My Day in Court

Court is worse than I imagined. It's not all big and pretentious like I always see on TV, with the pews and the really tall desk for the judge. I don't even remember her banging her gavel. There's tables and chairs, and the judge sits a little higher than us behind a thing. It's just this room. I think the place should be pretentious and take itself too seriously. This is where they make decisions that are going to change people's lives.

The one cool thing is the stenographer. I spent most of the time checking her out. She was supposed to be transcribing, but it looked like she kept typing even when nobody was talking, so what's up with that? During one of the breaks, I watched her change the ticker-tape that comes out of the machine. It looked like it was in code or braile or something.

I'm even more disappointed with my lawyer now than last week. I thought I was watching a lame community theater version of To Kill a Mockingbird. She reminds me of some girl who took three drama courses in college and thinks she's gonna make it big in showbiz. The guy on the other side isn't much better. He doesn't say much, but as soon as he starts talking, he puts on a big grin. It disappears when he gets distracted or stops talking. I'm not even sure who he's representing.

Most of his arguments are about what a terrible person I am. After an afternoon of hearing that, I'm not just convinced I shouldn't have the house, I think someone should come and take my super powers. My job for now is to say nothing and try not to piss anyone off, but we're not done yet. I have to be there at 9 AM tomorrow. Goddamned legal system.