Five Hours a Year novel · Chapter 18 of 24

Chapter 18: The Tenants' Trial

The courtroom smelled of floor wax and wet wool, and every bench in the gallery was full.

Forty families had come in their work clothes, and some of the children were doing homework on their knees.

My mother sat in the second row with her handbag on her lap.

Frances sat beside her in her red glasses, with the dog's leash looped around her wrist, and nobody had dared to tell her the dog wasn't allowed.

Alec sat in the last row, by the door.

He had no briefcase, no phone on his knee, and no watch.

When I turned to look at him, he lifted two fingers off his thigh.

That was all, and it was enough to steady my hands.

The landlord's lawyer rose first.

He was tall, well pressed, and so sure of himself that he didn't bother to look at my notes.

He told the judge the tenants had no standing, the repairs were routine, and the whole matter was a nuisance suit stirred up by an out-of-town firm.

"Counsel's associate has been practicing for one week," he finished, smiling. "We'd ask the court to be patient."

I stood.

I had not stood in a courtroom in six years.

My knees told me so.

Then the judge looked at me over her glasses, and I heard my father's voice in my head, saying, Start with the fact.

"Your Honor, forty families signed leases promising heat," I said. "For three winters they had none, and the landlord's own records show he knew."

I did not raise my voice.

I did not need to.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Five Hours a Year from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.