"He did it!"
"Yeah, he's guilty!"
"No one play with him!"
"Guilty! Guilty!"
Nick hunched his shoulders as the assault continued.
He told himself over and over not to cry. He didn't want to look silly in front of everyone. Still, it was difficult not to be hurt by his classmates' words.
"Just admit you're guilty already!"
"You did it!"
"No, no I didn't," Nick said.
"Now he's lying!"
"No I'm not," Nick said. "Someone believe me. Please."
"Stop pretending! We know it was you!"
"Now Phoenix, you know it's not nice to steal," the teacher said. "Just apologize and right the wrong."
"But it wasn't me," Nick said. "I would never steal."
"Liar!"
"Thief!"
"Don't play dumb!"
Finally, Nick couldn't fight it any longer and tears began to slip away.
"Objection!"
The entire class turned towards a boy standing tall, pointing his finger. Nick recognized him as Larry Butz.
"What kind of trial is this?" Larry said. "No one's proved he did it yet! You can't convict someone without proving it amateurs! He said he didn't do it so he didn't do it!"
"Yeah!" another boy added. "You need evidence! That's how you convict someone!"
"But Miles," the teacher said. "It was your money that was stolen."
"So?" Miles said. "It doesn't matter who the victim is, there's no evidence that the defendant stole anything!"
"Right!" Larry said. "And I actually have evidence that proves he didn't do it!"
"Really?" one of the other classmates, Mimi, said.
Nick's eyes started to dry and he looked up. They were helping him, even though everyone else was against him. He almost couldn't believe it.
"Yep!" Larry said proudly. "I was giving him a wedgie at the time!"
The spiky-haired boy almost smiled. Kids made fun of him all the time for various reasons, so he had forgotten about that.
"See?" Miles said, brushing the new topic aside. "The defendant has an alibi! You can't say he did it now!"
Nick watched in awe as the two boys he'd hardly even spoken to defend his innocence. No one had ever done that before, he'd always been alone. He sniffed, but this time he was smiling.
"So you see, he must be innocent," Larry said. He flashed a winning smile at one of the girls. "That's all."
"Well," the teacher said. "If you're so sure, I guess I'll just pay back the money."
The trial came to a close, and everyone went about rearranging their desks to the way they were. A few of the kids would come up to Nick and apologize, looking a little embarrassed. The spiky-haired boy accepted them graciously; he was in too high spirits to be upset with anyone.
At recess, his spirits rose even higher when the two boys who had defended him approached.
"Hey, so how are you feeling?" Larry said.
"Thank you so much both of you!" Nick said. "Really, I can't thank you enough you have no idea how much that meant to me!"
"Calm down dude," Larry said. "A good defense attorney can always get the innocent off the hook."
"You're a defense attorney?" Nick said.
"I'm yours," Larry said, smiling.
Nick's grin spread even wider. "Thank you! You guys really saved me I thought for sure I'd get in trouble even though I didn't do it!"
"You shouldn't have been on trial to begin with," Miles said. "There was absolutely no evidence. The fact that the money was in your bag meant nothing. Anyone could have put it in there."
"Yeah," Larry said. "So you're Nick right?"
"Nick Wright, that's my name!" Nick said. They had barely even known his name, yet Larry and Miles had given it their all to defend him. For a boy who had grown up with next to no friends, it was too good to be true.
Miles and Larry chuckled. Miles held out his hand. "Miles Edgeworth, detective. Pleased to meet you."
"Detective?" Nick said, shaking the offered hand.
Miles' eyes shined. "Yep! I'm going to be a detective, just like my dad."
"That's cool," Nick said. "So do detectives and defense attorney always work together?"
"Nah, detectives work with prosecutors," Miles said. "Defense attorneys and detectives are like sworn enemies."
"Hey!" Larry said, playfully shoving Miles. "What does that make us?"
"You're a defense attorney and a troublemaker," Miles said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "That's like a double enemy."
"Oh yeah?" Larry said. "Come here and say that to my face."
"And did," Miles said.
Larry started for Miles, who bolted on the spot. They began chasing each other around, laughing and taunting each other.
Larry looked at Nick, who was just watching them play. "Come on, help me catch this detective."
"Me?" Nick said.
"Duh," Larry said. "You know, a client can help their attorney as much the attorney helps the client."
Nick stared wide eyed at Larry. He was inviting him to play.
"You gonna help me or what?" Larry said.
Nick grinned. "I'm coming!"
The three boys ran all around the playground, enjoying every minute of it. They weren't even sure what the object of the game was anymore, but no one cared. They were just having fun.
Nick took Larry's words to heart. A client can help their attorney as much as the attorney helps them. If that was the case, Nick would do anything to help his defense attorney. His friend.
"Remember now?" Phoenix said.
"Not in the slightest," Larry said.
"What do you remember?" Dahlia said.
"That you're insane," Larry said.
"It's hammer time," Dahlia said, cracking her knuckles.
"Crud," Larry said before sprinting away. It wasn't as fun this time around.
"Yeah, I do remember Wright," Larry whispered under his breath. "I was just hoping you didn't."