I really didn’t think that things could have gotten any worse. My head was a whirlwind of thoughts as I relived the events of the trial directly outside the courthouse. Guilty. Sentenced to death. The next word broke me from this hazy spell by Dill. Tomorrow. It was the only word I heard. I glanced over at Dill, puzzled as he broke the news again. He was going back home to Meridian. Tomorrow night. I couldn’t believe it, right after the horrid trial Dill would be leaving us to go home. It was the worst possible thing that he could have said to us in that moment. Rage filled me, and I could not stop myself from yelling back at him. I told him that he needed to stay, I told him that it wasn’t even the end of the summer. But he just kept shaking his head, repeating that his mom wanted him to come home early this year. I didn’t even realize that Scout was beside me with tears flowing down her flushed cheeks. She burst into a fit of tears when I asked her if she was okay. I couldn’t take it anymore. Before I knew it, I whipped around and ran home. Lost in my thoughts I ran with wild abandon. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t catch the wild thoughts racing through my mind.
When I barreled through the front door, Aunt Alexandra looked back at me, baffled. She asked me if I was alright as I blew past her and ran upstairs. A few minutes later I heard footsteps shuffling up the old wooden stairs. Creaking open, Scout’s head peeped through the opening in the doorway. Her bloodshot eyes found mine. I urged her to go away, but per usual, she ignored my request. Rolling over and burying my head in my pillow, I shouted for Scout to leave me alone. I needed to be by myself. Alone with my thoughts. Scout dropped her head and whimpered as I heard her comply with my request. I took a deep breath as the door latched shut. Finally peace. This was short-lived, as the door opened for a second time. Can I get any privacy in this house? This time, Aunt Alexandra came into my room and sunk into the foot of my bed. She put a comforting hand on my leg and spoke softly to me. Although her words had a reassuring tone, she spoke the truth. There was no way the jury would have found Tom innocent. It would just never happen in Maycomb. My heart raced and the lump in my throat rose. My voice cracked as I opened my mouth. Anything I could think of erupted out of my mouth. I told her that we were cheated, and that they were wrong. I couldn’t hold back anymore. Without thinking twice, my voice boomed as I stood up and finally broke. I spun and punched the wall as hard as I could. When I pulled my hand away there was a small dent in the wall, paint splitting. Aunt Alexandra seemed to be mixed with emotions as well; confused, upset, and disappointed. She took a deep breath and pulled me down onto the bed next to her, arm around me. We just sat in quiet for a long time until I calmed down. Later on, I began to think. I desperately wanted to make things right. There had to be a way. In my heart, I knew that Tom Robinson didn’t attack Mayella Ewell. The facts simply didn’t add up, and now this innocent man would be put to death. It came to me. The only way I knew how to make things right was to free Tom Robinson myself. The thought of this became all consuming. It would be the perfect retribution to get back at the Ewells for lying, for framing Tom Robinson for a crime he didn’t commit. I felt a grin form across my face and thought to myself as I pictured the looks on the Ewells’ faces on execution day. Tom would be nowhere to be found. It was a quiet dinner, I don’t think anybody said a word. We were all mourning over the devastating loss at the trial. I seriously couldn’t believe that the judge couldn’t see through the fact that Tom was a black man. In my heart I knew that if Tom were white, he wouldn’t be sitting in a jail cell. As I mindlessly shoveled food into my mouth, I couldn’t help but imagine the thoughts that must be going through Tom’s mind. My heart rate quickened with these thoughts, which got me thinking about the escape plan. I felt an urgency to fix the horrible acts and lies that the Ewells told the judge. Scout finally spoke, breaking me from my compulsive thoughts. She asked to be excused, even though she had barely eaten. Aunt Alexandra nodded, and Scout stood and went upstairs. I requested to be excused as well and Aunt Alexandra nodded again. As I stood up, I thanked Calpurnia for dinner, turned and went upstairs. Up in my room I could hear Scout from across the hall crying a quiet whimper. Feeling regretful about my earlier flare of anger, I decided I wanted to comfort her. I knocked quietly and opened the door. Scout was laying face down on her pillows trying to muffle the sound of her crying. I sat down on the bed next to her and she rolled over to look at me. It seemed that Scout was finally realizing that Tom Robinson was going to die an innocent man. It was as if she were in my head. She told me exactly what I had been thinking; that Tom was innocent and that we had been cheated. I made a snap decision. Scout’s face lit up as I unveiled my plan. *************** After everybody had fallen asleep I initiated step one of my plan. I silently pulled the covers off and slipped out of bed. Camouflaging myself, I put on a black shirt and black pants. Slowly, I crept to the top of the stairs, ever so carefully to not make a sound. As I descended down the stairs, I paused as one step creaked under my foot. I froze, listening intently. After hearing no movement I continued. On my way to the door a noise from the living room caught my attention. I turned to see Aunt Alexandra sitting in a chair. Groggily, she questioned why I was awake. Beads of sweat started to form across my forehead, one trickling down to my chin. Taking a deep breath, I heard the lie slip out. I told her I was just getting some water. She nodded, rolled over and fell soundly asleep. I made a break for the door, slipping through and quietly closing it behind me. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I wiped the sweat off of my forehead. I took off for downtown, my destination - the jailhouse. My sprint was stopped short when I heard my name. Miss Maudie surprised me from her new front porch. She must have seen me under the lamplight. She waved me over and I had no choice. Without a word, she patted the chair next to her, inviting me to sit down. She asked me about the trial, the Roman Carnival as she called it, and I filled her in. As I told her what had happened she was nodding, as if she had been there. When I had finished talking, she told me that Tom never had a chance and that it wasn’t Atticus’ fault that Tom was convicted guilty. I told her what I had told everybody else, that we had been cheated and that I had to make things right. She pushed me on my meaning, so I told her my plan. Miss Maudie didn’t take her eyes off me as I shared details. Looking at her, I knew what she was going to say even before she said a word. She told me that breaking Tom out of jail would only come back to haunt me, because if I got caught then I could be executed as well. This made me think, was I willing to put myself in danger to help save Tom? As much as I cared about Tom and his innocence, Miss Maudie brought me back to reality. Putting myself in danger for Tom was probably not a good decision. This plan could put my entire family in harm’s way. I stood up and walked over to Miss Maudie. I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace and felt her arms do the same. She whispered in my ear telling me that I should proud of the good young man I was. She then told me to go home and go to sleep. I nodded, thanked her for helping me come around, turned and as I walked away I was absorbed into the darkness of the night. By: Justin Rogers -- contributing writer Comments are closed.
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June 2019
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