Traffic Court Etiquette

So for those of you following along in the mini-drama that is my life, today was my traffic court date- 85mph in a 70mph zone, probably not the best idea, but not the end of the world really. The ticket was $128, and the cop told me that if I went to my courtdate, I would only have to pay $79. I wanted to ask why $79 and not $80, but then I realized that I just didn't care.

So I get there today, a tad overdressed for the occasion of standing in line amongst frequent speed offenders in jeans and ripped shirts, only to find that my "court appearance" consists of me standing in line and paying the court clerk. When I get to the window, the clerk mumbles through the window "Do you want any help with the ticket?" So I'm thinking, help with what? Help with reading it? Help with understanding my rights? So I feel the anxiety starting to creep up on me. I know that I'm being judged by the frequent speeder camped out next to the door who has been smirking at all the other "dumb" questions and for some reason I really wanted seem smart and fit in. The lady behind me was kind enough to inform me that the clerk was speaking code for "Do you want me to lower your ticket." Well yeah I want you to lower my ticket! You think I drove to the middle of Aiken, South Carolina in order to pay the full amount when I could have just mailed it in?!?!

So the question is, had I not figured out the code, would the clerk have gone ahead and charged me $128 if I had said no to her help? Who knows....but let me say, the next time your speeding gets you a ticket in Aiken, give me a call cause I know how it's done down there...