The Excess Road
Chapter Thirty: To cross the river Jordan
My legend grew.
I was the freshman who went to jail and beat up a senior but Justin was right. She used me and went back to him. The school found out about my mishap with the police, but not with Justin. Unfortunately I had to go in front of a student jury and they sentenced me to community service work and probation that carried over to the next semester. We only had a couple weeks until we went back for the Holidays. I had my court date coming up but classes and exams preoccupied my mind.
There was a knock on my door. It was a lawyer named Mr. Jordan, he did pro bono work for the school, and I met him at my student trial.
Mr. Jordan was an upside down egg. He was a power lifter who bulged through his tailored blue suit. He came in and I spun a chair out for him.
“We looked at the file when this issue was brought up to me. Probably just a fine and a warning. I heard the testimony at your Student Board hearing and it sounded as if you were just running from a dog. The arresting officer is known for being a hard ass and the Judge for your case knows this. So don’t be bothered too much and concentrate on your studies and this will be resolved. I must go.”
He handed me a folded piece of paper with directions to the courthouse. He did not close the door on his way out. I was barely able to say “Thank You” before he was gone.
I stepped to the door and began to close it as George walked by and waved. The door fit into its seal and I gave him the finger behind the barrier. Apprehensively I examined the paper and the court date was Tuesday before exams. An electrical shock of insolence frizzled my nerves as warm anger flushed my system. I had to crush the tests and reinstate my superiority over this situation. In my cubbyhole, a glint caught my eye. My guitar string ring sat behind my copy of Less Than Zero under a patch of filtered light. I haven’t worn it in ages. It went on my finger without resistance, the coiled strings were loose, the snakes of silver and bronze didn’t bite, and I realized my finger was thinner.
Weird.
The studying continued and I stayed to myself or hung out with James. He was the only one who did not ignore me as everyone else kept their distance. He had mentioned that Tim was looking rather nervous and pale and had a welt on his face where Erin smacked him. James said Erin was looking thin and flinched a lot as she always had a lollipop in her mouth. I figured exams were just stressful. James and I did what we did best. Drank and studied.
The day had come for the big questions to be answered. Tuesday at ten o’clock in the Main Courthouse the deck was to be dealt. My poker face disguise went on without a wrinkle as I was numb but nausea was playing peek a boo. Mr. Jordan called and wanted to pick me up. In his car, we discussed strategies and he reassured me that it was just ‘a piece of pie.’ We walked into the stately courthouse and watched the other cases being ruled upon. The Judge looked like Grover Cleveland with his circular spectacles and his last name was Emerson. Erin and Tim showed up and sat behind me.
They both looked amped.
She chomped on a lollipop.
The air pressure took a loose grip around my neck and the gavel cracked.
After scanning the room I saw my arresting officer in the corner and I told Mr. Jordan. He just waved his hand. The courtroom was bleak with just a few people in the pews. Cheap carpeting lining the center aisle blew out the smell of formaldehyde. Effigies of distinguished townspeople were slung along the walls. My case number was called and we went up to the front. The procedures were usual. The verifications of names and the pleas were made. It was funny that the officer’s last name was Duncan. When his name was called, I thought of doughnuts and how he should keep his chubby hands off them.
Officer Duncan looked at the judge and said, “The suspect was urinating off of a public road and when I went to apprehend him he ran. I shouted for him to stop and then I went in pursuit. He finally stopped after I repeated that I was a police officer. He appeared to be intoxicated and stated that he was under age. Then I gave him a blood-alcohol test and he was one point one, so I put him into custody and I took him in.”
He sat and Judge Emerson asked me to rise and give my version of events.
“I did urinate outside at the end of this yard after not being able to get access to the facilities. I did not know it was public property where I was because it was a dirt access road between houses.”
The judge asked for corroboration and received it. I was asked if I had anything to say.
“I urinated in the dark around ten o’clock and then a large dog came at me, so I ran off and then he said he was a police man. When I heard, I stopped immediately. I did not intend to run from the police. I just ran away from the dog. No one yelled police dog. I am sorry and I apologize,” I said
“Officer Duncan did you make your presence know before allowing that dog to be unleashed?” the judge asked.
“She was not on the leash Your Honor and she was leading me,” Officer Duncan replied.
“So you let the dog go off leash, when this is a trained police dog trained to track people, and you never made it known that the police dog was coming?”
“No your Honor,” Officer Duncan replied and gulped.
The judge rolled his eyes and said, “Is it possible that you did not make your presence known to this boy and that he was just reacting to a dog on the loose?”
“That is possible Your Honor.”
The judge leaned back and raised his hands and said, “Well this is not about resisting or evasion. It is simply a case of bad choices, and I don’t think the boy would have run if he was not chased by a large dog. He stopped when he realized who you were and even with a dog chasing him. I doubt otherwise that the defendant would have run. I think you might have overreacted to the situation Officer Duncan, but he plead guilty to one of the charges. So the defendant is fined one hundred and fifty dollars and may pay the amount to the clerk.”
The gavel descended with a thud.
But the Judge slipped his glasses to the tip of his noses and said, “By the way Officer Duncan sloppy work. You know not to unleash your dog especially in a heavily populated area. You’ve had too many problems with these college students lately and I hope you change your attitude before I must do it for you. As for you young man, you should make better choices because they could lead you where such incidents cannot be overlooked. Both of you need to wise up. Adjourned.”
I felt nothing.
Erin hugged me over the wood banister. She was rail thin. Her bones poked me through her blue cardigan sweater. Tim nodded and they left down the aisle. Mr. Jordan congratulated me on my shaky exposition and took me to pay the fine at the clerk’s desk down the hall. I thanked him. Mr. Jordan gave me a ride back to the dorm in time for me to get lunch.
I wasn’t hungry.
Mr. Jordan waved as he pulled away down the serpentine street. I wanted coffee so I went to my room to get my pass for the cafeteria and Tim and Erin stood there munching on lollipops.
“All right Walking, it’s all cool with the fuzz so let me take you out for lunch okay?” Tim asked before I could say a word.
“Cool. Sorry for being irritable. So, were you two were high in court?” I asked.
“Maybe a little.”
There were no lines and plenty of plastic seats at the local knock off of the Golden Arches. I sat down as Tim paid and knew the fast food was going to go right through me since I hadn’t eaten in a while. I really liked the fries though. As the oil leaked through the yellow cardboard sleeve container, I realized just a little oil made the seams comes apart.
I was the seam.
After slurping down processed cheese burgers and wiping our hands with the cheap napkins, we were off back on the roads filled with holiday shoppers. I saw my first Santa Clause bum holding a sign on the side of the road and felt nothing.
My right hand began to tremble as I was dropped off and slunk into my room. The heat was blasting as a tickle of winter finally hit the area. With a single pull, I c
losed the blinds half way and looked at the elm. The leaves were gone and the branches were like root reaching out, grasping, for air. The damage caused by parasites on the bark was visible. The trunk had lesions and sappy pus running out of cysts. I hoped the frost of winter would end the infestation.
The whistling vents made it difficult to study but the straight jacket of the court date was now undone and fell off my arms. The only concern now was if my mother would find out. My ten hours of community service to be done on campus started next semester. One other thing did bother me, I hadn’t had a hard on since Elyssa.