(I have no idea how legal systems work, fair warning)
I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Scanning the room I saw officer Jones. I walked over to him. "Ah there's our mall cop," he called, "you're early." "We have a problem,"I said calmly. "Why, what happened," his voice grew panicky. "A misunderstanding has led to my face in the local news as an abuse victim," my tone was cold. "Well the trial was going to be televised anyway," said Jones. "Yes, but I'd prefer not to answer questions about my love life or lack of one," I told him. "We can't tell the judge what questions to ask," he shook his head. Shit. And I can't lie in a court of law. Maybe I can talk my way around it. I felt a tap on my shoulder, turning around I saw Matthew. "Oh hey Matthew," I sighed. "We should go talk to our lawyer" he seemed to whisper. I nodded and followed him to another room where a man in a grey suit was sitting. "You must be the hero of the story," he stood up and shook my hand, "how's your head?" "Healing," I replied. "We'll have a medic check it out during the trial," he smiled. "Is that really necessary?" I asked. He waved me off. Turning to Matthew he continued, "Answer all questions truthfully, we have nothing to hide." "Excuse me," I asked. "We will be using the security footage from that day as evidence," he continued. "Excuse me," my voice grew slightly. "As well as pieces of your experience recording," he ignored me. "I would like to ask a question," I announced sarcastically. Matthew looked at me sadly, understanding my pain. "We will use the photos officer Jones took of the victims wound," he kept on talking. I walked up to them and spoke clearly with a voice laced in annoyance, "What if a question does not pertain to the case. Must we still answer?" "The case is being televised live, but don't focus on that focus on the case at hand," he didn't pause in the slightest. I groaned and stalked away from them. I can't believe this! My lawyer won't talk to me and the case is being televised live. How could it get any worse? "Also students and teachers from the nearby college will be in the court room. Apparently a student is a part of the case," the lawyer drawled. Fml .
---TIME SKIP---
We were seated at a table in front of the judge I glanced over to the defense, they looked as smug as the cat that caught a bird. They have something up their sleeves. The judge banged on his desk, with his gavel. A hush fell over the crowd. I need one of those. "Court is now in session, prosecution present your case," he called. Our 'lawyer' stepped forward holding stack of papers. He talked though our case, stopping to show off pictures and manuscripts. I mostly tuned him out until,"not only are we accusing the defendant of resisting arrest, but also attempted murder." Gasps and whispers erupted throughout the room. The defense looked stunned. The judge quieted the crowd. "A bold accusation. Do you have proof," he asked. A projector flickers to life showing the footage from the stairwell. The footage began to play in slow mo. "As you can see here, the defendant pushes Ms..." The lawyer drawled. "Silversmith," I filled in for him. "Silversmith, down the stairs, and she twisted instinctively. Now while she did fall due to the momentum, that small twist saved her life. I'll let the expert explain why." Our lawyer waved a police officer forward. The man stepped forward nervously, "W-well, my team and I did an analysis and we found that if she hadn't twisted as far as she did, her neck would have snapped on impact." Gasps echoed around the room again. "How close did she come to death," the judge questioned. "She was extremely lucky to land in a sort of 'living medium' a few centimeters more, a cracked open skull, a few less snapped neck," explained the man. Well damn, I didn't know I was that close to death. The judge hummed, "interesting, well we've heard prosecution, defense, how do you explain this?" The defense lawyer stood up all slicked back hair, bright smiles, and suffocating confidence. His very aura reeked of money. So he's a rich kid, eh? "My client was merely acting in self defense," he smirked. The fuck? The judge looked as confused as I felt. "Explain," he said. The opposing lawyer cleared his throat, "Well, Silversmith here attacked my client with no provocation." The little shit slapped me on top of other offenses. Even the judge had a 'you expect me to believe this shit' look. "They appeared out of nowhere and began to threaten my client. Then when he lashed out in fear, she handcuffed him and dragged him away. His fight or flight response kicked in and he ran, pushing her in the process. Once he was recaptured, she treated him more harshly. Continuing to threaten, she left him with the cuffs on locked alone in a cell until the cops arrived," he spun the facts. Murmurs rippled though the crowd. "Enough," the judge said,"we're breaking for lunch. Be back in one hour." I stood up and exited the room. Officer jones jogged up to me, "There full of it, we'll get him." I hummed slightly,"yeah, I'm off to go get lunch. I'll be back in time." He seemed concerned as I walked out of the building. I walked quickly, burning off my anger. I scanned the world around me searching for both threats and a place to eat. They made him sound so weak, and me a monster. The jury looked convinced by his lies. I need to get my mind off this for a few minutes. Food, food. Uh, Subway. Yes. Subway. I pushed the door of the store open, tiny bells chiming above my head. The store was mostly empty, one customer, two workers. I drifted over to the counter. A young woman appeared in front of me,"Hi, welcome to Subway. My name's Lucy, how may I help you?" I told her my order, a 6 inch sandwich, drink, and a cookie. I payed, filled the cup with Sprite, and slid into a booth. I unwrapped my toasted sandwich, taking a large bite. I saw someone push the door open, disturbing the little bells. He scanned the room eyes locking on to me and made a bee line for my table. Sliding into the seat opposite me he said, "I can't believe you. A demon pretending to be an angel. I hope he walks free." I swallowed my bite of sandwich, "Why do you say that?" He seemed taken back by my calm tone. "He's obviously innocent," the man spoke, "You can't act the fear in his eyes at seeing you." "Yes you can," I scoffed, "ever see a play? Acting." The man began to turn red, he stood abruptly, swiping my cup off the table. The cup spilled all over the floor as the man stormed away. I sighed turning to those behind the counter, "I'm sorry for the mess." "It's not your fault," said Lucy, "the man was an ass. We believe your story." "Thank you," I smiled slightly. I finished my food without incident, and with a friendly wave to Lucy, began my walk back to hel- the courthouse.
