Junior Year Box Set

“Get away from him! He’s a pedophile,” the woman said.

Rachel was startled when the woman grabbed her shoulder. I didn’t hesitate. I brought the Bo staff up and stuck the tip under the woman’s chin.

“Back off!” I said.

The woman let Rachel go, and several other women rushed up the driveway. That was when Duke and Buster begin to growl. That slowed them down. They froze when Precious made her appearance and voiced her displeasure. Even my head snapped around when I heard her bobcat yowl. That was when my dad stepped out the back door.

“You’re on private property. I would suggest you leave, or I’ll be forced to call the police.”

“He was going to hit me,” the woman who grabbed Rachel said.

“If I were going to hit you, I would have,” I said. I spun the Bo staff in a figure eight and then helicoptered it over my head before snapping it back between us.

My demonstration must have sunk in because they made a hasty retreat. Dad told us to come into the house. He wasn’t happy when Precious slipped in.

“What is that cat doing in my house?” Mom asked from the kitchen.

“Dad let her in,” I said.

Mom just glared at us, and Dad was being entirely unreasonable when he whacked me in the back of the head.

“David, make me breakfast while you explain yourself,” Mom said.

I began to cook when Duke nudged me. I looked down, and he was tattling on Buster for drinking all his water. He was such a baby sometimes. I got him a fresh bowl. Precious walked up to it, and both dogs decided they would wait. When she finished drinking, I scooped her up and put her in the crate. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day playing ‘find the kitty.’

“I came down to find the press and the protesters waiting for me. Then Rachel got them excited, and I had to protect her.”

“I didn’t do anything. That crazy lady grabbed me,” Rachel said.

“So why did you come over this morning?” I asked.

“I won sectionals!”

“That’s great. I guess your coach was right. When’s state?”

“This Saturday. It’s being held at State. I was hoping you’d come,” she said.

We worked out the details, and I promised to come cheer her on. I fed everyone, and we planned out our day. I had to be in court at one for the hearing. Mom said she would come because Dad had already taken off too much time from work. I had to study and catch up with the schoolwork I’d skipped the last few days. I didn’t need to get behind; I was already going to miss the month of December.

◊◊◊

At one o’clock I was seated in court next to Ms. Dixon. Cal and Mr. Fox were sitting at the other table that faced the judge. The courtroom was full. Seated behind me were my mom, Tom, Roy Thompson, and Don Rigby. Cal hadn’t been happy when Roy and Don picked my side of the courtroom.

“I’ve read your motion, and frankly, I’m confused,” the judge began. “Mr. Fox, you need to explain yourself.”

“Your honor, we need to freeze Mr. Dawson’s assets because we feel he may either skip town or hide them before we can get a full accounting.”

“What say you, Mr. Dawson, are you planning on taking off?”

“No, sir. My mom wouldn’t let me,” I said, which got a chuckle from the crowd.

“Ms. Dixon, do you have an accounting of Mr. Dawson’s assets?”

“Yes, your honor. Rigby, Thompson and Associates maintain his books. Mr. Fox will be able to review them if we get to that point. We are hopeful we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement on the care of Miss Bell and Mr. Dawson’s child when it is born,” Ms. Dixon said.

“That makes perfect sense. I don’t need to deliberate any further. The request to freeze Mr. Dawson’s assets is denied. I feel you’ve wasted the court’s time with this matter. I further order that Mr. Bell pay all court costs,” the judge said, and then used his gavel to dismiss the motion.

Before we could leave, Ms. Dixon got a call from the state’s attorney’s office. They asked if we could meet with State’s Attorney Mason.

◊◊◊

Frank appeared as we walked out of the courtroom. He handed Ms. Dixon and me a set of talking points. There were reporters gathered on the front steps of the courthouse. Ms. Dixon read her notes and stepped in front of the microphones, while I stood behind her with my mom.

“As the judge said, Mr. Fox and Mr. Bell have wasted the court’s time with their most recent motion. It’s important to realize that we have not even seen a police report. My client has cooperated with Detective Kitchens, and to this point has not been charged with any crime. Everything that has been leaked has been hearsay and not grounded in fact. I expect that once the police have had the time they need to investigate this thoroughly, we will see that David has done nothing to warrant this witch-hunt. We fully expect that the allegations that have been made will be found either unreliable or simply untrue. We would appreciate the opportunity for you to view all the evidence before jumping to any further conclusions.