A week passed. At school, Danny ran into Matt again. He looked worse now. Mostly from Danny's beating. The trial was in two days. Danny was getting more nervous every second. This trial would decide the fate of his father. Matt couldn't help but smile.
"See you tomorrow."
Danny wanted to kick his butt again, but the principal said that if he ever fought again, he would be suspended.
The two days passed slowly. But eventually, it was time for the trial…
Everyone sat there nervously. Matt's lawyer asked Matt questions first.
"Tell us exactly what happened."
Matt sighed. 'Oh quit the drama' thought Danny.
"Well. My friends and I were in the park, minding our own buisiness. Danny and I have had many disagreements in the past. Soon, he comes up to us with his cousins and friends. He started an argument with us. Pretty soon he called his dad out here with us. His friends start attacking my friends and his uncle comes up to me and starts beating me up with a metal pipe."
That was a complete lie. Everyone knew that. All of this wasn't neccesary. Beef like this never popped off like this in Atlanta. Everyone knew everyone's limits. If the guy you had beef with beat you up once, then the beef was over. The guy who's tougher won. That was it. But when you're messing with a maniac like Matt. Stuff gets escalated.
The lawyer asked questions to the other socs too. They pretty much said the same things. The only difference was that they were talking about what happened while they claimed they were fighting. He then called Trix to the stand and asked his questions to him.
"Where were you the night Mr. Jones claimed to be attacked"
"I was at the house."
"Whose house."
"My brother's."
"Did you ever approach the scene of the crime?"
"Yes. I went up there before the other kids ran. I then gave my son's girlfriend a ride home."
After the lawyer finished, they had a quick recess. It was going to continue after about thirty minutes. Danny went into the bathroom and washed his face. He was going to be interveiwed now. He could feel it.
When he walked out he saw Houston standing there. He was real nervous. I don't think he's ever been in a courtroom. Danny was in the courtroom once. One of his friends broke into a package store.
The recess was over. First Darry asked Maria some questions.
"Maria. Please tell me what happened the night of the crime."
Maria started slowly.
"I was in my house, studying for a test. My parents were out of town at the time. I heard something in the front of the house, but I didn't give it any attention. I had my back towards the door of my bedroom and someone grabbed me and tied something around my mouth. I was thrown into the back of a car and driven to the park. I saw Matt and his friends pull me out of the car and tie me to a pole. They said if I make any noise then they would kill me. I was afraid that they might have a gun in the car and shoot me so I didn't say a word. Matt pulled out his cell phone and called Danny. He told me to get him down to the park and I told Danny. When he got there, he had his friends with him. But he didn't do anything but try to convince Matt to let me go. Then Matt called me a…a."
Darry looked at her.
"What did he call you?"
Maria cleared her throat and said,
"He called me a…H-O-E"
Maria was always a clean girl. She continued.
"They then started fighting and one of Danny's cousins untied me.
Matt and his friends ran when Danny's father walked up there. He didn't do anything though. Matt ran into a pole and caused his face more damage."
Everyone in the courtroom looked confused. They made it look like she was lying about when he ran into a pole.
"Thank you, Maria," said Darry.
Darry went on and asked some of the other teens what happened. He even asked Matt a couple of questions. When he got to Danny it was different. When he called Danny up, Danny got up slowly. He walked up to the bench with sweat pouring down his face. You would have thought it was Danny who was going to jail, not Trix.
Before Darry started, Danny glanced at his dad. His dad gave him a look of confidence. It was the same look his mother had always given him. Whenever Danny was in some sort of situation, his mother would look at him this way. Trix's facial expression meant
'You're my son, no matter what happens'.
Darry didn't ask Danny the questions he asked everyone else.
"Danny, when you first met your father. What kind of things did he tell you?"
Danny looked confused and nervous. He took a deep breath and answered.
"He told me stuff like how he was going get his life back together. He was trying to start over."
"Did he ever give you any advice?"
"He said 'Have Faith in Family and Friends.'"
The other two Curtis brothers were surprised at what Danny was saying. They knew that their brother had changed a lot. He was becoming a good role model. When he was younger he was just you average hood.
When Darry finished, Danny calmed down a little. He was still confused though. Why did Darry ask him those questions. Oh well, Darry knows what he's doing.
When Darry finished with everyone, the jury was about to enter the room and make their decision. Suddenly, Darry said something
"Excuse me. I have some evidence that the jury would maybe like to see."
He pulled out a shoebox. It was obvious something was in it. The guard held the shoebox and checked it breifly. He then walked in with one of the jurors. After a moment, he walked out of the room and stood at the door.
Everyone wondered what that evidence was. It was killing Danny. It seemed like ages before one the jurors finally came out of the room.
"Has the jurors reached a decision?"
"Yes," started one of the jurors.
Danny stood there staring at the the juror. Trix was doing the same. It was complete silence in the courtroom.
"We find the defendant, Trix Curtis…"