Endless

Chapter 8

I'm lead into a room with wooden benches and cream walls. Its not an extravagant room but it is pretty intimidating with all the people there. There is an isle that we walk down, passing twelve rows of benches, six rows on each side and all of them are filled to the brim with people. I see kids from my school, Landons friends, and a few people I don't know, all scowling at me along with two older people. I assume they are Landons parents by the resemblance they have with him. The mothers crying and the dad might as well have the cartoonish smoke coming from his ears and mouth when he looks at me. I start to sweat.

Great, this is just great.

We get to the end of the isle where I see my lawyer in a tacky suit with a black briefcase and a folder in his hands stuffed to the brim with papers. I'm lead to a seat next to my lawyer Mr. Lenyan. I sit down and clasp my hands together on the top of the table in front of me, not looking up. I hear other people enter and rustling of papers and clothes. I still don't look up.

Dammit, for the love of god, why is this taking so long. I just want my sentence and then I want to get the hell out of here.

It feels like an eternity before a door opens and an officer says in a loud voice.

"All rise for Judge Cormack." And all do indeed rise causing a whoosh to sound in answer to all the moving bodies.

A man who looks to be about 40 with graying hair and a wrinkled robe clambers his way onto his mighty throne in the front of the large room. He sits with the grace of a new borne giraffe and begins the administrations needed for the case.

"Please me seated. Court is now in session." says the judge. "Not let me get this clear, the defended by the name, Alexander Kai Black is here being charged with attempted manslaughter and assault in the 1st degree."

A lot of prattling, lip smacking and 'ums' later he's finished with whatever the hell he was talking about, I wouldn't know, I wasn't listening.

"Now Mr. Black, how do you plead?"

My hearts going crazy, my legs are numb, my hands are pins and needles as I stand there silently. Mr. Lenyan clears his throat and announces that I would like to plead 'not guilty'. I hear murmurs around the room. They know I'm guilty, why would he say not guilty when we all know I am. I hurt Landon, intentionally. Now, I don't believe I was trying to kill him I was just, I was angry and he was the one who made me that way.

"I plead guilty." I say quietly.

"Then I hereby sentence you, Mr. Black to 5 years in Tryler State Prison with chance of parole after 3 years. Court is adjourned." The judge says with a smack of his gavel. Everyone disperses, besides me, my lawyer, and the cops who arrested me.

I keep my head down, and my voice off as new officers, ones of the court grab my arms to escort me to the bus that will take me to my new hell. My lawyer looks angry, like he thought we could have won if I had pleaded not guilty and had gone to trial, but, what he doesn't know is that prison, prison will be better than my house.

I was steered through a few hallways, tha chains of the cuffs and the restricting ones on my ankles the new cops put on clinking the whole way. We get to a door that the cops buzz open and out into the world we go.

The press are still here, but I don't want to hear it. And so I don't, I turn off my ears, I turn off my thoughts and I turn off my emotions and just let to cops push me up into a bus filled with other criminals, a few I recognize from the waiting room I was in before. I sit in the only seat available, next to a skinny man with a bruised face who looks like a meth addict, and who probably is one.

He turns to me immediately, a smile so big his slip lip bleeds a little and says, "Hi! I'm Joe. What's you name?"

He's way to damn cheery for a guy going to prison.

"I am called Alexander." I reply. Might as well, we're going to be here a while.

"So your name is Alexander huh buddy? Nice name kid. Whatcha do to get yourself in here?" He asks me, gaining the attention of a few surrounding bus occupants.

"What's it to you?" I reply

"We all share our stories at one point or another, might as well tell me, well us. Because everyone can hear what we're saying, ya know? See look, i'll share mine with ya. I met this crazy hot chick last month while I was out to score and she sold me some pretty good shit. Problem is, I kept going back and two days ago I got caught and now here I am. Your turn."

"I'm not in the mood to share." I say and turn to look out the window, ignoring any other words for the rest of the ride.

I can make it. I've already been through hell, I can do prison.