Broken (a novella)

5

Kylo sat in the courtroom, dressed in a nice, black suit. He hated nice clothes, and the warmth of the room made his skin itch. Luckily, he was not being tried as an adult, even though his eighteenth birthday was less than a month away. At the last moment, his mother had sent her own personal lawyer to his aid. She was a good lawyer, and had managed to present a convincing case. This was good, being that he was being charged with manslaughter in addition to possession of a controlled substance. He wasn't entirely innocent in the case of the boy's death, owing to the fact that it had been Hux who had sold that kid the drugs last year. All they had on Kylo was the pot, and no proof that he dealt anything else. The evidence was all circumstantial, as his lawyer had pointed out. He could not be proven guilty of manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury was deliberating, and he was nervous.

Sweat shone on his forehead, both from nerves and from the heat of the courthouse. He rose when the judge entered the courtroom, as did everyone else, and remained standing while his verdict was read.

Luckily, he hadn't been found guilty of manslaughter, but he had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance, in this case marijuana. No surprises there. He had only plead "not guilty" to the counts of manslaughter and the possession of a controlled substance charges in the possession of Hux's crack. Since Hux hadn't been caught yet and wasn't under suspicion, all was well. After the verdict had been read, the judge gestured to Kylo.

"In these cases, I usually sentence jail time," he replied. "And don't get me wrong. You deserve prison, Mr. Solo. Corrupting the minds and bodies of innocent children is a horrible crime. However, I knew your mother very well, and she was a good woman. I owe her a favor, so in this case I sentence you to pay a fine of $500,000."

Kylo's eyes dilated. "Where am I going to get that kind of money? My dad and I are dead broke!"

"You may pay in installments to the county, Mr. Solo. I suggest you get a job. Dismissed," he announced, rapping his gavel on the wood.

Kylo sat down in disbelief. "I can't believe this," he whispered.

His lawyer sat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Look on the bright side, Ben. You got out of jail time. You only missed about two weeks of school, so you can go back and finish your studies and-."

"Whatever," Kylo growled. "You don't care about what happens to me in that hellhole. You're just here because my mom pays you." With that, he got up from his chair and left the room, banging the door angrily on his way out.

He ripped off the jacket of his suit and threw it onto the sidewalk, not caring that it was expensive. It was hot and itchy and he hated it. Plus, his lawyer had let him borrow it. She would pick it up. From there, he began to run. He ran down the sidewalk, block after block, until he felt sweat streaming from his pores and his feet hurt.

There was a park bench on the side of the street, and he sat down on it, taking in his surroundings. He was on Main Street, of all places. The buildings here were old and very characteristic. When his breathing had calmed down, he looked up and noticed that he sat across from an old bookstore, named Pages and Quills. He had never noticed it before. The best part was that there was a huge "Help Wanted" sign in the window. Why not? It couldn't hurt to go in and get an application just for grins and giggles, and in all honesty, Kylo would rather work at a bookstore than at Walmart. He crossed the street and opened the door.

A bell jingled as he walked in, and instantly Kylo decided he liked the place. It smelled of old paper and bindings, as well as dust and age. Light streamed in through a skylight in the ceiling, but there was a dark corner in the back, lit by lamps, where several beanbags and a coffee table sat, obviously so people could do some reading. "Can I help you?" asked a voice behind him.