Chapter 208 - 11 How Nowicki For The First Time Broke The Law

Andrzej Nowicki was one of the best students of the high school he attended. Maybe it was not the best school in town, but it was closer to the top of the ranking list than to the end, although it was rather in the middle.

Nowicki was intelligent, talented and hardworking, and most of all he was very polite and law-abiding, so he had the reputation of being a top student, which was not a compliment at all. Nobody likes nerds.

But Andrzej was not a nerd. Although he had many of his traits, Andrzej Nowicki was cool and many people sought his friendship. So he had a large circle of admirers of both sexes.

Nowicki was not always the first to answer, making it impossible for others to speak, but he often reported when no one else wanted to. He was saving his friends in the process, and that was one of the main reasons why he was so cool. The second, which was surprising, was his rule of law. Andrzej was not a scammer or informer, but when he learned that someone was being injustice, for example someone was being tormented, he took matters into his own hands. Nowicki's hands were fast and strong and could leave a nice bruise under someone's eye, or cut someone's lip beautifully.

After all, Andrzej Nowicki came from Praga, a district of Warsaw famous for its perky peasants.

Nobody ever caught Nowicki lying because he just wasn't lying. He abhorred lying and believed that it was better to pay immediately for a mistake than seek help by telling the lie and then be afraid that the lie would come out and the consequences would be more unpleasant.

But the school that Andrzej attended had its delinquents. He had them in his class too. One of them was a boy who later became known as Bambus.

Bambus wasn't a bad boy, but his environment didn't quite enable him to be good. Not every child is lucky to grow up in a loving family where nothing is missing. Bambus was not so lucky and Andrzej knew it. He also knew that the money that his friend often obtained illegally was not spent by him on entertainment or designer clothes, but on ordinary everyday items, as usual, cheap sneakers for his younger sister.

Nowicki simply knew that people are not bad and that their circumstances induce them to commit bad deeds.

One day, Bambus came to him with a huge request. He almost begged Andrzej to give him an alibi. Yes, Bambus was involved in this break-in, but it really wasn't what the shopkeeper claims. If Nowicki, whom everyone knows is not lying, gives him an alibi, the court will surely believe him. Bambus cannot go to jail for such stupidity, because... well, because...

Andrzej looked at his friend's sneakers, so old that they were already tearing at the heel when they joined the sole. Bambus didn't put them on especially for the occasion. He used to wear them every day.

Breaking the law, stealing, was wrong. But it was just as bad to put teenager in a position where he had to do it in order to survive. His colleague was not evil. This was the system. Nowicki hesitated, hesitated very much. He has fallen into a moral conflict, should he keep the law to the end and refuse to give him an alibi to make his friend go to prison, or lie in his defense and oppose his strong ideals?

***

"You helped him, didn't you?" Dominik smiled. "You decided to save a man, believing that he himself, frightened by the situation he found himself in, would decide to live a better life and not commit crimes."

"How..." Nowicki was surprised. "How could you have guessed it so well?"

"Oh, Andrzej, precisely because you are so law-abiding!" Śliwiński announced. "You saw in your teenage head that it was a system imperfection that forced someone to break the law. The system, the law, did not defend the citizen. You are not an ideological warrior who will overthrow the system or fight on its side, but you are someone who cannot pass blindly, deaf and mute when he sees someone's suffering. That's why you saved me!"

Nowicki blushed and cleared his throat. Śliwiński's words embarrassed him, but gave him pleasure.

"I don't think I would have thought in those criteria then, with you," replied Andrzej, intimidated. "I acted rather..."

"Instinctively?" Dominik finished and his lips formed into his most beautiful, natural, most sincere smile. "The more you are admirable. You instinctively wanted to save your friend too. Maybe he wasn't the kindest of the boys, but he was someone you knew who belonged to your life."

"But so far I wonder if I did the right thing. I lied for him in court. I have committed a perjury. Meanwhile, he is still on the side that breaks the law."

"But he probably isn't some ruthless gangster because I would hear something about him on TV," the young actor noted.

"True, he isn't. Originally, all gangs and mafias were created to protect local entrepreneurs in difficult times, such as war or economic crisis. Only later did they turn into something that was used to earn money quickly by a certain violent group. Bambus is a guy who follows the old rules."

"Hmm, maybe that's what's happening," thought Dominik, "because your friend did not end up in a reformatory or in prison? Maybe if he got there and at such a young age he had to fight for survival in the penal system, not only would he not be socially rehabilitated, but he would learn the worst? Seeing how he always treats you well, maybe he thinks he's got an opportunity because of you and therefore thinks he owes something to society and isn't a bad gangster."

"You speak like him" Nowicki shook his head. "But the truth is, he is a criminal breaking the law, and I contributed to the fact that he was not punished. Perhaps, if he had been sentenced then, perhaps now he would have lived as an ordinary citizen who respects the law..."

"In life, we often make difficult choices that affect our future and sometimes even the future of other people," Śliwiński said gently. "Contrary to what you may think, I believe you have followed your conscience and your personality and did the right thing. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I'm glad I got to know a bit of your past."

"I'm glad that you are happy," Andrzej smiled, really happy that the clouds in Dominik's eyes had completely disappeared and his aquamarine suns were shining brightly. "But I don't know if I helped in your case. Maybe I was just confusing..."

"No, you helped me a lot. I decided to talk to Marek before making any decisions. I know that he himself will not report to the police, he will not plead guilty, but before I help the criminal system, I want to make sure that Marek really did commit a crime. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise…?"

"This whole situation is with people like me, young actors and actresses who have been under Marek's dubious care, so I want to talk to them as well. I want to know if Marek is really forcing them to do something."

"Do you think they'll tell you?" Nowicki was concerned. "You are not their friend and now you don't even belong to their agency."

"That's why they can tell me. If they find out why I left..."

Andrzej felt his anxiety growing again.

"Do you really want to get involved in this so much?" He asked. "It can bring you unpleasant consequences."

"Andrzej, if you hadn't come into my life, if you hadn't been there to show me how ugly my relationship with Marek is and how blind I am, I would probably have really ended up badly. If there are people like me at the time in Marczak's agency, they will not see for themselves. They will need someone to open their eyes."

"But does it have to be you?" Nowicki was concerned. He had no idea how trivial it sounded at that moment. Little did he realize he was saying the same thing as hundreds of thousands of people who were worried about their loved ones, who were taking risks to help others.

"No, I don't have to," Śliwiński replied with a gentle but confident smile. "But I want."