Chapter Text
January 6, 10:00 am
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
The gavel smack sounded through the court. “Court is now in session for the trial of Dr. Thera Pyst.” The judge was a younger man than the usual judge Apollo who he was used to having presided over his trials.
Danice, clad in a shimmery ochre suit jacket, flipped his hat into his hand and elegantly gestured to the judge. “The prosecution is ready in first position.” He announced.
“Procureur Endark!” The judge exclaimed excitedly. Apollo cocked his head towards the judge. Was that French? His question was confirmed when the man started rapidly speaking French to the prosecutor who responded in French back to the judge. Apollo just waited awkwardly for the conversation to die down so he could do his proper introduction and after another couple of sentences he cleared his throat to gain their attention. Danice grinned over at him.
“My apologies, Mr. Justice.” Danice said. “The judge and I know each other from different legal circles in Quebec.”
“Ah yes, the time for catching up is for a later time. My apologies, defense.” The judge said.
“No problem. The defense is ready, Your Honor.” Apollo said confidently, though he felt nothing but nerves thrumming through him. The judge peered down at him and his eyes narrowed. He was looking intently at Apollo, as though inspecting him. It was unnerving.
“Hm? Oh! I haven’t seen your face before…or have I? There’s something aboot you…” The judge muttered as he looked over Apollo.
Apollo chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m still a pretty new attorney, Your Hono-”
“Oh! I remember!” The judge exclaimed, cutting Apollo off. Apollo flinched. “You were that goth kid acquitted of stealing money from your foster parents!”
Apollo blinked. “That…is impressive you remember that, Your Honor. That trial was 5 years ago…more than.” Apollo muttered. “Uh, but yes, that was me.”
The judge chuckled and grinned down at him. “I am glad to see you made good choices after that and made something of yourself. I look forward to hearing your argument.” The judge said. “Prosecutor Endark, your opening statement.”
Danice spun his cane with a deft motion. “Thank you. Today we are here to ascertain the events leading to the awful attempted murder of Mr. Jim Naisum, gym teacher and coach of various boys sporting teams at Cristóbal Aguilar High School.” He explained, cane smoothly circulating in the air in front of him.
The judge nodded. “Ah yes. I saw that in the notes for this case. Grisly scene.” He commented.
“Precicely. The only one with the means, motive and opportunity to orchestrate this grisly crime is the defendant, Dr. Thera Pyst.”
A smack from the gavel signaled the end of the opening statement. “Thank you, Prosecutor Endark. As always, concisely and elegantly said.”
Prosecutor Endark flipped his hat back onto his head and grinned. “At this time, I will call my first witness. Detective Ema Skye, to the stage!” He called. Ema came out from the prosecutor’s lobby and came to stand at the witness stand. “Please state your name and occupation for our wonderful stenographer, please.”
“Ema Skye, Detective.” Ema answered politely and without any flourish.
“Please make your testimony, Detective, about the nature of the crime.” The judge ordered.
Witness Testimony
-- The Nature of the Crime–
“The defendant was seen having a heated argument with the victim after a field trip
The cameras show them separating after their altercation with the defendant going to her office
The victim went to the gymnasium for a short basketball practice.
All students were dismissed a half hour later where the cameras caught the defendant going to the gym.
The victim was found pinned beneath a 275 weighted bar marked with the defendant’s fingerprints.
The defendant called 911 and an ambulance was dispatched with police to the scene where she was arrested.”
Apollo’s court record pinged with the entering of the following evidence: the video footage of the hallways leading to Dr. Pyst’s office and the gym, the medical report for the victim, and photos of the weight bar and the crime scene. The judge hummed. “Thank you, Detective.” The judge said. “And how is the victim currently?”
Ema folded her arms and looked down at the bench. “He is stable, but currently intubated to help stop his chest cavity from expanding too much as his sternum heals. He’s out of the woods, so to speak.” Ema answered.
“This case seems very clear and straightforward." The judge remarked. “However, we must give the defense the chance for a cross examination. So go ahead, Mr. Justice.” The judge gestured to Apollo to start.
Apollo nodded and slid out from behind the bench. It wasn’t anything he wasn't prepared to face, but to hear it so concisely said made his stomach twist. There were plenty of places for him to start his attack, and he would unfortunately have to reveal what the argument was about, unless Ema was going to do it for him. So that’s where he decided to start.
“The two had an argument. Plenty of people have arguments all the time, Detective.” Apollo pressed. “Most don’t end in murder.”
“Her prints are on the weapon, Justice.” Ema countered with a frown.
“Easily explained by her trying to lift the bar.” Apollo shot back. “They were coworkers. Just like we are. I would think you would try to help me if you saw me compromised or in trouble.”
Ema put her glasses on her nose and smirked. “It's probable. You don’t annoy me that much.”
“So I again ask, do you know what the argument was about?” Apollo pressed.
“A disagreement regarding professional capacities is what the defendant said to us.” Ema answered. Apollo nodded.
“So the argument could be anything about filing papers correctly or educational pedagogy.” Apollo retorted. “Nothing concrete that can outline a definitive motive. Now the camera shows Dr. Pyst left her office during the window of time, which means I can grant you she had an opportunity to commit the crime, or to stop it. Security was insistent that students had to leave so there were no students around at the time of the crime. However, the means of the crime, the weight bar.” Apollo took out the photo of the bar. “The weights total 275 pounds. Quite heavier than what the average woman can pick up on her own.” He gestured to the weight plates. “A significant amount of training and stamina is needed to hold this bar up for even a moment, and should not be attempted by one’s self.”
“Where are you going with this, Mr. Justice?” The judge asked.
Apollo folded his arms. “That someone else was present at the scene before Dr. Pyst arrived.”
“Objection! You cannot prove that it is true.” Danice interrupted, spinning the cane swiftly in a circle in front of him.
“Objection!” Apollo retorted before shaking his head. “But I can.”
Danice’s hat popped off his head as his hand slipped and the cane dropped down onto the bench. It was quickly recovered. “How?”
Apollo pulled up the security camera footage and slid it to the point where Paige came into frame. “You see this woman here?” Apollo asked. Danice nodded. “This is a substitute at the school. She had a close relationship with the victim. According to the defendant, at this moment she told the victim she was going to be in a classroom and meet with him later, after practice. I ask the court that we have her come to the stand to testify.” Apollo suggested.
Danice chuckled and resumed spinning the cane. “Préparation!” Apollo looked over at him curiously. “I made sure to have every piece of my argument perfectly arranged to show the complete story. Of course, I would have followed up my investigation to find any scenes that would add clarity to the situation. Ms. Paige Turner has been prepared today to give her testimony regarding her relationship with the victim to help provide context to the motive that you so…prematurely dismiss as moot.” Danice chuckled and flipped his hat onto his cane, spinning it above him elegantly.
“Oh, how fortuitous!” The judge exclaimed jovially. “We will have her take the stand.”
Danice smiled. “Your Honor, may I request a short recess?” Danice asked. “Ms. Turner is a little distraught due to the events at the school and needs a little bit more time to prepare than most.”
The judge nodded. “Request granted. We will hear your witness's testimony after a ten minute recess.” The judge smacked the gavel down to end the proceedings. The gallery buzzed above him enthusiastically.
“You know Mr. Justice, one of the best parts of the ballet-” Danice jolted his cane up and the hat flipped elegantly back onto his head. “-is the leadup. Where the music swells and the pieces of the story are being presented before the end of the act. That is where we are. Do try not to speed through the story before it’s ready.” Here he pointed the cane towards Apollo with a sharp flick of his wrist. “Understand?”
Apollo pressed his lips together. “Got it.” He croaked and turned to walk back to his own bench, feeling like he was somehow outplayed.
January 6, 10:50 am
District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 2
“Damn. He sure slowed your momentum.” Adam commented as he and Apollo walked into the lobby. Apollo turned with a raised eyebrow, a “ya think?” bit back in his throat. “Sorry. Just making a comment.” He muttered going to sit down on the small sofa.
Apollo sighed and took a seat next to him. “No, don’t be sorry. I tried to speedrun the trial, I should have realized that it wasn’t going to be that easy.” Apollo muttered. It was a rookie mistake and he underestimated how prepared Danice was going to be. The man was just as foppish, if not more than Klavier, but Apollo knew he could keep up with Mr. Gavin’s arguments well. Apollo took a breath to push down the sudden anxiety and feelings of unworthiness so he could be prepared to focus on the next testimony. He could still turn this around to help his case. He just had to keep his goal at the forefront: the truth.
Apollo took out his Court Record to look over the new information uploaded into the evidence bank. Adam leaned over to look alongside him. He didn’t know exactly what he was trying to find, but he tried to take note of the exact frames of when he saw Dr. Pyst and Coach going to their respective offices. He also took note of the medical report. It confirmed what he already knew; the next witness was an affair partner and the medical proxy listed on his medical form was his wife, and not Paige Turner. So he was still married? This case was going to get messier once this was revealed in court.
“Time’s up, Justice.” Adam said, looking at his watch. Apollo sighed and stood up, lifting his arms to stretch upwards for a moment before fixing his vest. “You ready?”
“As ever.” Apollo responded with a smirk. Adam chuckled and shook his head as they entered the courtroom.
January 6, 11:00 am
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
“Court is back in session for the trial of Dr. Thera Pyst. Prosecutor Endark is your witness ready to take the stand?”
Danice nodded sharply and slid his hat down his arm to settle on the tips of his fingers before flipping the hat into the crook of his elbow. “She is ready to make her courtroom debut. Please be gentle with her, she is a timid creature.” Apollo folded his arms and bit his lip to keep himself from showing his distaste for the blatant framing of the witness’s disposition before she was even in the room.
A lithe woman was brought into the courtroom and guided up to the witness stand. Paige Turner looked around nervously, holding a notebook tightly in her hands. Her eyes nervously darted between both sides of the courtroom. Apollo felt his bracelet thrum on his wrist causing him to bring his hand up to his wrist to rub at it. Great, just what he needed.
“Please state your name and occupation for the record,” Danice said politely.
Wide blue eyes took in the prosecutor before timidly responding, “Paige Turner, I’m a long term substitute teacher at Cristóbal Aguilar High School. I’m currently substituting for the freshman English teacher.”
The judge nodded. “Thank you Ms. Turner. Prosecutor Endark? What is the nature of her testimony today?”
Danice passed the cane sharply between his hands as he answered, “When speaking to Ms. Turner yesterday about her movement on the day in question, she sparked a whole new line of understanding of this crime. For you see-” Danice smacked his cane against the bench suddenly causing several people in the gallery, including Ms. Turner, to flinch at the sound. “-She reveals the motive behind this crime.”
Adam turned to Apollo as the gallery sprung into hushed whispered conversation around them. “Shit, she’s going to reveal her affair? That’s ballsy. You would think they’d want to keep it under wraps.” He hissed.
Apollo took a breath. “She can gain sympathy. Look at her.” Apollo flicked his head towards her. She was a demure, petite blonde woman; Disney princess-esque. “She can essentially say she was blinded by love or something if this turns south.”
Adam grimaced. “You certainly don’t have a high opinion of her.” He pointed out grimly.
Apollo frowned. “It’s…I’m being realistic.” He argued softly, rubbing his wrist underneath his bracelet.
Adam shrugged. “You’re giving her a lot of credit to be able to manipulate a courtroom like this in two seconds after meeting her.” Adam retorted. Apollo pressed his lips together tightly and turned back to the witness stand. He had a string of attractive people use their looks and personality to their advantage during a trial and completely sway the rest of the courtroom. Sue him for being cautious.
“Ms. Turner,” the judge called down. She looked up at the judge and Apollo could see tears forming in her eyes. “Please testify to the court about what you know.”
“Of course.” The woman whispered.
Witness Testimony
–The Motive–
“Jim and I…we’re engaged.
Dr. Pyst knew about it and wasn’t supportive of it.
She had cornered me before winter break to express her displeasure of it.
She said it was unprofessional.
On the day Jim-*sob*- I told him I would see him after practice.
Then I went to the English wing to grade essays.”
“Oh! He was your fiancé?” The judge exclaimed. “How awful this must be for you.” He commented sadly.
Paige dabbed at her eyes. “Yes, I’ve…it’s been so hard.” She said tearfully. Apollo folded his arms feeling slightly vindicated as the gallery members above him gave little sad sighs and sympathetic clicks of their teeth. He heard a few comment their sympathies for the woman having to face this sort of a tragedy and having to speak at the witness stand and face the defendant. The judge knocked the sound box to quell the commentary.
“Order!” He announced before looking at Apollo. “Mr. Justice, your cross-examination please.”
Adam leaned over as Apollo started out. “Hey.” He called. Apollo looked at him. “You got this. Just be a little bit more tactful.”
Apollo rolled his eyes. “You act as if I’m a bulldozer.” He griped.
“I’m just saying, maybe don’t start with the fact that she’s hiding her affair as the way to discredit her.” Adam pointed out. “You’re already in hot water trying to brush past the motive bit, so call into question her position first. You went to that school. You know the layout. Could she have truly only been in the English wing the whole time?” Adam asked. Apollo nodded. That had been on his mind since seeing the footage. He just needed a little bit of information.
“Thanks, Adam.” Apollo said with a smile. “That was helpful.” He turned and faced the courtroom. Danice looked at him with wary eyes, as if sizing Apollo up to where he might start his attack on the cross-examination.
“Ms. Turner, I would just like to establish your movement on the day in question.” Apollo started. Paige blinked at him owlishly but nodded. “So you said that you went to the English wing after leaving Dr. Pyst and Coach Naisum-”
“Oh!” Paige cut off Apollo with a sharp cry.
“Ack!” Apollo flinched away. “Huh?”
Paige dabbed at her tearing eyes. “Sorry, just…it's hard for me to hear his name without getting overwhelmed.”
“Uh…I’m sorry that this is hard for you.” Apollo said stiffly, not really sure how to go about comforting her. Mr. Gavin had the sweet talking skills which unfortunately did not pass onto Apollo through his teachings. “We are here to determine what happened to Coach Naisum-”
“She did it!” Paige exclaimed, pointing at Dr. Pyst. “They found her there with Jim, why do I have to do this?!” She cried. Apollo’s bracelet squeezed him tightly and he bit back a grunt of pain.
“My job is to defend my client and find the truth, no matter what that truth is.” Apollo bit out, gently shaking out his left arm to alleviate some of the pain. “You’re an educated woman, surely you know about due process and the right to a defense.” He challenged. Paige bit back a sob and looked down at her shaking hands. Apollo sighed and took in a breath to steady himself. “My job is to press your statements to get clarity on the crime and the prosecutor makes sure that your information is consistent with the facts of the case and the evidence. So, even if this is hard for you to answer, you are strong enough to face it and answer my questions to get Jim the justice he deserves.” Apollo explained. Paige dabbed at her eyes and sniffed before nodding.
“Okay. Um…so yes I went to the English wing of the school.” Paige confirmed.
Apollo nodded. “To clarify for those unaware of the layout, Cristóbal Aguilar High School is broken up into sections based on subjects. When I attended the school, the English wing was in the opposite direction of the gymnasium, closer to the hallway towards Dr. Pyst’s office. Is this still the case?” Apollo asked.
Paige gripped the notebook tight between her hands and nodded. “Yes…um, I have a map here in my notebook from when I started.” She flipped the pages of the notebook and gently pried a taped in paper from the page and handed it to the bailiff who brought it to the judge. He nodded and the bailiff took the paper to the scanner which would upload the document to the Court Record. A chirp from his device sounded a moment later and Adam turned it towards him. The map was neatly color-coded with labeled hallways and classrooms colored in different colors.
Apollo projected the map onto the screen. “So as we can see here, the English corridor is directly in the opposite direction of the gym. And in order to reach that section of the school, there is only one hallway you pass through and directly goes past Dr. Pyst’s office.”
Danice tapped his cane on the desk. “Thank you for that, Mr. Justice, but what does this very detailed line of inquiry lead us to?” The prosecutor countered.
Apollo flipped through the evidence in his Court Record and opened up the video of the hallway he was discussing. “So this is the video footage for the hallway Dr. Pyst’s office is located in, the only one that can be used to lead to the English classrooms.” He sped up the video showing the stream up until Dr. Pyst went to her office. “Did you notice?”
Danice frowned. “Notice what?”
Apollo folded his arms. “The noticeable absence of Ms. Turner in the video stream.” Apollo answered. Danice’s cane sprung from his hand causing him to almost vault over the bench to grab it. He straightened up as the gallery started whispering. Apollo continued, “If she went to the English corridor, then why isn’t she pictured here in the video before Dr. Pyst came back to her office, or at any time before she left for the crime scene?”
Danice spun his cane in front of him and hummed, “Perhaps there is a back staircase she could have gone through-”
“Objection!” Apollo shouted. “There is only one way into the corridor; all the exit doors allow people to leave but not come back in. The cameras would have caught her going through the door from the outside.” He remembered that being part of the argument Mr. Gavin had presented during Apollo’s own trial as a way to dispute the idea that Apollo snuck out and back in without going through the front door with his ID. Danice snapped back and his cane clattered as it hit the desk from dropping out of his hand. “And before you say she could have used the staircases attaching the two floors together, I have to point out that the staircase is located after passing by Dr. Pyst’s office.” Apollo pointed to the map again to emphasize his point. “Either way, Ms. Turner would have to have walked by Dr. Pyst’s office at some point to go where she said she was waiting until after practice. Furthermore,” Apollo said, switching to video that showed the feed of the hallway by the gym. As the video played, there were definitely more people walking down the hallway, mostly boys. Apollo let the video play for a few more moments before pausing the footage. “There.” Apollo said, pointing to the slight spot of yellow on the screen. “In a sea of tall teenage boys is a spot of blonde hair. Our witness perhaps?”
“Objection!” Danice exclaimed, throwing his cane out before smirking. “I needn’t remind the defense that short teenage boys exist.” Apollo’s nose scrunched; he didn’t need the reminder, but ouch. “So how can you be so sure that it is our witness?”
Apollo sighed and switched to the feed of the front of the school foyer where he snapped the picture of Ms. Turner. “Here you can see a better image of the witness. See here.” Apollo pointed to the light sparkling clip holding back her bangs. “Now going back to the first still from the hall outside of the gym…aaaaannnnnnddd there. See?” Apollo pointed to a small glimmer on the blonde hair. “The same clip. Thus proving that the witness was actually in the gymnasium hallway rather than the English corridor.”
“Ack!” Danice let out as his cane slipped from his fingers and clacked against the desk. The gallery began murmuring to themselves.
“Order!” The judge called as he smacked the gavel against the sound box. “Ms. Turner! Is this true? Did you go to the gym instead of the English corridor?”
Paige’s fingers tightened against the book causing the book cover to curve dangerously. She looked down at the stand and muttered, “Yes, I was.”
Danice cleared his throat and started spinning his cane around. “Well, this makes quite a turnaround for you, Mr. Justice.” Danice commented lightly.
Adam smirked, “Quite a magical event, huh, Mr. Turnabout Magician?” He teased. Apollo rolled his eyes and folded his arms.
“So Ms. Turner, if you were in the gym area, what were you doing?” Apollo asked.
“We will need this important information in your next testimony, Ms. Turner.” The judge ordered. “Please be specific and detailed in your recollection.”
Witness Testimony
–My Whereabouts–
“I told Jim that I was going to the English corridor so that I could surprise him
I snuck into the hallway with the boy’s team since I could easily hide between them
I went into Jim’s office to wait for him there…then I-oh!
I can’t say it!”
The judge blinked owlishly down at her. “Ms. Turner. Are you implying you saw the moment of the crime?!” He exclaimed. The gallery fired up into harsh surprised whispers. “Order! Order!”
Danice frowned over at the witness stand, his cane tapping like a metronome against the desk. “Witness, I understand this is a difficult time for you, but I am slowly losing my patience. You must summon your courage and face this head on.”
Paige dabbed at her eyes and sniffled. “Oh…okay…um. Well, I had been waiting a long time for Jim to return to his office and…well I was worried that something had happened and I was right. I came out from the office and there was Jim. Pinned underneath the weight bar and she-” Her hand shot out and shakily pointed at Dr. Pyst. “-Was there holding the bar down!” She accused fiercely.
Apollo bit his lip as the gallery started furiously whispering once again. This was not good. She turned from a character witness to actual witness. He looked over at Danice who was solemnly looking down at the desk, spinning his cane. Did he know? Or was he just better at hiding his shock?
The smacking sound of the gavel cut through his thoughts. “Order! Order! Order!!” He shouted. “Mr. Justice, I leave this cross-examination to you. Please have the witness clear up this crime!”
Apollo nodded. “Of course.” He slipped out and held his left wrist gently with his right hand. It had reacted during the course of her freak out after Danice had coaxed her to reveal that she had witnessed the crime. Apollo took a breath and allowed his vision to be overtaken and slid into hyperfocus. “So, you were waiting in the office the whole time?”
Paige looked away from Apollo and down at her hands. Apollo followed her movement and looked at her hands. “Yes…”
“So…wouldn’t you have been able to hear when the weights were being lifted? It’s not a silent activity.” Apollo pressed. Paige’s fingers twitched and her fingers curled around the book’s cover. He was on the right track. “Speaking from experience-” Bluff, Apollo, and hope no one calls out the obvious lie. “-There’s a distinct sound when the plates are loaded onto the bar.”
Paige pulled the book to her chest quickly and stuttered, “W-well, someone else came into the gym to lift weights after practice. The boys tend to do that to train themselves.”
“Objection!” Apollo interjected. Paige jolted and the book popped into the air momentarily before landing back in her tightened grip. “The boys were told to go home after practice. In fact, security had been adamant of this to the point they were escorted from the campus.” Apollo reminded her. Paige flinched and the cover of the book was bent again under her tight grip. “The only other person it could have been was Coach Nasium. Why didn’t you go outside to see him? You would have been able to surprise him then.” Apollo pointed out. He looked at her hands again. There it was. She was flexing her fingers around the cover of the notebook. “Hmm…maybe you did surprise him…” Apollo muttered. “Just not in the way you wanted…ah!” Apollo jolted. Oh no… “It was an accident…the whole time.” Apollo said. Paige looked at him with wide eyes.
“What?” She whispered.
Apollo rubbed his bracelet. “You did come out to see him, your sweater is still in his office, and he was lifting weights by himself and when you startled him…it fell. You tried to lift it and you couldn’t get it off, so you ran to call an ambulance. While you were gone, Dr. Pyst had come in and also tried to get the bar off of him, but you didn’t want to be blamed for dropping the bar on him, so you decided to let her take the fall. It would be good then if she were gone because you knew that other staff members were knowledgeable about your relationship with Jim-”
“We’re engaged!” Paige cried. “What’s wrong with that?! Age is just a number!”
Apollo shook his head. “No, Ms. Turner. It’s not the age difference, though it is significant, and, in my opinion, distasteful. The issue was not regarding that aspect of your relationship, but rather,” Apollo took out the medical report for Coach Nasium. “It was the fact that Coach Nasium was still legally married.”
Paige’s book snapped out of her hand and landed on her head, causing her to blink her eyes rapidly and her mouth dropped open in shock. The book fell onto the witness stand where she picked it up. Apollo let the hyperfocus slip away as he felt his bracelet loosen slightly. The gallery muttered above him as Apollo went back to his bench. He had a feeling the truth was coming out now.
“He was getting a divorce,” She muttered as she picked up the book. “He just gave me a promise ring to show that he was moving towards divorcing her.” She picked up the book and hugged it tightly against her body. Her eyes began to well up with tears. “Jim had a habit of lifting alone-”
“Stupid.” Adam muttered from Apollo’s left. Apollo grunted in agreement.
“It was dangerous. I told him so all the time,” Paige argued before sighing. “But he always insisted he was fine…I had come out of his office in…alluring wear.” Apollo felt his cheeks heat up. Well, that would certainly be something surprising to see. “I called him and he looked up and that’s when it happened. The bar slipped out from under him and collapsed onto his chest. He…he was trying to lift it himself but couldn’t get under it. I tried to grab it, but it was too heavy for me to move it off of him. His feet were trying to get purchase, but he couldn’t get a good footing against the mat to help him. He was wheezing and he couldn’t talk. He was turning blue, so I ran to call 911. When I got back…I saw Dr. Pyst there.” She looked down at the book. “I thought, ‘okay maybe she can help me’ and I went to go into the room, but then I worried that she might have thought I did it. And then I thought that maybe I could pin it on her. So…”
“You waited in the shadows until EMS took him away.” Apollo finished.
Paige nodded and let out a short sob. “I went to the hospital, but they wouldn’t let me see him.” She cried.
“Because you’re not listed as family nor are you his wife.” Apollo reminded her. He sighed and folded his arms with a frown. “Ms. Turner, you’re lucky he didn’t die, and is projected to make a full recovery.”
Paige shook her head and cried even louder, “I’m sorry I was scared! I’m only 23!”
Apollo shook his head. “As am I. Being young doesn’t absolve us from being accountable for our mistakes.” He explained. “You made a mistake, but it doesn’t have to end your life, but you can’t just wave aside the choices you made during this incident.” Paige folded over and wrapped her arms around herself, effectively closing the conversation. Apollo shook his head.
“Well, I think that wraps up this cross-examination.” The judge announced. “Bailiff, please escort this witness down from the stand.” Paige was taken away from the stand as the rest of the court murmured. “May the defendant please take the stand.” Dr. Pyst stood up and stepped forward. She stood ramrod straight and looked at the judge solemnly. “This court finds the defendant, Dr. Thera Pyst…
NOT GUILTY
Cheers and confetti rained down over the courtroom. Danice was smiling as he spun his cane around. Adam grinned at Apollo who sent a tight smile back. He looked back at Dr. Pyst who turned to look at him. Her face broke into a smile when their eyes connected. She mouthed, “Thank you,” towards him and that’s what caused Apollo’s smile to stretch to a more genuine expression.
“This court is adjourned!” The judge concluded by smacking his gavel against the sound box.
January 6, 12:20 pm
District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 2
“Well, you certainly did your homework, Mr. Justice.” Dr. Pyst teased as they were led into the lobby. Apollo sighed and shook his head.
“It was touch and go for a bit. I thought we were in for the long haul.” Apollo admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
“You were attentive and thought through the details.” Dr. Pyst continued her praise. “You were always observant and scarily perceptive. That was the hurdle in many of our sessions I had to try and overcome. I’m glad you found a way to put those strengths to good use.”
Apollo felt his cheeks heat up but instead of shrinking away, he looked at Dr. Pyst head on. “I know that I already gave you words of thanks at graduation, but…I wasn’t being totally sincere.” He admitted. He took a breath and looked up at her. “My life wouldn’t have gone the way it had if you hadn’t believed in me.” He said firmly.
Dr. Pyst’s mouth dropped open and she shook her head. “Oh, Apollo. I-It was nothing.” She stuttered.
“It wasn’t.” Apollo insisted seriously. “You could’ve given up on me at any point during those four years in high school. You could have done nothing when I got arrested. You chose to keep trying to push even though I was a complete asshole and tried to shut you out at every turn.” Apollo explained. He looked down at the floor and smiled shyly. “You were the reason Mr. Gavin and I had the chance to meet.”
“Really?” Adam asked incredulously. Apollo nodded.
“Yep. After my arrest, Dr. Pyst called a friend of hers to take up my case. That friend was Mr. Gavin.” Apollo explained. “I wouldn’t be standing here as an attorney if you hadn’t done that.”
“You had incredible potential, Apollo Justice. I was just glad you had made something of yourself, even if my role in that was limited.” Dr. Pyst said softly. “That’s what we do, as educators or those who work with youth. Sometimes we never know the true impact we have on the children we work with. So thank you. For giving me a gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life.”
“You’re welcome, Dr. Pyst.” Apollo said, his cheeks almost the color of his suit jacket.
The bailiff came to take Dr. Pyst back to the detention center to process her release, leaving Apollo and Adam in the lobby together. “So I take it the reason you were given an award, but not allowed to give your speech was because of your arrest?” Adam asked. Apollo turned to him with a sigh and nodded while folding his arms.
“There were other ‘extenuating circumstances’ to the decision as well. Despite being acquitted for the charge I was arrested on, it didn’t look good for the valedictorian of the school to have witnessed being taken out by police, so they covered it up by having the speech given by one of the popular kids; the speech was so vapid and uninteresting I think I fell asleep during it.” Apollo huffed and rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I was still given the award after the ceremony since it would have been called into question how Principal’s Excellence award was given to me, but I didn’t give a speech in the Valedictorian slot. It’s fine, it’s water under the bridge.”
“Wow.” Adam breathed. Apollo cocked his head questioningly. “I…I knew you were smart, but I didn’t realize how smart you actually are.”
Apollo chuckled and shook his head. “The fact that I sped through college in two years and law school in 18 months wasn’t impressive enough?” He countered teasingly.
Adam rolled his eyes, “Okay when you say it like that…” He grumbled as Apollo broke in loud laughter.
“You two getting along?” A voice said from the hall. “This is something I didn’t think I’d ever see.” Apollo turned his head to see Kristoph come into the room with Danice following behind him.
“Hiya, sir!” Apollo chirped excitedly.
“Mr. Gavin!” Adam exclaimed, his body stiffening to attention.
“Adam, relax.” Kristoph ordered. Adam’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Good show out there. Both of you.” He praised. “Despite your…enthusiasm in trying to end the trial before any evidence had been presented, Justice.” He said tightly. Apollo bit his lip and looked down.
“Oh Krissy, don’t be too hard on him.” Danice scolded. “He was just trying to show he can hold his own against me and without you.”
Kristoph turned to the prosecutor with a frown. “He is still my student, and he needs to listen when he makes irrational decisions that impact his case.”
Apollo sighed and nodded. “Yes, sir. I…I was incredibly impulsive.”
Kristoph gave a sigh of his own and pushed his glasses up before giving Apollo a smile. “You got there in the end. Just…remember to listen next time.”
Apollo smiled. “Yes, sir!”
Kristoph looked at both of his junior lawyers with a hint of pride on his face. “Now, I think we have enough time to grab lunch before going back to the office. Don’t you?” Apollo’s smile widened and he nodded. Adam also gave a small smile and nodded. “Good. Danice,” he said, turning to the prosecutor.
“Of course!” Danice said cheerfully. Kristoph pressed a finger to the bridge of his glasses.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Kristoph said exasperatedly.
“I never turn down lunch, much less with you since prison took away six whole months of hanging out with you.” Danice complained dramatically. Kristoph sighed and shook his head.
Apollo folded his arms and chuckled, “I told you your best friend missed you, sir.” Apollo said cheekily.
“I know. He also has reminded me of that every day since my release, thank you.” Kristoph shot back. “Now come on, you two still have paperwork to complete when we get back.” He reminded them and turned to leave the lobby.
“Yes sir!” The two junior attorneys exclaimed together as they walked out.