Chapter 39
Diane D’s Family Plans Lawsuit
Three weeks later, Mary, Barry, Margarita and Tomas are sitting in a lawyer’s office on one side of the table with Mary sitting at the edge next to Barry and Margarita on the other side of Barry and Tomas on the other side of Margarita. Principal Cole and the two school security guards sit behind them. Marcus, Richard, Jessica and Vanessa sit on the other side with Marcus having a cast on his right arm and wrist and crutches beside him.
The lawyer Mr. Logan, a white male in his early 50’s sits at the edge of the table and says to Principal Cole, “Now Principal Cole, are you sure that it was Jessica’s sons Marcus and Richard who sent that phony letter to Diane D’s family about a little boy in your school who is dying of leukemia?”
“Yes,” Principal Cole says. “Richard made a confession right inside my office. I witnessed his confession.”
Mr. Logan looks at the two school security guards in the back and asks, “And how about you two security guards? Did you two witness this young man Richard make a confession that it was him and his brother Marcus who sent that phony letter to Diane D’s family about a little boy in the school who is dying of leukemia?”
“Yes,” the first security guard says. “I witness Marcus’ brother Richard making a confession about it.”
“So did I,” the second security guard says.
“Like Richard said, the school had absolutely nothing to do with sending Diane D’s family that false letter about a little boy who‘s dying of leukemia, Principal Cole says.
“So you’re saying that there is no child in your school who has leukemia?” Mr. Logan says.
“From the school medical records the nurse, teachers and I checked out, there is absolutely no kid in our entire school who has leukemia.”
“No kid at all?”
“None at all.”
“Mr. Logan I can‘t afford this out of court settlement!” Jessica shouts. “I‘m a single parent!”
“Well can’t your children’s father help out?” Mr. Logan asks.
“They have different fathers!”
“Oh I’m sorry. Well can’t your children’s fathers help out?”
“No! Their fathers aren’t anywhere around! My mom right here is the one who had to help me raise them!”
“I’m sorry Miss Whitley, there‘s nothing I can do.” Mr. Logan turns to Mary and asks, “So you don’t want to settle for anything smaller?”
“Not for what this woman’s children did to my family,” says Mary. “Lying to us by sending us that phony letter, preying on our emotions like that, especially Diane’s emotions! Having us let Diane come to the school on false pretenses!”
“I’m sorry for what my sons did to you and for what they did to Diane D!” Jessica says. “I wasn’t aware of what they did at all!”
“Listen Miss Whitley,” Barry says. “People sue our organization at times and we settle out of court and pay these people. We do that for them and you can do that for us.”
“I’m sorry I don‘t have that kind of money!”
“Sorry is not going to help us Miss Whitley,” Tomas says. “It’s not going to change what happened. Because of what your sons did, Diane wants nothing to do with visiting any sick children at any hospitals or schools anymore.”
“Miss Whitley,” Margarita says. “When sick children from different hospitals heard that Diane went out of her way for the little boy she thought existed, they sent a lot of letters to our organization saying that they were touched by it. They said that they wish it was THEM that Diane did all that stuff for, buying toys, gifts, a fruit basket, bringing the toys, gifts and fruit basket to them, giving them a chance to meet her. They said they felt sort of envious when they heard that Diane went out of her way for this mystery little boy and want to know if Diane can do the same thing for them. They also want Diane to come to their hospital and sing for them.”
“Oh yeah?” Mr. Logan asks. “Does Diane D know about that?”
“Yeah she knows about that.”
“Well what did she say to that?”
“Nothing,” Tomas says. “When we told her about it, she just walked away. She’s very bitter about being lied to. She’s bitter about all of us being lied to because of the false letter that we received!”
“It’s like Diane has completely turned her back on visiting any children at all!” Barry says.
“I’m so sorry that this all happened,” Mr. Logan says. “How is Diane D doing by the way? Is her foot still broken?”
“Yes her foot is still broken Mr. Logan,” Margarita says. “It’s heeling, but she is going through a lot of therapy trying to get the strength back into her feet and toes.”
“I see. How is the damage to her face and the rest of her body doing so far?”
“She still has slight scars and bruises on her face and body, but she’s doing okay.”
“That’s good. Where’s she at now?”
“We have her at our home still resting.”
“I see. So she still does not know or remember how she got those injuries on herself?”
“No she still does not remember Mr. Logan,” Barry says.
“Sorry to hear about that. So there’s no chance of you all settling for a smaller amount for Miss Whitley?”
“No there is no chance!” Mary shouts. “These two boys have to pay the consequences. Because of them, we don‘t trust anymore sorrowful letters that will come our way.”
Jessica sadly looks at Mary. Then she sadly looks at Vanessa as Vanessa sadly looks back at her. Jessica and Vanessa turn and sadly look at Mary, Barry, Margarita and Tomas.
Chapter 40
Marcus Makes A Shocking Confession To His Family
Around an hour later, an angry Jessica, Marcus, Richard and Vanessa come home inside their front door into their apartment as Jessica turns to Marcus and Richard and shouts, “See what you boys are putting me through?! Now I have to pay Diane D’s family for what you two did!”
“We didn’t mean any harm Mom!” Richard cries. “I only did this for Marcus because I saw how bad he wanted Diane D to come to his school!”
“So you’re going to send out a lie to her family?! That lie is costing me! I can’t afford to pay Diane D’s family all that money, but I still have to pay them! Now I have to see if I can borrow money from some of our relatives! I might even have to do some overtime at work just so I can try to come up with most of the money!” Marcus slowly and painfully goes to the living room walking with the crutches as Jessica, Vanessa and Richard follow him.
Marcus goes to the side of the living room to a chair. He slowly and painfully sits down on the chair. He trembles as he nervously looks around the living room. Jessica, Vanessa and Richard approach Marcus and surround him. Marcus turns to them as Jessica gets down on her knees in front of Marcus and shouts, “Marcus, did you have to confess to Diane D that it was you and your brother who sent her family that letter?! Did you have to confess to her?! If you hadn‘t confess to Diane D about that letter, she wouldn‘t have to have known that it was you and your brother who sent her family that false letter! Why on earth did you have to confess to Diane D Marcus, why?!”
“Because I felt bad about lying to Diane D and her family!” Marcus cries.
“Marcus,” Vanessa says as she gets down on her knees next to Jessica, “we understand you felt bad about lying to Diane D and her family, but once you realize that Diane D was planning on coming to your school to see and meet this so called child who has leukemia, you should have sent her family a quick anonymous letter and tell her family, that there is no child in your school who has leukemia, that the other letter was false! That probably would have prevented Diane D from coming to your school once she realize that the other letter was false and that there is no child in your school who has leukemia! You could have sent Diane D’s family an anonymous letter! Why did you have to confess to Diane D personally?! Marcus, while we were riding back home several minutes ago, you said that when you confessed to Diane D that it was you and your brother who sent her family that false letter, you said she just stood there and stared right at you at the edge of that dark isolated school hallway like she wanted to kill you!”
“It did looked like she wanted to kill me Grandma! It looked liked she wanted to wring my neck!”
“She probably did get so angry that she felt like killing you Marcus!” Jessica shouts. “Marcus while we were riding in the car, you also said that Diane D kept blocking your path refusing to let you go by when you were trying to get back towards Principal Cole‘s office! Did she say that she was gonna harm or kill you?! Did she threaten you?!”
“No! Once the shock wore off her and she realized that the little boy who has leukemia doesn‘t exist and that she would never ever get to see or meet him, it looked like she turned sad, then it looked like she was crying, then it looked like she turned angry, because she just stood right at the edge of the hallway staring at me, not saying a single word! Once I confessed everything to Diane D about the letter and the kittle boy who has leukemia, she didn’t say anything else after that! She just stood there at the edge of the hallway staring at me!”
“My God Marcus!” Vanessa says. “God only knows what Diane D was thinking!”
“She was probably thinking she could kill him!” Jessica shouts, “but just never said it! She rather just think it! Marcus do you know why Diane D kept blocking your path in that school hallway, refusing to let you go by back towards Principal Cole‘s office?! Do you know why she refused to let you go by?!” Marcus frighteningly looks at Jessica. Jessica puzzled stares at Marcus as she shouts, “Marcus! Why did Diane D refuse to let you go by when you were trying to get back towards Principal Cole‘s office?! Why did she refuse to let you go by?!”
“So she can harm me!”
“What!” Jessica, Vanessa and Richard say.
“So she can harm you?!” Vanessa asks. “What do you mean ‘so she can harm you‘?! How do you know Diane D wanted to harm you?! When we asked you did she threaten you, you said no!”
“That’s because she didn’t threaten me Grandma!” Marcus shouts. “I told you she never said another word once the shock wore off her!”
“Then how do you know that she wanted to harm you?!”
“Because she did harm me!”
“What!” Vanessa, Jessica and Richard shout as they shockingly look at Marcus.
“Marcus what do you mean ‘she did harm you’?” Jessica shockingly asks.
“Wasn’t I in the hospital that night?!” Marcus shouts. “Didn’t my arm and wrist get broken?! Didn’t two of my ribs get fractured, and didn‘t I get some internal bleeding?!”
“Marcus, you told us and everyone else that you fell down the stairs, that‘s how you got injured,” Vanessa shockingly says.
“I didn’t fall down the stairs Grandma!” Marcus cries.
“You didn’t fall down the stairs?!”
“No!”
“Were you pushed down the stairs?!”
“No! I wasn’t pushed down the stairs either!”
“Then for God’s sake Marcus, how did you get these injuries?!”
“Diane D assaulted me!”
“What!” Vanessa, Jessica and Richard shockingly shout.
“Diane D assaulted me! She assaulted me on that third floor school hallway!”
“She assaulted you?!” Vanessa shockingly shouts.
“Yes! She’s the one who gave me these injuries!”
“Oh my God!” Jessica shouts. “I don’t believe what I’m hearing! Diane D assaulted you?!”
“Yes!”
“Are you telling the truth this time Marcus?!”
“Yes I’m telling the truth this time!”
“How do we know you‘re not lying about this?!”
“Why would I lie about this Mom?!”
“Because you and Richard already lied to Diane D and her family about the little boy who has leukemia!”
“But I’m not lying about this! Diane D assaulted me, that’s how my arm, wrist, ribs and everything else got broken!”
“Oh my goodness Marcus!” Vanessa shouts. “If Diane D assaulted you, how did she assault you?!”
“By kicking me!”
“By kicking you?! She kicked you?!”
“Yes! The first few times I tried to go by her to get back to where Principal Cole’s office is, she kept blocking my path! When I decided to try a fourth time, she spin her entire body around and kung fu kicked me, breaking my arm and wrist!”
“What!” Vanessa, Jessica and Richard shout.
“Diane D kung fu kicked you?!” Vanessa shouts.
“Yes!” Marcus shouts.
“Oh my goodness!”
“That’s how your arm and wrist got broken?!” Jessica shouts. “She broke your arm and wrist by giving you a kung-fu kick?!”
“Yes!” Marcus shouts. “When I felt the pain, I looked right at my arm and wrist! I saw my arm and wrist bent backwards, then I looked right at her! I saw the look on her face, especially the look in her eyes that told me she was not playing! I said to myself this woman is crazy! All I know is that I had to hurry and get away from her, so I slowly backed away from her! She just kept staring at me! Then I turned around and tried to make a quick dash for the back exit stairwell, then she chased right after me and dropped kicked me right across my back!”
“What!” Vanessa, Jessica and Richard shout.
“Diane D chased after you and dropped kicked you right across your back?!” Richard asks.
“Yes!” Marcus shouts. “When she did that, I fell and rolled down the hallway!”
“You fell and rolled down the hallway?!”
“Yes! It felt like the wind was knocked right out of me! I was on the floor in pain! I felt like I was about to pass out! After a while, I sat up leaning on the wall! I was so much in pain it felt like I was about to collapse! I started screaming for help! I asked Diane D to please let me go! I told her I was sorry for lying to her and her family about the little boy who has leukemia! I asked Diane D again to please let me go, but she just stood there in the dark staring at me, giving me a cold stare! I told her if she wants to meet the little boy who has leukemia, she can do it! I told her if it’s so important for her to grant the little boy his dying wish to meet her, she can do that because the little boy who has leukemia does exist!”
“What!” Jessica shouts. “You told Diane D that the little boy who has leukemia exists?!”
“Yeah! I told Diane D that I made a mistake when I told her that the little boy who has leukemia doesn’t exist! I told her that the little boy who has leukemia was right there in the building behind her with her family! I told Diane D to turn around and look behind herself, but she just kept staring right at me!”
“She didn’t turn around?!”
“No! So I hollered at her and asked her doesn’t she hear me! I told her again to turn around and look that her family found the little boy who has leukemia! I told her that the little boy is standing right behind her with her family waiting to meet her, but that didn‘t work! She did not turn around! She just stood there staring at me! I asked Diane D again does she hear me! I told her again to turn around! She just stood there and kept staring at me! Then I noticed this blank look in her eyes! Then I asked Diane D does she even see me!”
“What! You asked Diane D does she see you?”
“Yeah!”
“How can Diane D not see you Marcus, if she’s staring right at you?!”
“Because her eyes looked blank Mom! So I started to stand in the middle of the hallway several yards in front of her! Then I held my left hand and two fingers out to her! Then I moved my hand and fingers side to side back and forth to see if she sees me! She still had this blank look in her eyes like she didn‘t even see me! Then I asked Diane D, is she sleeping?!”
“What!” Vanessa shouts. “You asked Diane D is she sleeping?! What do you mean you asked Diane D is she sleeping? You think she was sleepwalking?!”
“It looked that way because it looked like her eyes were half closed looking right through me!”
“It looked like her eyes were half closed looking right through you?”
“Yes! It looked like her eyes were looking right through me as if I wasn‘t even there! It looked like her eyes were looking way in the distance behind me right towards the window at the end of the hallway or looking into space, so I moved my fingers side to side back and forth again to see if she sees me! It still looked like she didn’t see me! She treated me like I was invisible! She still had this blank look in her eyes like she was looking way in the distance into space, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pen! Then I threw the pen right at her!”
“What!” Jessica shouts. “You threw the pen at Diane D?!”
“Yes!”
“Then what happened?”
“It almost hit her in the face!”
“It did?!”
“Yeah! She didn’t even move or blink when the pen went right pass her face!”
“She didn‘t move or blink?”
“No! She just stood still like a mannequin, giving this eerie blank stare, not responding! Then I reached into my pocket again and pulled out my calculator! I threw the calculator right at her! She did not move or blink when the calculator hit her right in her face!”
“What!” Vanessa, Jessica and Richard shout.
“The calculator hit Diane D right in the face and she didn’t move or blink?!” Jessica shouts.
“No!” Marcus cries. “It was like she didn’t even see or feel it! She just stood there with that eerie blank stare, not responding! Since I saw that Diane D wasn‘t responding to anything, I figure I can turn to the side and secretly pull out my cell phone so I can call you! I started to press the numbers on the cell phone! When I putted the cell phone to my ear, she charged at me and kung-fu kicked the cell phone right out of my hand!”
“What!” Vanessa, Jessica and Richard shout.
“Diane D charged at you and kung-fu kicked the cell phone right out of your hand?!” Jessica shouts.
“Yes!” Marcus shouts. “The cell phone dropped and slid right across the floor! Every time I tried to go for my cell phone, Diane D started to charge at me, then I would quickly back away, then she would stop and just stand there staring at me! Even when I heard and saw my cell phone ringing, I tried to get it, then she would charge at me again! Then I would quickly back away, then she would stop and just stand there staring at me again!