Page 1 of Overdue I Love You's
CHAPTER 1
Get a hobby, they said.It’ll be fun.
What a freaking lie.
My thoughts are interrupted by the smell of old carpet and uncovered sneezes.
This is nothing like the movies.
Instead of a hotshot prosecution firing against me, there’s a middle-aged bald man with a beer belly speaking on behalf of my old librarian.
You might be wondering why I’m here exactly.
Whether I’m watching from the sidelines, rooting for Ms. Cartwright to win, but no. I’m not. A couple of feet away from the old wrinkly woman, on the brown wooden table where the defence sits, is me.
This is what I get for having a hobby.
As kids, everyone’s irresponsible.
You go to the library with your parents, get a couple of books, forget to return a few, it’s normal. Everyone knows this. Except Ms. Cartwright who’s suing me for twelve years of overdue library books.
She calls it stealing, I call it attachment issues.
In my defence, no one—other than myself—visited Cornwall Public Library. With the population being five thousand with limited children, they spent time on the beach or being outside.
Sunaira—Sunny—Farsi shuffles papers around and skims through terminology she’s never heard of. My best friend is the best lawyer around. For companies.Corporations. Not so much for private affairs or anything to do with civil rights.
Next time someone tells me to get a hobby, I’m shoving it right up their?—
“Ascertaining to the number of books Miss Rivera has stolen from the library have yet to be calculated but are currently approximated to over 2,000 books.”
Holy heck, actually?
The judge looks up from her glasses at me and I smile, hoping it would assure her that I’m harmless. I have no qualms of trying to hurt anyone. I like people. I like her. Even if that fat wart on her nose bothers me, she seems like the kind of woman that’d make me babysit her granddaughter and call me over for Sunday tea.
She looks tired too. I’ll send her a bouquet with clematis and touch-me-nots.
“That’s quite a lot, is there anything you’d like to say, defence council?”
Sunny clicks the button for the mic which results in extensive feedback.
My smile falters with a quiver when she clears her throat. “I, um… Of course, your honour. My client here… She’s, well…”
More shuffling. More clearing of the throat.
I squeeze Sunny’s shoulder to which she lets out a breath. My confident bestie is not so confident right now. Which I get. Icould never be a lawyer. I think if I was one, everyone I’d defend would be in prison or not divorced, or whatever other kind of laws exist.
This isn’t Sunny’s thing but she’s still defending me, which is more than I can ask for.
The door bursts open and the judge looks towards the sound. But I don’t need to.
Nadine Rivera circles to the front of my table and stares at the judge. Her bump is bigger than the last time I saw her.
This isn’t allowed, I don’t think. I didn’t call her.
“Your honour,” she juts out her jaw.
“Mrs. Rivera.”
