the longest recess.

The Longest Recess

        “All rise,” the bailiff ordered, his voice booming through the half-full courtroom. There was a shuffling of chairs as the audience stood up. The judge pushed her way gracefully into the room, climbing the gently carpeted steps to her bench.

        “Thank you, and please be seated.”

        Ernest Li scraped his rickety wooden chair across the floor, plopping back down and straightening his aqua-colored tie. This is going to be a hard case to win, he thought as the judge introduced the jury. I don’t have much to work with—the sleaze ball that I’m defending has all the evidence pointing against him. He rose, following along with courtroom formalities. The judge’s introduction of both him and his opponent shook him from his thoughts as he sat down.

        “I’d like to call your attention to the plaintiff’s counsel for opening statements. Counselor Harvey Chang, are you prepared?”

        The tall, lanky man stood up, nonchalantly carding his short black hair. He glanced quickly at Ernest, and then proceeded to speak.

        “My client, Tina Brennan, has suffered much at the hands of her brother, Devon Glass. She is pressing charges for mismanagement of personal funds and hopes to receive $25,000 in redress for her grievances.”

        As Harvey continued on, Ernest found himself staring at his opponent. He was completely incapable of scribbling down any last minute notes or coming up with any smart, caustic comebacks to include in his opening statements like he usually did.

        Is that really Harvey? I only know one Harvey Chang and that sure looks like him. There’s no way that this is him, though. Harvey always told me he’d never want to do law!

        “Counselor Ernest Li, are you prepared to give your opening statement?”

        Ernest cleared his throat, shuffled the papers on his desk and stood up shakily. He hated how unconfident his voice sounded as it echoed softly around the room. He nervously fingered the crisp lapel of his black suit jacket and then fiddled with his medium-length black hair as he sat down. It was all because Harvey was here (he knew  it was Harvey now)—stupid Harvey who had messed up his last month of senior year.

* * * * *

        “And… that’s what’s been up.”

        Ernest fidgeted awkwardly, his face flushing a deep red as he waited for Harvey’s reply. A deafening silence between the two roared through the dark, empty park. The crowds that frequented the lush commons had all since gone home, leaving the two boys in relative peace. Exactly the reason why Ernest had dragged Harvey all the way out here at late o’clock.

        “So… this has been going on since like 8^th grade?” was all that the other boy managed to croak, the humid summer air seeming to choke his voice.

        Ernest nodded slowly, biting his lip.

        “I just wanted to be with—to be honest with you… because we are best friends, after all. You put up with all my crap and you’re a great guy and—”

Harvey turned around, his back towards his friend. Ernest continued to talk, getting progressively quieter—because really, it was the only way he’d learned to cope with heavy situations. But as he kept babbling, his heart sank lower and lower. Some type of reaction was always better than no reaction.

        “A-A-And so thank you for being such a good friend and putting up with pranks and creepy ROFLpets and motorcycles and my weird tastes and—”

        “Shut up, Ernest.”

        Ernest stopped talking and looked up as Harvey whirled around, his friend’s face twisted by hurt and anger. Betrayal, dare he say.

        “I thought we were best friends, Ernest. Best friends are supposed to always be honest with each other. They’re always supposed to support each other. And I think I did all of that for you—no, I know I did all of that for you. And what do I get in return? I sure didn’t get a best friend. I got a jerk, a liar! You lied to me, Ernest! For six whole years!”

        Ernest was pretty sure that he had stopped breathing at that point. He knew that once he’d told Harvey his secret his best friend wouldn’t handle it well. But there was no way he could’ve prepared himself for this, for his best friend blowing up in his face. So, of course, natural defenses kicked in—Scream back. Louder.

        “I didn’t lie to you!” he thundered, his voice making the tree branches shiver overhead. “I knew that you wouldn’t have wanted to know this—it hurt me more to keep it to myself! I haven’t told anyone about this and I thought that you, out of all people, would have taken it better than everyone else! You were my best friend after all!”

        Harvey seemed taken aback for a moment before he opened his mouth again, venom flying.

        “I was your best friend, Ernest. And I’m not sure I can do it anymore.”

        The last words stung like acid and left Ernest speechless. Harvey spun around and stalked out of the park. Ernest couldn’t call after him, couldn’t yell an apology—he couldn’t do anything but watch Harvey’s departing shadow as the night continued to strangle his attempted replies. He exhaled slowly, messing with his hair as if it would help solve the problem.

* * * * *

        “No further questions, your honor,” Harvey said, returning coolly to his seat. He flashed Ernest a rather ambiguous look before he resumed leafing carefully through his notes.

        “Counselor Li, would you like to begin your cross-examination?”

        Ernest pulled himself to his feet.

        “Ms. Lang, what do you know about the defendant?”

        The fragile-looking Asian woman glanced nervously from Ernest to the man sitting next to him.

        “He… he’s my brother-in-law. I-I knew that he had bad financial habits, um… but I didn’t know that he’d do this to his own sister.”

        Ernest nodded, pretending to understand.

        “What did you know about the monetary situation?”

        “I—I knew that Devon wasn’t very well off and… um… I also knew that he could wheedle anything out of his sister—including bank information for loans.”

        Ernest sighed. There was no denying it—he was fighting a losing battle. He ran a hand through his hair.

        “No further questions, your honor.”

        He returned to his seat, exhaling again. As he poured himself some water, he snuck at glance at Harvey. His opponent was lazily scribbling something on his notepad, a small smile whispering across his lips. As he clicked his pen shut, his fingers absently fondled the mint-colored tie that was around his neck. Ernest snapped his gaze back to his own table, trying to focus on his own fingers, his own notes, just anything that wasn’t the memories that the tie dredged back up.

* * * * *

        “So the person I have is really laid back, really cool, and is also my best friend,” Ernest announced with something between a smirk and a giggle. The rest of the teenagers in the room sighed.

        “Earnestly Ernest Li, we all know that you got Harvey for the gift exchange, can you just give him the stupid present and get it over with?” Bartholomew groaned, draping his hands over his eyes. “I just want it to be my turn so I can give Juno her present!”

        His girlfriend slapped his arm.

        “It’s supposed to be a secret, dummy!” she reprimanded him, somewhere between a squeal and a shout.

        Ernest boldly strode across the spacious living room to face Harvey, offering him the small carefully wrapped package. He watched as his friend opened it, blushing slightly as the wrapping revealed a mint green tie with faint diagonal vanilla and chocolate stripes.

        “Whoa, who knew you had such an awesome taste in ties, dude? Thanks.”

        He offered a fist, to which Ernest promptly replied with a knuckle-bump.

        “’Welcome. Hope you wear it for… important occasions that need ties. Ick.” The shorter boy playfully stuck out his tongue, plopping down next to his friend. As everyone else’s attention shifted towards Juno opening her own present, Ernest leaned his head on Harvey’s shoulder. He smiled contentedly as he felt his friend’s cheek rest softly on his head. It was a good thing that Waverly couldn’t make it—she’d be a bit pissed at him for getting so cozy with her boyfriend. But it was moments like this one that Ernest wanted to never forget.

        “Harv?” he yawned, stretching.

        “Yeah Ernest?”

        “Merry Christmas.”

        “Merry Christmas to you too.”

* * * * *

        “Counselor Li, would you like to begin your cross-examination?”

        Ernest stood up for what seemed like the millionth time, tiredly facing the witness on the stand. The case had been going on for what seemed like an eternity, and his exhaustion was definitely not doing any wonders for his mental processes. He could feel his client’s eyes boring into his back, pleading for him to work his “lawyer magic” and prove him not guilty. He swallowed drily.

        “So, Jerry,” he started, addressing the elderly man. “You are the defendant’s father?”

        “That’s correct,” the witness stammered, shaking.

        “And you were also your daughter’s financial advisor.”

        “Yes.”

        “Did you notice anything strange happening at all?”

        “Well… not to my immediate knowledge… I think…”

        Ernest exhaled heavily. This was going to be a long process. Trying to wring the exact information from wishy-washy witnesses was never fun.

        “You never consulted with your daughter about these seemingly large purchases?”

        The old man shook his head.

        “N-no, I thought that she was—”

        An idea flitted across Ernest’s mind.

        That’s crazy, he thought, but there’s no way that I’m gonna know if I never ask.

        “So maybe you were behind this whole thing, encouraging your son to steal from his sister.”

        The quivering old man paled.

        “No, no, I’d never do that, I swear—”

        “Why else wouldn’t you have consulted your daughter about the money?”

        “You see, there’s an—”

        “And why else would you have kept your daughter in the dark?”

        “I didn’t, I promise, I—”

        Suddenly, the old man wasn’t Jerry anymore—it was Harvey sitting there on the witness bench. The Harvey from June of senior year, the Harvey that had been his best friend. It was Harvey in the park, and now everything resembling the courtroom was gone. They were back in the park, Harvey was about to walk away out of Ernest’s life. But this time, Ernest found his emotions, powering the words that steamrolled themselves from his lips.

        “And why would you have encouraged your son to steal?”

        “But I didn’t—”

        “So really, you planned to have your daughter sue him so that the money would all go back to you!”

        Ernest was yelling by now, far from the railroad tracks of reason, his voice reverberating off the ceiling of the court chamber.

        “So in reality, Devon’s not guilty, you are!”

        The frail man trembled fiercely for a second, opening and closing his mouth like a fish gasping for air.

        “Objection!” Harvey growled, rising. “Leading and badgering the witness, your honor.”

        The judge furrowed her brow, pounding her gavel.

        “Objection sustained. Counselor Li, please calm down! There is no need to yell at the witness. I’ve had enough of your irrational behavior. Now, we all could use a lunch break. This court is now in recess.”

        She hammered her gavel, and the courtroom slowly emptied.

“Mr. Li, please use your break to cool down. If you do not, I will not allow you back inside this room,” the judge hissed, descending the stairs and heading for the door, the tails of her robe fluttering angrily behind her. Harvey gave him a fleeting glance as he exited the courtroom. Soon, everything was silent and Ernest was alone. He’d messed up again.

        The lunch hour found Ernest at the playground of the nearby elementary school. There had been no school that day, so the play structures were all deathly silent. He smiled a bit as he remembered all of his happy memories with Harvey here. Climbing the jungle gym, jumping off the swings, tricks on the monkey bars, just fooling around… But this was also the last place he had talked with Harvey ever before they parted ways after high school. He shook his head sadly before sloughing through the bark chips to the newly replaced swings.

* * * * *

        The stars twinkled joyfully overhead, extremely out of place as tension filled the air of the playground. Ernest shuffled through the bark chips over to the swing set, plopping down on one of the old, rusty swings. Harvey followed but didn’t sit. He crossed his arms.

        “So why did you call me out here? I thought I already told you I didn’t want to talk to you.”

        Ernest bit his lip.

        “Har—Harvey… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you. I—I… I didn’t know that my lack of honesty hurt you that much… I thought that you would be the one to talk to about… about that because you were my best friend…”

        There was a frustrated silence as Ernest continued to search for words to say. He began to gesture with his hands, but when that didn’t bring words either, he stopped trying altogether. Finally, Harvey spoke, his voice faltering.

        “Look, Ernest. That’s… that’s fine. I—I guess I accept your apology… But I think it might take me awhile to get used to this… this new part of our friendship. And I’m sorry I blew up at you.”

        With that, he stood up and slowly slinked out of the playground.

Ernest had sat alone at graduation.

* * * * *

        “Hey.”

        Ernest jumped a bit, looking up at the voice.

        “Hello, Counselor Chang.”

        Harvey stopped in surprise before continuing.

“Can… can I join you?”

        Ernest shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear indifferent.

“Sure.”

       The taller man sat down on the swing, managing to fold himself up to fit on the low, tiny seat.

        “So… how’ve you been?”

        Ernest shrugged again.

        “Okay, I guess.” A silence, and then he continued. “I see you got married? You still with Waverly?”

        Harvey nodded, fiddling with the ring on his finger.

        “How… How ‘bout you?”

        Ernest forced a laugh in response to Harvey’s awkward question.

        “Met this girl in college who was just stunning… and I decided I’d marry her.”

        “Oh.”

        The two sat in silence, small talk already exhausted. Ernest fidgeted, digging the square toes of his black oxfords into the bark chips. He was about to stand up to leave when Harvey stopped him, holding out a hand.

        “Wait, Ernest.”

        “Yeah?”

        “I… just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what went down at the end of senior year. I really shouldn’t have got angry at you… And I missed talking to you.”

        Ernest’s jaw nearly dropped.

        Harvey was sorry? he thought, his mouth agape.

        “Waverly nearly broke up with me when I told her what had happened,” Harvey continued obliviously, chuckling a bit. “She was so angry at me for acting so much like a little kid!” He paused, his voice dropping to almost a gravelly whisper. “But there’s one thing that kept bothering me…” He paused again, looking first at Ernest and then wistfully back out at the playground. “Why didn’t you talk to me after I apologized to you? I said that everything was okay and that I’d just try and get used to it.”

        Ernest stared at his shoes, gulping. He surprised himself when he started talking. Very slowly of course, but talking nonetheless.

        “Well… I just thought that it’d be better if we had a little distance. After all, you did say that you’d need time to get used to it. And, plus, I figured that if you really cared about our friendship enough you would’ve talked to me. Or at least tried.”

        He stood, stretching. Harvey looked something between thoughtful and alarmed.

        “…But you shouldn’t have done that with just like a month left of senior year. There was no guarantee that we’d ever see each other again!”

        The shorter man huffed angrily.

        “What, so now you’re gonna tell me what I should’ve done in addition to trampling me in court?”

        His friend scoffed, standing up to face him.

        “Yeah, I’m telling you what you should’ve done since you could never do anything right! And your work with this case has pretty much shown that!”

        Harvey’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes betraying the guilt he felt.

        “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—”

        Ernest held up his hands in resignation.

        “No, Harvey, it’s okay. I know I suck. So I’ll just get going now and get my loser-ness out of your presence.”

        As he turned around to walk away, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulder.

        “No, Ernest, wait.”

        He stopped slightly, trying to shrug off Harvey’s hand.

        “Please.”

        Ernest turned around, shocked at just how hurt his ex-friend sounded.

        “What?”

        Harvey stared down at the ground.

        “I’m sorry, I really mean it. I really wish that I could go back to that night and change everything that I did. I was a jerk and a liar—I was the worst best friend you ever had. I really miss you a lot and I hope that we can be friends again. But that… that part’s really up to you.”

        Ernest frowned, but not enough to stop the corners of his lips from perking up.

        “I don’t know, Harvey,” he started, holding up his hands again. “’Cuz you’ve really been a jerk this entire time…”

        Harvey looked hurt again, but then realized the Ernest Li signature sarcasm dripping from his friend’s words. He punched him playfully on the shoulder, a smirk forming on his lips.

        “Not as big of a jerk as you, though! C’mere, I missed you!”

        Ernest found himself pulled into a rough embrace. He flinched a bit, giving Harvey a hesitantly friendly clap on the back.

        “I missed you too…” he mumbled quietly as he pulled back in disbelief. Is everything really okay? Are things really just better like that?

        There was another silence before his stomach noisily protested its neglect.

        “Man, we just were having a moment and your stomach had to go and ruin everything!” Harvey joked, laughing. “You wanna go get lunch?”

        Before Ernest could answer, his cell phone chirped loudly, interrupting him. He made an apologetic face as he picked up.

        “Hello, this is Ernest Li.”

        “Ernest, get yourself back here, recess is over,” his partner snapped.

        He looked at his watch confusedly as he clicked his phone shut.

        “Looks like we spent all lunch talking. So… we can get dinner. My treat. We have a lot of catching up to do… and stuff about us to talk about.”

        Harvey blinked confusedly, but nodded nonetheless.

        “Okay, sounds good to me! Race you back to the courthouse,” he challenged, waggling his eyebrows.

        Ernest rolled his eyes but started running, laughing as Harvey followed quickly after. Recess always seemed to be the best part of the day.