question. Before you found out Josh was a part of the ignored were you two friends?"
"Yes."
"You actually tried to get your Duck friends to be nicer to him is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Then why would a friend try to shoot you?"
Whoa now there was a question I hadn't anticipated. "Wait Josh and I weren't friends at the time. I'm not even sure if we were friends at all. Josh said that night that I had taken what should have been his. That he should be captain and not me."
"Interesting." He went back to his desk and picked something up. "Let me read something from this. It says: I can't believe Adam was going to kill himself! I walked in when he was about to swallow a handful of pills. I grabbed them out of his hand. What had he been thinking?" He put the papers down. "Does that sound familiar?"
I knew what that was! It was Jesse's journal! How'd he get that? It had been sitting on my desk at home. There was no way anyone could have gotten it! Terry had had it. But would he have photocopied that? "That's Jesse Hall's journal. How'd you get that?"
"I was asked not to reveal the source. Do you admit to having been suicidal?"
"I was twelve years old!" I yelled. "Read the rest of it! You'll see why!"
"Mr. Banks please calm down." The judge said.
"Adam isn't it true that Jesse Hall, who was your best friend, jumped off a cliff in 1995?"
"Yes but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Objection your honor!" Huddy said quickly coming to my defense. "What happened to Jesse has nothing to do with this!"
"Objection sustained."
I was almost crying. Why were they bringing that up? Huddy was right. It had nothing to do with it.
"Your honor if Adam has a history of attempting suicide and his best friend killed himself could he have invented this that Josh fired at him?"
"What? But if you read it I never even swallowed those pills!"
"Mr. Banks you need to calm down or you will be held in contempt. Objection is still sustained."
"Fine. I have no more questions." Cranston said.
"Mr. Huddy would you like to question the witness any further?"
"No your honor."
"Mr. Banks you may leave."
I walked out of the courthouse worried about what the outcome would be.
***
Dedication: To my friend Doug Hilkey who was killed 6 and a half years ago after 'accidentally' being shot. He was only sixteen. Still say it's bs. A friend of his pointed a gun at him, pulled the trigger, and swore he thought it was empty. Not that I'm planning to kill Banksie but still...