Day 194 - Upside Down- Chapter 31 - (2010 words)

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UPSIDE DOWN, BACK TO FRONT

By Wayne Webb

CHAPTER 31

After

Alison folded up the newspaper, a picture of James Hansen stared out at her from the front page. She had followed the case with some interest when she heard the names of the people involved. Sam and her had gone out together for about 6 or 7 months before it ended.
Before she ended it.
Now it seemed she could not escape him at all.
She had ended it for two reasons, or at least that was what she had said at the time. Firstly his sister did not approve of her. The race card, she never would have thought that she would be the subject of racial discrimination because she was white. It was an odd thing for her. Now though he was everywhere, trying desperately not to be seen but in the background, because she knew him – he stood out.
She remembered James, but only just as that guy that Sam would hang out with. She never got too close to his friends or family apart from the cold reception she was told awaited her from his sister. When they did actually meet though, it was cold but nor agressively so. It felt nice but unimporant, like meeting a visitor from overseas. Fun for a while, but you know they’re going back soon and you can be as full of the moment as you like, a moment is all it is after all.
She put the newspaper on the passenger seat and turned on the radio, just catching a news article about the very thing she wished to avoid.
“And in what media commentators are now calling the turning of the tide, public opinion is firmly in the Hansen camp with few people now siding with the ministry’s position on this case. The Prime Minister refused to field questions on his personal views on the Hansen case only saying that the Minister had his full confidence. An interesting and telling departure for the Prime Minister as his comments to date have been that the legal system needed to be followed and that justice as chosen by the jury was the best outcome of that system.”
Great, he’s just everywhere. Is there nothing else happening in the world today? Try as she might, she had to keep listening though. What would she feel if Sam’s name came up?
“Earlier this week the Minister now infamously tried to influence public opinion in his nature by bringing up the sealed files of James Hansen’s conviction as a teen. We can’t repeat the details of that here as the minister had the advantage of parliamentary privilege when dislcosing information and as the opposition claims in a clear case of abuse of his position. This has of course created a storm of controversy around the case, a poorly judged gambit by the minister who assumed that exposing the background of a carreer criminal would aid their position. Instead as details were forwarded around emails and the blogosphere the opposite happened. A picture began to emerge of a youg man, pressured into crime and making mistakes, getting caught and taking his punishment. Commentators have drawn parallels between the bullying of his youthful, but criminal associates with the actions of the Minister himself, adding more pressure to him for the release of Mr Hansen and the request to drop all charges. Earlier today we spoke to Glenn Chambers about this latest black eye to the governments case.”
A pre recorded interview with Glenn Chambers was presented and his voice, while reasonable occasionally veered towards gleeful at this latest embarassment.
“This is just more grist for the mill. The innocent are abused by the powerful and the real criminals are not charged. A minister clearly abusing his position to try and bully and shame a child, let’s not forget James was only 17 when this happened, and trying to influence public opinion, which he is clearly out of step with. There is a clear case of public interest in dropping the charges, this is plain and simple self defense and the whole country is behind him.”
The interviewer intercedes. “The whole country? Surely that’s overstating your case somewhat?”
“Is it though? By your own polling close to 90% of the country want James released, and even if we took the most conservative of polls, that still puts him above 75% approval rating, 75% minimum want justice to be done. Now I cannot claim 100%, that’s because not everyone always agrees. What does it take to run a country? Barely 50% of the vote, even with MMP. What would you call a party voted in with 75% of the vote?”
“That would be impressive, unprecedented even.”
“Exactly, a landslide and a clear majority. If the Prime Minister had that kind of support for his own party in a general election then he’d be claiming a mandate for change. Well you know what he has a mandate for change, a change to the unfair law and the bullying minister acting like a child not getting what he wants.”
“It seems that you are not the only one saying this these days.”
“Exactly. You are hearing it from everyone and even his own leader is changing his tune, the writing is on the wall for the Minister and he just seems to be entrenching himself in there.”
“So what’s next for Family Focussed Sentencing and James Hansen?”
“Well, that’s a good question but what we really should be saying is ‘it’s your move Minister, the ball is in your court’”
Alison switched he radio to a music station but did not start the car, she sat there wondering how Sam was doing. She had heard that his sister had gone to India to live with relatives, that made a lot of sense. Did it make any difference?
Maybe it did, maybe it just postponed the problems.

Before

Sam sat down, a beer in his hand.
James was grinning ear to ear at him and was all excited by the plan.
“Is this crazy?” James thought it was, but was also thinking that a little crazy was not a bad thing.
“Yes.”
“But doable right?”
“Well yes, but it just seems like it’s happening too fast.”
“Right. And what do we really know about this guy? He’s only YOUR BROTHER IN LAW!”
“I barely know him.”
James was on the hard sell. He’d had enough of work, of hard choices around money, never having enough and enough of his boss. Imagine what it would be like to let it all go and start afresh somewere else.
Maybe they could buy new indentities after this and start again?
Not that it made any sense, Sam has his sister and his new girlfriend and of course Ivan had a business to run and his name was right there above the garage door. Still it was a crazy idea and it smelled of freedom and choice.
“I don’t trust him.”
“He’s your brother in law right? And your sister trusts him right? So he must be all right, right?”
“That does not mean he’s ok. She loves him, that’s not the same as knowing him and trusting him.”
“Yes, actually it does.”
That was a good point. He would have to know, trust and love Alison if they were going to pull this off. She see right through him and know, she would know.
Shit.
“Timing sucks.”
His friend misunderstood his meaning.
“No, the timing could not be better. We KNOW the truck is a fire risk. We KNOW that we are going to lose our jobs, maybe. We KNOW that your brother in law can deliver. We KNOW that no one is going to get hurt. We KNOW we can do it without getting caught.”
“Yes, but.” He’d have to give up a lot to do this. Alison, would she be into it or not? Probably not, I mean who would be? He’d have to lie to his sister, but for her own good of course. And it would be good for her as well as him. Well what was good for him was good for her.
“If you don’t want to do it man, that’s cool. You want to play it safe. I get that. Life can get messy and I know that man, but come on? Please? You have choices. You know they’ll come looking for you when those contracts go. Are they going to hire me though? With my record?”
“Greg did.”
“Because he’s cheap and cuts corners and can treat me like shit, because he knows I’m not going anywhere. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of everyone else calling the shots on my life. I want control, even if only for a restart. I may never be a leader or hugely successful, but with a good solid start, something to get me past my past? It’s worth it to me. Come on?”
“We’d have to be careful.”
“That’s the spirit, yeah!” James was elated, he honestly didn’t know if this would work or not. It didn’t matter as much as having something to look forward to doing. It felt like there was a light, at the end of a tunnel. A tunnel he didn’t realise he was in until he was shown the exit.
Greg, his past and the shitty choices he had today hemmed in on him like a canyon, but he could see the sky.
“Look, I never said we’re going to go through with this.”
“Yes, you did. You may not have said the words dude, but you’re in. I know you are.”
“Fuck me.”
“I’d rather not, thanks. Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
“No, not really.”
“Oh shit man, what happened? Did you fuck it up?” This was news to James, things had sounded like they were going well and Sam was as in to her as he had been to anyone he had been out with the last few years. That is to say he didn’t instantly dismiss the thought of a relationship with her.
“No, it’s Manisha.” It was convenient to blame her for the break up. It was not like it hadn’t occurred to him that the race was a problem. Not for them of course, but he had seen the way that some guys looked at him. They looked like trouble. Waiting to happen. Brown girl, white guy? She is probably a slut or a social climber. White girl, brown guy? What the fuck is that about? He had seen those looks. Rapist, manipulator or Svengali. Though the thought that they would even know that word amused the hell out of him.
Easy, pre made application for the end of a relationship. The interracial relationship, that just never works does it, and my family they want a nice brown girl for me. Not just brown, it’s not about skin colour, but Indian too. It’s a cultural thing, and Manisha she promised my parents.
I have responsibilities and expectations.
Mixed marriages were doomed.
Sam really liked Alison, she was funny and smart. Quirky, attractive and challenging. It was early enough to end it without hurting her too much, or himself. He could not do this to her though, bring her into a mixed relationship.
Could she ever have seen herself really in the future in a relationship with a criminal?
Criminal?
Is that how I see myself now?
Sam was flumoxed. In the space of five minutes he had gone from mistrusting his brother in law to dumping his girlfriend and branding himself for a life of guilt. None of this was set in stone, none of this had happened, none of this was agreed yet was it?
Was it?
He looked at the beaming of his closest friend and realised it was.
What would he do for his family?
Anything it seemed.