Fabulous Five 004 - Her Honor, Katie Shannon

by Betsy Haynes

Shane casually covered his mouth with his hand. Katie could see the corners of his eyes crinkle.

  "What did you say to him, Clarence?" asked D. J.

  Clarence wiggled in his seat. "Nothing much. I guess I shouldn't of said it, though." He looked at Tony.

  "What was it?" pursued D. J.

  Clarence looked uncomfortable as the court waited.

  Finally his answer gushed forth. "I just said he looked like a sissy with that earring in his ear." His face turned red and he looked down at the floor.

  "I'm sorry I said it. It was kind of dumb." He peeked up at the court through his hair, which was in his eyes, as usual.

  Katie looked first at Clarence and then at Tony. Clarence was in trouble a lot, but he wasn't mean. How in the world could he say such a thing to Tony? He should have known what would happen. Still, Tony could have walked away. That's the macho world of men for you, Katie thought. They were both equally at fault.

  Tony sat quietly observing the proceedings as if they had nothing to do with him. His arms were folded in a relaxed way. He wasn't trying to show off his muscles, but they stood out in sharp relief under his shirt. His square jaw was chiseled below his dark hairline. The earring looked natural on him.

  Katie was surprised at her thought. The earring didn't look strange. Not on Tony. It was a part of his character. Everybody wears T-shirts that tell something about themselves. Beth wore some strange outfits sometimes, but they were just a part of her personality. Even Laura McCall wore her hair in that long braid because it made a statement that she must like. The earring was just part of his charisma.

  Now that Katie thought about it, it wouldn't seem right if Tony didn't wear the earring. It was just him.

  What am I thinking? she wondered. He doesn't have charisma.

  "Katie, I think we had better keep going." Mrs. Brenner's words startled her out of her thoughts.

  "Oh . . . uh . . . yes," she fumbled, and then recaptured her composure.

  "Do any of you have any more to say?" She directed the question at Mr. Bell and the boys.

  "Does anyone on the court have any other questions?"

  The court responded with shakes of their heads.

  "Garrett, er, bailiff," said Katie, "would you take the plaintiff and the defendants into the other room while the court discusses the case? We'll call you back as soon as we've decided."

  CHAPTER 11

  Katie was pleased with the way the court decided the case. Except for things she had to say as senior judge, she managed to stay out of the discussion. This time no one could claim she wasn't fair, she thought smugly.

  It had only taken five minutes for the court to decide that since they had caused a disturbance, Tony and Clarence should both be hall monitors for a week. They would have to check passes and stop people from running or doing anything that was against the rules. Since both Clarence and Tony had seemed sorry about the fight, everyone agreed that was punishment enough.

  Katie tried to suppress the giddiness she felt. She had to admit that she was glad the punishment hadn't been worse. It was just that neither Clarence nor Tony had meant to fight, she told herself.

  She was smiling happily when Garrett brought Mr. Bell and the boys back into the room.

  "Clarence Marshall and Tony Calcaterra," she announced. "The Teen Court has decided that, since you are both guilty of breaking the rule about no fighting in the school or on the school grounds, you both are to be hall monitors for one week. You will report to the Administration Office on Monday morning before school to get your instructions."

  Tony and Clarence started to get up to leave.

  "Just one moment," said Mr. Bell. "Clarence, you may go, but Tony, I'd appreciate it if you stayed. There's one other thing that needs discussing."

  When Clarence had left, Mr. Bell began: "I'm sorry to bring this up without forewarning the court, but I've discussed this with Tony, and he knew I was going to do it."

  The judges sat forward attentively. Katie was confused. What could be so important?

  "The issue is: boys wearing earrings in school. It's against the dress code, and Tony knows it. I've talked to him about it three or four times, but he says it's his right to wear it, and he doesn't intend to stop.

  "In all fairness to the court, I must tell you that this has been an issue in other schools. Some schools have changed their dress codes to accept earrings on boys and some have not, but here at Wakeman it is definitely against the rules. As you know, I feel strongly about the Teen Court concept, and rather than shield it from difficult issues, I decided to bring it before you."

  The kids on the court sat back, speechless. 'Thoughts raced through Katie's mind like runaway mice. She had just been so relieved about not having to get too deeply involved in deciding about Tony's punishment for fighting with Clarence, and now she was thrown into a much bigger case involving him. The worst thing was, she liked his earring.

  Perspiration broke out on her forehead. What was she going to do? The fair thing to do didn't seem at all clear this time.

  Kids wear all kinds of things that are different, like T-shirts, she thought. No one says anything as long as they aren't obscene or don't have beer commercials on them. Boys wear necklaces, only they call them chains. What's the difference? Katie flushed. What was she going to do? She didn't have the slightest idea.

  She pulled herself together and looked Tony directly in the eyes. "Tony, do you have anything to say?"

  He sat up straight. For the first time his face was serious. "Yes. I don't think my wearing an earring bothers anyone. There's nothing obscene about it, it's just an earring. There are hundreds of them in Wakeman. Just because I wear one doesn't change that.

  "I could understand why they wouldn't like it if I wore a dress." Several of the kids on the court smiled. "That would disturb people. I'm not about to do that. I just think the rule is wrong if it says guys can't wear earrings. Hey, we wear chains around our necks, and girls wear pants."

  Katie made notes on what he said.

  "Does anyone have any questions?" she asked.

  Heads shook all around the table.

  "May I say one more thing?" Tony asked politely.

  "Yes," answered Katie. Then she prayed silently that what he was going to say would be something that would make the decision easier.

  Tony looked at each court member in turn before he spoke. "There's a lot of talk these days about discrimination, especially discrimination against women." He paused and looked sheepishly at Katie. "The trouble is, discrimination can be a two-way street, and a lot of people don't think about that. That's all I wanted to say. Thanks for listening."

  Katie's head was swirling. She barely heard Mrs. Brenner when she said, "Garrett, would you take Mr. Bell and the defendant out? We'll get back to you as soon as we can."

  Katie couldn't look at the others. Not yet. She had too much to think about first. Tony was right about discrimination, even though he was the last person on the planet whom she would have expected to feel that way. And yet, she had never thought about discrimination applying to boys as well as girls. Maybe he was right about that, too. Maybe, if you got right down to it, they both felt the same way about what was really fair and what wasn't. It might explain why they seemed to be attracted to each other.

  "I think we'd better get started discussing this," Mrs. Brenner said, interrupting her thoughts.

  Katie nodded. What would she say? How would they feel if she suggested that they disagree with the policy about boys' wearing earrings? It was one thing to disagree with one teacher, such as Mr. Naset, who really was in the wrong, but what could they do about bucking a school policy? It was the law in school. Katie had never thought about going against a law. But this law wasn't fair.

  Would they think she was doing it just because it was Tony? She had tried to tell them she didn't like Tony, but now she wasn't sure. Maybe she did like him, after all.

  "Well, it looks as if we've got another one that's pretty cut and d
ried," said Kaci. "Tony knows he's breaking a rule, and he doesn't intend to stop."

  "But what kind of punishment?" asked Whitney.

  "It doesn't seem as if what he has done is all that bad," said Kyle, doodling on his pad of paper.

  "Hey, you ought to see some of the earrings my dad wears," said Shane, laughing. "He's got some dangles you wouldn't believe, and one he wears during the Christmas season even lights up."

  Katie couldn't help but smile. She knew that Shane's mom and dad had been hippies during the nineteen sixties and had never grown out of it. It was one of the reasons that he was so laid back.

  "But a rule is a rule," said Kaci. "He can't just do whatever he wants."

  Shelly Bramlett joined in. "I know, but it does seem as if it's not right."

  "A rule is a rule, right?" said Kaci, looking at the two advisers.

  "That's right," answered Miss Dickinson. "Congress makes the laws. The courts have to interpret and apply the laws."

  A glimmer of hope lit a light in Katie's head. "What does the rule say exactly?" she asked.

  Miss Dickinson looked at her as several of them opened their student handbooks.

  "I've got it," said Whitney, quickly reading the section on the dress code. "The rule says that boys will not wear earrings."

  The light went out.

  Katie straightened her back and stuck out her chin. She could feel the roots of her red hair tingling.

  "I think the rule is wrong and ought to be changed," she blurted out. "As Tony said, guys do wear necklaces now. Only they call them chains. They would have been laughed at for doing that not so long ago." She could hear her voice rising, but she couldn't stop. "It is discrimination."

  Jumping to her feet, she rushed on, feeling the words tumble out in her excitement. "Have you seen some of the outfits that are worn around Wakeman? His earring is tame compared to some of them. It's not fair to penalize him for not following a rule that doesn't make sense!"

  Everyone was turned toward her when she finished. Miss Dickinson's mouth was set in a hard line.

  Now I've done it, thought Katie.

  CHAPTER 12

  "But it's a rule," said Kaci. "As Miss Dickinson said, a court doesn't make laws, it just interprets them."

  "But it's not fair," said Katie. She knew she was getting in deeper and deeper, but she couldn't back down now. As Willie and Jana had said, you have to stand up for the things you believe in. This rule wasn't fair, and that was a fact.

  Everyone at the table started jumping into the argument. Some of the kids sided with Katie, and others sided with Kaci. The room was filled with rising voices.

  "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" cried Mrs. Brenner, standing to be heard above the noise. "Everyone quiet down!"

  When they had settled back in their seats, she straightened her jacket and cleared her voice. "Please. It's obvious, to say the least, that you all have strong opinions about the matter, but let's stay calm.

  "Now. What we have on the one hand is a rule that says boys will not wear earrings in school. On the other hand we have Tony, who doesn't feel the rule is fair and has decided not to obey it. What are our options?

  "It's also obvious that it's not possible to satisfy everyone. It seems to me that in order to be fair," she looked over her glasses at Katie as she said the word, "we can do one of two things."

  Everyone was listening to her intently.

  "As we have said, there is a policy that must be followed." She raised her hand as Katie started to protest. "If, however, some of you feel strongly enough about the rule, we can work to get it changed." She paused to let what she had said sink in.

  "You can either decide to punish Tony under the rule or, perhaps, suspend the case and petition the administration to change the rule. If you do the latter, Tony would have to agree to stop wearing the earring until a decision is made."

  The students stirred in their chairs.

  "A good idea," said Garrett.

  "I like it," said Shelly.

  Others nodded in approval.

  Katie liked the idea, too.

  "There, of course, will have to be someone willing to be chairperson of the committee to develop the petition." Mrs. Brenner was looking directly at Katie when she said it.

  Katie sank back in her seat and raised her hand slowly.

  "I will," she said weakly. She was cornered. What else could she do?

  "If that's what the majority wants," Mrs. Brenner stressed.

  It was.

  Katie felt as if she had just been dropped into a deep, dark well with walls of wet, slippery stones. There was no way she was going to be able to climb out.

  She had tried to avoid taking sides and having it seem as if she were for Tony because she had a crush on him. But darn it, she argued to herself, the rule wasn't fair. She would feel the same way if it had been Clarence who was wearing the earring.

  How was she going to explain that to her friends, though? Jana and Beth weren't mad at her anymore, but still, they might feel that they had been right in the first place and that she liked Tony and was playing favorites. She felt as if she were the one on trial as Garrett brought Mr. Bell and Tony back into the room.

  Katie cleared her throat. "The court has mixed opinions about the rule that prohibits boys from wearing earrings."

  Mr. Bell raised his eyebrows at her statement.

  "Therefore, we have decided to suspend the case to allow time for a petition to be made to the administration to revise the rule. Tony, if you agree not to wear the earring while the rule change is being considered, the court won't rule on your punishment at this time. If the rule is changed, there will be no punishment. If it isn't, the court will decide then what the punishment will be." She took a deep breath and looked straight at Tony. "Do you agree not to wear the earring?"

  Both Tony and Mr. Bell looked surprised.

  Tony frowned and thought for a minute before he asked, "Who's going to petition the administration?"

  Katie took a deep breath. "A committee of Shane Arrington, Kyle Zimmerman, and Daphne Alexandrou will do that." Then she said more softly than she wanted to, "I'm going to be chairperson."

  Tony looked at her for what seemed like hours. Fear rushed through Katie. Was he going to refuse? If he did, she would look like a fool. Everyone in Wakeman would be laughing at her. The thought hadn't crossed her mind that he might not agree to stop wearing the earring. She saw herself walking down the long halls with people on both sides talking and pointing at her. She knew her face must have gone pale. Her red hair had probably turned white.

  Tony smiled at her and reached up and took the earring from his ear. He dropped it into his shirt pocket.

  Relief rushed back into Katie. She thanked him with her eyes.

  After Tony and Mr. Bell left, Garrett went to get the people for the next case.

  Now that Tony's hearings were over, Katie breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected to be appointed senior judge or chairperson of a committee to petition for a change in student rules, but she had gotten through it. Except for explaining what had happened to her friends, the worst had to be over. The next case couldn't be as bad as the last, and the next time the Teen Court met, someone else would be senior judge. And as far as she was concerned, they could have it.

  She looked up just as Garrett entered the room. Mr. Bartosik, the head custodian, was following Bonnie Zaretki and Linda Compton, the two eighth-grade girls who were caught smoking behind Mr. Neal's van. Katie smiled as she noticed that the custodian had slicked down his graying hair and was wearing a very serious expression. The two girls, on the other hand, seemed to be taking great pains to show everyone how unconcerned they were by laughing and whispering together and tossing smug looks at the court.

  Daphne read the complaint. "Mr. Bartosik has brought the complaint of smoking in the faculty parking lot against Bonnie Zaretki and Linda Compton."

  Linda took a brush out of her purse and began brushing her long, dark hair
while Bonnie patted her mouth in what Katie was certain was a fake yawn. What's wrong with those two? she wondered. Don't they realize how serious it is to be brought before Teen Court?

  She frowned and turned to the custodian, who sat uneasily on the edge of his chair. "Mr. Bartosik, is there anything you would like to add?"

  "No, ma'am. It's just like I told Mr. Bell. I looked out and saw little puffs of smoke rising over Mr. Neal's customized van, and I thought maybe it was on fire. Not a big fire, you understand. There weren't any flames, or anything. But it could have been a small fire smoldering in the upholstery. Anyway, when I went to investigate., I found these two smoking."

  Just then the door to the media center burst open and a man and a woman charged in. The man wore a business suit and carried a briefcase that he slammed down on the end of the table where the defendants sat. At the same instant both Bonnie and Linda began to smile.

  "I'm Carl Zaretki, and I'm an attorney and Bonnie Zaretki's father," the man thundered. "And I protest these charges against my daughter and her friend. I'll have you know that I'm influential in town, and this so-called Teen Court has no business sitting in judgment of my Bonnie."

  He sneered in the direction of Katie and the other court members and went on, "I read the article in the newspaper Sunday, and I don't intend to let you get away with this. It's disgraceful when a school allows a mere janitor and a few students to 'get' someone as beautiful and popular as my daughter. A kangaroo court is all this is, set up by an inept school administration, and I won't have it. If you do anything but declare these girls innocent, I'll take all of you to a real court." He made a sweeping gesture to indicate that he was including students as well as faculty in his threat.

  Katie's mouth dropped open. Now they've really done it to me, she thought.

  CHAPTER 13

  Was it still just Friday after school? Katie asked herself as she walked the final block to her house. It seemed as if a whole week had passed in one afternoon.

  Mr. Bell had been called from his office to the media center. He had tried to calm Mr. Zaretki, saying that the school understood his feelings, but the Teen Court had been approved by the school board. He also said that since there was proof that Bonnie and her friend had broken a school regulation, the court intended to pursue it. All the time, Bonnie Zaretki and Linda Compton were watching what was happening with the lady who was obviously Mrs. Zaretki, and looking like a pair of cats who had just swallowed a very large canary.