I know this a longer chapter than usual, but it's worth it!

TW: Discussions of abuse

The officer escorted me to a bathroom, unlocked my handcuffs, handed me a formal outfit, and told me I could change out of the prisoner uniform. I walked into the bathroom and changed into a two-piece black suit with a matching tie.

I exited the bathroom and then handed the jumpsuit back to the officer. A different one re-cuffed me, escorted me outside, and informed me that I would ride to the trial in his car. I climbed into the back of the car and settled awkwardly into the narrow middle seat. Two officers climbed into the seats on my right and left with hands resting near their tasers. A police sergeant started the car, and the engine rumbled to life.

The atmosphere was very tense; I attempted to distract myself by looking out the window, but it was very difficult; one of the tasers was positioned so that it was within my field of vision. This fact only further increased my anxiety. No one spoke either during the whole journey, adding to the rigid ambiance. The silence between the four of us was suffocating, and I was extremely relieved when we arrived at Queen's County Criminal Court.

The officers escorted me up the front concrete stairs and into the entrance room. An additional security guard dressed in a suit joined us as we proceeded up a carpeted flight of stairs.

"Stand still," the security guard ordered as we arrived before a pair of grand chestnut doors. "And put your arms up. I need to scan you."

I obliged, and the guard pulled out a metal ray of some type and scanned me over to ensure that my risk to society hadn't increased. When he was satisfied, the guard repeated the process with the officers and granted us the right to enter. The officers pushed the doors open, and I walked inside.

A multitude of people were awaiting me: Jason, dressed in a blue blazer, tucked in a white t-shirt, and khaki pants held up by a brown belt; Leo, dressed in a dark red suit; Grover, donning a brown v-neck jumper and blue jeans held by a black belt; my mom, donning a violet dress; Paul, wearing a crew neck light pink sweater and black khaki pants held up by a brown belt; Estelle, wearing a little green dress while asleep in my mom's arms; Chiron, my former activities director, sporting a tan suit; and, lastly, Annabeth, sporting an olive-toned dress. Despite the grim atmosphere, I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she was.

"Percy." Themis strode up to me, dressed in an immaculate blue pantsuit. "It's about to begin. Please sit down." She led me up to the front before the judge's podium and settled me down in a chair. "We must make the final preparations. Miss Chase and Mr. Archer, please come sit down on my right. Mr. Blofis and Mrs. Jackson, please sit down on my left. Mr. Grace, Mr. Valdez, Mr. Underwood, please sit in the second row."

Everyone shuffled over and took their seats, just as the judge entered from a side door. The judge was a middle-aged woman of Indian heritage, who donned black robes with a high-collared starch-white shirt. She settled behind the black-countered table at the front and banged her gavel against a wooden block placed in front of her.

"Order in the court," the judge said loudly, initiating a roomwide wave of silence. "The trial will now commence. Mr. Jackson, you are charged with simple assault of James Hudson. How do you plead?"

I swallowed nervously. "Not guilty, Your Honor."

"Very well," the judge said. "Proceed with opening statements, please."

The prosecutor rose with a confident air. "Your Honor, ladies, and gentlemen of the jury, on the afternoon of October 19th, the accused, Percy Jackson reportedly assaulted Mr. James Hudson during his interference in an argument. We will demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Jackson committed assault."

The prosecutor sat down, and Themis stood to deliver her statement.

"Your Honor," she said, "members of the jury, my client acted out of past trauma when James Hudson reached out to grasp his shoulder. We will present witnesses and evidence that attest to Mr. Jackson's innocence in this matter. I call forth Annabeth Chase as a witness."

"Miss Chase, can you please describe your interactions with Percy Jackson about this trial?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes," Annabeth responded. "Percy and I attended a summer camp called Camp Pine Haven together for many years. During those years, he told me of how his now-deceased stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, physically abused him. I saw Gabe do that very thing on the last day of camp when we were twelve. Gabe, upon Percy's refusal to get into his car, forcibly grabbed him by his collar and shoulder and dragged him toward his car. Gabe continued to shove Percy into the front seat of his car. I also saw him strike Percy across the chest when Percy kicked him in the crotch while he was trying to come back to me."

"Thank you, Miss Chase. You may sit down."

Annabeth settled back down in her chair, and Themis said, "I call forth Chiron Archer as a second witness."

Chiron stood up.

"Mr. Archer, can you please describe your interactions with Percy Jackson at this aforementioned camp?" The prosecutor shuffled his papers and looked at the former activities director expectantly.

Chiron cleared his throat. "I was the activities director at Camp Pine Haven for several years. I first encountered Percy Jackson during the orientation when he was seven. I noticed that when I shouted for quiet over the noise of the other children, he flinched. I also further noted that he tended to avoid conflicts and preferred to stay away from any of the boxing lessons we had. I wondered, given these factors, if Percy was a victim of abuse. When I asked him, he denied any such thing happening."

"Thank you, Mr. Archer. You may sit down."

My mom also testified and described her abusive experiences with Gabe. She explained how she and I had respectively been struck with a broken wine bottle. My mom rolled up the sleeve of her dress to exhibit the scar on her forearm in the vague shape of a flower with jagged edges.

"That certainly proves that may have happened to Mrs. Jackson," the prosecutor said. "But is there evidence that the same occurred to Percy Jackson?"

Themis nodded and rose again to address the jury. "There is indeed proof. Percy, please roll up your sleeve and show the scar."

I obliged and rolled up my sleeve to exhibit the identical scar. Themis also pulled out medical paperwork from the hospital visit I had had to go to to have the glass removed from my arm. She handed the papers to the judge, who examined it and then repeated the process with the prosecutor.

"Your Honor," Themis said, after placing the paperwork on the table, "these three testimonies and the paperwork exemplify the underlying behind Percy Jackson's behavior. His reaction to Mr. Hudson's grasp of his shoulder was instinctual and out of deeply rooted trauma, not aggression or ill-will."

The audience of the chamber murmured their interest. Some looked sympathetic, while others looked skeptical. The prosecutor was one such person.

"Your Honor," he said, "while we acknowledge Mr. Jackson's suffering and difficult past, these factors do not excuse his actions. Assault is assault, regardless of the circumstances. We have reason to believe that Mr. Jackson did attack James Hudson out of aggression."

"Objection, Your Honor," Themis said.

The judge held up a hand. "Please continue, Mr. Edwards."

The prosecutor picked up a stack of papers, walked up to the judge, and placed them before her. "These are records of expulsion, Your Honor. Percy Jackson was expelled from every school he attended from kindergarten through ninth grade because of his temper." The judge thumbed through papers, examining each one thoroughly. "This is ample evidence that Percy Jackson attacked Mr. Hudson out of aggression."

Sweat trickled down the back of my neck; my anxiety was transforming into distress. Annabeth appeared to sense my panic because she placed her hand over mine in a reassuring way.

"While that may be accurate, Mr. Edwards," Themis said, "have you considered there may be other reasons behind Mr. Jackson's anger? It is common for an abused child to bottle up their emotions, therefore, it is very likely that Percy did something similar and harbored increasing anger at his stepfather for his abusive actions." She pulled out two sheets of paper. "Furthermore, I have more proof."

Themis walked up to the judge and placed the papers in front of her. "Your Honor, these are medical records from a psychologist diagnosing Percy with ADHD and dyslexia."

The judge picked up the sheets of paper. "Hm. Please continue."

Themis nodded and proceeded back to her seat. "Many children with ADHD and dyslexia have and are currently bullied for having these mental health struggles, which happened to Mr. Jackson. Percy, please describe the interactions you had with these aforementioned individuals."

"I was bullied many times in elementary and middle school," I said, standing up. "The bullies would steal my lunch, taunt me, and punch me. When I spoke up to the teacher or principal about it, I would get punished because I was dyslexic and therefore untrustworthy. I couldn't talk about my problems much at home either because if I did, my stepfather hit me."

"Thank you, Percy," Themis said, and I sat back down. "Your Honor, Mr. Jackson's testimony is the reasoning behind his actions. His bottled-up emotions, particularly anger, after several years, while they did subside after the passing of his stepfather, resurfaced when James Hudson attempted to grasp his shoulder. Culminate this with his trauma, Your Honor, and we now possess the understanding and reasoning behind why Mr. Jackson acted and why he did."

She settled back into her chair, and the prosecutor raised himself upward onto his feet and started counteracting.

"Your statement entirely plausible, Miss Baker," he said. "However, I have a witness who will say otherwise. I call forth Ethan Nakamura."

My heartbeat thudded rapidly, and fury erupted in my gut. Blood rushed into my face, and I was on the verge of standing up to pummel Ethan before Annabeth squeezed my hand. I glanced over at her; Annabeth's stormy gray eyes met mine, silently warning me not to act.

Ethan stood up in the second row on the left-hand side, while the prosecutor requested he describe what he observed during the incident.

"Yes," he said, shooting me a smug look. "Percy and I go to CalTech together. I was in JFK airport on October 19th, returning to our college after visiting my mother. I noticed that a keychain fell off Percy's suitcase in security, so I picked it up, followed him to his gate, and returned it to him. He took off my headphones to address me, and I asked him, after handing back the keychain, if he was Percy Jackson. He didn't reply but rather slid his hand into his backpack as though about to throw something at me. I tried to prove to him that I knew him after he said angrily 'Get away from me' by showing him the text chain between Annabeth Chase and I. He yanked my phone out of my hand even though I just handed it to him and did nothing aggressive." Ethan took a deep breath and looked smuger than ever. "After I took my phone back, I told him that the text chain was how I knew what he looked like. His response was, and I quote, 'That doesn't prove anything. Now, get the fuck out of my face.' After I tried to calm him down and told him I was trying to help him, he yelled at me once again, so I stepped back. Then Mr. Hudson came over, and Percy indirectly told me to fuck off while trying to leave. After that, he assaulted Hudson."

"Thank you, Ethan," the prosecutor said. "You may sit down. As you can see Your Honor, this is further evidence of Mr. Jackson's aggression. No doubt he is-"

I interjected. "I object! Ethan's lying!"

The audience murmured, and Annabeth shot me a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look.

The judge raised an eyebrow and turned to address Ethan. "Is this true?"

"No, Your Honor," he lied. "Percy Jackson is clearly acting aggressively toward me, as a result of his anger issues."

"I don't have anger issues!" I roared, attempting to stand up.

Annabeth's grip hardened around my wrist, forcing me to stay in my seat. Themis stood up to quell the eruption of tension in the hall.

"Your Honor," she said, "we have proof that Mr. Nakamura is lying. Officer Jacobs, please pull up the tape of the events occurring just before the attack."

An officer grabbed a remote and activated a TV in the corner. The following video exhibited the events leading up to the incident. It showed how Ethan contrary to his word, had not handed me his phone but rather shoved it in my face. Once the film was over, Ethan was frozen in his seat.

"Are you aware of the consequences for lying during a trial, Ethan Nakamura?" the judge asked. "Officer Jacobs, please escort him out."

The officer obliged and proceeded over to Ethan and forcibly dragged him out of the courtroom. Once he was gone, the judge granted the prosecutor permission to continue, which he did.

"Despite Mr. Nakamura's untruthfulness," he said, "there is still evidence of Mr. Jackson's aggressiveness. He was about to jump up and attack Mr. Nakamura out of anger."

"Did think that perhaps Mr. Jackson was angry with Mr. Nakamura because he knew he was lying?" Themis said with raised eyebrows. "Or because perhaps Mr. Nakamura shoved his phone in my client's face?"

The prosecutor was dumbfounded for a moment. The trial continued for the next three hours with much tense arguing. Despite the prosecutor's confident air, I could tell that Themis's certainty of our victory was increasing with every second. Finally, the jury proceeded to another room to discuss the final verdict.

"Are you okay?" my mom asked, placing my hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I grunted, sweat trickling down my neck in a waterfall.

The jury proceeded back out to announce their decision about half an hour later. The judge settled back down in her chair at the front.

"We find, the defendant, Percy Jackson," she declared, "not guilty of simple assault."

A huge wave of relief crashed over me, presenting me the opportunity to breathe freely for the first time in a week. Annabeth squeezed my hand and smiled at me. The prosecutor started protesting.

"However," the judge said, interrupting the prosecutor, "although Percy Jackson has not been found guilty, it is clear that more actions must be taken. The court therefore sentences him to mandatory anger management classes and trauma counseling for twelve months, along with six months of community service."

My shoulders slumped somewhat in disappointment, but I still nodded in acceptance. Themis placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you, Your Honor," she said.

"Court is adjourned." The judge banged her gavel on the wooden block. "You may all leave, and Percy Jackson is released from custody and must have his possessions given back." She then addressed me. "Percy Jackson, I hope these consequences will improve your future and prevent any other issues with the law."

"Thank you, Your Honor," I said, and I exited the courtroom.