Noah's Law (5 page)

Aunt Nirvine was suddenly standing at the door, a warm smile on her face. ‘You're in early, Noah,' she said. ‘I didn't think you'd fall for us that easily!'

‘It's the photocopier jams,' I said drily, unable to disguise my tone. ‘I couldn't resist.'

‘Aha, your father's sense of humour I can see.'

Was she kidding?

‘Could I ask you to do a coffee run for me? I'd like a decaf weak skim soy latte. John wants a flat white with two sugars and Casey a short black with four sugars.'

‘We've got to finish this photocopying by nine or Casey will get her broomstick out and chase us around the office.'

Jacinta looked embarrassed. Aunt Nirvine's jaw dropped.

I offered Aunt Nirvine a goofy smile. ‘Um . . . joke . . .?'

She cleared her throat. ‘Well, I can't accept those kinds of comments in my office, Noah,' she said in a low voice. ‘This is not a school playground. This is a professional environment and speaking behind a colleague's back in a derogatory fashion will not be tolerated. Is that understood?'

‘Yeah.'

This was humiliating. Worse than school even. What was it about me that made family members overreact? I was the teenager. I was the one who was supposed to be suffering the hormonal imbalance.

‘Well finish your photocopying task and then get some petty cash from Jill. Go to George's not Café Deluxe, please. Their soy always tastes like curdled milk.'

‘Are you out of your mind?' Jacinta asked when Aunt Nirvine had left. ‘No wonder you're in trouble at school.'

‘Hey, lighten up. I was just saying what everybody thinks.'

‘Well welcome to the adult world, Noah, where
nobody
says what they think. You've got to learn to be fake. Do you see me calling Casey a stuck-up, sadistic cow to her face? Do you see me telling her that I can understand why her husband left her or offering her a mint with her photocopying to cure her stinking chain-smoker breath? No. I smile and do the bimbo-giggle when she talks to me and I act like she's a normal human being. And she knows I hate her and I know she knows I hate her but we pretend to get on because that's what adults do.'

‘You're seventeen,' I said rolling my eyes. ‘You were in school two months ago.'

‘I've always been more mature than my age. Plus, I'm female, so I've got years of maturity on you.'

‘Well, Miss
Pensioner
, I'll enjoy saying what's on my mind for as long as I can get away with it.'

‘But you can't get away with it. Your aunt was pissed off. She's not going to let you get off that easily if you talk like that again.'

I let out a frustrated sigh. ‘Man, I am so sick of this place and it's only day two. I can't believe I've got another six weeks.'

‘Well, you're stuck here so you just have to put up with it,' she said matter-of-factly.

Amit's message compounded with Aunt Nirvine's meltdown got under my skin. I mean really got under my skin. It was all just eating away at the layers of epidermis as the reality of my situation hit me. Photocopying endless piles of paper for another six weeks. Receiving text messages from Amit bragging about hitting the waves at the beach. I felt like the pressure was mounting inside of me.

Enough was enough.

‘He can't make me stay here,' I said. ‘Nobody can. I'm through with this.'

I threw the file I was holding onto the table and stormed out of the room, ignoring Jacinta who was calling after me to grow up and come back.

‘And where are you going?' Jill asked as I stomped past the reception desk. ‘You've forgotten to take the petty cash.'

‘Keep it. Use it to buy everybody here a personality. I'm out of here.'

I slammed the door behind me and rushed down the fire-exit stairs, not bothering to wait for the lift. When I left the building the fresh air hit my face. I went to the nearest takeaway shop and bought myself a chocolate bar and a can of Coke. I sat on a nearby bench and scoffed the chocolate bar and emptied that can of Coke faster than the time it took to flick it open. The sugar hit was fantastic.

I called Amit.

‘Did the flu thing work?'

‘Even better. I quit.'

‘How can you quit if you weren't even an employee?'

‘Yeah, well, I walked out, whatever. I'm over it.'

‘Your dad's going to kill you. Take you to the High Court or set the governor-general on you. Something weird like that.'

‘I don't care. What are you doing so early at the beach?'

‘Dad dropped me and Siraj off on his way to a job nearby.'

‘Terrific. I'm really happy for you guys.'

‘So catch the train and meet us here.'

‘Yeah, I'll see.'

I still wasn't sure what I was going to do. Quitting the firm would definitely send Dad into a rage. He might make me copy out transcripts of parliamentary sessions or his favourite court judgments for the rest of my life. (He'd once made me copy out a case on personal responsibility after my friends and I blocked the school gates and driveway with all the rubbish bins we'd collected from around the school.)

I changed the subject. ‘So have you guys organised anything more with the Terrigal trip yet?'

‘Nah, not much. Luke's brother said he'll drive us up in his van. Hakim's parents said we can use their holiday house for the two nights but Hakim's older brothers have to be there, which is a bummer. Apparently they're real nerds. Anyway, I thought your dad wasn't letting you come.'

‘He's going to torture me with a hearing in six weeks and then decide if he'll let me go. Hey, I've got to go, I've got another call.'

I switched calls. It was Aunt Nirvine. Great.

‘Noah?'

‘Hey, Aunt Nirvine.' I figured I'd play dumb.

‘Jacinta tells me you've gone down to get the coffees but that you forgot the petty cash. Just make sure you get a receipt and Jill will reimburse you.'

‘Er . . .'

‘Oh and Casey's going to court in half an hour. I've asked her to take you along to watch. It's not a trial, just a directions hearing, but it will be interesting for you. It's at the Supreme Court.'

My ears pricked up. If anything was going to make this torturous sentence remotely worthwhile it would be the chance to go to court.

‘Okay, see you back here soon,' Aunt Nirvine continued. ‘And remember – George's, not Café Deluxe!'

‘Er . . . yeah . . . okay.'

Why hadn't I said no? I was stuck now. I had to return to the office. So much for quitting in a blaze of glory. Anyway, as much as I was dying to quit, I couldn't predict how Dad would react if I did. I'd pushed his buttons heaps over the years. And his punishments were getting worse. All this from a guy who used to defend murderers and rapists. I was wrapping desks in foils or raising students' self-esteem with boosted-up marks. Talk about needing some bloody perspective.

I was pretty embarrassed by my tantrum back at the office. Thinking about the way I'd done a runner from Jacinta made me groan. She'd really think I was a kid now.

I thought about what Jacinta had done as I ordered a strong soy cappuccino for Aunt Nirvine, a skim latte for Casey and a decaf flat white for John. I couldn't understand why she'd covered for me. Would I lose face by returning? The chance to go to court – a real court – was so tempting though. No meat tenderisers or wooden chopping boards. Real judges, real cases.

I wasn't selling out, I told myself as I carried the coffees back to the office. If I didn't like it I'd be out of there and deal with Dad in my own way. Anyway, I was already in the city so I might as well stay. I could go to the beach with Amit another time. Anyway, I wasn't dressed to hook up with them today. I was dressed for court.

 

At the reception desk I gave Jill the receipt and put down the coffee tray.

‘So you decided to come back?' she said.

‘Yeah, you can open the champagne to celebrate later.'

She laughed. ‘How do you walk around with that much attitude sitting on your shoulders?'

‘All those workout sessions at the gym,' I answered. ‘There are many advantages to being this beefed up. Now can I have my money, please?'

‘Here you go, wise guy,' she said and smiled at me. ‘Oh and by the way,' she added in a whisper, after I'd pocketed the money and picked up the coffee tray, ‘Jacinta told me about the broomstick comment.
Gold
.'

Startled, I stared at her blankly, but then she winked at me and I couldn't help but grin.

Casey came out of her office and almost bumped into me. ‘My coffee?' she demanded.

I passed it to her. She took a sip and sputtered.

‘I ordered a short black. What the hell is this?'

‘A skim latte?'

‘Do I look like I need fat-free milk?' she snapped. She opened the lid. ‘Anyway, I don't drink lattes – I'm lactose intolerant. I'll have to go to court
without
a coffee fix, I suppose. Well, don't be surprised if I'm in a bad mood.'

‘Oh I won't,' I said, probably too quickly. I had to stop doing that.

She pursed her lips and then marched back into her office, calling over her shoulder, ‘We're leaving in five. Make sure my suitcase is packed.'

I turned to Jill. ‘
Suitcase?
Are we going to court in Melbourne?'

Jill rolled her chair back and opened the top drawer of the filing cabinet under her desk.

‘Here, take this key. It opens the cupboard in the photocopier room. There's a small suitcase there. Get the files on the spare chair in Casey's office and put them in the suitcase. The files are too heavy to carry so the lawyers always wheel a suitcase to court.'

‘And she couldn't explain that herself?'

‘Don't worry. You'll learn how to handle her soon.'

‘Oh yeah, and how is that?'

‘Walk around on eggshells whenever she's in your presence. Like the rest of us.'

‘So if everybody hates her—'

‘Shh! You need to learn how to whisper.'

‘Okay, sorry. So if everybody hates her, why doesn't Aunt Nirvine fire her?'

‘You can't fire people for being unpleasant. Plus, she brings in a lot of money. She's a very good lawyer. Probably the best one here.'

‘Well there are only three, aren't there? Casey, John and Aunt Nirvine?'

‘No, there's five. Branko is interstate for a trial and Ameena is on leave. They both deal with our family law practice. The clock is ticking, Noah. We can chat later. When Casey says five minutes she means it. You better hurry.'

Sure enough, Casey was standing at the lifts, impatiently tapping her foot, when I finally wheeled the suitcase out to her. The first suitcase I'd grabbed had a busted wheel, which I only discovered after I'd packed it, meaning I'd had to unpack it and find another suitcase. Casey wasn't interested.

The Supreme Court was only four blocks away so we walked. For someone wearing heels as high as stilts, Casey was surprisingly fast.

‘So what's this case about?' I asked as Casey lit a cigarette. I wasn't going to let her intimidate me. For God's sake, I'd taken on my school principal. I'd let a mouse loose in a classroom during mid-term exams. I'd put tennis balls in the cistern of the staffroom toilet (okay, so it
was
me). Who did this chain-smoking, PMS-overloading Grim Reaper think she was? She may have been able to bully the others but she didn't scare me.

She looked me in the eye (I told you the heels were high) and almost cringed. I think she was allergic to conversation. She sighed (well, hacked a cough) and then said, ‘It's a very simple case. I really don't know why I should have to handle it. I deal with the complex cases. Well, it's a no-brainer so I expect that's why your aunt sent you along with me today.'

Ouch. I filed that one for later.

She flicked the cigarette onto the ground as we approached the Supreme Court.

After we'd gone through security we caught the lifts up to level seven. Casey marched ahead of me towards a very short, skinny man standing at the windows in the hallway outside Court 7
B
. He was dressed in faded jeans, a white T-shirt, denim jacket and scruffy runners. His face was hollow, his narrow eyes oddly framed by long lashes. He saw Casey and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

‘So what's happening today?' he said. ‘Do I need to say anything?'

‘No, I'll be doing all the talking. It's straightforward. Like I told you, there's no need for you to be here.'

‘Well, I wanted to come. This is me dead wife we're talking about.'

‘Yes, I know. But you don't need the extra stress. You've been through enough already. It's ridiculous, you turning up like this.'

Casey's idea of compassion.

‘Yeah, well, it's the least I can do. Show those pigs she won't be forgotten.'