My mother and I tumbled not-so-gracefully into the courtroom, just as a loud bang, bang, bang echoed off the walls. The judge glared down at us coldly. "You're late." He spoke. His voice was rather deep, and for a second he reminded me of Alan Rickman...then I realized that no one could ever be Alan Rickman.

Ever.

"Sorry, sir!" I called, running to the front and slipping into a seat next to Isaac.

"You scared the crap out of me." Isaac said, grabbing my hand under the table. "I'm already nervous enough."

"How could I have scared you?" I asked. Isaac shrugged. "I don't know...I thought you weren't going to show up. I thought you got hurt."

I rolled my eyes. "A Terrorist is not going to be hunting me down now, Isaac. I'll be fine." I whispered, glancing up at the judge, who was speaking something about honor and honesty and all of that stuff. I lowered my voice a bit more. "You're cute when you're worried."

Isaac smirked slightly and let go of my hand. "I'm always cute."

I giggled, trying to control it so I didn't interrupt the judge.

I just realized that I am a terrible example. If you ever get pulled to court, don't do what I'm doing.

Just don't.

We all stood up and swore our honesty and honor and all of that stuff...I mean, we were in court after all.

"We will now hear from Cecilia Kee." The judge announced, peering down at me over his glasses. I was attacked by a memory of my city librarian, but I pushed it away before I could start laughing. I nervously stood up and smoothed out my dress. Every step I took made a loud smacking sound.

Stupid flats. I thought angrily. Couldn't you have been quiet just this once?

I sat down in the chair and wiped my hands on my lap. I was sweating and my heart was pounding. "So, Ms. Kee, can you explain to us what happened?"

"Well, they called Code Red at our school, which means Lock Down. Isaac was taking me to the nurse because...I...er...got hurt in P.E." I said. I'm not sure why I hesitated when it came to the part about P.E. Maybe I was trying to resist mentioning my cancer?

"Anyway, we got about half way down the hall and Isaac kind of got me angry, so I pushed him into a wall--"

I winced, realizing that I had just made myself sound extremely violent. Definitely not the best decision.

Well kids, this seems like a perfect time to offer you a lesson in Common Sense. When we use common sense in Court we do not make ourselves seem like violent individuals with bad tempers, because that could get us into Serious Trouble, especially if you're trying to defend the fact that you were using self defense and not just brutally stabbing someone with a piece of porcelain for fun.

"But, er, when I pushed Isaac, he said he was sorry for being a jerk and...uh..." I stopped and rubbed my face with my hands. "I'm sorry, I'm nervous." I said letting my hands drop back into my lap. "Can I just start over, please?"

The judge nodded, a small smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. He probably loved watching young teenagers stumble over themselves while they tried to explain their case.

I mean, he was just that type of guy.

Suddenly I was ashamed for thinking he was anything like Alan Rickman.

I cleared my throat and started again, this time managing to explain it right up to the part where I dragged Isaac into the bathroom. Now I didn't know what to say. How was I supposed to explain that I had been shot in the leg and didn't actually feel it until I got shot in the shoulder?

"Well, er...I tried to stop the bleeding with some paper towels, and then I just waited. I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't drag Isaac into a stall with me because the stalls are so small.

"So when I heard the guy shooting the lock, I decided it was time to stand up to him. When he got into the bathroom, he just kind of shot randomly. One of the bullets hit my leg. He tried to shoot me again, but I dodged and his bullet hit a sink instead. So I picked up a piece of the broken sink and I stood up to him.

"And he shot the gun at the same time I threw the porcelain. I got shot, collapsed, and hit my head. That was it." I ended awkwardly.

The judge stared at me for a moment, his eye narrowed. "Thank you, Cecilia." He said in a monotone. "That will be all."

He swept his hand toward my seat. I swallowed and walked back over to it, nervously biting my lip. I had lied in court.

Oh my God.

What was I thinking?