WILD THANGZ by Winston Chapman (An Essence Magazine National Best Seller)

Chapter 24

The loud clacking sound caused my shoulders to jerk out of pure nervousness, as I lifted my head and glanced over to three empty seats next to me -- seats that were supposed to have been filled.

I was dressed in the finest conservative business attire that I had in my closet and my hair was flawless.

Ordinarily, I'd be feeling good about the way I looked today and about having so many eyes on me. But, it was definitely not an ordinary day. Today's reason for my special costuming had robbed it of its meaning. It was just plain necessary.

I was in court, facing 2-years on Breaking and Entering charges being defend for free by Mrs. Whitfield, Trina's mom. The three empty seats should've been filled by my co- conspirators, Brea, Trina and Jamal, but they hadn't been caught.

Mrs. Whitfield assured me that the prosecution really had no case, but I was still nervous just the same.

Six days after the robbery, I'd been identified as having been in the vault through an oily shoe print that was found inside it. Unknowingly, I'd tracked some of the oil I'd stepped in, the night of the robbery. Supposedly, I'd never been in the vault before, so the presence of my shoe print was difficult to explain.

Besides the embarrassment of my parents having to support me in court, it was another visitor that concerned me the most. Bruno, one of the Vinetti Family goons was seated in the very last row of the court room looking very interested in the proceedings. I'm sure the Vinetti Family was very interested in whether or not I was going to crack under the pressure of the charges.

After I was caught and arrested, Trina confessed to her mom about the situation, which made her be extremely concerned about my welfare, as her daughter's welfare was directly linked to whatever I said or didn't say. Therefore, she was the one that bailed me out and was representing me, free of charge.

Though I'd been pre-warned that today wouldn't be a long day, it didn't diminish the fact that I hadn't heard someone call me by my full name, Jazmyn Reneé Wallace, since high school home-room roll-call.

The next words out of my mouth would be the most important sentence that I'd ever utter.

The judge woke me out of my daze by asking me yet again, "Ms. Wallace, how do you plead?"

My shaking voice struggled and cracked as I vocalized a simple two-word response. "Not Guilty!"

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NEW NOVEL, "FRICTION" Coming Soon!