CHAPTER TWO

THE TRIAL


Samantha woke up to her mom banging on the door and screaming,"GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW,WE CAN'T BE LATE FOR THE TRIAL!" Samantha looked at her clock,"It's 6 o'clock in the morning,I know trials don't start this early." Her mom continued to bang on the door,"I know but you need to get ready and then we are going out for breakfast so let's go." She banged on the door one more time and left,Samantha got up laid out black pants,an orange short sleeved shirt,a belt,her wallet with a chain connected to it,her bra,underwear,and her black boots,she then went into the bathroom took a shower put her hair in a towel washed her face with cucumber melon scrub,got dressed,brushed her hair,brushed her teeth,then she went downstairs to find her mom watching T.V. with Carl,when she came in her mom looked up,"Carl has a hangover,so don't give him any crap today." Samantha sat down in a chair,"Why don't you have a hangover?" Her mom looked at her,"I had one drink and someone had to be sober to drive home." Samantha scoffed,"That's the first time ever,I thought we were leaving." Samantha's mom nodded,"We are after this show it ends at 7 o'clock." Samantha went upstairs and grabbed her favorite anime manga,Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto,and started to read them,when she was halfway through the tenth one her mom turned off the T.V. and stood up,"Ok,we're leaving now." Samantha grabbed her Naruto mangas,put them in her bag,stood up,and headed out the door behind Carl and her mom.They drove to MacDonald's to have breakfast,Samantha ate her food in silence not talking to either one of them,when they were done they headed for the courthouse and went to the courtroom the lady at the desk told them was theirs when they got in the room Samantha's dad was already there when he saw them come in he ran over to Samantha and picked her up and hugged her,"Sam,I missed you baby doll." Samantha smiled,"I missed you too dad." She held him for at least five minutes before he let go,"So,how are you Sammy?" Her dad said,he had always called her Sammy ever since she was seven,"Horrible,it sucks living with them." She whispered in his ear."I know,but when I win this trial you'll come live with me,I'm sure you'll make friends in Massachusetts." Samantha's mom pulled her away from her dad,"She's going to stay here,you won't win Bill." Samantha pulled away from her mother,"Yes he will,Debbie." Her mom looked at her,"DON'T YOU CALL ME DEBBIE,I'M YOUR MOTHER!" Sam looked at her mother,"You sure don't act like it." Before Sam's mom could reply her dad cut in,"Sam,I know you don't like your mother,but you shouldn't make her angry." Sam sighed,"Yes sir,Sorry mom." Sam's dad smiled,"Good girl,now come talk to me,there are something I need to tell you." Sam nodded and followed her father to the other side of the room,"Ok dad,what is it?" Sam's dad looked at her,"I have a girlfriend now,she's real nice and she loves kids,she'll be here any minute and I want you to meet her,ok?" Sam was shocked,but nodded,"Ok dad,if it's important to you I'll talk to her and see if I like her." Her dad smiled,"That's my girl here she is now." Sam turned to see a young woman standing there,"Samantha,this is Tina Wilkins,she's my girlfriend." Sam looked at Tina,"How old is she?" Her dad chuckled,"She's 38." Sam looked at her dad,"Are you serious she looks 25." Tina smiled a warm kind smile,"Thank you,I'm glad I look younger than I am." Sam looked at Tina,Tina had curly red hair down to the middle of her back,tan skin,jade green eyes,a skinny nose,and she was at least 5'9" in height.Sam smiled,"Wow dad,she's beautiful." Tina smiled,"Thank you,you are beautiful too." Sam's dad smiled,"Ok I'll leave you two alone so you can get to know each other."Sam looked at Tina,"So,how did you meet my dad?" Tina smiled,"I met him at Wal Mart,I tripped on a bag of cat food that someone left in the middle of the aisle and he caught me,then we went out to dinner the next day." Sam laughed,"That's a funny way to meet someone,how long ago was this?" Tina thought a moment,"Six months ago,so Samantha tell me about yourself." Sam smiled,"Ok,you can call me Sam by the way." Tina nodded,"Ok Sam." Sam continued,"I like reading manga,watching anime,going for walks,watching the clouds float by,listening to music,reading,writing,and cooking." Tina looked happy,"What kind of music do you like?" Sam thought a moment,"All kinds,except Opera,Jazz,Blues,and Rap,well I like one rap song." Tina smiled,"That's nice,by the way,I like anime too."Sam grew excited,"Really??" Tina nodded,"Yeah,all kinds of anime,my cousin got me hooked on it." Sam smiled a huge smile,"What's your all time favorite anime?" Tina thought a moment,"That's a tough question,I'd have to say Naruto,yours?" Sam nodded,"That's my favorite too,Masashi Kishimoto is the best!" Tina laughed,"Yeah he is,when you come live with your father,I'll come over and we can watch anime together." Sam smiled,"That would be nice." A man walked in,"All rise for the honorable Judge Sean Smith." Sam and Tina rose along with everyone else,the judge came in,"You may be seated." Judge Smith was at least in his late 30s early 40s,he had black hair,blue eyes,tan skin,and was at least 6'3" in height maybe 6'4".The judge looked at Sam's mom and step dad,then at her dad,and finally at her dad's lawyer,"Alright Mr.Bingerman,call your first witness." Sam's dad's lawyer stood up,"I'd like to call Samantha Carter to the stand." Sam stood up and walked to the witness stand,the man who introduced the judge came up to Sam,"Please raise your right hand and put your left on the Bible." Sam put her left hand on the Bible,and raised her right hand,the guy spoke again,"Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth so help you God?" Sam nodded,"I do." The judge looked at her,"You may be seated." Sam sat down as her father's lawyer approached the bench,he was as tall as her father he had dirty blonde hair,tan skin,dark green eyes,and he looked 35,he looked at Sam,"Please state your full name for the court." Sam nodded,"Samantha Ann Carter." Her dad's lawyer cleared his throat,"Ok Samantha,is it hard living with your mother?" Sam looked at her mother,"Yes sir,it is." The lawyer looked at her,"Please describe a typical day living with your mother." Sam sighed,"I wake up to her banging on my door,I get ready for the day during summer by going downstairs eating breakfast going back upstairs and surfing the web,when school was still going on I walked to school." The lawyer looked at her,"Why doesn't your mom or step dad take you to school,and why don't you ever spend time with them?" Sam looked at her dad's lawyer,"Well I never spend time with them cause when they are home all they want to do is watch T.V.,and my mom hasn't drove me to school since my dad left." The lawyer looked at her,"And when was that?" Sam thought for a moment,"April the 15Th." The lawyer looked at Sam,"Why did your dad leave?" Sam sighed,"My mom was cheating on him with Carl my step dad,so they got a divorce." The lawyer raised an eyebrow,"Ok,now tell the court what a typical night for you is since your father left." Sam nodded,"I normally read a book in my room,but most of the time I have to drive to whatever bar my mom and step dad have gotten drunk at,unless my step dad drives himself home,then I stay in my room and read while he beats my mom." The court got quite,and Sam's mom looked shocked,the lawyer looked at Sam,"When does he do that?" Sam thought for a moment,"Two sometimes three times a week." The lawyer looked her in the eye,"And how many times do you have to pick them up?" Sam sighed,"Four or Five times a week,except yesterday." The lawyer looked at Sam,"Why not yesterday?" Sam looked at her mom who had a look of complete horror on her face,"My mom drove home because she had only one drink,and she's supposed to be in rehab,but she won't go." The lawyer looked shocked,"No more questions your honor." Sam's mom looked at Sam with a how-could-you look,then her mom's lawyer got up,he had sandy brown hair,one brown eye and one green,he had light skin,he was her mom's height,and looked 45,he got to the bench and looked at Sam,"Tell me what has your mom has done for you throughout your life?" Sam looked at the lawyer with a puzzled look on her face,"Are you serious?" The lawyer nodded,"Quite serious." Sam raised her eyebrow,"The only good thing she has done for me is she hasn't thrown me out of the house and she let's me use her car once a month,but mostly she spends half of her money on whiskey and beer,she gives me a huge headache,and she married a total jerk." Her mom's lawyer looked at her,"Do you recall that you have a record?" The lawyer walked over to a table and picked up a file,"It says here that you were sent to mall jail for shop lifting three times,who came to get you out those three times?" Sam looked at the lawyer,"My dad twice and my neighbor the last time." The lawyer cleared his throat nervously,"I see,No more questions your honor." The judge looked at Sam,"You may step down now,Miss Carter." Sam stepped down and sat back down next to Tina,the judge looked at Sam's mom and stepped,then at Sam's dad,"I've heard enough,I want to see the evidence you brought Mr.Carter." Sam's dad handed a file to his lawyer,the lawyer got up and handed it to the judge,the judge looked at the evidence,"Mr.Carter,how did you get this information?" Sam's dad stood up,"I got it from the lady that lives next door to Debbie,she heard screaming one night and ran over to the house Debbie and her husband Carl were too drunk to notice her and she filmed what happened and took pictures of the damage." The judge looked at Sam's dad,then at the officer who introduced him,"Bring in a T.V. and VCR please." The officer left and came back with the stuff the judge asked for plugged it in and took the tape from the judge turned on the T.V. and put it in the VCR,On the tape was Sam's mom and step dad fighting and Sam came into the shot trying to stop the fighting then it showed her mom holding her as her step dad used Sam as a punching bag then Sam's step dad went into another room and Sam's mom bent over the bleeding girl picked her up and took her out the back door,then the screen turned snowy,"After seeing this video Mrs.Williams it's apparent that you are an unfit mother I grant custody to Mr.Carter,and Samantha will get all of her things and go back to Massachusetts with her father today." Sam's mom got up,"You don't understand,if he hadn't beaten Sam he would have beaten me instead!" The judge looked at Sam's mom,"If you didn't want to get beaten you should have left your husband." Sam's mom burst into tears,and the judge continued,"I order Mr.Carl Williams and Mrs.Debbie Williams to be sent to rehab for six months,court dismissed." Samantha had lunch with her dad and Tina at Burger King,"I love Burger King their Burgers are really good." After they ate their food Sam,her dad and Tina went to Sam's mom's house,when they got their there was a moving van there Sam went to her room followed by the moving men they loaded all of her stuff into the van and followed Sam's dad to Massachusetts.

Debbie returned home and packed some clothes for her self,Carl did the same,"I can't believe that little brat won,she got what she wanted she went to live with Bill." Carl said while shutting his suitcases with six months worth of clothes,Debbie sighed,"Yeah,but there is nothing we can do now,is there?" Carl shook his head,"I guess you're right." They took their stuff downstairs where the police took their stuff loaded and took them to rehab.