The Verdict [Completed]

Prologue

"I can't believe you got selected for jury duty, Marie!" My best friend Georgia exclaimed. "That is going to suck so much." She pushed some of her blonde hair behind her ears as she pulled out her class notes.

"It won't be that bad..." I said trying to convince myself. Everyone complains about jury duty, because it's a waste of time, but I was secretly interested in law. However, I would never tell anyone out of fear of being judged.

I was pretty much an average student with below average SAT scores. When I met with my guidance counselor to talk about potential majors, I mentioned law. She told me to be more realistic. And that's how my hopes and dreams went right out the window.

For now, I'm undeclared physically. I'm hoping jury duty will help me decide if law is really for me. I sighed and went back to studying my class notes.

"Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Georgia repeated to herself for about five minutes. She remained silent for a second before popping her head back up and staring at the wall. "Okay, Marie. Will you quiz me?"

"What is the powerhouse of the cell?" I plainly asked while still staring at my notes studying. There was a few seconds of silence and I averted my glance to Georgia who was struggling to remember. Her blue eyes were focused on the whiteboard as if the answer would appear on it.

"How do you not remember?" I asked dumbfoundly. "You've been chanting it for the past hour..."

My best friend Georgia surprised me everyday. She's actually smarter than she appears, but she cannot concentrate to save her life. Studying with her was difficult, but entertaining at the same time.

"I'm going to fail, aren't I?" She said as she bowed her head in defeat. I chuckled at her and patted the top of head.
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I drove my 1994 Nissan Sentra back to my suburban home. All the houses were close to each other and looked identical. It was really a bland neighborhood, but it was my home.

I walked inside my house and was immediately met by my dogs. My dogs were the only thing in the entire world that made me really happy. Their constant joy to be in my presence made my heart melt all of time.

"Do you guys have to go potty?" I asked them as their eyes glistened with joy. I led them outside and let them run around our fenced in backyard. "Better go check the mail." I reminded myself and headed towards the mailbox.

I heard a marimba ringtone playing and reached for my phone located in my pocket as I walked to the mailbox. My mom's name flashed on the screen and immediately answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Marie!" My mom chirped through the phone. "How was school?"

"Awful as usual." I dully replied. "How is work going?"

"Crazy as usual." My mom giggled at her own response. She was always laughing at things that weren't really funny in my opinion at least. I shook my head at her 'joke' and realized that I had arrived at the mailbox. "Well, I just wanted to give you a quick buzz because I saw that the alarm went off. I'll be home around 6:30."

"Sounds good. See you later."

"Bye!" Click. I laughed to myself about my crazy mother and opened the mailbox. I retrieved the letters and closed the mailbox as I began reading some of the letters. One was from my dream college, University of Cashworth. I immediately tore the envelope open and anxiously read the contents:

"Dear, Marie Simpson:

We are writing to inform you of your application status. You are currently deferred."

I couldn't bring myself to finish reading the rest of the letter as my heart sunk. It seemed harder to breathe. My vision was blurred by tears filling my eyes and freely running all over my face. U of C was my dream school and I had just been deferred.

My life is over.

And during that exact moment, I really thought my life was over as I saw a truck speeding in my direction about to hit me. I was still in shock and couldn't bring myself to move. The truck was going to crush me right here in front of my house. Instead of attempting to save myself, I just closed my eyes. Maybe this is all just a bad dream.

It wasn't a dream, however. I reopened my eyes and the truck was just a few centimeters from my body. I sighed in relief and saw the driver's door fly open. A tall guy about my age with long curly brown hair hopped out of the truck and walked in my direction. His green eyes were wide with concern as he stood to my side.

"I was about to hit you and you were going to just stand there?" He breathed. It seemed like he was trying to control his feelings from coming out. I examined him and saw his perfect facial structure. He had a perfect jawline.

"You were about to hit me and that is the first thing you say to me?" I snapped back at him. I folded my arms across my chest and scoffed at him. The nerve of some people...

He snickered to himself for a second before getting serious again. "I'm sorry, smartass. I'm in a bit of shock right now."

"You're not the only one." I retorted. "You should watch where you're going next time." I turned my back and began to head back up to my house when he stopped me by grabbing my wrist. I turned around to face him.

"Are you crying?" He asked in a serious voice.

"Mind your own business." I muttered as I tried to walk away again. He, however, was not letting me leave.

"Are you having suicidal thoughts?" He asked again but this time while examining me. It was as if he was looking for a sign on my forehead saying that I was suicidal. I'll admit that what I just did was a little crazy, but I was also in a state of shock.

"Are you having homicidal thoughts?" I asked as I began to examine him. I, however, was satisfied with what I saw. He was wearing a white v-neck, dark blue jeans with holes in them, and white vans to compliment his outfit. "Damn, Daniel! Back at it again with the white vans!"

He scoffed at me before finally releasing my wrist. He was pretty attractive for someone who almost just killed me, but very rude. "My name isn't Daniel. It's Logan."

"Yeah, I didn't ask for your name, Logan." It was time for this conversation to end. Logan raised his eyebrow and grew a smirk on his face. "But, you know what? This has been fun. Thank you for almost hitting me with your truck. We should do it again sometime, but I gotta go now, so, bye."

"You have to be one of the rudest girl I have ever met." Logan replied in a sarcastic tone. "Maybe I should have ran you over with my truck. It would have knocked some kindness into you." He imitated me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever." I scoffed and proceeded to walk away. This time, Logan didn't try to stop me. He got into his truck and drove off.

"What a douche..." I thought to myself as I reached my backyard. My dogs were waiting for me at the back door, so I opened the door and headed back inside. "He was really hot though.. But a major douchebag... Whatever. I'll never see him again."

I placed the mail on the table and headed towards the refrigerator for something to drink. I settled on apple juice and poured some in a cup. I took a sip and grabbed my college letter and headed to my room. I placed the letter under my mattress and laid on my bed and closed my eyes.

I knew that I didn't have the best grades, but how could I be deferred from U of C. I knew people who are dumber than me who got in, but I got deferred? This isn't fair.

The tears began to build up in my eyes and when I realized that I was alone and not standing on the road, I allowed them to freely run down my face.
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