It was a shame just how accurate the saying 'all good things come to an end' appeared to ring at times. There had been at least some hope that things could shift away into something more positive. But that was just wishful thinking, wasn't it?
This was something that both Rudy and Penny had come to understand, as well as their folks. The next three days hadn't been kind to them. At least not mentally. They had tried their best to stay strong, to try to prepare for what was about to come. But despite their best efforts, it didn't appear like it was going to be likely. It seemed like, no matter how hard that they tried, it was not going to change.
The hearing or whatever it was called was scheduled very soon. It became a source of great stress for them all as they tried to prepare for it. Emotions rang high, some conflicts occurred, some remorse happened, all because of that one day that was coming up that none of them could avoid.
Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie had no idea how they were going to go through with this. They had no idea how they were going to handle trying to defend themselves. The doctor and the officer didn't seem to sympathize with them much. At least, certainly not enough to try to pardon them. Those two insisted that it was related to the law, but sometimes, the Tabooties couldn't help but wonder if they just simply had it out for them.
Rudy himself was really not looking forward to this. He knew that he would be expected to tell the court what happened on those days. He was obligated to tell the truth, something he could not do at any point that revolved around ChalkZone. He feared that, in his attempt to protect ChalkZone, he would end up making his parents look bad. He might accidentally fool people into thinking that his parents were abusing him or something.
Penny and Mrs. Sanchez did promise they would be there to offer support, but they likely wouldn't be able to speak. Maybe as witness to try to defend Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie in hopes of throwing out the case. Maybe defend Rudy as well. But neither of them felt that they could say enough to persuade the court in releasing those two. Rudy's own testimony was going to be their downfall, whether he wanted it to be or not.
Rudy had to return to school. It was more out of his own accord than anyone forcing him. He wanted to at least try to return to level of normality. He wanted to at least try to move on and feel like things weren't out of hand anymore. But it hadn't been that easy, especially with homework. It was so hard to read anything and Mr. Wilter had some trouble printing something big enough for him to use.
At least Reggie left him alone. Though Rudy wasn't really sure if that was out of kindness or his own blackmail. He did have something on Reggie that kept the bully from causing him too much trouble. Rudy wanted to believe Reggie was nice enough to at least not pester him after his crisis, but a part of him couldn't help but think that he was only not saying anything due to his blackmail.
Snap had been doing a little better. The situation with the baker zoner hadn't yet fully diffused. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that it would take a while. At least the zoner was letting Snap visit a few times and leave him some gifts. It was a good step forward. Most of the zoners try not to bring up the incident, although many started to avoid Snap now. It did upset him, but a part of him realized that he did kind of deserve this.
At least ChalkZone hadn't been suffering many issues. Really minor stuff. Things that Penny could easily take care of herself without getting caught or anything. There were no signs of Skrawl, although the trio tried to remain on the alert for him. Just because he hadn't made a move didn't mean that he wasn't there, waiting to strike. He could make his move any moment. That would just add the icing on the cake for Rudy, as far as he was concerned.
They all hoped that Skrawl stayed well out of this. They really hoped that he wasn't going to rear his ugly head during this time when they had other things to worry about. Though they had their doubts that Skrawl would just hang back only because of what was going on. Once he found out Rudy was blind, he would take full advantage of that.
As a result, Snap suggested that Rudy stay with a bodyguard at all times. Of course, he volunteered himself. Penny got into a little debate with him why she couldn't take up that role or why another zoner could not. Rudy had settled it by saying that he'll just stick with them both. He tried to hide the fact that he didn't enjoy the idea of being babysat. But a part of Penny and Snap could tell, though they remained silent on it.
All in all, the situations were still a little tense and there was little reason to believe that it was about to go away any time soon. The court hearing was about to happen soon, and that was more than enough to burn on their minds, force them to keep thinking about it. They knew that the tension would not fully leave until after this trial was over.
Snap had hoped that he could join, but Rudy and Penny warned him that he could not. They didn't know how long it was going to be and they didn't know what would happen if he stayed outside too long. And what if water were to get on him? They didn't want him to end up getting hurt.
So despite Snap's protests and assurances that he would be fine, the two children had to insist that he, Blocky, Rapsheeba, any other zoners who wanted to come stay out of it. Rudy and Penny didn't want to risk any of them getting hurt. They would never forgive themselves.
None of them looked forward to the trial, but they all hoped that it will be done and over with. They hoped that, by the end of it all, it would just be some bad memory and they can just move on with their lives.
But life had a way of being more complicated than that. They had to expect the unexpected, to prepare for unforeseen consequences. That might sound pretty cliche, but it was still something that they were all aware of and they all agreed on how important that it was that they remembered to stay vigilant.
But how things would ultimately go... only time would tell.
sss
So this was the day. This was the moment that everyone was waiting for, but really didn't want to go through with. There was no turning back no. Within a few hours, it was all going to start. And there was nothing that they could do about it except just go through with it.
A part of Dr. Bendor did feel a little uneasy about the whole thing. He had hoped that he could sit this one out, but he quickly realized that was not going to be the case. The court wanted him present to testify that Rudy had indeed told him what he informed Officer Lou. So there goes any of his chances of just putting this behind him and pretending it never happened.
He still felt guilty to an extent on what happened and what needed to be done. He still felt as though he had violated someone in sense. In this case, Rudy's innocense, and the fact that his words could help tear a family apart.
He could just back out of the whole thing, claim it was all a lie, and maybe that would help stop all of this. But no, he knew he couldn't do that. Not only would it be wrong as he would be obstructing justice, but he would be seriously harmed as well. He could not afford to lose this job. He had worked so hard on it. Despite his gut feeling, he refused to step down. He had a feeling that Officer Lou felt similarily. Like him, he didn't want to back down as he had already started to conduct this, and anything less could harm him.
But that didn't make this thing any easier. That didn't make it so simple to just get this done and over with. It was going to be quite the struggle. No matter what happened in the end, they both would have impacted this family. Would they retaliate either way?
Then there was the situation with Rudy. He claims to be fine with his parents. They both wanted that to be true. But there was still a chance that he was lying. Maybe hiding something about his parents. It just made him look all the more suspicious. Dr. Bendor hated to feel this way regarding Rudy and his parents, but the evidence was still pointing in that direction. Just as much as before, too, if not even more.
As the doctor sat in this room and waited for Officer Lou to call him to tell him that he had arrived to bring him to court, Dr. Bendor continued to think about what had happened with the two of them earlier over the phone. A few days ago, he had called Officer Lou to speak to him about something. He had no idea if it would affect the outcome of the court or not.
But he still had to wonder. Would Rudy's family history play a role in all of this? That question kept popping up in his mind and it wouldn't leave him alone.
He was not exactly ordered to find this information. It just so happened he had overheard someone talking about the Tabooties. Possibly one of their neighbors. There was a comment that Rudy generally only got alone with his Aunt Tilly, who was his mom's sister. He didn't appear to like his other relatives, and they didn't like him. He was like the black sheep of the family.
This spurred in a lot of questions into the doctor's mind. Could this be influencing what was going on? Were his parents' behaviors reflecting that? Was it not just his parents who were being neglectful, but the entire family?
If that were the case, then that was going to make this whole situation even more complicated. What were they going to do if the parents were found guilty? Would it be wise to send Rudy to a family member or should they send him to a foster home? Should they let him stay with his Aunt Tilly, who seemed to have a good connection with him, or would that just be handing the boy to someone else neglectful. He knew not enough about this Aunt Tilly to know for sure.
He fell silent when he heard his phone rumble. Looks like that officer arrived...
sss
Mr. Tabootie forced a sigh out of his partially open mouth. He turned his head to look over at his wife. She wore a similiar expression as him. Worry and fear, not wanting to go through with this. They all wished that this would be the case. But sadly, they all knew what was to come.
Today was the day of the trial, after all.
There was no way that they could forget. The event was marked on the calender on the wall. They didn't want to potentially forget, lest they land themselves into bigger trouble. The circle was drawn with red and the words written in the same color as well. It was such an alarming thing to see and that was why they chose that color.
He had tried his best to remain as stoic as possible during the morning procedure. He made sure that he was up and took a shower and got dressed. He made sure that his wife and son were also ready. Even though none of them wanted to leave so quickly, a part of him knew that being ready quickly was their best option. Then they could just sit around and try to chat for a while as the time ticked by.
Breakfast had been awfully quiet that morning. Not that he was surprised. It wasn't that there was nothing to say. It was that there was way too much to say. They all had several thoughts on their minds. They all couldn't get this trial out of their head. They all knew what would happen at the end of it all. They exchanged looks with each other a few times. No words were spoken, but their eyes yielded enough thoughts to understand what was going on in their mind.
Perhaps the most sickening thing about this was that they knew the consequences that most likely would take place. They all knew that this could very well be their last time together. Their last breakfast together as a family... That would surely explain why everything tasted so sore despite it being made like normal.
Mr. Tabootie had tried in vain to cancel the whole thing. He knew that it wouldn't work. He knew that the officer would not listen to him. And deep down, he knew that it messed up his chances of Rudy staying with them. He probably sounded really suspicious over the phone and that was not what he wanted.
Now there was nothing that could be done. Far less than before, and it was partially because he tried to, as the officer had said, 'obstruct justice'. This would not be reflected favorably upon him.
He hadn't mentioned his folly to his family. He wasn't sure how to bring it up. They would surely be angry at him for making things worse. But in the end, how much did that really matter, anyway? Even if he hadn't tried, those people were still going to condemn them. He couldn't see them being so forgiving when their son got permanent eye damage.
That was probably what hurt him and his wife the most. He had tried to cope with the guilt that came with it, but he was not preferred for the onslaught of emotions that came when the nurse relayed this information to them. It immediately wiped away any angry thoughts he or his wife had regarding why the nurse hadn't thought of using the machine before. Or maybe they misunderstood something or whatever. But regardless, his mind had been infested with horrific guilt that made every breath stingy.
The very thought of Rudy having permanent eye damage because of what they had done... That was far worse than any punishment that they could possibly recieve. It mattered not if Rudy were allowed to stay with them or not. The guilt was always going to be there. It would always hold onto their minds, reminding them about how that one time they didn't watch their kid resulted in this.
Maybe they did deserve this sort of punishment. Maybe it was just meant to be. Mrs. Sanchez was right. They should have been watching Rudy. And now, look at what was becoming of their mistake...
Mr. Tabootie shut his eyes tightly as he struggled to keep himself from crying. It was such a difficult task to pull. It was hard to keep all of the tears in his eyes. He could feel them moving down his cheeks. He could then feel fingers on his face and he turned to see his wife stroking her finger underneath his eyes, wiping away the tears. The two of them exchanged looks with each other before leaning in for a hug.
Rudy was still situated away from them. He had been standing by the window, staring out, for quite some time. Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie watched this with a sense of despair. They knew what Rudy was trying to do. Even if he said nothing, the truth was rather obvious.
He was trying in vain to see properly. He was looking outside of the window and trying to see if he could force his damaged eyes to work properly again. It was such a sad sight to see, and only served to further remind them of the damage that they had done to their son. They glanced at each other worriedly before staring back at their son. They wished that they could find something to say to him, but their mouths remained shut tightly.
They soon turned their heads to the clock that hung overhead. They flinched when they saw what time it was. Every second, the hand inched closer to the point where they really needed to leave. Each time it got closer, the worse their stomachs twisted and the more that they wanted to throw up.
But it didn't matter what they thought. In the end, this was something that needed to be done. If they had any ounce of dignity, if they wanted to show people that they really weren't bad parents, then they needed to be there. If they tried to bail, it would only reflect badly upon them and Rudy would be taken away.
Was there a chance that they could keep them from taking Rudy? Was there a sliver of hope that would let them remain together? Or was this truly their last time together?
There wasn't much of a way to be a hundred percent certain of that. But they knew there was only one way to find out.
They needed to go.
After a few more moments of silently pondering this, Mr. Tabootie decided that now was the best time to leave. If they waited too much longer, it might start looking a little suspicious. Pulling away from his wife and standing up slowly, he stretched up his arms for a second before he addressed his family. "I think it's time we headed out."
Rudy immediately swerved his head in the direction of his father. His eyes were wide in shock. "What...?"
Mrs. Tabootie looked up at her husband. "Joe, are you sure?"
Mr. Tabootie nodded his head solemnly. "It's either we head out now, or..." He lowered his head. "I-I just don't want to screw things up."
"B-But... Isn't it..." Rudy didn't look that eager to go. Joe couldn't blame his son. After all, Rudy knew what this meant. "We can't just wait a little onger?" He took a small step backwards. "We can't...?" He appeared to be struggling to say something. Eventually, he choked out, "We can't just leave?"
As much as he hated to do it, the man shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rudy. But we can't just leave town and skip this. You know that it would only make things worse. So now... Come along." Mr. Tabootie gestured to Rudy as well as his wife. "Let's...get going."
They didn't leave right away. They all seemed to freeze to look at each other once more. Even when they started to move towards the door, their muscles were hard and stiff and each movement took a lot of strength. They headed towards the door painfully slowly and when they got there, they stopped altogether.
At this moment, they looked at each other once more, exchanging glances. They bit their lips as they looked into each other's eyes. They then looked at the interior of their home. Never before had looking at this make them feel sick, but here they were. They were all too aware that this might be their last time leaving the house as a family unit.
They had to force themselves to look away as they headed towards the car. They were not alone; some of their neighbors came to watch, all of whom said they'd be at the trial. At least this time, they were not saying anything or holding up signs. Nothing more than judgmental stares. Mr. Tabootie and his wife and son ignored these to the best of their ability as they headed into the car to leave.
As they left, Mr. Tabootie could feel several thoughts moving through him. He pressed his teeth against his lip slightly, wetting his bottom lip with his tongue. This was going to be such a defining moment in their family life.
The rest of the way there was filled with awkward silence.
sss
Penny did not feel comfortable about doing this at all. And yet she couldn't just avoid going to the trial. She had promised Rudy that she would be there for moral support. Even if she and her mom likely wouldn't be able to sway things in the family's favor, they could at least try to be helpful to them in an emotional way. They were going to need it after this, regardless of the outcome.
Penny had a feeling that she and her mom would be among the few there who would support Rudy's parents. Well to some degree, anyway. Her mom was not happy with Rudy's parents, the actions that they had taken. But she was still friendlier about it than the other neighbors. Even after Mr. Tabootie had an argument with her mother, that didn't really sway her decision.
Penny started to wonder if Rudy's Aunt Tilly and his cousin Sophie were going to be there. Had he mentioned them? She could not remember. She was only aware that they lived a bit aways from this place. The chances of them coming were a bit slimmer. But she wanted to imagine that they would want to be here to try to defend family.
Of course, there was still the chance that Tilly wouldn't approve of what had happened. She might be even angrier than the neighbors as Millie was her sister. She might have expected something better from her. But despite that, Penny still had some confidence that Tilly would want to still speak up for her sister. After all, that's what families do, right?
But none of this held a candle to how she felt about the events to come. None of this fully eased her pain in knowing that Rudy might be forced to leave. She wanted to hope that things would be all right. But that was just wishful thinking, wasn't it? That was an unrealistic expectation and she knew it. This realization made her stomach burn and her fingers tingle. There was no getting out of this and she knew it.
She could feel her mother's hand pressing up against her shoulder for a few moments. Penny froze and stared at it, her eyes blinking slowly. Then she turned to stare over at her mother, whose eyes were averted away as she continued to drive the car.
"I'm sure it will be all right, Penita." Her mom's voice shuddered, easily giving away the fact that she had more on her mind. "You'll see..." Her hand dropped.
Penny wanted to believe her mother. She really did. But it was just...
How could this end well...?
Unable to sit still for any longer, Penny felt herself leaning towards her mother. She tried her best not to push against the woman too hard. She didn't want to accidentally make her go off the road or anything. But she also needed the comfort. She couldn't handle just sitting around doing nothing at this point. She needed some way to try to calm herself down. Her mother's warmth certainly helped.
Penny could feel her mind constantly swirling with thoughts, showing no signs of slowing down. She could feel it bombarding her head, striking against her, refusing to leave her alone. And there was very little that she could do to stop it. This realization made her flinch and suck in a sharp breath. She struggled to control herself, but she wasn't able to stop the tears from flowing.
Her mother took immediate notice of this. "I know it's going to be hard. You think that I enjoy this?" The woman released a small sigh. "I wish it didn't have to come to this, either."
"Why did it have to, mama?" Penny knew that this was a pretty dumb question. She already knew. Yet she still found herself asking anyway. "Why do things have to come to this? Why couldn't they just let it go?"
"You know exactly why, dear Penny. That's just who the law is."
"...the law is stupid."
"I know, but the law exists for a reason. I think you know what the alternative would be if we didn't have it."
Penny didn't attempt to answer that question. She knew that her mother was right.
These 'stupid laws' as she puts them, they were ultimately still preferable over no law at all. If the law didn't exist, she couldn't begin to imagine what horrible things would take place, what atrocities would be committed. The inconvenience that the law produces every so often is better than having some horrible thing happening and there being no way to stop it.
Penny shifted her head as her mom suddenly slammed her foot on the brakes. She felt herself being lurched forward painfully, nearly hitting her head against something hard. She managed to reel herself back and grip the seat behind her, keeping herself from being knocked forward a second time. She shook her head and looked around at her surroundings and she soon realized that her mom had stopped part way from the drive way that led to the court.
"I almost missed it." Her mother said without much fanfare. She slowly backed up and then turned into the parking lot. Her mom drove around and had to make one turn back in order to get to one of the parking spaces. She pulled in and she pushed the stick into the park slot.
Penny shuddered for a moment, both from that sudden stop and the fact that they were already here in this place. She took a moment to look around, a part of her mind wanting to make sure that she didn't end up suffering from another near collision. Then she managed to get herself to unbuckle her seatbelt even with trembling hands.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Mrs. Sanchez said to her daughter apologetically.
"It's all right." Penny whispered back.
After brushing herself off and trying to get rid of what left of her shakes, Penny jumped out of the vehicle and started to follow her mother closely behind. She tilted her head back as she stared at the large building before her. Tall and imposing, its shadow upon her made her feel cold. How very appropriate... She knew that the potential fate of the Tabootie family would indeed be cold.
As she and her mother traveled towards the building, she could see movement out of the corner of her eyes. Penny turned her head just in time to see Officer Lou heading into the building. As she watched him carefully, her eyes narrowed and her lips curled back into a small snarl. Even understanding why he was doing it, that didn't make her any more comfortable with him.
Soon the two Sanchezes arrived at the door. They stopped for a few seconds and just stared at it. This was the first time they had approached this place. There was definitely something about it that felt different. Even the act of reaching for the doorknob was difficult. She noticed how her mother had to force herself to grab onto it and turn it carefully. And then, as much as they both hated to do it, they stepped inside.
sss
So this really was it, wasn't it? Officer Lou thought that it would allow some of the tension to finally leave him. And yet here was, feeling as sick as ever. Trying to shrug it off was difficult, no matter how many times he wiped his hands against his pant legs.
He looked over at where Dr. Bendor was. The doctor was preparing for his speech. He would be one of the first people called up into witness. That much was certain. Officer Lou himself also needed to be prepared.
At least in here, they could comfort each other until that time came. They could try to help each other through this. They could help one another prepare for what they had to do.
But in the end, neither of them were going to enjoy this. They would forever have this hanging over their conscience. Nothing they could do would help. It didn't matter if they prosecuted the parents or let them go free. Someone was going to be unhappy. All they could do was just...do their job.
But deep down, they did silently hope that...
"Dr. Bendor! It's almost time!"
Officer Lou watched sadly as Dr. Bendor headed on out to help start the trial. And pretty soon, it would be Officer Lou's turn. He would be right after the doctor. A part of him wished things could be different, but that was life.
sss
Rudy struggled to get himself comfortable in his chair. Despite it being pretty large, certainly big enough to fit him, he just couldn't relax completely. He growled softly as he continued to try to adjust himself, only to fail and he eventually gave up. But it wasn't really the chair's fault; it was this room itself.
Rudy looked around, reluctantly reminding himself of the fact that he was now in the court room. A large room filled with several chairs behind him where people could join in and watch the trial, and a podium up front where the judge was currently standing, and the benches nearby for the juries, who would make the final verdict.
Just being in here caused a wave of discomfort to spread throughout Rudy's body. He swallowed hard as he tried to fend off his feelings of illness. But the feeling would not leave him. It constantly hounded him as though he was just some sort of snack to be eaten. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to pretend that none of this was real. But as soon as he opened up his eyes, he was given the shocking, horrible truth.
The trial of his parents was about to begin.
Rudy noticed that his parents were already sitting in front of him. They were positioned at the defendant's table, since they were the ones being judged. There was currently no one in the prosecutor's table, but he had a feeling that he himself was going to be moved there. If not him, then probably Dr. Bendor, who was the first one to question what had happened on the day that he was taken to the hospital.
Even with extremely blurry vision, it wasn't difficult for Rudy to tell what was going on. He could see the blurry blob, kinda chubby, that was the judge. The man up there looked like he was playing around with the mallet to pass the time, although Rudy might be mistaken on that. He could see the movements of the various jury members, skin tons varying and not lost under the blurry mix of his bad vision. He could hear the people behind him; this place hadn't been empty for very long, and of course recognizing his parents was a synch.
At first, he hadn't really noticed Penny anywhere. He thought that she would be up there in the front with her mother. But he couldn't recognize any of these blurry blobs as either of them. He wondered if they weren't able to make it, or if they decided to skip out. He shook off that last thought. No, they wouldn't do something like that. Maybe they...
"Hey, Rudy."
Rudy had to struggle not to shriek when he felt a hand lay down upon his shoulder. He jolted once before turning his head question to face whoever did that. He immediately recognized Penny's face, which was a bit less blurry given how close he was to her.
"Please don't scare me like that." Rudy whispered. He looked around the room for a moment before continuing, "...I wonder when the trial will start."
Penny looked at him with a look that he guessed was sympathetic. "I imagine it will be pretty soon." She reached out and touched Rudy's hand, this time not elicitating a bad response from Rudy like before. "Don't worry. It'll be okay."
Rudy wanted to believe her. Oh how he wanted to believe her... But they all knew what the odds were of his parents coming out of this okay. He knew that, despite their best efforts, this crowd was not going to look upon them very fondly. It was something that was just so obvious. If Dr. Bendor was anything to go by, along with that officer, this crowd behind him would just see his parents as nothing more than neglectful.
And him defending his parents? That was just going to be seen as more evidence of them 'manipulating' him. They will think that he was just trying to hide something far worse in hopes of keeping his parents from hurting him. The idea was ludicrous, but he knew that the people on the outside, looking in, were going to see it this way.
Mrs. Sanchez leaned in a little closer, sitting right next to her daughter. "I know it looks bad and I'm ashamed that I can't tell you that things will be completely fine. But please try to be strong. If not for you, then for your parents. They would need that."
Rudy tried to smile the best that he could. "Thanks." That was all that he could manage to say before his and everyone's attention was brought to the front of the room.
The judge had started to slam his mallet down, the tapping sound spreading throughout and locking everyone's attention, ensuring that every person in the room was now invested in the trial.
"We are gathered here today for the trial of Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie." The judge said. Rudy cringed slightly. The judge sounded slightly...unprofessional. Maybe this was his first time in a public trial? "Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie, you stand accused of multiple accounts of gross negligence regarding your son." The man gave a small pause before he continued, "How do you plead?"
Of course the answer was quite obvious. Almost immediately, his parents stood up and gave the same answer in unison.
"Not guilty, your honor."
Rudy flinched at the response that this had prompted. It wasn't really loud booing or anything, considering the fact that the judge would have silenced it. But he could still hear some grumblings from the crowd around him. He could hear their low hissing and statements of 'yeah right' being repeated over and over again.
They did die down, thankully. But this was only just the beginning. There was little reason to believe that they wouldn't speak to each other again, not caring if others heard them. He could feel their disgusted expressions staring intently at his parents. It didn't help that some of them were their neighbors, the same people that had been bothering his parents for a while. Rudy grit his teeth. Couldn't they just leave them alone?
"I see." The judge replied. "Well then, shall we commence with the trial?"
Mr. Tabootie nodded once. "Yes, your honor."
The judge turned his head and motioned towards one direction. "Officer Lou and Dr. Bendor. Please step forward."
Rudy found himself glaring at two men that started to come forth. They were positioned away from sight. Now here they came in from that spot and out in the open. They walked towards the front of the court room where they stood on the opposite side of the jury's bench. They stopped right there and glanced over at the judge for further instruction.
The judge raised his hand up in gesture. "Who would like to go first?"
There was something of a pause. Rudy thought he could see the two men looking at each other, as though debating on who should go first. He imagined that this was due to them working closely together on this case. They were, in a sense, partners. This revelation, of course, did not make Rudy feel any better. It just made him even more suspicious of this being a conspiracy of sorts.
Eventually one of the men stepped forward. Rudy narrowed his eyes a little to try to recognize who they were. Neither men were wearing their traditional uniforms for this, instead opting for what looked like generic yet still professional suits.
"I will." Ah, so it was Dr. Bendor who decided to speak up first. "Shall I take a seat?"
"Please do." The judge motioned for the man to go towards the witness bench, or whatever the heck this place calls it. Then the judge looked over in Rudy's general direction. At first, Rudy just thought that he was making sure everyone was silent, but then... "Rudy Tabootie, will you place take your seat in the prosecutor's table?"
Rudy stiffened up at this. He wasn't trying to prosecute his parents. Why would the judge ask him to sit there? Well sure, he kind of realized that this would happen. But that didn't mean that he enjoyed it much.
"Will you, Rudy Tabootie?" The judge said again.
"I..."
Rudy looked over at Mrs. Sanchez and Penny. They looked at him sympathetically and offered a small smile. They nodded their heads a couple of times, silently encouraging him to go forward. Rudy looked out at the bench before him before releasing a small sigh.
"Yes, your honor." Rudy nearly spat that word out as he got up and moved to the prosecutor's table. He sat down, feeling a little filthy as he did so. He fumbled with his fingers for a moment before looking over at his parents. He was so tempted to apologize to them, but he had a feeling that it would be used against them.
The judge tapped his mallet against the pad a couple of times. "All right then, the court is in session!" The man motioned his mallet towards Dr. Bendor. "If you may proceed..."
"Yes, of course." Dr. Bendor nodded his head a couple of times. "To begin..."
The trial had commensed.
