ROYALTY ⇢ TOM HOLLAND (HIATUS)

SEVENTY NINE ⇢ COURTROOM

TWENTY MINUTES. Twenty minutes was all it took to break her as she sat, jittering in the seat next to the line of girls that had been affected by the same man. He was already up on the stand, his lawyer circling him with questions with such underlying misogynistic tone that she could've slapped him.

"Now, Mr. Thompson, when Miss. Evans' alleged rape took place, what had been going on? Anything particular?" The lawyer, and old white man, asked. "Carlson had been wearing a tanktop that I thought was inappropriate for school, and I warned her about this. She was also messing around with a lot of the boys in class," He commented.

Chris sat in the back, leg bouncing up and down as he did his absolute best not to get up and punch Mr. Thompson and his lawyer. "No further questions, your honor."

Carlson's lawyer, Matthew, then stood from his seat and walked towards the jury to make his statement. "The man that sits in front of you, is one who doesn't deserve mercy. He stole something from eight young women, including my client Miss. Evans, that they can never get back, and will never fully recover from. In such cases like these, you must look at the different perspectives and realize who here is truly correct. Take into account the video from Miss. Henderson, and the notes from Mrs. Duly. These prove that Mr. Thompson had no morals, and violated all of these women."

"Please remember all of these girls were between the ages of thirteen and fourteen when this happened to them, and there are most likely more cases that have yet to be reported. Mr. Thompson deserves to be put in jail, for ruining the lives of children, causing life trauma, and simply because he is a predator who does not belong around children. Thank you."

"The defense calls Miss. Evans to the stand." Carlson stood shakily from her seat and walked towards the stand, saying the oath and then sitting down in the chair provided.

"Miss. Evans, do you recall the day the alleged assault took place?" The defense attorney asked. "Yes, it was March fourteenth." He nodded thoughtfully and walked around for a moment before following up to the question. "Do you recall what you were wearing that day?" He asked. Fire rushed through Carlson's veins and her gaze shifted to Mr. Thompson's as she resisted the urge to slap his attorney.

"I'm sorry, why exactly is that relevant?" She looked back at him. "Answer the question, Miss. Evans." Carlson spoke with anger, "I was wearing a purple tanktop and shorts." He nodded, "Was your outfit within the dress code?" He asked. "Objection? Relevance, your honor?" Matthew called.

"Dismissed," the judge said. Carlson sighed, "Yes, it was." He nodded again, "Had you been doing anything one might consider suggestive that day?" He asked. "No," Carlson answered shortly.

"Are you sure?" The attorney questioned. "I'm positive. I am also positive that it doesn't matter what I had been wearing, that man had no right to lay a hand on me."

As the attorney opened his mouth to answer he was interrupted by the judge, "That's enough, Mr. Taylor. I think it's time the jury made their decision."

Since Carlson had testified last, this was the time the jury would decide the fate of the teacher. "Yes, your honor," He answered.

The wait seemed to take forever, and she sat alongside the rest of Thompson's victims just praying that he would get what he deserved. An hour or so later, the jury finally made their way back. The only part of the verdict she heard; the only part that mattered, was:

"We find the defendant: guilty."

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so this was shitty but i'm really stressed and it was all i could manage. the sad reality is that the few rape cases that even make it to court are dismissed or find the rapist not guilty, and most don't make it to trial. rape culture is real, and it has to stop.