After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 39

December 21, 1992. 8:48 AM.

Ralph Langley never thought he'd be happy to walk into the Chatham County Juvenile Courthouse, but doing so while hand-in-hand with his mother for the first time in a week made him surprisingly happy. And if Ralph wasn't surprised enough by that, what happened next would surely have that effect.

The Langley family exited one of the deliberation rooms with Zoey about ten minutes before they were due in court, like they usually did every morning. It was just another Monday in court, and thankfully the last one of the calendar year. Except it wasn't as typical as Ralph was expecting; certainly not after his eyes landed on none other than Evan Merridew.

Ralph thought he was imagining it for a mere moment, simply because he'd been watching everyday to see if Evan would finally show up. But Ralph wasn't imagining it, Evan really was here; hair slicked back with gel that would've costed more than the Langley family's mortgage, dressed in a suit that Ralph would've had to sell both his kidneys to afford. Whatever had driven him away, it was over now, Ralph assumed. All was well with his own family again, and perhaps things were better with the Merridew family now too.

Ralph watched the Merridews and their rather young-looking lawyer sit down on the other side of the aisle just before court would begin. In the hallway earlier, Ralph locked eyes with Jack for a split second, but the latter very quickly diverted his gaze. Ralph wanted to tell Jack how relieved he was to see Evan back for the first time since the third day of court, but it was clear that Jack didn't want to even look at him, let alone talk to him.

It wasn't like they'd be allowed to talk out in the open here anyway.

"All rise" the bailiff's too familiar voice interrupted the quiet murmuring in the courtoom, as it did everyday at exactly nine o'clock on the dot. The opening proceedings were completed like a scene they'd all been rehearsing for ages, as it did everyday. Ralph was pretty certain that he'd be able to go through the proceedings of a trial in his sleep once this was all over.

The first person to take the stand that morning was someone else Ralph recognized. Mr. Timothy Howell was his physical education teacher at Bainbridge Military Academy. It so happened that Mr. Howell was also Larry's physical education teacher, as he taught all of the academy's Division Two phys ed classes.

"Mr. Howell" Dana Barnes' voice filled Ralph's ears as she began, "how many phys ed classes did you teach at the academy in the 1989-1990 academic year?"

"Eight" Mr. Howell's unsettlingly familiar voice responded to the prosecutor.

"Was Larry Evans in one of those classes, Mr. Howell?" she prompted.

"Yes, he was" the teacher confirmed.

"What grade was Larry in at the time? In the 1989-1990 academic year" Barnes questioned.

"Fourth grade, if I recall."

"You do recall" she confirmed, "how would you describe Larry's performance and behavior in your class that year?"

"He was a typical student, the way I perceived it. He participated to the best of his abilities, had a good friend or two in the class, and goofed around sometimes, but he did want to learn, I believe" Mr. Howell shared.

Ralph made to subtly glance around the room to see where Larry and his family were sitting today, but he couldn't locate them right away. He, a little less subtly, scanned the room, turning his head enough to catch a glimpse behind him. And sure enough, the Evans family had taken a seat in the second last row on the other side of the aisle. Larry was the focus of most testimony now, which made Ralph wonder if that influenced where they chose to sit. Sitting in the back would minimize how many stares they'd receive from other members of the court as witnesses spoke about Larry like he wasn't even there.