Disclaimer:Please see previous chapters.
A/N: I noticed I made a mistake. Darry said she may be able to go to Disney World, but Disney World wasn't open until 1966 and I set it in earlier 1960s because of the Elvis appearance on Ed Sullivan. I like to be accurate, and, although no one caught it, I want to apologize. That being said, I was very happy with the influx of reviews! Apparently, there was an error with the site and it didn't send e-mails out for a while. Feel free to go back and review the skipped chapter any time. I still look. Thanks for the great compliments. I'm really glad you like it! I hope you like this one as well. Look for possible surprises and a very long speech.
Babygirl
"Yep, it's an original name, but my dad was an original person..."
Chapter 14: Courtroom Proceedings
Although I never thought it possible, I now had my own horse and enjoyed going to lessons twice a week. No more ballet. No more etiquette. No more Sarah. Days became more bearable and even more predictable. School was the same. I sat with Nelly and Miles, tried to stay out of trouble, and read like mad. I still went to Mass and piano, but neither were too miserable.
One night, Milly and John went to a nice party, and, dressed to the nines, they left me with Marie. I was glad. John did me a huge favor by allowing Nelly to come over. It was a blast!
We played with all my junk and made a great Christmas list, including her stuff on it. We feasted on fruit, cookies, and grilled cheese. Then, we snuck around the house. We searched for money and found 37 cents. We searched for "weird grown-up stuff "and found nothing. We did have a little wine when Marie was distracted. We played a practical joke on her too and boy did she raise hell! We searched Milly and John's room and found a bottle of pills called "anti-depressants". We decided to ask Miles what that meant.
That was the end of our oh-so-incredible adventure for the evening. We went outside and played baseball until really late. We fell asleep around 11:00 pm, and I awoke the next morning to find the house eerie quiet. I went into the kitchen to find a Saturday morning breakfast of English Muffins laid out, and, smiling above them, none other than a pleasant looking Eugene!
"Eugene!" I practically squealed, and I, in case you haven't already figured, am not much of a squealer.
"Hey Baby!"
As I came around to give him a big hug around the waste, I found that was going to be impossible, unless I was about 3 feet high. Eugene was a wheelchair, like Johnny. My stomach fell about 4 feet.
"Eugene, what's wrong with your legs?" Not the most tactful, delicate way to put it.
"Nothing. Not a thing. I'm just supposed take it easy and not do to much lifting or walking around. It'll be best for my heart, you know. My heart's what did it."
"Oh."
"I don't get a hug?" I was careful, but I held on like glue.
"Eat your breakfast, girl." I grabbed a muffin as Nelly came in, rubbing her eyes.
"Nelly, this is Eugene."
"Hey, man? How's it goin'?"
"It's goin' all right." Eugene laughed. I felt good again to hear his laugh in this house.
It was then I saw the paper that brought me back to earth.
"Heros or Delinquents? Justice of Forgiveness? Today's trail decides."
It was like: the farther I tried to get away from my past, the faster it chased after me, until I was running from it even though I had never wanted to. I was kinda scared to slow down by now, but the paper pulled me to a stop.
"Eugene. I wanna go."
"Oh, Baby. I don't know about that..."
"Well, I do. I have to go."
"Well, I can't drive. How you gonna get there?"
"I know somebody who can take us," Nelly pipped up. I turned to gaze at her questioningly. "I can even take us there. No problem. You'll cover for us, right?"
"So long as its safe, I guess I could."
"Thanks."
"Thanks."
We left. 'Well,' I thought, as we made our way to the bus stop, 'if this isn't the blind leading the blind...'
"Where are we going?"
"Miles'," She said, as if it was obvious as day.
Taking the bus would have been exciting, if my stomach hadn't felt as if it would give out at any moment. Once we arrived, we walked around the neighborhood, looking for a mail box with his last name on it. Eventually, we found the matching box outside of a big iron gate.
Miles had the nicest house I'd ever seen. Not only was it huge, but it also had plethora of workers outside, some just landscaping. He had his own fountain in front! We got to the giant front door and it was opened by an elderly woman who must have been- from what Miles had to us- Ms. Kings. She seemed nice enough. She invited us in, and I was careful not to touch anything. Nelly was a different story.
"Wow, check this out! I don't even know what it is, but I think I want one."
I rolled my eyes. Miles came down the left side of a wrap staircase. He scrambled down, looking like just like he always did (only more surprised and even smaller than usual in his surroundings). Everything here seemed big, too big.
"Hey!"
"Hey! Could we ride with you to the courthouse?" Nelly didn't beat around the bush.
"I wasn't gonna go, but my dad is going with grandpa, so, yeah we can go...on one condition."
"Name it."
"You guys come back here after for lunch and we play ball and finish Robinson Caruso."
"Deal."
"Deal." We spit shook on it. That's when his dad walked in his fancy suit talking to-WHO?!
"Grandpopa, can my friends join us?"
"Sure."
As we left I whispered unbelievingly and harshly to Nelly: "You never bothered to tell me that Miles' grandpa was Massey?"
"You never asked." She looked incredulously. "He's his mother's father. Miles' dad works for him, and when Delia (his mom) left, he gave them this house. Make-up money as we call it."
"How do you know? He told you all that?" I was a little hurt that Miles hadn't told me.
"Heck no! I found out through my own, secret sources." I raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether to believe her or not.
"What's he doing going there?"
"He's representing Johnny and Pony."
"What? Johnny's a hood, and Pony's-!"
"Maybe John really likes you." Well, that was a concept.
The trial was slow and painstaking. It was horrible, hellish torture in its truest form. Not knowing whether your family would be split up despite all everyone had done to save it, and to waiting to have a group of nobodies decide if your brother and best friend were going to prison was the last way anyone intended to spend their Saturday. Nevertheless, that was the story for us. Good old Curtis law again, I guess.
From where I was sitting, I could see them sweat, both from their stifling, uncomfortable suits, and the nerves that were being pressed hard. I could hear their voices shake a little when they had to stand up to talk. I could see Soda gripping Pony's hand and Dally's arm around Johnny's shoulders.
I felt bad for Bob's family too. They were real tore up.
Then, Massey made his closing argument.
"In cases where the defendant claims self-defense, the precedent has consistently been that the court closely examines the statements made by the suspect and, if at all possible, any witness there may have been of the events, before, or after. A motive for the supposed attacker must be established. Most importantly, the credibility, and thus character, of each party involved must also be painstakingly scrutinized. It is my belief that, in these last several hours, this court has accomplished just that.
"In this particular case, we have two witnesses and their stories match the boys' to a tea. These two witnesses were, and remain, friends of the victim to this day. We can therefore interpret their words as true, or as close to the truth as we will get.
"As for the motive, it was made clear by the witnesses I spoke of. They boys were jealous and intoxicated. They attacked these younger men to fight them over a girl, and the alcohol allowed things to get carried away. A party involved in the fight and, again, close friend of the victim, openly admits these facts. There's your motive.
"Last but not least, what about the credibility of our witnesses and, most especially, the accused? Randy, over here, is a star athlete with no criminal record; Cherry Valence: a star student and role-model in her school (where she is active in class and cheerleading). This young man, Mr. Curtis, has just recently lost both parents, and, while both his loving brothers work, he attends school where he is at the top of his class. He was attacked, and nearly drowned, then fled with his friend out of fear, or obligation, but came back and turned himself in. There should be no question of his innocence in this case. I reiterate, none of these young people have ever been in any trouble with the legal system.
"However, what of this young man here? This boy who has been in trouble with law, who doesn't go to school, with scars from gang fights, and accompanied by his delinquent pals- what of him? I'll tell you. He stabbed a young man and watched him die! He knowingly buried the weapon, left the body, and fled with his younger friend to a secret location to hide from the consequences!"
OH CRAP!
"Yes. That is what the prosecution is going to say. Do you know why? Because it makes him sound like a cold blooded, piece of white trash that got into another gang fight, killed a boy, and ran from the police hoping to escape justice and save his own hide. Meanwhile, he involved a 14-year-old orphan to lessen the sentence on himself. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's just not true.
"This young man, his name is Johnny Cade. He dropped out of school, like a lot of kids his age, probably because he never had a reason to go or someone who made him. He's gotten caught in a couple misdemeanors, but nothing of a malicious nature. Sure, he's hand his hand caught in the cookie jar a few times, but who his age hasn't? I'm not excusing it, but shoplifting at 13 is no evidence of a murderer.
"These scars you see ladies and gentlemen, that make him look like a hood, are, in fact, the opposite. These scars are a testimony to his character. Yes, his character. Johnny comes from an under-privileged home of abuse and neglect. These young, so called, delinquents you see with him today, are his friends, just as these young men on the front row, and Randy, are friends of the victim. Johnny's parents, still living, are not here today. This scar on Johnny's face is from an attack made by the victim and his friends months before the night in question. Johnny was walking home alone, when eight young men came at him and beat him to a bloody pulp! Eight to one says something of the character of those boys.
"Was it revenge he sought out on the night in question, as the prosecution has proposed? I think not. Had he been set on revenge he would have been the one tracking down these boys. He would have been in their neighborhood that evening.
"Lastly, did he kill the victim? Did he? Yes. He killed the boy, much bigger than he was while outnumbered by he and his friends, with a knife he carried since the last attack for self-defense. But was it self-defense? Frankly, I don't think so,"
WHAT?!
"You have to remember that there was something else going on at that time. A few feet away, Johnny's younger friend, Ponyboy, was being drowned in a freezing fountain by a gang of larger, older, drunken, and enraged boys. Johnny pulled the knife out of his pocket and stabbed one of those boys to break up the fight and scare them away. That young man died, but had Johnny not interfered, it is my opinion that we would be here today trying that young man for the murder of this one. The prosecution will disagree. He will call Johnny Cade a hood and say that he killed that boy out of anger, and we cannot prove that he is the type of person who would go to those lengths to save his friends. But we can. How?
"Johnny Cade, as you probably saw, has many other scars on his arms. You will also have noticed he had to make his statements from his seat here. That is because this young man is bound to wheelchair for th rest of his life. Why, you ask? How? The prosecution will protest that this is irrelevant, but it is, in fact, completely relevant to evidence of his character, which, as we agreed, is of utmost importance in a case such as this.
"Johnny was hiding out in the country of Windrixville, outside of Tulsa, for a week with his friend. When this young man here came to visit them and take them back to town, they went to an abandoned building they had stayed in to find it in engulfed in flames, inside of it trapped ten helpless school children. He, and his friends, charged into that burning building and saved every single one of those small, innocent children from being scorched alive in a matter of minutes. The building collapsed on Johnny, breaking his back and severely burning him. He has just recently been released from months in the hospital. How many of us would have done ths same? Who are we to judge the quality of character in this hero, because he dresses like a hood and wears hair grease? This event shows that he has the type of character to risk his life for strangers. Is it not certain that if he would do that for children he doesn't know, would he not stab someone to protect his friends, his family to him? Have we forgotten that he came back and turned himself in as well? Does that not say that he was remorseful for the death of the young man?
"The prosecution will demand justice for the victim. The victim. Yes Bob was a victim, and you will notice that I referred to him always as nothing but that. Bob was victim of society and ignorance. He was a victim of popularity and alcohol and a lack of boundaries. Bob was killed. He was killed by Johnny Cade. Johnny... is not innocent. He knows that. We cannot call him innocent. That does not, however, make him a murderer. Maybe Bob asked for it, maybe not. It is not for us to decide. What you must decide, ladies and gentlemen, is if you are going to sentence this young man, still in recovery, to prison for trying to save the lives of himself and his best friend?"
After that, it didn't make much difference to me, or anyone else for that matter, what the prosecution said. I knew what the right things was, but would the jury agree? Would they side with the grieving family of respectable members of society, or the rough-tough boys who were forced to defend themselves? Would saving kids be enough to save Johnny from the consequences of stabbing one? Would my brothers be judged, for once, on their quality of character and hard work, instead of the grease in their hair and the size of their measly paycheck?
Waiting. Sweating. I thought they would never come to a decision. Just as I felt as though I couldn't stand it anymore, the jury came out and the judge thought for minute at the piece of paper before him.
We were told to rise for the verdict.
While no could have guessed what he was about to say, a few things left in the world were for sure. First, that most people in that room wouldn't accept any amount of money to be in those front seats; second, that the people in those seats would pay any amount of money not to be there; and thirdly that if they had only let me up there, I would have sat in those chairs for free. I wanted to be with my brothers for the sentencing, but I watched the courtroom proceedings from afar. I don't think they even saw I was there. They sure wouldn't have been expecting me. Kids this young weren't even supposed to be in here, but no one was about to say that to Mr. Massey.
The judge rattled on with the preface until he finally got to Johnny's case.
"In the case of Jonathan Levi Cade, we, the people, find the defendant:
A/N: I'm sorry! I'm evil, I know, I know. Review and I'll up-date really soon! The more reviews, the faster! Well, did I manage to surprise you at all? Massey was Miles' grandfather! Eugene is back! I realize the court scene may not have been legally accurate. I tried to look up something on sentencing laws in 1963, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. Please excuse any errors. (I hope to study law so if I ever find out, I'll tell you.) Other than that, please tell me what you thought! I'm dying to know!