Chapter 11: The Trial: Part 1

Alex, Homer, and Marge sat amongst the other onlookers in the cold, un-heated courtroom as Bart and Jessica's lawyer started jury selection.

Mr. Gweeble went up to Apu who was juror canidee number thirty-seven.

"Mr. Nahasapeemapetilon, how do you think you'll treat this trial?"

Apu, who was graying in the front and his face, which was sagging, shrugged; "The best any Indu would do, sir."

Mr. Gweeble nodded, "He'll do fine, your Honor."

Judge Snyder turned to Bart; "Does the plaintiff accept this man as a juror?"

Bart shook his head, "No, your Honor, I accept this man as a juror."

Homer turned to Marge as Mr. Gweeble questioned the next potential person, "Marge, this is boring. When does the balcony fall in?"

Marge sighed, "Homer, this isn't a sketch, there are no pratfalls nor jokes in this."

Homer sighed and then turned to Alex, "So, Alex, who do you think will win?"

Alex looked surprisingly at Homer, "Why, Bart, Mr. Simpson, don't you want him to win?"

Homer was about to reply when the three of them heard Bart say, "No, I do not accept this person, your Honor."

The person Bart had refused was Dolph Emmerson.

Bart pointedly said that he'd be a bad influence in this trial while Mr. Gweeble debated that with the notion that Mr. Emmerson is in no way related with this particular trial.

"Bite me, Gweeble!" Bart fumed.

Judge Snyder banged his gavel.

"Mr. Simpson, anymore out bursts like that and I'll hold you in contempt, got it?"

Bart gloomily nodded.

The judge allowed Dolph to be a juror and the rest of the day Bart had gotten about half of the people he wanted on the jury pool.

Maggie was in Ogdenville where she was having her bike serviced and her tires aligned. She opened up her map as she was being served a slice of pie at a local diner.

She'd been traveling for a day and six hours and finally stopped for gas and maintenance. North Haverbrook was where she was heading; the only place where she knew Gina would be at. Maggie was determined to confront the woman and have her come back and give an apology to her family and Bart for what she'd done.

After finishing her pie and coffee, the mechanic next door came in and let her know that her cycle was finished and she paid him off with a handful of beaten up bills.

Maggie didn't really know why she was traveling this far to see Gina; maybe she was insane.

After loading up on her bike, Maggie was soon set out on the road, what lay ahead, she wasn't sure.

It was the mid-afternoon and Bart was thankful that the whole jury selection had been done and over with. Gweeble had been a relentless pain in the ass. Not only, had Gweeble been obscure with his choices of witness' to be on the behalf of Jessica, he had also given Bart the news of them later than he should have.

Looking over the list, Bart was both confused and amazed by the choices Gweeble had made. Ralph Wiggum's name was on the list. Bart really wasn't sure what direct point Gweeble would have with him and, knowing Ralph, what means Gweeble would have on making Ralph's testimony being authentic.

Bart was tired. His mind ached from trying to figure out his opponent's strategy and then formulating his own based on that. The problem was Gweeble didn't have a clear strategy, at least not from his choices of witness. This was aggravating Bart and to be honest…he was scared because of it. It felt like being naked in a courtroom, to be totally exposed to ridicule and judgement, and being powerless to do anything about it.

Sitting alone in his office, Bart looked over the witness' again and again until his eyes started to strain.

What the hell am I going to do? Bart asked himself.

He looked at the clock, he was supposed to meet Alex in thirty minutes for dinner. His first thought was to cancel and focus his mind and energy on the case at hand. His stomach told him otherwise as it growled loudly.

Heaving a loud sigh, Bart turned off his laptop and went out the door.

Alex fumbled in the Simpson's kitchen murmuring and berating herself, quietly.

What the hell possessed me to do this? I can't cook worth a damn!

She had told Bart that she was going to cook dinner for him out of affection, disregarding the fact that in High School she nearly burnt down the Home Ec. Room while trying to make cookies.

Laid out in front of her was Marge's cookbook. Marge and Homer were asleep and Lisa wasn't home when Alex got back from the grocery store.

Looking at the instructions for the Salisbury Steak, which was a favorite of Bart's, she had nearly all of the ingredients in the dish, except breadcrumbs. Looking around the Simpson's house the only thing she could find was whole bread.

Alex sighed as she took it from the breadbox, sliced a couple of slices, and started tearing at the sliced bread pieces and then put them in the mixture.

Turning the oven on to 360 degrees, Alex put the mixed batter on the meat patties and then placed it into the oven.

Looking at the clock, she still had twelve minutes until Bart was going to arrive.

She turned on the TV and watched Kent Brockman make his usual guff at some poor besmirched man. She noticed them talking a little about Bart's trial but, and this was always the case with this radical town, didn't give statistics or facts of the trial. Instead, Kent started interviewing every slack-jawed idiot he could find.

"Well, I don't rightly know there, Mr. fancy-pants-news-man, sir. I'm a guessin' that there woman might be the winner, now when they get to the mud wrestelin' is another question, ya know?" Cletis grinned big for the cameras.

Alex was about to change the channel when she started sniffing the air.

Something was burning.

Going back into the kitchen, she noticed red light coming from the stove door. Opening it, to her horror, she found out that pieces of bread she had used, fell to the bottom of the oven near the rings and had ignited.

Looking all over the kitchen, she had found no fire extinguisher. Alex ran to the fridge and found a large bottle of Avian water. Pouring it onto the open flames made the flames rage even more and bite back at her.

Alex looked at the bottle, there was a note there, from Homer, saying, "Everclear, not water."

"D'oh!" Alex emitted aloud. She then stumbled more around the kitchen, looking for baking soda, until she heard a car enter the driveway.

Oh no! She thought. Knowing it was Bart, Alex ran out of the kitchen and headed out the door, just as Bart was walking up the path way.

Alex tried her best to be non-chalant, when greeting him.

"Hey, Bart, I know I said I'd cook you something, but I'm thinking let's go eat out, instead."

Bart looked surprised but shrugged and led her to his car just as they heard Homer wailing.

"Sweet, merciful, crap! What the hell happened in here!"

Which was proceeded by Marge; "Homer! Did you sleep-cook again?"

Bart and Alex drove to the Krusty Burger. After ordering, Bart and Alex sat and talked about the trial Bart was working on.

"Ralph Wiggum?! Are they serious? That boy can't even remember his house number on most occasions." Alex said in bewilderment.

Bart nodded, "Which makes this case all the more harder. I can't seem to find what exactly Gweeble and Jessica are planning using him as a witness to both accounts for her not having either of us kidnapped or me having sexually harassed her. I know for a fact that Ralph has never dropped by my office, was he there that night at the Maison Derriere?"

Alex shook her head; "No, Lisa and I never saw him there. But, then again, the place is rather big, if he had been there then it's news to me."

Bart shook his head, "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see what there planning for me tomorrow."

As their meals came, Bart and Alex went on to different topics that involved the two of them going to the next Hullabalooza, which would be in Springfield within a few weeks.

After dinner, they went to the movies to see Space Mutants XVII, the whole time; Alex closed her eyes and clutched onto Bart's arm.

The next day, Lisa, who had spent the previous night with Alison, the two of having made plans to spend time together; opened the morning mail as she was waiting for the coffee to be ready.

The first three were for Homer, the next to for Maggie, and then the last one for Lisa.

Lisa starred at the handwriting, identifying it quickly as her mysterious Casanova.

Opening the letter she read the usual poetic love turns, when she got to the bottom however, she dropped the letter.

Picking the letter back up, Lisa reread the last entry.

"Wanna meet? If so here's my disposable cell number, 555-6384."

Lisa sat down at the table and put her hands against her face, worrying and wondering what she should do. Her first impulse was to tell the guy "no" and that she liked the way things were going with this anonymous, weird, understanding that they've had before.

Lisa sighed. She hadn't been on a date in over seven years; it'd be good to get back on the horse, again.

Then again, like Alex had told her before, this could be a bad idea. This could be a guy watching her right now with a telescope and a box of doughnuts in front of him.

Lisa looked again at the letter. This guy has been talking to her since High School and she has never tried to stop him from making these letters to her nor has she tried to contact him to establish anything further than what they already had. What risk would there be just to talk to the guy and get to know him a little better? Lisa hoped none.

Grabbing the telephone she dialed the number that was on the page.

The first witness for the otherside is usually the first look into the other's case, as Bart was told. In this case, however, such a wild card, an odd ball, of a person to pick was Ralph Wiggum.

As Ralph took the stand, he made his usual happy-totally-unaware-of-what's-happening smile at everyone.

The bailiff walked over with a bible and Ralph put his hand on it and lifted his other one in the air.

"Do you swear that the testimony your about to give will be the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

Ralph looked at him, quizzically, "The name's Ralph, mister."

Judge Snyder sighed, "The court will accept this answer, Mr. Gweeble, you may proceed."

Gweeble nodded, "Thank you, your Honor. Mr. Wiggum, were you there of the night of August 21st at the Maison Derriere?"

Ralph nodded, "I was there to help Daddy sneak looks at undressing ladies, one of them saw us and we had to run. It was fun."

Everyone within the courtroom made various noises of both astonishment and disapproval toward that statement.

Mr. Gweeble, not having been taken back by what Ralph had said, continued.

"Tell me, Ralph, did you see my client, Miss Lovejoy there?"

Ralph shook his head, "Nope. Sorry, Mr. lawyer-man, I didn't."

Mr. Gweeble nodded. "No further questions, your Honor."

The Judge nodded, "Mr. Simpson, your turn."

Bart exhaled and adjusted his tie as he walked up to Ralph.

"Hi, Ralph."

Ralph grinned. "Hi Bart. I know you from school."

Bart smiled, "That was a long time ago, Ralph. Tell me, did you, or your dad, go anywhere else besides the place where the ladies were changing?"

Ralph shook his head, "No sir. After that, we went to Dairy Queen for milkshakes."

Bart nodded, "Then, Miss Lovejoy could have been in there and you wouldn't have seen her at all, huh?""

Ralph nodded and then clutched at his groin, "Can I go to the potty room, now. Bart?"

Bart smiled, "No further questions, your Honor."

The Judge let the squirming Ralph go.

Bart was sure that he'd convinced the jury that the whole line of questioning Ralph was useless on the account of that him and his dad were only in one place, but it still bothered Bart. Why go to all the trouble having Ralph as a witness if he really wasn't a witness to anything? Gweeble didn't even bother to try and have Ralph testify that he saw Bart harass Jessica. What were they planning?

"Mr. Gweeble call your next witness." Said the Judge.

Gweeble stacked a few of his papers at his desk and then cleared his throat before he stood up.

"Your Honor, we call to the stand, Mr. Michael Williams."

A gasp let out in the courtroom as a man coming in from the two double doors, looking extremely full of himself, was Michael.

Maggie arrived into North Haverbrook within the last two minutes. She decided to ask around town since Gina, at least to Maggie's knowledge, hasn't been here for ten years. The last time Gina had been to locate a man who knew where her biological parents were. The man turned out to be a fake, but, when she and Bart were here both had said they really liked it and would consider it an alternative place to live other than Springfield.

Stopping at a café, Maggie walked inside and stopped a waitress who was bussing a table.

"Excuse me, miss, but have you seen a woman around here, recently? Her name is Gina and she has long black hair with a single purple streak."

The waitress, whose name was "Tess" thought for a moment and then pointed to a cook in the back.

"Ask Gus, He'd know more than I would, seeing as how he flirts with everything on two long legs that comes into this joint."

Maggie thanked her and then proceeded to the counter. Sitting down, Tess came back and gave her a menu, "Anything I can give you, whilst you here, hon'?"

Maggie smiled, "Just coffee, please."

As Tess left, Maggie looked behind the place she was at and saw a rather buff man in his late thirties with a ratty mustache call out orders he'd prepared.

"Hey, Tess! I gotch'er Wild Omelet ready! Pick it up, why don'tcha!"

Maggie cleared her throat to let herself known, "Excuse me, Gus?"

Gus turned to Maggie and narrowed his eyes, "What do you want?"

Maggie had been rough-talked before, and this man was hardly a contender.

"I want some answers, first of all. Have you seen a woman named Gina, around town? Black hair with a purple streak?"

Gus rubbed his stubbled chin as he thought.

"Gina…Gina…Hey, yeah, I do remember. Nice body; too stupid though."

Maggie was surprised by this comment. "Why do you say that?"

"Cause, that woman was smart enough to rob the local Gas-n-Fast and then spend the money here. She got arrested yesterday and is now in lock up."

Lisa and Alex arrived to the courtroom just as Michael "Baby Tony" Williams took the stand.

Both Alex and Lisa starred daggers at this guy. Bart had told them who was in that room when they administered that drug on Bart. Lisa especially hated him for turning into the person she had tried desperately hated. When they were younger she tried to help him steer away from his father's career and go into cooking. Michael was just putting her on, though.

Alex looked at Bart, who was looking agitated but trying his best not to show it. The two of them didn't get much sleep on the account of…

"Mr. Williams would you call Mr. Simpson a liar!" Mr. Gweeble asked, thunderously, interrupting Alex's thoughts.

Bart stood up, "Objection! Your Honor, what's the relevance of this?"

Mr. Gweeble shrugged, "Mr. Simpson's going to attack my client's creditability, your Honor, it's only fair if I do the same."

Judge Snyder thought for a moment and then looked to Bart, "Plaintiff's objection's denied, you may proceed, Mr. Gweeble. But with caution."

Mr. Gweeble nodded, "Thank you, your Honor. Mr. Williams?"

Michael thought for a moment, "Well, for the most part, yeah. He made a statement in the Springfield Gazette saying he was "going to get rid of organize crime. No way was he going to be in a world with it." When I was a kid, he used to work for my dad at one point, running races for him and doing bar work. Mr. Simpson's also helped countless mob supporters."

Uh oh. Alex thought. This certainly wasn't good for Bart's case.

How is he going to counter this statement?

Mr. Gweeble smiled, "That'll be all, your Honor. Your witness, Mr. Simpson."

Bart buttoned his coat and walked up to the stand.

"Mr. Williams, were you there at the Maison Derriere on August 21st?"

Michael smiled, "Yeah, I was there. Playing poker with the fella's."

"Uh huh." Bart said in a mock, understanding, tone. "Anywhere else? On the second floor, perhaps? Attending a wedding for a certain friend?"

Michael shook his head, "Nope. Just playing cards with the boys."

Bart waived a dismissive hand; "I have no further questions for this man, your Honor."

The Judge nodded and then said aloud, "We'll recess until tomorrow afternoon, at that time you may call your next witness, Mr. Gweeble." He then banged his gavel and the court dispersed.

Bart had said he needed to talk with one of his witnesses, so Alex headed back to the Simpson's house with Lisa, instead.

As they were driving back to the house, Alex reminded herself of something she wanted to ask Lisa.

"Hey Lise. I almost forgot to ask; how was your visit with "some-kind-of-wonderful"?"

"It was…interesting. To say the least." She responded after a long pause.

"Uh oh, was he a complete dud?"

Lisa shook her head, "No, he was…it's hard to say, really."

Alex decided to end that part of the conversation and then switched to, "Is he anyone I know?"

Lisa closed her eyes, momentarily. "Yes and no."

Alex was getting a little annoyed that her friend was beating around the bush and not being honest with her.

"Well? C'mon, Lise. Who is he?"

As Lisa parked the car in front of the house, she turned to her friend and said; "It's Nelson Muntz, Alex."

Maggie had checked into a hotel late that evening. So far she now knew where Gina was and now was able to question her. But, Maggie would do that tomorrow.

Getting undressed from what she'd been wearing since earlier that morning, Maggie took a quick shower and put on the hotel's complementary robe and then settled into bed with her book "Sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs: A cultural manifesto". It was only when looking at the clock, she reminded herself that she hadn't talked to her family since she hit the road.

She was a little apprehensive about calling Bart, to whom she would've called first. In the end she settled on calling the house.

The phone rang for several times until Lisa had picked up.

"Hello?"

Maggie smiled, "Hey, Sis. How's the battle going on down there?"

"Maggie? Where are you! Mom's worried sick. Dad says he's going to look in every manhole for three states until he finds you. Are you okay?"

Maggie sighed, "I'm fine. I'm in North Haverbrook at the Red Lion Hotel. I've found Gina. She's locked up in the local jail for robbery."

"Serves her right. Are you coming home, soon?"

Maggie shook her head, "Not until the day after tomorrow, I have…uh…business here in town." Maggie could hear her sister sigh on the other end.

"Well, I'm glad to know you're okay."

Maggie smiled, "I've always been okay, Lise. How's Bart's trial going?"

"Well, Ralph was kind of a weird witness that Jessica brought up. He didn't have much value to be used by her side. Michael, however, really ruined Bart's image. Jessica and her lawyer are trying to destroy the image Bart's made up for himself."

Maggie gritted her teeth, "That bitch…"

"I know. Tomorrow they'll bring up their next witness. I pray to Buddha that it's someone Bart can handle."

Maggie nodded, "I'll pray too. Anything you want me to pass on to Gina when I visit her tomorrow?"

There was a pause and then, "Tell her, I'm sorry my brother wasn't good enough for her to be a better person for. Tell her, that he's now with someone who both appreciates having him in her life and is willing to do anything for him."

Maggie nodded, "Okay. How is, uh, Alex doing?"

Maggie had never commented about Alex, other than knowing she was her sister's best friend and now, to the surprise of Maggie, her brother's girlfriend, Maggie didn't know much about her. Alex, in the past, had always seemed a little self-absorbed with how she looked and with a whole ego Maggie wasn't sure she liked.

"She's fine, I guess. She's worried about this case and its affect on Bart. Do you want me to tell her you said hi?"

Maggie thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah. Tell her I said hi and that I hope she's doing well."

The two Simpson sisters then said their good-byes to each other and Maggie hung up the phone.

Her telling Lisa to say hi to Alex was more for Bart than it was for Alex. Maggie reluctantly accepted the idea of Bart and her, more than she would of Bart and Jessica, this being the lesser of two evils. Maggie was determined to make peace with her brother and she knew that letting him get whiff of the fact that she approved of his current choice of girlfriend was the first step.

Maggie, again, looked at the clock and decided it was time to go to bed.

Bart had arrived home at the Simpson's house just as Lisa had gotten off the phone with Maggie.

"Who was that?" Bart inquired.

"Maggie. She's in North Haverbrook and Gina's back in jail."

"Good place for her." Bart sighed as he took off his jacket. "Is Alex up?"

Lisa shook her head; "She went to bed an hour ago. Maggie says hi to the both of you, so you know."

Bart then smiled, "I'm happy to hear it."

The two Simpson children then sat at the kitchen table and shared some red wine together.

"So, Bart. How does this case look to you so far? Do you think it's still strong?" Lisa asked pouring another glass.

Bart sighed and then shrugged, "I don't know, really, it's still too early to tell. Michael's testimony really shook things up. Mr. Gweeble's next witness proves to even more interesting."

Lisa didn't have to ask who that person was. Looking at Bart's face she could already tell. Tomorrow, Bart would have to face Jessica Lovejoy.

Maggie got up the next morning and drove all the way across town to the North Haverbrook police department.

Signing in, she was met by inquiringly looks by the police officers at the station.

"What business do you have with Miss Darrlow?" Asked the officer.

"Personal." Maggie replied courteously.

The officer didn't ask any more and led Maggie to the back of the station to the cells.

Leading down a dark corridor, they stopped at the last cell where a still sleeping Gina was awakened as the guard unlocked the cell and let Maggie in.

"You have five minutes, Miss Simpson."

Maggie nodded and then turned to Gina who just sat on her bunk looking at her.

"Hi." Maggie said.

Gina didn't respond. She just got up and went to the barred window looking out.

"What are you doing here, Maggie?" She asked.

Maggie sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed, "I don't know, actually. I thought seeing you would present an answer, but still, I don't know."

Gina, with her back still to her, heaved a loud sigh, "I guess you've heard what they're saying about me here."

Maggie nodded, "Why'd you do it?"

Gina then spun around and looked defiant.

"Do it? I didn't do anything! Not this time, at least."

Maggie rolled her eyes, "Gina, do you expect me to believe you after you've lied to me? You promised. You promised me you were not going to hurt Bart or my family any more than you've already had. Now, you're in here for robbing a gas station and you say you didn't do it. Who are you trying to convince, yourself or me?"

Gina didn't say anything more. She slumped down on the bed and put her head in her hands and shook her head.

"I've made a mess of my life, huh?"

She then looked up at Maggie and gave a pleading look, "Maggie, I'm sorry. About everything. About how I was naïve to think that money was more important than a family that accepted me even more than my adopted one. I have to say, girl, you are the best part of that family. Blowing it with you…" She stopped and closed her eyes.

"I'm not a good person, Maggie. I've tried but in the end…heh, look where I end up." She indicated towards her environment.

Maggie put a hand on Gina's, "I…I believe you. I'm struggling with this and I need you to be there. I know you're a good person Gina, but I need you to recognize this for yourself and be more honest with me and everyone."

Gina smiled, "That's a pretty tall order, Simpson."

Maggie smiled, "I know." She then sighed, "Now tell me, what is it that makes you innocent in this crazy town?"

As Jessica Lovejoy took the stand, Bart could swear it looked as though Satan himself was walking out of hell and up onto Earth.

After being sworn in, Jessica gave a malicious grin towards Bart and mouthed again, "You-are-mine".

Mr. Gweeble walked up, "Miss Lovejoy, can you recall the night of August 14th?"

Jessica nodded, "Yes sir, it was the night Mr. Simpson and I had at Moe's."

Mr. Gweeble nodded, "What happened that night?"

Jessica batted her eyes then said, "Well, after work, Mr. Simpson was very tired and I thought the two of us could unwind after the day, so we went to Moe's and had some drinks. Afterwards, well, Mr. Simpson became very affectionate."

Alex, who was sitting at the back of the court, could swear that Jessica was looking directly at her when she made that statement. More and more, did Alex dream that Lisa had done more damage to that atrocious little whore, than just punching her.

Mr. Gweeble began pacing and then pointed to Bart, "Did or did not Mr. Simpson want more from you when you told him that you've decided that the two of you should just be friends?"

Jessica looked down in mock sadness, "He…he did."

Mr. Gweeble went up and patted Jessica's hand, "That'll be all, your Honor. We rest."

The Judge nodded, "Mr. Simpson, your witness."

Lisa clutched Alex's hand as they watched Bart walk up to the stand.

Bart took a deep breath, "Miss Lovejoy, do you remember about seventeen years ago, at the Springfield Church, what happened?"

Jessica looked up at Bart with a reluctant admitting look, "Yes."

Bart nodded, "What happened?"

Jessica looked away, "I…I stole the church's money."

Again, Bart nodded, "Whom did you blame for it?"

Jessica didn't answer, just mumbling something incoherent.

"Answer the question, Miss Lovejoy." Said the Judge.

Jessica, venomously, looked at Bart. "You."

Bart smiled, "And here you are blaming me again for something. How can I, and this court, believe you?"

Jessica smiled again, "Because, Mr. Simpson, everyone here knows, as well as I do, that "little Bart Simpson" can't always be good. Something comes along to make him bad again. That just so happens to be me. Sure you wear a suit now, but deep down inside you're still the little hellion that Springfield remembers all too well." She flashed a look to the jury and then back to Bart, "Telling you "no" only makes you hungrier for something you can't have. Me. And right now you're spinning tales of me having you and that little tart kidnapped just so you can't look yourself in the mirror and realize that you've become exactly what you wanted to be: a bad boy. You're bad, Bart Simpson, bad to the bone. But, you're also a fiend whose sexually harassed me." Jessica gave another evil grin.

Bart found himself lost for words.

"Mr. Simpson, do you have anymore questions for Miss Lovejoy?" Judge Snyder asked.

Bart shook his head and went back to his seat.

"Miss Lovejoy, you are excused. We'll break for tomorrow, and then Mr. Simpson can bring forth his first witness." Said the Judge and then he banged his gavel several times.

Both Alex and Lisa exchanged worried glances and both looked at Bart whose eyes they couldn't read as he was writing down notes on his legal pad.