Kat and Her Knowledge:

On the night before school began, I knocked on Kat�s bedroom door.

�Come in!� she called. I quietly opened the door. I peeked inside. Kat sat in her bed, reading the paper. She glanced up at me.

�Claudia,� she said. �Is something wrong?� I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

�I have something to ask you,� I mumbled. Kat lowered her newspaper.

�Alright,� she said. �What is it?�

�Why was Danny-boy found guilty?� I asked. Kat gave me a sympathetic smile.

�Come up here,� she said as she patted her bed. I walked over and climbed on. Kat looked at me for a moment before sighing.

�Now,� she said. �To begin with, the people do not agree with the verdict.� I tilted my head at her.

�They don�t?� I asked. Kat shook her head.

�Everyone knew that he was innocent,� she said. �Yet, there was� a little pressure.�

�What do you mean?� I asked.

�These are troubling times around us,� she explained. �You remember the book, 1984, that I had my class read last year?� I slowly nodded at her.

�Barely,� I said.

�Well,� she began. �In 1984, the government has taken away the rights of the people and �Big Brother� controls everything.�

�That�s horrible,� I said. Kat nodded at me.

�Yes, it is,� she said. �You can say that life is imitating art at this time.�

�So� why was Danny-boy found guilty?� I asked.

�People are afraid,� Kat said.

�Of the government?� I asked.

�Yes,� she said. �They don�t want to see what will happen if they defy it.� I slowly tried to understand what she was saying.

�So that�s why Danny-boy was found guilty?� I asked. Kat nodded.

�These weren�t monsters on the jury,� she said. �They were our neighbors.�

�And they did it out of fear?� I asked.

�Exactly,� Kat replied. �But, they didn�t foresee what would come next.�

�When they put him away?� I asked. Kat nodded at me.

�They thought he would get a slap on the wrist, because of his mental condition,� she said. �But, the judge wanted to make an example out of him. So, he ended up with life in prison.�

�All because they found him guilty out of fear?� I asked.

�Precisely,� Kat said. I looked down at my hands.

�So, Milo was right�� I mumbled. Kat looked over at me.

�Who?� she asked. I shook my head at her.

�So, what will happen to him now?� I asked. She took me into her arms.

�He�s in prison right now,� Kat explained. �But, Paul�s working appeal his sentence.�

�Will it work?� I asked.

�Baby, I don�t really know this time,� she admitted. I looked at her with big eyes. Her words alone didn�t trouble me, but it was how she said. She sounded like she was trying to hold back her worry and keep her grace in check so not worry me. I held onto her as tightly as I could.

�What�s going to happen to us?� I asked. Kat patted me on the head.

�I don�t really know,� she said. �We will have to see when this whole mess sorts itself out.� I looked her deep in the eye.

�Kat,� I whispered.

�Yes, Claudia?� she asked.

�Can I stay in your bed tonight?� I asked. Kat gave me a little smile.

�Of course, love,� she said. I rested my head against her chest. I think she held onto me for her own comfort and security that night. We may have slept peacefully moments later, but the morning brought more of a stressful reality for all three of us through a chain of changes in one day.