Cross My Heart

Court(4)

I walked down the street, straightening the skirt of my slightly faded light blue dress. Katherine had let me borrow it. She had grown out of it years ago, but it fit me just fine. She had also done my hair in my usual bun, but had made a braid go around it, with little pieces of hair around the ears. When I walked out of the bathroom, I was greeted by several wolf whistles from the guys. I blushed and looked at my feet, but Anthony and Jack's glares shut them up.
"You look beautiful." Crutchie had said. "Knock em dead." I kissed him on the cheek, hitched up my skirt, and began the trek to the courthouse.
Yes, today was Sunday. The day I would testify against Snyder and send him behind bars. I hope, anyway. Even though Jack and Crutchie had also both served their time, they were not invited to testify. Only me and a few other kids were to be questioned.
Soon enough, I reached my destination. The United States Courthouse. It was a beautiful building, with all its columns and windows. It had a crisp white stucco, and a grand front entrance. It would probably be the fanciest place I would ever set foot inside of.
The inside was just as beautiful as the outside, with rich looking rugs, plush sofas, and elegant wallpaper. I can't imagine how much money that one room costs. I checked in at the front desk, and the lady pointed to a door down the hall. I checked the clock on the wall. 7:49. Well, it never hurts to be early.
As soon as I walked in, I was ushered to a bench were I sat with the other prosecuting witnesses. Checking a piece of paper, I found that I would be first to testify. I glanced around at the other occupants of the bench. There were two boys, one looked to be a few years younger than me, the other looked older. Samuel, I think the older one was called. The younger one's name was Edward, but we always called him Eddie. I wonder what they had been doing in the past week.
I was interrupted from my thoughts by the gavel.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"All Rise." The judge said, as we rose from the bench. "Today we are gathered for the hearing of Robert J. Snyder, who is charged with kidnapping, torture, miscare... "
The list went on for a while, and I blanked out during the opening statements. Soon it was my turn.
"Prosecution calls Melody Higgins." I rose from the bench and took my seat at the witnesses chair. For the first time in a week I got a good look at the face that brought back so many bad memories it was hard to count them. I glanced back down at my shoes.
Placing my hand on a bible, I let the balliof swear me in.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"I do."
"Miss Higgins, you were under the custody of Robert J. Snyder for a little over five years, is that correct?"
"Yes."
"How was it that you came into his custody?"
"My father had beaten my mother to death, and I ran away to escape him. Snyder found me and captured me, and placed me in the Refuge."
"Describe the conditions you were put in."
This went on for about ten minutes, and after about two hours, the court went into recession. I was told I was no longer needed. I left the courthouse and headed back to the lounging house, but instead I decided to visit Spot. It was only 10:00 in the morning after all, and I wasn't expected back to the lounging house til noon.
Time Skip
After almost a half hour of walking, I finally found Spot at a street corner.
"Hey Manhattan, what are ya doin here?"
"Well, I had a few hours to kill and decided to see what you were up to."
"Why ya so dressed up?"
"I came from the courthouse."
He raised his eyebrows. "What were ya doin in the courthouse?"
"Testifying against Snyder."
His eyes widened. "Didja win?"
"I don't know, it went into recess."
"Well, why don't I walk ya back?" He asked.
"My pleasure."
We walked back to Low Manhattan, and were soon just outside the lounging house. "Thanks for walking me back." I said as I walked up the front steps.
"Bye Manhattan."