When Nate came home that night, he’d encountered Debbie, Charlie, and Emily eating buckets of Chinese food in the kitchen. No one talked about court, and no one talked about the big elephant in the room. Emily was pretty sure her mom told Charlie about the pregnancy test since he was pulling her chair out and catering to her as if she were dying. They’d all squeezed on the couch and watched Schitt’s Creek on TV after reading one another’s fortune cookies. Emily’s had said, “A new perspective will come with the new year.” She thought of it as a sign of good luck and put it in her pocket.
Before they’d fallen asleep, Emily had heard Nate’s voice whisper from across the dark room, “Em?”
“Yeah?” she had whispered back.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out before she lost her nerve. He didn’t reply, but she could’ve bet he was nodding his head with his eyes closed as he soaked in the information.
“I’m here for you if you need me,” he said as she heard him turn toward the wall and drift off to sleep. If only sleep could come that easily to me, she thought.
That morning, she decided to nix the Valium and spiked coffee before court. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she just couldn’t take them anymore, even if she decided to not keep the baby. She also wanted to be clearheaded during her questioning in case Mindy threw any curveballs at her. Her body felt more nourished after all the food she’d eaten the previous night. She decided to eat breakfast to make sure she didn’t throw up all over herself while she was on the stand. When she came into the kitchen, she saw Nate had already made her tea and put a granola bar next to it on the counter. Chuckling, she picked up the granola bar. Where did Nate get this? she wondered as she took a huge bite of it.
Charlie strolled out of Debbie’s bedroom and sat down next to Emily at the kitchen table. He gave her a nod, poured himself some coffee and lit a cigarette. He glanced at Emily as if suddenly realizing he shouldn’t smoke indoors anymore around her and quickly picked up his mug and stepped outside. She heard the shower shut off as Nate finished in the bathroom and she could hear him faintly humming “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” He’d always loved that song, she thought. She listened to her mom press snooze on her alarm clock again for probably the fifth time. Realizing it might be one of her last, she tried to savor the morning in the house with her family. Charlie stepped back into the house, rubbing his hands together from the cold.
“I started the car up!” he yelled toward Debbie’s room. “It’s cold out there today! We leave in five minutes!”
Emily was grateful to have Charlie there to support not only her, but Nate too. Whatever happened, Nate would need someone to lean on. She shuffled into her room and double-checked herself in the mirror. Black pants, a gray sweater, and black boots, simple. She picked up the fortune from her cookie the previous night and placed it in her pocket for good luck before putting on her thick, black coat.
“I’m ready!” she yelled as she marched into the hallway and peeked into her mom’s room. Debbie appeared disheveled as she hopped both of her legs into the pants that she’d worn to court the day before. She got on her hands and knees and searched on the floor for a clean blouse. Charlie and she must have stayed up late last night, Emily thought, annoyed that her mom was so hungover for her important day. She went outside and saw Charlie and Nate were already waiting in the car for her. God bless them, she thought. Five minutes later, Debbie ran out of the trailer and into the car with a coffee mug in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Her mascara was smeared, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her hair seemed like it hadn’t been brushed in days.
“Jesus, Mom, fix yourself up,” Nate directed her as he reached over and handed her a brush. She glanced back at him sheepishly as she ran the brush through her hair. She wiped the makeup from under her eyes as Charlie drove toward the courthouse. As they approached it, Emily saw loads of cars and cameras waiting out front, probably looking for her so they could capture an image of Keller the Killer. Charlie steered the car around back and pulled up to the side door as Valerie opened it and indicated for them to jump out while Charlie parked.
Emily headed into the conference room one last time and took a seat alone with Valerie, while Nate and Debbie went into the courtroom to get seats.
“You’re looking much better today, Emily,” she acknowledged. “Are you feeling better?”
Emily nodded her head. She was glad that her google search showed her that sometimes not eating could make morning sickness worse. She was feeling so much better after eating.
Valerie nodded and then furrowed her brow. “First, I’m going to question Steph and Miss Jelly. That should be easy and simple. Then we’ll move on to you. Do you think you can hold it together? Help to prove yourself out of this somehow?”
“Well, it will prove I had no ill intent,” Emily said.
“Okay,” she continued. “But what you have to worry about is Mindy. She’s going to try to squeeze you into saying things that you may not mean to say. Her goal is to make you appear as poorly of a person as possible to the jury. Are you sure you can handle that?”
Emily thought about her question for a minute. “I mean, my life can’t get any worse than what it is now, right? I may as well just try. If my testimony doesn’t work, then I have to accept what the jury decides, I guess. But I know I’ll always regret it if I don’t take the stand.”
“Okay, your decision, Emily,” she said. “Do you need to use the bathroom or eat anything before you take the stand?”
She shook her head. “Let’s do this,” she said. They both stood and Emily followed Valerie into the courtroom. She sat down next to her and tried to steady her breath as the judge was called in and the jury was sworn in.
“The defense may call its first witness.”
“The defense calls Stephanie Martínez to the stand,” Valerie said, picking up her notebook from the table.
Emily turned as Steph walked down the aisle wearing black pants and a tan sweater. Her chocolate-colored hair was up in a messy bun, and she was wearing thick-rimmed glasses that she normally only wore in school. She smirked at Emily nervously as she took the stand and then focused back on the clerk as she was sworn in.
“Good morning, Stephanie,” Valerie began. “You like to be called Steph, is that correct?”
“Yes,” Steph said shyly as she pushed up her glasses.
“How do you know the defendant?” Valerie asked, gesturing toward Emily.
“We’ve been best friends since elementary school.”
“Do you live nearby one another?”
“Yes, we live in the same community. We’ve seen each other pretty much every day since we were little.”
“And what kind of things do you do together?”
“Well, I guess we go get food at Emily’s mom’s bar she works at. We do our homework together. We play games together. We do our hair and makeup together. Normal girl stuff.”
“How would you described Emily’s character?”
“She’s like a sister to me. We’ve gotten into our share of fights, I’ll admit. But we always make up. Emily has always been like a grown-up. She and her brother have always had to take care of themselves since they never had a dad and their mom always had to work. So, they learned to cook and clean themselves. Emily is the smartest person I know and will probably get into any college she wants with a scholarship.”
Valerie paused and looked at the jury. “The person you’re describing sounds pretty responsible. Would you use that word to describe her?”
Steph nodded. “The most responsible person I know.”
Valerie folded her arms and smiled. “Have you ever known Emily to hurt anyone? To do anything malicious?”
“Emily wouldn’t hurt a fly. One time in the fifth grade, I stole a piece of chocolate from the teacher’s desk and showed Emily at recess. I didn’t tell her I stole it, and we split it in two and ate it. The teacher, Miss McClain, came up behind us and asked who took the chocolate from her desk. I stood there in panic. Emily looked at the expression on my face and then spoke up and said she took it, no hesitation. She ended up losing her recess for a whole week just to keep me from getting in trouble.” Emily blushed, wondering if Valerie had prepped her about bringing a do-good story with her, or if Steph had just thought of that on the spot. Emily remembered when she’d taken the blame for Steph that day. She’d do it again if she could.
“Wow, that seems like a really great friend. Thank you for that special memory, Steph. Have you ever seen Emily cook on a stove before?”
“Sure, all the time. She’s made me mac and cheese and pasta tons of times when I’ve been over her house.”
Valerie nodded. “Does she have a gas stovetop?”
“Yes,” Steph said, subtly glancing down at the scar on her arm that she and Emily had branded on one another with a fork. Emily wondered if she was going to bring it up to the room, but then figured she wouldn’t. It’d probably only make Emily look bad.
“And does she seem to know how to operate it correctly?”
“Yeah, I mean, Emily’s been making herself dinner since she was little. She knows how to use a stovetop.”
“Have you ever known her to leave a stovetop on by accident?”
“No.”
“Thank you, Steph. No further questions.” Valerie headed back to her seat next to Emily.
“Does the prosecution have any questions?”
“Not at this time, Your Honor.”
“Then the witness is dismissed, and the defense may call in their next witness.”
Emily watched as Steph self-consciously got up from the stand, head bowed, and headed back down the aisle. She’d never liked being the center of attention.
“The defense calls Jelica Simmons to the stand.”
Miss Jelly entered the room, wearing a pink Raven’s sweatshirt, jeans, and purple Converse sneakers. Emily assumed the guards made her take off her Orioles baseball cap when she entered, or she was sure she’d be wearing that as well. Emily felt a little more relaxed as Miss Jelly took a seat and was sworn in. Seeing her up there was like seeing her grandmother up there.
“Good morning, Miss Simmons. How are you doing this morning?”
“Anyone I can,” Miss Jelly joked. “Oh, you said how am I doing, I thought you said who!” She smirked at the jury and several of them smiled back at her charm. They’re eating her up, Emily thought.
Valerie smiled too. “Glad to hear, Miss Simmons. Can you tell me how long you’ve known the defendant, Emily Keller?”
“Since she moved here about ten or eleven years ago.”
“That’s quite a long time. How would you describe your relationship?”
“Emily, her brother, and her mother are my next-door neighbors. They’re like family to me as I have no children or parents left in this world. In the past ten-plus years, I’ve been there for all of Emily’s birthdays, first days of school, and holidays. She’s like the granddaughter I never had.” Miss Jelly wiped a tear from her cheek, and Emily realized that she, too, had a tear coming down her cheek.
“That sounds like an incredibly special relationship. Can you tell me about Emily’s character? Is she the type of teenager you can trust?”
“Oh, very much so. Two years ago, I had both knees replaced. I was out for weeks and couldn’t afford one of those fancy rehabs or live-in nurses. Emily and her brother ended up sleeping over and taking care of me day and night for four or five weeks. Emily cooked for me, cleaned for me, walked to the grocery store and got me groceries. She even helped bathe me. She was like my own personal nurse. She did more than I could ever ask for and never requested one penny. I still don’t know how to repay her.” Miss Jelly glanced up at Emily, eyes full of tears and mouthed, Thank you. Emily’s eyes filled with tears. She’d loved taking care of Miss Jelly. She’d loved staying at her house for that month and feeling needed and appreciated.
“That’s not something one would think a typical fourteen-year-old girl would do during her free time, is it Miss Simmons?”
“No, certainly not. Emily is one of the most responsible and trustworthy people I know, regardless of age. I would trust her with my life.”
“Thank you, Miss Simmons. No further questions.”
“Does the prosecution have any questions?”
“No questions, Your Honor.”
“Then the defense may call its next witness.” Judge Wilson slammed his gavel down. Emily was up next.