Good Boys

29. Good Boys

"I call this jury to order," the judge shouted, slamming his hammer loudly. "What evidence have you found, my dear?"

"Well, you see your honor, I went back to the school to investigate. I asked the defendant here where Ms. King usually left" – you pointed to Ms. King in the desk next to his, glaring – "and he answered that she left through the back door of the boys locker room. The janitor was more than willing to show me tapes from the beginning of River's harassment to Friday. They all showed of Ms. Colette King in her work clothes, lipstick smudged and hair messy. She would leave with a smile.

"I even got a glimpse of River's face after every meeting with her, him leaving the same way as she. Always. The front doors to the gym are always locked. In every video, he has tears running down his face and his hair is always tangled up. Why would his and Ms. King's hairs be like that, if she wasn't taking advantage of him?"

"Your honor, my client always leaves like that because she's a gym teacher," Ms. King's lawyer argued, completely oblivious to her client's true form.

"I've seen her on other days. Her hair is always in perfection. What does she even do anyway besides boss students around?"

"Silence!" the judge yelled. "Let him talk."

River stared at the judge's finger pointing at him. He gulped and readied himself to speak.

"Ms. King asked me to help her with something, and I was a good bo – kid and agreed. I always helped a lady in need. So when I went with her, she pushed me into a wall and I – I couldn't move or breath. The way she – she touched me...made me feel like a dirty bastard." He added, "Apologizes for the language."

"Apology accepted," the judge replied.

"There was sort of a...routine, if you'd call it. Everyday she pulled me into the boys locker room and bribed me with good grades. Even though I started to refuse the second day, she would always drag me back in. And I – oh my gosh, I can't go back to that." His breathing started to pick up until he couldn't breathe at all.

"Son, take a few breaths."

You spoke up, saving River. "Your honor, I have some fellow former classmates who swapped schools because of that lady." You pointed to Ms. King.

There were nearly ten boys – same age as River – lined up behind you, disgust and fear written on their faces. Colette King did the worse thing possible and showed emotion, making it much easier for you to read her.

"I have a specialty at reading people, and Colette here, has seen them before. Met them – where was it? – in bathrooms instead of locker rooms? Yes, nearly half of these boys were whisked off into bathrooms, the rest into locker rooms. She was once a regular teacher, but decided being a gym teacher suited her hobby way more."

"Is that true?" the judge boomed. "Have you assaulted these seventeen-year-old boys?"

Ms. King had no choice but to nod her head, not meeting the judge's eye. Her lawyer stared at her client with shock. You knew why – her son was one of the victims. Ms. King's lawyer pounced on her, police officers trying to hold her back as she screams, "You, you monster! My son hasn't been able to sleep in years and I finally know why!"

Another officer grabbed Colette's wrists, locking them with handcuffs. There was so much commotion in the room because most of her victims were either family or close friends. The judge had to silence everybody, saying the sentence that released each one of those boys from her grasps –

"I call you, Colette King, guilty."