This one got everyone's hair rising on their skin. Elena could easily snap at any moment if she felt that she was being wronged. Judge Freeman had just become her latest victim. They could at least get the hurt that she was feeling. Desperate, lost and alone, was how she looked in front there... before the court.
"Get out! Get her out of my court! Now!" The judge roared rising from his seat.
The bailiff came and ushered Elena out of the courtroom, as she cried. People murmured for a few seconds trying to absorb how the sixty-eight-year-old was a non-nonsense entertainer. He slammed the gavel for everyone to remain quiet. The murmurs turned to fearless whispers before they died out completely.
"You cannot! And I mean that you cannot come to ma' court and disrespect me!" Judge Freeman spoke. "When you come here, you have to respect the rules that are found here, that means respecting me! If you know that you have any emotional attachment whatsoever or too traumatized emotionally that you can curse me so bad, or anyone in here... I'm permitting you to walk out of this room. You can get up and leave right now! This ain't no high school drama play! Get up and leave! It's just that simple!"
The whole court remained quiet. People looked on forward at the judge, trying not to piss him off. He was angry and one could clearly hear it in his voice. The silence was deafening! Everyone sat still for a minute before Dean, Elena's father, got up and headed for the exit doors. Everyone watched as he took those big and hurried steps out of the room. He walked into the hallway and quickly headed for the building's exit seeming in a hurry to catch Elena from where she had disappeared to. The outside was really cold. Dean could clearly get the sudden drop in temperature and he rubbed his hands together. He walked down the stairs and saw Elena sitting on a bench, sobbing on her own. She raised her head to look at the approaching man. She quickly got up and ran to his arms like a little girl.
"Dad he's lying! He's lying!" Elena cried out to him bitterly.
"I know, baby. We all know he's lying." Dean spoke up. His black hair, similar to his daughter's, was nicely trimmed and had some spikes forming on their ends. His skin was similar to his daughter's. Brown in color, as if Mexican. Grey-bluish eyes spoke so wisely of him, and the broad mustache in addition to his tidy tiny beard spoke out his elegance. He had a small wart just below his lower lip that Elena loved to play with when she was little.
"It hurts seeing him there telling all these statements dad. How can the judge allow him to speak all..." she started whimpering and shaking again despite the furry coat that she had taken on her way out that shielded her from the cold.
"Elena, relax. Relax." Dean told her as he released her from his arms. "Breath in, breathe out. Yeah, in... out..." She took in deep breaths as she brought herself to calm down. Her beat slowed down and she seemed to relax after a minute and she was stiff now, not shaking at all.
"Then why are you so relaxed when he says such things about your daughter?" She asked the fifty-two-year-old man.
"Because Elena, one; this is a trial. Not a clumsy high school debate, love. There are rules and procedures that we just have to accept and follow. No matter how hard it is. Second, do you really think we are going to lose this case?" He asked her boldly.
"At first I wasn't sure but now, yeah... we are going to lose. And it's all because of me! I shouldn't have yelled at the judge that way. Now he's going to make sure that I will pay for that."
"Ha!" Dean laughed out softly. He was really calm.
"Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?" Elena blurted out at him, confused.
"In court, they rely on actual evidence Elena, which we have a lot of them. Not some grudge on someone's daughter or rumors. We are going to win. So I need you to do your part. Just observe. Come forth when called to speak and do what is required of you. You are a good girl. You know that. Some lies are even not worth fighting for. You just have to ignore them, and let them pass. They do not define you. You define you. If it's too much then cry heartily... because it's okay to feel hurt. It's okay to be hurt sometimes. It teaches us how the world is, and from there we learn and grow from such experiences. But it doesn't need to go to a point that you stand up and curse the judge baby."
Elena closed her eyes feeling beaten by the truth. Her father was wise, and the way he spoke... you just wanted to listen.
"Dad, I'm sorry. It wasn't right for me to do that." She mumbled regretfully.
"I think we all know who needs to hear that apology..." He told her smiling.
They walked back to the courtroom in tow, with the cold wind playing its harmonious melodies in the background. They got back at the room and entered with Elena's father clenching her daughter's right palm with his left in a tight grip. Everyone turned back and looked at the door to find the two standing side by side. Elena let go of her father's hand and walked to the front, her white flat shoes hammering the floor beneath silently. Ethan was still at the witness stand and was being questioned by Att. Kenya. Elena did not look at him though, her focus was on the judge. She stood so tall and obediently, arms clenched at her front in a submission manner.
"Your honor," she began. The court was in a pin drop silence. "I want to apologize for my earlier behavior. It was rude. I was rude and it wasn't right for me to disrespect you and the whole court and I am truly sorry, to everyone... more so you. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and let me continue to be a part of this trial."
The judge scoured at her, trying to understand her and processing her apology. It seemed sincere from the way she talked and he nodded without hesitation. He was an old man, been involved in a lot of criminal cases, with some involving individuals younger than Elena herself. People overreact and snapped in court and she was just not different, according to him though.
Elena once through turned to Ethan. He looked brave and bold, not to be in any distress whatsoever. "Ethan, I'm sorry. What I did to you wasn't fair. You have your rights as the accused to talk and defend yourself and I'm sorry that I prevented you from doing so. Please forgive me."
Ethan froze like crazy! Sure enough, he was getting an apology from her, but on the other end, it was Elena showing him how it wasn't so hard for him to acknowledge his mistakes and tell the court the truth. She wanted him to see how telling the truth wasn't that bad, or difficult. He got back to his senses after she called out to him again.
"I forgive you..." he said so softly, with a weight of teary voice wanting to accompany the short answer as he gave her back her purse. She nodded and immediately whipped around to head back to her seat. He followed her with his eyes as she sat down and she never took hers off him.