A New Perspective
Ever since I was little, I'd dreamed of being a lawyer and going to Harvard, just like my father had before me. But nothing in my life had ever been as stressful as coming to Harvard Law. I'd been ecstatic when Callahan had taken me on as an intern - imagine working on a real murder trial! - but that was before I realized how difficult this case would be to win. Brook Windham didn't trust any of us - except, of course, Elle.
Elle.
A month ago, if someone had asked me what I thought of Elle Woods, I wouldn't've had anything nice to say. How dare she come here and try to steal back Warner! I would've made some dumb blond jokes and prayed to God for the day when Elle Woods flunked out of Harvard Law.
Now, I didn't know what to think. When Elle applied herself, she had proven herself a seriously capable law student, even securing one of the four intern spots Callahan offered. Out of the six qualified people on the Defense team, she'd been the only one to gain Brook's trust and even gotten Brook to tell her the alibi. And then she refused to tell the rest of the team what it was.
I gave her my word, Elle had said firmly. And even though this frustrated me to no end, I couldn't help being impressed. I remembered what Warner had said immediately afterwards: If you tell him he'll probably hire you as a summer associate. Who cares about Brook - think about yourself.
I agreed with him, then immediately felt ashamed. I would like to think I'd never betray someone's trust, but God, for a guaranteed career - that's something I'd practically sell my soul for. As much as it pained me to admit it, I admired the way Elle had stood firm and refused to betray Brook. Would I have done that if I'd been in her shoes? I wondered. I sighed.
Whatever I thought about that situation, it was probably safer to assume that the defense wouldn't have an alibi for Brook when the trial started on Monday. Which meant we had to find some extremely redeeming evidence immediately. I shuffled through the papers on my desk, looking for the deposition on the murder case. I couldn't find it. Oh, yeah, I realized, Callahan gave it to Elle today to study. I got up and walked down the hall to Elle's room. The prospect of talking to her didn't disgust me nearly as much as it had at the beginning of the year. I reached Elle's door and knocked.
"Come in."
I eased the door open to see Elle in sweats, her eyes skimming the deposition.
"Are you done with that deposition yet?" Elle looked up.
"Oh, yeah - Here, take it. I've read it like twenty times."
So had I. And I wasn't sure I could find something to save the case if I read it another twenty times. I turned to go, then stopped.
"You know, Elle...I still can't believe you didn't tell Callahan the alibi." Elle looked me in the eye.
"It's not my alibi to tell." I had to agree - it wasn't her alibi, it was Brook's.
"I know…" I hesitated, "and I thought that was very...classy of you."
"Really?" Elle asked quietly. I smiled tentatively at her.
"Sure." Elle looked like she didn't know what to think.
"Thanks." I nodded at turned to leave, then changed my mind. I turned back to Elle.
"Did you ever notice how Callahan never asks Warner to bring him his coffee? I mean, he's asked me at least ten times."
Elle laughed, "Men are helpless, you know that!" I did know that. And now that I thought about it…
"I know, Warner doesn't even do his own laundry."
"I know, he has to have it sent out!" she agreed.
"I know!" I giggled. I went on, "Did you know when he first applied, he got wait-listed." Elle looked astonished.
"What?" I hadn't believed it either, at first. I went and sat on the edge of her bed and confided,
"His father had to make a call."
"You're kidding!" I shook my head and laughed. Elle tried to wrap her head around what I'd just told her. I suddenly noticed a small dog snuggled in her lap.
"Oh, God, that's such a precious dog!"
"His name is Bruiser, do you want to hold him?" Elle asked, picking him up, "He's very friendly."
"Sure." I loved dogs. My family's dog recently had to be put down, and it had been really hard. Bruiser started licking my face.
"Look, he likes you!" Elle said. I sort of laughed.
"He's giving me kisses!" We both smiled. I handed Bruiser back, "Thanks for letting me hold him."
"Sure." I stood up and stretched. I should probably get back to work.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Elle."
"Uh-huh," she agreed, "Good night."
"Good night."
As I walked down the hall, I thought about what had just happened. Maybe Elle wasn't a typical Harvard student, but she was actually pretty smart. And though she definitely wasn't my favorite person, we'd found common ground. Maybe we could work together after all.