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Dad's trial didn't go much better, and he exploded in wrath when his sentence of thirty years was handed down. He promised to find me and kill me when he got out of jail, and I rolled my eyes as he was led away. "He's just guaranteed himself an extra few years," I commented, as we left the courthouse for what I hoped was the last time.
I'll ask again, are you sure you aren't adopted? Phil asked, and I chuckled. 68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TpIhHMvNa
"Maybe," I said. "I might just have to look into it one of these days. Not that I fancy going anywhere near either of those nutters. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with them for a good long while, and if either of them act up while they're behind bars, I'm sure we can convince the courts to give them a few more years to settle riled tempers and ruffled feathers. Now let's forget about the pair of them and get ourselves some tea."
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Two weeks later, I was back in the courthouse again, because, as it turned out, Mum had convinced the higher ups that her trial had been conducted in bad faith, and therefore she deserved a second chance to explain herself. This time I was on my own, but I refused to let that get the better of me, and once Mum had presented her argument as to why she should be allowed to go free, I stood up and told her, in no uncertain terms, where she could stick her lies and half-truths. Mum did not like being called to task, and when the insults started flying again, the judge dismissed her appeal and told her as professionally as he knew how that she needed some serious help. She told him to go stick it where the sun didn't shine - albeit less politely - and he retaliated by upholding her original sentence. She threatened to keep appealing and tying up the courts' time, thus forcing me to miss valuable study time at the university, her goal being to distract me so badly I'd have no choice but to give up and return home to her "loving embrace".
The judge shot that down by ordering that all her future appeals be scrutinised to determine if they held any merit. If not, they were to be quashed before they could even draw their first breaths. "I won't have you undermining your son out of spite," he summed up sternly. "You'll have time and enough to try and make it up to him, but if I were him, I'd be considering changing my name. In fact, I'll pull the strings to waive the fee for him if he chooses to go down that route. Dismissed, and don't you let me catch you wasting the courts' time again."
Thus dismissed, Mum was duly led away, but not without a few parting shots, and I sighed as I left the courtoom once more. "I should've bloody stayed in bed," I groused to anyone within earshot. "No, better yet, I should've run away and joined that circus passing through the city a few weeks ago."
"Why didn't you?" my lawyer asked, having heard me as he came out of his office. "Would've saved yourself some heartache."
"It's a bloody tempting idea," I admitted. "Maybe one day down the track."
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After that, I was mercifully left alone, and I threw myself into my studies. Coach Jess's training had paid off, and Coach Amanda reiterated that I should consider becoming a freediver. This time, she was free to offer me the training I needed, and Coach Jared, a former freediver who held the record for being able to swim almost a mile underwater on a single breath, took me under his wing. Two days a week, he'd teach me all the tricks he knew for staying underwater longer, and as the time passed, I grew more and more confident. I knew never to try any of his drills on my own, of course, but he recommended I swim as many lengths underwater as I could at one time to build up my breathholding skills, and I did that whenever I had a few spare minutes.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHhDPdzeTo
Not that I did - life at Oxford was varied and interesting, and the city itself was steeped in history. If I wasn't swimming, or hanging out with Phil and Jerome, I was exploring the city, often getting lost, and discovering many an interesting nook and cranny on my way back to civilisation. I filled my social media with pictures, and more than one person commented that I should take up life as a photographer. I added that to my growing list of things to do when I got a bit older, but unlike the career of a lawyer, or the life of a circus performer, the life of a photographer appealed to me, and I decided to find out more about it, wondering if I could combine my love of swimming with my budding photography career. Coach Jared agreed with my thoughts.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3cykUiHBr
"I used to dabble a bit in underwater photography," he told me. "I can put you in touch with someone who's a bit more of an expert than I am. But I don't see why you can't combine the two."
"It's certainly more interesting to me than the other career paths I've been offered," I admitted.
Coach Jared chuckled. "And like all young people, you tell yourself you'll get to them one day. But if the photography works for you, well, I think you're sorted."
I smiled. "Me too," I agreed.
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