Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
(Art by spoon+fork.) A nice suit made me look sharp. More importantly, it gave me confidence. I’d never worn anything that gave me such a mental boost, apart from a protector cup. I got my hair trimmed like Chuck told me, and before we got into the courtroom he took out a comb and tried to run it over me. I flinched and grabbed his arm. “Don’t give me your dandruff, Chuck!” “Hey, it’s not my comb. I just bought it!” he said. “Anyway, you can do your own hair, Sean.” Chuck handed it over and I repaired myself. I got up on the stand and after they were done with the Bible, I got a good look at Mr. Aggarwal. He folded and unfolded his arms and shook his right leg. The lapels of his shirt were uneven and the tie knot was mushy. His eyes were downcast and only slightly open, like his mouth. Sometimes he would rub his ears. Mrs. Aggarwal wasn’t around. I had both feet on the ground and I placed my hands on my knees. I made the left and right fingers mirror each other in the same exact spot. Then I lied. I lied like a motherfucker. I had premonitions of what my testimony would be like. I knew I wouldn’t be nervous. I just pretended I was trying to get a girl to take a ride with me. It was Mr. Aggarwal I was unsure of. I had a vision of him lunging at me with a knife, or maybe the same wrench that he used to kill Howard. On TV they always kept the murder weapons on the evidence table, like they were daring the murderer to pick them up and fight their way out of the courtroom. But the wrench wasn’t there and because there wasn’t another camera angle to cut to, a sense of action was missing in the court. I would have been incredibly bored if I weren’t testifying. Mr. Aggarwal was completely still with his head down. He looked like a boy preparing to meet the principal, not a man facing the death sentence. We had a recess for lunch. Chuck took me across the street to a lunch counter with a cracked-linoleum floor. “Sean, you’re doing great!” he told me. “I think you missed your true calling. You’re a natural actor!” “Oh, yeah. So I’ve been told.” Chuck took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his tie. I leaned into him and said: “I’m one fuck of a liar, aren’t I?” He looked at me strangely and when he put on his glasses I saw menace in his eyes. “Don’t say that,” he said, his voice as faint as a lead pipe scraping against a wall in a back alley. “Don’t ever say that.” Chuck ordered a toasted plain bagel with nothing on it. I got the tuna salad sandwich and a coffee. I started with the chips first. “I’ve already got a...
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