Teachers Pet

66: Rewrite The Narrative

        There was a small brown stain on the floor that was shaped like Texas. If I focused on what else it resembled, I think I could forget the millions of eyes staring up at me right now. If I try to picture the smaller stain next to it as a hat, I could probably forget that the judge was only a few feet from my right shoulder. If I tried to think of other things shaped like hats and the state of Texas, maybe I could forget where I was right now.

       If only it were that easy. It would take more than a couple of stains to forget that I was just sworn in and was now sitting in the witness box. Nolans' lawyer paced in front of me, the same way he paced in front of David. The same way he paced in front of Nolan. I couldn't stomach the fact that I was sitting right where Nolan had just been sitting.

       He had been called up right after everyone had returned from break. His lawyer asked him questions that made my chest hurt. Questions that implied he was hurt by me pressing charges against him after what he had done for me. Questions that made it seem as if this was taking some huge emotional toll on him. Statements were brought up about Nolan. Statements from teachers and students painting him as the charming and heroic person everyone already believed him to be.

       Nolan was smart and was a favorite in every class. He was outgoing and could cheer someone up just by smiling. He had been the star athlete that had a trophy in our schools' display case. He was very involved at school from sports to theater. No one had a single bad thing to say about him. Because no one truly knew him. They only saw the facade.

       When Mr. Locke had taken his turn to question Nolan, I wanted to cry. Nolan had answered each question with practiced ease. It could not be genuine. He kept placing his hand on his chest as he denied every allegation against him. He denied every bruise, every bloody nose, every injury he ever gave me. When he was given the chance to speak freely, he did not speak to me. He looked to the jury and with a solemn look, promised them that he was not the monster he was being painted to be.

       I was glad, for this part at least, that my mother was sick. She could not testify because she had been throwing up for the past hour. How I held it down this long, I wasn't sure. During the break, Mr. Locke led me to the room where she had been waiting. She was slumped over a trash can with a uniformed man holding a cold compress to her forehead. He was rubbing her back, comforting her the best he could. I had taken his place.

       We sat on the floor for a bit as she emptied the contents of her stomach over and over. Mr. Locke had brought her a water bottle which I greatly appreciated. It hadn't taken long for our time together to come to an end. I felt like it had only been minutes since the judge called for a break. I hadn't even gotten more than a few words in with her.

       She kept apologizing for being unable to testify, but I reassured her it was okay. That everything was going to be okay. If I won or if I lost, we would be okay. We could move somewhere else and start a new life. I would keep in contact with Jill and Dean and somehow, we'd make it work. I could even come to spend a weekend at Jill's house and vice versa. Everything will be okay. We will be okay. I just had to keep telling myself this...

       Right now though, we just had to get through right now. Because right now, Nolans' lawyer was opening his mouth to speak. And I knew that whatever came out of his mouth would not be in favor of me.

       "Miss Harper, how long did you know my client before he asked you to date him?" I wasn't sure how to answer at first. Everyone staring at me didn't make it any easier to do so either. I cleared my throat before leaning towards the microphone to answer.

       "He didn't." Even though I had spoken directly into the microphone, my voice still came off as low. Nolans' lawyer tilted his head a bit at my answer. I cleared my throat again to clarify what I meant. "He didn't ask me out." My face heated as a few murmurs rose from the court.