Chemistry

Chapter 25: Injustice

The front door slammed shut on its hinges with the force of Daniel's anger flowing into the wood. He made his way into the kitchen with the small bottle of grape juice he still had from his snack.

"Hey, what's up?" Karen asked, looking up from a pile of papers in front of her. She noticed that he was upset by the worrisome look on his face and the way he had now yanked the refrigerator door open. "Daniel!" she called when he had ignored her first greeting.

Daniel continued to look inside the fridge for anything to eat; specifically the chocolate cake his mother had warned him about. When he didn't see it where it was earlier, he stood up straight and looked in his mother's direction. "Ugh," he groaned once he noticed the empty plate full of brown crumbs in front of his mother, slamming his juice on the table across from his mother. He slid a chair from underneath the chestnut colored table and slumped down into it. "I messed everything up," he finally spoke.

"Uh-oh," Karen said from across the table. She removed her circular reading glasses and overlapped her forearms on the table. "Did you forget to kiss her?"

Daniel raised his eyes up to his mother. "I didn't even get the chance."

"Why not?"

"Another guy asked her to the homecoming dance before I could," he explained.

"Talk to her. See if you can talk her into changing her mind?" Karen unsurely suggested.

Daniel shook his head in disagreement. "There's no way that's happening."

Karen nodded her head in response. "You'll never know until you try."

"He bought her a brand new cello, Mom."

"Wow," Karen replied, her eyebrows raising as if she were impressed. A grin plastered her face. "He sure knows how to spoil a girl."

Daniel's face straightened in annoyance.  "He's just trying to buy her away from me."

"How do you know that?" 

"Because," he started. "he bought her an expensive necklace last week!"

"Is Tiara being fooled by these things?" Karen asked, an expression of concern overtaking her face.

Daniel shrugged. "I hope not. But I heard she's only going to the dance with him strictly as friends. But I know Brandon, and he's gonna try to pull something slick. He thinks somebody's stupid." He whispered that last part to himself as he folded his arms across his chest. 

Karen sighed and leaned back in her chair. It seemed like she knew she was going to regret saying whatever she was going to say next, but knew it was in the best intentions. "I'm gonna let you go and see her tomorrow when you get home from school."

Daniel sat up in his chair, not believing what he was hearing. 

"But only under one condition," Karen quickly stated.

"What's that?"

"You take your brother with you," she replied standing up from the table.

Daniel's eyes bulked. "Tyler?!" 

"No. Bruce Willis. Of course Tyler!" Karen replied lifting her empty plate. She walked it over to the sink where she began to wash it. 

"For what?!" Daniel exclaimed, turning around in his chair to face his mother.

"I'm pretty sure I've got this case in the bag," Karen sneered. "We had the discovery section of the trial today and the prosecutor's evidence isn't nearly as hard as mine. So the firm and I are throwing an adult themed party after the court ruling to celebrate my tenth win."

"Ew," Daniel replied in disgust.

He watched his mother's cheeks rise up in a grin, and shake her head side to side. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Anyway, your dad's going to be over her along with Stephanie. I need you to watch him."

"Mom, the boy's twelve years old! He's practically a grown man! He's already got a girl he's talking about being in love with. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he announced that he was leaving for college next week! Plus we live four houses down from him," Daniel declared in an attempt to get out of baby sitting his brother. "He'll be alright."

The calming sound of a running faucet ceased, and Karen grabbed a dry towel that sat above the sink on a rack. She turned around, drying her hands off, and shook her head at her son. "I'm not changing my mind." 

Daniel sucked his teeth thinking about the many things that could go wrong with his brother there. Tyler could be a well behaved child when he needed too, but he was also the type of child who didn't think before he spoke. So everything that came to his mind, came out of mouth; no matter how blunt it was. 

"What does this girl's parent's do anyway?" Karen asked walking back over to the table. "You never really told me much about her."

Daniel smiled and looked over to the side, not really sure how his mother would feel about Tiara's living situation. "Well..." Daniel started, trying his hardest to stall for an excuse. "They wake up in the morning...Eat breakfast: sometimes cereal, sometimes eggs and grits...Then they get dressed...-"

"Where do they work?" Karen flatly asked.

Daniel sat back in his chair and sighed. "Her mom's a daycare teacher and her dad's in prison."

"Oh," Karen quickly replied. She sounded like she regretted asking the question. "Why's her dad in prison?"

"It was really stupid and unfair," he concluded before even explaining the story. "He needed a ride home from work and one of his co-workers volunteered to give him one. They got pulled over by the police, and he was arrested because his stupid co-worker was driving around in a stolen car full of drugs."

Karen, suddenly jumped a little in her chair and her eyes had gone wide. Daniel jumped too, but only from the startle his mother had given him. 

"What?" he asked.

"Jones?" Karen inquired. "Tiara's last name is Jones, isn't it?"

"Yeah. How do you kno-," but before Daniel could finish his sentence, Karen had zipped up the stairs and into her office. A confused Daniel stood up from his chair. What was she doing? He walked up the stairs after her and stood at the door of her office. "What are you looking for?" he asked after he saw his mother bent over pulling files out of a brown drawer. 

"And he's still in prison to this day because his public defender failed at representing him?" she continued during her rampage.

"Yeah," Daniel replied. He was surprised that she already knew about this. "How do you know this stuff, Mom?"

"Here it is," Karen whispered to herself. She reached into the drawer and pulled out a yellow manila folder titled 'Jones' on the small tab.

"What is that?" Daniel asked, slowly entering the room. He stood above his mother looking down at the folder. The urges to take it from her were strong, but he knew what the consequences of that would be. "How'd you get it?"

"I'm a lawyer, Daniel," Karen answered looking up at him from examining the folder. She plopped down into her black office chair and opened it. 

Daniel stood behind her and looked over her shoulder at its contents. There were papers that only a person in the law enforcement field would understand, paper clipped to the inside of the folder. He stood as far away from the chair as possible so that his mother wouldn't notice.

"Is the family still trying to get him out of jail?" 

"Yeah, I think so. I think they're trying to raise money to sue the public defender they were given," Daniel answered. 

Karen continued to scan the papers of the accused criminal. "Give them my number," she replied. Her eyes stayed glued to the papers.

"But you're a defense attorney."

Karen closed the folder and placed it on the desk in front of her for later reviewing. "I have my connections."