The Attorney ✓( A White House occupants prequel)

Chapter Three

  It's ironic how fast people switch up when they're mad at you. Sonia went from one of the most loving people in the world to a total bitch as soon as I challenged the way she thought. And it's not that she was wrong- she wasn't, I just had a different perspective.

While she tries to hide it, she hates being challenged almost as much as she hates being late. Yesterday I did both. Being that easily annoyed isn't exactly great for a law career, but she's a genius. If anything is her saving grace, it's that.

That- and the fact that I still love her. You don't just throw away seven years because of a fight, and we've had plenty.

"Joe-" The guy to my right says. "Focus. Us failures have to stick together, especially now."

The bar exam, the most important one of my entire life- isn't too far out. How I do will determine wether or not I pass, and at this school- the system they use to grade it is unlike any other.

There's a committee that goes over the multiple choice questions, and then one that does the essays. If you completely flunk the multiple choice portion, the essays can be your saving grace- because interpretation and writing are some of the most important parts of being a lawyer. Then the third committee considers how you've done throughout law school. That third committee can also be your saving grace if you did terrible on the essays but got a perfect score on the multiple choice section.

In other words, I'm royally fucked. I don't have the connections in any of the committees to skate through this with minimal effort, so my only slim chance is in falling back to my old habits. Even with studying multiple hours a day between now and then- it's a very slim chance.

But for now, it distracts me from knowing I'll probably fail.

"Yeah....sorry." I mumble. "I've just been all over the place. I had a fight with-"

"Oh my god kiddo we're your study group not your therapists." The woman in her mid thirties across from me says. She flips open her ethics in law textbook, slides her reading glasses up her nose, and clears her throat. "Okay- we're looking at scenario two now. A young man goes into a gas station one day-"

"What was he doing there?" The woman to my right asks.

"It doesn't matter." The thirty something year old shakes her head. "Anyways, he goes into this gas station- picks up a few snacks, then while the owner's back is turned and the register is open, he steals almost a thousand dollars. By the time this man is exiting the front door, the owner realizes this and calls out to him. When he refuses to stop and return the money, said owner shoots him in the back. Was the shooting justified? Joe?"

I jerk my head up from following along, that voice in my head doing the equivalent of "Uhm Uhm errr". I mumble to myself, probably looking like a crazy person, though it's not like I care- and it hits me.

"Absolutely not. Regardless of what he stole, it isn't a death sentence and New York law prohibits you from shooting somebody in the back who's trying to get away, even on your own property."

"And the defense?" She hits the dude to her left with a pencil. He rubs his head, trying to find a reason why shooting this hypothetical man was okay.

"It doesn't matter what the law is on paper. Everything has loopholes. The owner was just protecting his assets, which as I recall- is not prohibited."

"What assets?" I chuckle. "The thousand dollars he'll probably make back the next day? Gas stations are pretty profitable."

"It doesn't matter what the business is. Money is an asset. What if that thousand dollars is the difference between whether or not he gets life saving medication... groceries for his own house..and so on?"