Noise Complaint // Alex Ernst

twenty-seven

Alex

"Mara?" I pounded on the door for the twentieth time this morning. Eventually, I hear the door unlock and it swings open. "What?" Mara snaps, obviously extremely annoyed.

"It's 9 am," I remind her. "Yeah, so?" She huffs. "The trial is at 10?" I point out. Suddenly, all the color from Mara's face drains. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god," Mara hyperventilates.

"Alex! Why didn't you wake me up sooner!" Mara shouts, smacking my arm before running into her room, leaving the door wide open.

"Gee, I'm so sorry that my loud pounding was not enough," I say sarcastically. "Shut up, I need to get dressed," Mara yells from her closed door.

"Sure, Alex, my wonderful soon-to-be boyfriend. Make yourself at home. Hope you have a great morning, I'll be out in one second, dear," I shout.

"Fuck off, Alex," Mara shouts back.

I laugh and get some water from the fridge. A little later, Mara comes out wearing black dress pants and a black blazer with a white T-shirt underneath.

Business casual.

"You don't look half bad," I mutter. "Wow, thanks. At least I'm not wearing the same outfit that I wore one of the first times we hung out," Mara counters, motioning to my outfit.

Yeah, the outfit I wore when Mara and Justin went on the double date with Noelle and I.

Thankfully, the blood hadn't stained my shirt.

"Touché," I reply.

Mara and I headed to the courtroom for her brother's trial. The lawyer said that Liam's case is looking good and he's most likely going to win, considering that the feds don't have any evidence, only witnesses. But even the witnesses just said that Liam was there, they never confessed anything about him committing the crime.

"So, Mrs. Adams, how long have you been out of contact with your brother?" The plaintiff asks.

"2-3 years. Maybe a phone call here or there, but that's all."

"And why exactly had you fallen out of contact with him?"

Mara looked unbelievably nervous. Her voice kept on fluctuating and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. I wanted to sprint up there and give her a big hug.

"He wasn't doing too well in classes so my parents withdrew him from the college," Mara says.

"Well, he couldn't have just left home because of that? Why did he leave? What happened to make him leave?"

"Uh," Mara says, looking down at her hands, "my parents just didn't want him at home and he had always been one to love exploring, so he just wanted to see the world."

I knew that Mara kept trying to extenuate her answers, and I think it was working. The plaintiff eventually gave up with Mara and called Liam to the stand.

"Mr. Adams, why were you in Wyoming?" The plaintiff asks. "I've been trying to visit all 50 states before I reached the age of 30," Liam explains.