American History 1988
Chapter 33 - 30: Within the Rules

Chapter 33: Chapter 30: Within the Rules

"Karen, is it okay for me to come in like this?" Dean gestured towards the towel wrapped around her body with his hand.

"Of course, you need to come in and see what’s going on, I’m freezing to death here," Karen said nonchalantly as she wiped her wet hair with a bath towel.

"Alright," Dean pushed the door and entered the bathroom, where the steamy mist made it difficult to spot the water heater.

"I remember checking on it just a couple of days ago, it should be working fine," Dean said as he turned the faucet, and the temperature seemed quite normal.

"Karen, the water heater is clearly..." Dean turned around and stopped mid-sentence.

Such big headlights, they were almost blinding him.

"Karen~" Dean’s voice trembled slightly.

"It’s okay, Dean, Becky and the others aren’t home," Karen said as she threw all her towels to the floor and slowly advanced towards him.

"But isn’t this a bit too sudden?" It all happened so fast, Dean couldn’t react in time.

"Come on! Dean, this is America, and you’re already eighteen, aren’t you?" Karen said as she slowly ran her finger along Dean’s collar.

"I always feel like something’s off..." Dean backed into a corner, dodging the subject.

"Shut up!" Karen grabbed him by his weak spot, "F*ck me, Now!"

...

An hour later.

"Dean, not bad fixing the water heater, I’m pretty satisfied~" Karen’s voice chimed from the bathroom like a songbird.

Yeah, you said the same thing in bed just now. Dean got dressed and grabbed a Coke from the fridge.

Damn, American cars are something else. Big, round headlights, silky steering wheel, you just can’t control the back when it sways; most importantly, they’re fuel-efficient.

"Karen, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back now," Dean said as he wiped the Coke from the corner of his mouth, ready to leave.

"Wait, Dean." Karen, freshly showered and wrapped in a towel, came out.

"Karen, you’re not going to tell me the water heater is broken again, are you?" Seeing her eager expression, Dean instinctively took a step back.

"No," Karen said with a secretive smile and then pulled out a 20-dollar bill from her wallet and handed it to him.

"What?" Dean felt insulted.

"That’s this month’s repair fee, as you know," the blonde Karen glanced at the bathroom, "It breaks often, and only you, Dean, can fix it right."

"20 dollars? For a month?"

"Mmm-hmm, there are still 20 days left in the month, one dollar a day," Karen said, elegantly sipping her coffee.

"I’m about to start school again..."

"Then how about I switch it for a 10-dollar bill?" Karen proposed without waiting for him to finish.

"Alright~" Dean shook the twenty dollars in his hand and then turned to leave 1319 Charlotte Street.

Actually, Dean was indifferent to these kinds of deals, it was free after all. As long as he buckled up, there was no harm in a free ride.

...

"Miss Lorraine, Judge Witt still too busy today?" Dean walked into the Youngstown court and casually greeted Lorraine, the bailiff on duty today.

"Still no good, Dean. You know, January is the busiest time for District 7 courts," Lorraine, who already recognized him, shook her head with a smile.

Well then, Dean shrugged, this was not unexpected. This was his third visit and he still hadn’t met the person he wanted to see.

"Oh right, Lorraine. This is a ’Polish Boy’ sandwich from Pearce Street, I happened to pass by there on my way here," Dean handed the item he was holding to the freckled-faced Lorraine.

"Oh~ Dean, you really are a sweet big guy," Lorraine joyfully accepted, her face lacking the sternness she had when reprimanding a black woman just moments ago.

If anyone was a regular here, they would be surprised to see the usually stern Lorraine showing such a lovely smile—it was damn abstract.

"Dean, let me give you a tip. Judge Witt has a lecture at Youngstown State University at three this afternoon, followed by tours of the library, dorms, and such. Whether you can seize the opportunity is up to you," Lorraine said, staring into Dean’s charming blue eyes and sharing an inside tip.

"Youngstown State University?" Dean’s eyebrows raised, intrigued by the news.

"That’s right," Lorraine paused and then tentatively added, "Dean, are you free tomorrow? I’m off duty..."

"Lorraine, I’ll thank you next time." The response she got was the sight of Dean dashing out the door and his voice fading with distance.

"Look at that sexy ass, it’s just irresistible~" Lorraine watched Dean’s retreating figure, lustfully licking her lips.

Once out of the courthouse, Dean headed straight for Youngstown University without stopping.

His buddy Roger was right there, maybe he could ask him for a way to approach Judge Witt.

Youngstown State University was also near downtown, and Dean got there in less than half an hour. The university didn’t have entrance gates, anyone could walk in freely, but there were campus police enforcing the law 24 hours a day along the roadsides.

After asking around, Dean finally found Roger working up a sweat on the basketball court.

"Dean, you’re coming to me just to hear that bullshit about the judge’s speech?" Roger was initially pleased with Dean’s visit, but upon hearing his purpose, he found it absurd.

A judge’s speech? Come on! Who the fuck cares? Youngstown State University didn’t even have a law department, yet Youngstown was becoming a city of crime.

"Roger, the judge’s speech is secondary. What’s important is that I want to meet her," Dean said, getting right to the point and sharing his plan with Roger.

"What? Dean, you want to collaborate with the courts to write a crime records query software?" Roger was dumbfounded, "Dean, if those who’ve been in jail knew about it, they’d kill you."

"It’s a case inquiry software, mainly to act as an office tool for legal staff. Of course, it can also provide some legal reference for people with similar experiences...well, okay~" Dean shrugged, "It might not be popular with people who have criminal records, but who the fuck cares?"

Dean wasn’t that saintly; he didn’t give a damn about privacy or human rights. As long as the federal government allowed it, what was wrong with using the rules to get some benefits for himself? This was fucking America!

"Roger, is Judge Witt’s speech today very popular?"

"That’s impossible. They’d rather have a snowball fight outside than sit in a warm classroom listening to a legal speech that puts you to sleep," Roger firmly denied.

"Then it’s easy," Dean snapped his fingers, "Later you take me to the auditorium where the speech is happening. By the way, does your library have computers?"

"Mother F*ck, my gut tells me you’re up to no good again, Dean," Roger felt Dean was showing signs of turning from a nerd into a bad boy.

"Relax, I absolutely won’t play adult videos on the library’s computers." Dean gave Roger a reassurance pill.

...

"In recent years, Youngstown has faced severe security challenges. We must step up efforts to promote legal knowledge among citizens..."

The vast campus auditorium could accommodate hundreds or even thousands of people, but at the moment, there were only a few dozen students sitting in front of Judge Sheryl Witt.

And those few students were scattered sparsely in the middle and back rows. Meanwhile, in the very center of the front row sat two listeners who were all ears.

"Dean, what the fuck kind of legal speech is this? It’s really boring as hell," Roger complained softly while maintaining his posture.

"Indeed," Dean nodded in agreement.

"Then why did you..."

"Judge Witt, do you think the public should be informed about any and all types of cases occurring within the state?" As the speech neared its end, Dean actively raised his hand to ask a question.

"Of course!" Judge Witt perked up, thrilled that a student was actually listening to her speech.

"As we all know, the case information rooms in all Ohio courts are regularly open to the public, and I am a firm believer in transparency of information."

"Other than the court’s case information room, is there any other place where the public can access these files? You know, some people live far away, or it’s not convenient for them to get out; they can’t always get into the court’s file room."

"Uh," Judge Witt paused for a moment before explaining, "We are also fighting for more budget to promote this policy and will have more legal awareness programs broadcast on state television in the future. Overall, providing as much legal information to the public as possible has always been our goal."

"I’m glad to see you’re working hard for this cause," Dean said, choosing not to ask any more pointed questions.

Thanks to Dean’s interaction, Judge Witt’s performance at Youngstown State University didn’t end up as a cold show.

Then, after leaving the auditorium, while Judge Witt was talking to the school office staff, Dean and Roger rushed to the library again.

They needed everything ready before Judge Witt arrived.

"Roger, is everything set at the library?"

"Of course," Roger said with a triumphant smile.

"How did you convince the librarian to give up the spot for us? Isn’t he afraid of the school coming after him later?"

"I’ve got the bastard’s nude photos of him hitting on female students! If he dares to refuse me, tomorrow his pale ass will appear in every corner of the campus," Roger whispered, taking out his trump card from inside his coat.

"WTF? Where did you get these?" Dean was shocked, clearly seeing from the photos that there were more than one person present.

"That guy was so high at the time, he didn’t know what he was doing, and the others were too."

"So you were there at the scene too, Roger?" Dean spotted the loophole.

"F*ck you, Dean! I’m fucking helping you here!" Roger became angrily embarrassed, "And I didn’t get high; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anyone to take pictures."

"Well done, Roger! Take more in the future, I’ll open a special section for you on Price’s List."

"Dean, knowing you is the Waterloo of my life!"

Dean responded with a tiny middle finger.

The library was already in sight, and now it was his turn to perform.