August 1, 9:15 A.M. Detention Center, Visitor's Room
Phoenix sat down in his chair, sweating meagerly. There was enough moisture in his hair to cause some of the hairs in his spikes to fall out of position, but he quickly fixed it before the protective wall between the side he was in and the side opposite him was retracted.
He held his breath and asked, "Girls... what seems to be the problem?"
One of the girls screamed, "Oh, Mr. Wright! It's horrible! We've gotten framed for murder! But I'm worse off than you, aren't I right, Jamie?"
Jamie gave Phoenix a look of unease, as if she was subconsciously saying, "What should I do, attorney?"
But rather than express her fears, the blonde-haired teenager stammered, "Yeah... that's right. After all, the police just allege that I killed Reggie Simmons. But Alli, you've been framed with a brutal assassination attempt." With the opening words said, Mr. Wright could now develop a rapport.
Jamie looked like the average 15-year-old one would expect. She wore a band t-shirt and had on shorts. Her long hair was draped around her abdominal area, as if she was trying to protect herself from potential backlash because she was one of the accused.
In contrast, Allison had brown hair that extended down to her shoulders. She was slightly taller than Jamie and had a more confident posture, as if she didn't care that she was a murder suspect.
Phoenix asked, "Allison, what were you doing when Mr. Watson was shot?" She sighed, "Mr. Wright, you can call me Alli if you want. But anyway, I was sitting in my house playing video games with my younger brother. School had been put on indefinite hold by the faculty until Ms. Andrews was either sentenced or acquitted."
Maya interrupted, "And the police just came to your door and arrested you, out of the blue?" She replied, "Yes. They just came up in a patrol car and took me away in handcuffs. Jamie says that the same thing happened to her. She was texting her boyfriend when the police knocked on the door."
The defense attorney scratched his head. "Sound plausible. The police usually arrest my clients out of nowhere. Jamie, what did the police say when they arrested you?"
Her head drooped an inch or two and she recalled, "I was in my room texting Wyatt when my mom came to my door with a worried face. She said the police were at the door. I slowly walked down to the front door, where they arrested me for murder... a murder I didn't commit! They read me my rights and tossed me in the squad car, and I was in jail before I knew it!"
Allison asked, "Mr. Wright, is it even legal for the state to trie us as adults? We shouldn't be in a state prison! We're not criminals! We're still minors!"
Phoenix yelled, "Alli! Calm down! It's not over yet! You and your friend haven't been sentenced to death! There's still time. All I have to do is think of a defense strategy. I'll show the prosecution just how faulty their case is!"
Allison gasped, "OK. OK. Where were we, anyway? Ah, yes. I think you were going to ask me about Reggie?" Maya added, "I think Nick was. So how exactly was it between you and Reggie?"
"Jamie and I are both in band, as you may have guessed. Jamie is a clarinet player, and I am in the same section as my late friend, Reggie, was. In other words, I play the trumpet. The police thinks that I was Jamie's accomplice, and tried to take the principal out to avoid detection."
Phoenix admitted, "That's pretty ironic. Why the principal? He is in no way connected with Reggie!"
Suddenly, a voice popped out from being the defense attorney. "¡Hola, Señor Tizón de la Papa!" His head turned, and the voice was none other that Maximiliano Helado, annoying Spanish prosecutor.
The attorney groaned, "Mr. Helado, what are you doing here?" "Wishing that you have a good time on this case... heh heh. After all, I'm the prosector at Ms. Patterson's trial. ¡Buena suerte, perdedor!"
He then walked out of the room, likely off to the District Court. Phoenix though, "That's the other problem... there's no way I can defend both Jamie and Allison at two separate trials. And there really aren't any other defense attorneys in Los Angeles. I know what Mr. Grossberg would reject it, as he doesn't feel comfortable defending young people. I know that from history. I have no other choice but to..."
He said, "Maya, you're going to think I am a psychotic maniac for suggesting this, but maybe you could help me out and take Alli's case?"
She gasped, "Even though I didn't take the bar exam and have never taken law school? Isn't that illegal?"
Phoenix sighed, "I have no other choice, Maya. We at least have to give it a shot. Otherwise, Allison won't make it out of this one alive..."
Maya gasped, "I-I'll try, Nick."
The defense attorney continued, "Anyway, we should get to the courtroom. We don't want to be late."