"Excuse us," he said, gritting his teeth and glaring at me. Alicia and I were both confused, but not for long. Turning to her, he said, "Get lost, would you?" To my dismay, she jumped from her chair and fled. I began to wonder seriously whether she was a friend or not. First, her disastrous advice about playing the field, and now she deserts me while I'm in dire need of backup. Already, though, I was facing Justin with the knowledge that I was on my own here, and determined to take a stand, whatever he was mad about.
"You've managed to become quite the little celebrity, Ms. Nielsen. Was that your intention all along?" he spat. Because I had no idea what he was talking about, I kept silent while he continued to berate me. "When you set your little trap for me, I didn't know that you would deliberately take advantage and spread it all over the school. I've got an appointment with the dean tomorrow, and let me tell you, if any of this negatively affects my career, you'll be sorry."
Astonishment, chagrin and indignation chased each other around my insides and dissipated, leaving white-hot fury. "Me? My little trap?" I hissed, "As I recall, Mackey, you were the aggressor. I don't know what you think I've done, other than go along with your seduction schemes, but threaten me again and I'll have something to say not only to the dean, but also to legal counsel."
It was his turn to sit back in shock, staring at me as if I'd grown two heads. "It's all over the school that you and I spent the night in Park City last week. If not by your gossiping, how would anyone know that?"
"That's on you, asshole. I wouldn't have been there if you hadn't deliberately taken me there knowing there was a likelihood we'd be trapped. We were seen coming out of the room by some other students. Maybe you should have reconnoitered before charging out of there like a mad bull."
"And what's this I hear about you having a kid? Because I don't get involved with women who have children. You lied to me."
Furious, I was about to hit him with another angry retort when I noticed that we'd attracted a crowd, and that a familiar, tall figure was making his way through it. I'd barely registered that Drew was coming before he was there, yanking Justin out of his chair like a rag doll with one hand, and poised to throw a punch with the other. Justin yelped and cowered, throwing both arms in front of his face in a defensive gesture. Drew made a noise of disgust and gave Justin a shake, then let him go. Justin fell back into the chair, but immediately leapt to his feet and took an aggressive stance close to Drew's chest.
"Someone call the campus police," he barked, while staring his challenge into Drew's eyes as if he hadn't already shown himself to be a physical coward. To Drew, he said, "Are you a student here? What's your name? I'm pressing assault charges." A nervous giggle from the crowd attracted Justin's attention and he turned toward it. "Is there something funny about this situation? Why are you all standing there? Go on; leave."
The giggler spoke up. "Dr. Mackey, that's Andrew Craig, star point guard of the Runnin' Utes. You press charges and there go our playoff hopes."
"I don't care about basketball, idiot," Justin snarled, earning another enemy.
Everything had happened so suddenly that I hadn't yet processed why Drew had come to my defense, but I snapped to attention at the mention of basketball. What might happen was a mystery to me, but I suspected that it wouldn't be good, not for the team and not for Drew. Faculty had power of academic life or death over us. If Justin followed through, what would happen to Drew's NBA hopes?
Just then, two campus cops rushed in and forced their way through the crowd to its center, where Justin, Drew and I all stood, tension still radiating from our bodies.
"Break it up. Anyone who didn't see what happened, take off. Get to your classes or whatever. The rest of you, sit down and we'll take your statements.”
It surprised me that almost half of the people in the crowd sat down. How long had they been there? What did they actually see, or hear? I hadn't been aware we had an audience until Drew's charge drew my attention.
Quickly determining that the three of us were at the center of the action, one of the officers politely asked us to accompany him to his office. The other radioed for assistance and began taking statements from the students who'd watched the whole thing unfold.
I didn't know it at the time, but Rihanna was one of them. Alicia had left the building after Justin chased her away from the table, so she had seen nothing. I got a text from her about an hour later, asking if I was okay, but by that time, I was having my interview with an officer.
Because Justin and Drew were in separate rooms, I didn't know what they were being asked, or what they were saying about the incident. Based on the way Justin was spinning our relationship during our argument, I couldn't trust that he'd tell the truth. I only hoped that experienced officers would be able to tell when he was lying. The officer who interrogated me simply asked me to tell her what happened.
"I was having lunch with my friend when Prof. Mackey showed up and told her to get lost. Then he sat down at my table uninvited and began accusing me of things," I said. "We argued for a minute, and then suddenly Drew was there to defend me. He pulled Mackey out of the chair and I think he was going to hit him, but Mackey acted scared, so Drew let him go, and then Mackey jumped up and said for someone to call you guys."
"Very succinct, Ms. Nielsen. Can you perhaps be a little more descriptive? What were you and Dr. Mackey arguing about?"
"That's personal. I mean, do I have to say? I'd rather not."
"I'm afraid it's relevant, young lady. I must insist."
I stalled, looking around the room for inspiration. Swallowing hard, I turned away from the officer's steady gaze and stared at the clock on the wall instead. She cleared her throat. "The sooner we finish this interview, the sooner you may leave, Ms. Nielsen. What were you arguing about?"
The truth, I decided, was the easiest. Not only might Justin be telling it, but also some of the witnesses might have heard the beginning. I swallowed again, and asked for a drink of water. Moments later, a bottle of water at hand, I answered. "Some rumors about me have surfaced," I said. "Among them that I'd slept with Mackey. He was upset about that."
"Because they were untrue?" she prompted.
"No, they were true. He was upset because people were talking about it."
"I see. Ms. Nielsen, are you aware it's against school policy for professors and students to have, er, intimate relations?"
"Someone told me it was a bad idea, but no, I didn't know it was against school policy. Am I in trouble?"
"Probably not as much trouble as he is," she said. "But, if you received a superior grade in his class, assuming you were taking a class from him at the time, there will be an investigation into your academic performance."
"It did start when I was taking his class, but I was already receiving top marks before he ever took notice of me."
"There'll still have to be an investigation. Let's talk about how this relationship occurred. Did you make advances towards professor Mackey, or was he the instigator?"
Bitterly, I reflected that he would certainly lie about this. However, I was not without blame. "I found him extremely attractive," I admitted. "But the only thing I ever did was try to dress like the other students that he seemed to notice. I contributed in class. At some point, he suggested we have coffee at the Student Union, and I agreed. One thing led to another. That was last semester."
"This altercation occurred because of events that took place last semester?"
"Not exactly. There was another incident recently, and we were seen at a Snowbird hotel. If there were rumors before, I never heard them. My roommate and I have had a falling out recently, and I learned today that she'd betrayed certain confidences. I think those rumors and the rumors started by the students who saw us at Snowbird somehow combined, and now it seems everyone's talking about me." I must have sounded very sorry for myself. A look that I interpreted as compassion crossed the officer’s face, and she seemed reluctant to ask the next question.
"Are th
ese confidences important to what caused the altercation today?" she asked. I thought it was a delicate way to ask.
"No, I don't think so, it’s about me, my background. I've decided to stop hiding it. It isn't shameful or illegal or anything. It's just that I have a three-year-old daughter from a too-early marriage. The circumstances surrounding that were unusual enough that I felt it in my best interests to keep it quiet. It had nothing to do with my relationship with Dr. Mackey."
"Thank you for your candor, Ms. Nielsen, I agree, that seems to be unrelated. Let's talk about why Mr. Craig felt it necessary to intervene in your argument."
"Seriously, I have no idea. I did date Drew for a while, but we broke up. I thought he hated me, so I don't know why he would come to my defense."
"That's an interesting way to put it," she said. "You believe he intended to defend you? From what?"
"Dr. Mackey was mischaracterizing our relationship and had threatened me with some unspecified consequences if his interview with the Dean went poorly for him."
"And this interview with the Dean had to do with his intimacy with you?"
"I believe so, yes."
"I think I have the picture now, Ms. Nielsen. Thank you for your cooperation. We'll be in touch if we need anything else."
I was exhausted and still starving because once again my lunch had been interrupted after only a few bites. Unsure whether my unsettled stomach would rebel if I tried to eat, and considering the Student Union the last place on earth I'd want to be, now, I went back to the dorm without eating. When I got there, one of the last few people I wanted to see was waiting for me. Rihanna had returned.
"I don't want to hear it, Rihanna," I said. If I thought it would forestall her expressing her opinion, I had never been more wrong.
"You've really fucked it up this time, whore."
"Listen, I've had just about enough of your abuse. None of this would ever have happened if you hadn't pushed me to date Drew. Besides, who decided to spread it all over campus about my background? You are just as much to blame for this as I am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."
I flopped into my bed, fully clothed, and prepared to pull the pillow over my head, my usual defense against Rihanna’s railings. She surprised me, though.
"You're right. Janey, I'm sorry I betrayed your confidence. I was so upset because Drew is beside himself, that I just wanted to hurt you the same way you hurt him. I shouldn't have done it."
"No, you shouldn't." For once, I had the upper hand and I didn't want to let it go without savoring the unfamiliar situation for a moment. In the end, both of us bore some responsibility for what might happen to Drew, and I figured she had a better idea of what that might be. I swallowed my pride and apologized.
"Ri, I've missed you. I've missed Drew, too. What I did to him was terrible, and I'm so afraid that today's thing is going to have serious consequences for him. Do you know what might happen?"
"I've heard that he might lose his scholarship, be kicked off the team or go to jail for assault," she said. "Maybe all three."
I clapped my hand over my mouth. This was worse than I had imagined. "Ri, he was only trying to defend me! They can't do that to him, can they?"
"All we can hope is that everyone who saw it tells how Mackey threatened you," she said.
"How did you know that?"
"I was there. Who do you think called Drew?"
"I don't know whether to hug you or punch you, you crazy bitch! What are we going to do about Drew?"
"I think our first move is to find out what's happening to him and to Mackey right now. Hey, are you hungry? I haven't eaten all day."
All I could do was laugh. "Yeah, I'm starved."
~~~
As worried as we were about Drew, we knew we'd need to eat before we could do anything substantial. I was dizzy, I didn't know whether from shock or low blood sugar, but eating might improve the situation. We went straight to The Pie, where we found some of Ri's peeps and a handful of Drew's teammates. The latter glared at both of us, but Ri took the bull by the horns, as usual.
"Listen up, everyone. We've screwed up, Janey and I both, and we need your help. Drew needs your help. Can someone find out whether Mackey has pressed charges? We need to know what the school is doing, too. After she and I get a bite to eat so we don't pass out, we're going to organize whatever protests we need to. We can't let Drew down."
His teammates were still inclined to glare at us and grumble, but her peeps rallied immediately. Several of them went to gather information, while the rest brainstormed with us what our response would be if Drew had been suspended from the team. That brought his teammates into the fold, their knowledge of team rules preventing us from making even more blunders.
Before long, the runners were back with news. Mackey's hearing with the Dean had been moved up, set for 8 a.m. tomorrow. Rumor had it that he might even be suspended without pay for inappropriate behavior with a student. Evidently, there had been numerous complaints before I ever met the man, and this incident was the final straw. I knew in my heart that he was not solely to blame for what happened between us, and if justice were served, he would only receive a reprimand for that.
I didn't necessarily want him to lose his job, and I was a little nervous about his threat to make me regret it if such a thing happened. By now, I knew he was unstable and had anger issues. Would he actually carry out a physical attack on me? Or, would he merely try to have me kicked out of school or wage psychological warfare? If the latter, I was sure Russ's influence could defend me, but I certainly didn't need a stalker on top of everything else.
The news about Drew was not the best, either. If Mackey decided to press charges, which he almost certainly would if he himself were to experience the most negative consequences, drew was likely to be suspended from the team, which would cause his scholarship to be withdrawn. Ri told me that if the scholarship went away, neither Drew nor his family would have the means to allow him to attend in his senior year and graduate. Furthermore, if he weren't on the team, there was little to no likelihood that NBA scouts would notice him. Neither of us could imagine a worse disaster for him.
Thanks to our brainstorming session, we knew what we were going to do about Drew. Even now, several students were shopping for poster board and markers that we would use to make signs for a protest rally if Drew were suspended from the team. Others, especially Ri and I, were preparing to meet with college officials and coaches to appeal any such decision. Ri and I intended to take full responsibility for what had happened. Drew's teammates held out little hope that it would make a difference, but we had to try.
We worked at the restaurant until it closed at around 10 p.m., and then a few students accompanied Ri and me back to our dorm, where we continued to make signs until midnight. By now, we had decided that we would also protest any decision to punish Mackey with the loss of his job. Ri, being more vindictive, was the lone naysayer. She argued that Mackey was dangerous and needed to be removed from campus, so that he would have no more opportunity to seduce coeds.
My response was what swayed the rest. The truth was, I was quite willing to be seduced and would have initiated it myself if I'd known how. It wasn't fair to punish him for that reason. However, he knew the school policy, and did deserve some sort of consequence, just not the loss of his job. For that reason, we also made a few signs saying, 'Willing coeds support Mackey.'
Our alarm went off far too early the next morning, because Ri had to get up early to retrieve some clothes from where she had been staying. We were going to split up that morning, Ri to organize the rally for Drew, and me to organize the smaller rally for Justin. By 7:30, I had a small crowd of about fifty students, mostly women, outside the Admin building. When Justin arrived, accompanied by someone I suspected was a lawyer, he seemed astonished that anyone would support him. When he saw me, he literally dropped his jaw.
"Janey, what are you doing here? And why…"
"Don't get the idea that any
thing more could happen between us, Justin, but unlike you, I take accountability for my actions. I wanted what happened, or it wouldn't have happened. You don't deserve to lose your job over it."
"Thank you, I think," he said. I didn't care now what he thought of me. I only cared what I thought of myself, and this was the right thing to do.
We stood quietly outside the admin building for about an hour, before an administrative assistant came out and called my name. When I identified myself, she asked me to accompany her to the Dean's office.
"I understand you are one of the injured parties, Ms. Nielsen. May I ask why you didn't file a complaint, and why you have apparently organized the support rally outside?"
"Sir, what happened between professor Mackey and I was between consenting adults. The fact that I have become disillusioned with his attentions doesn't mean I am an injured party."
"That's a refreshing attitude," he said. "Most of his, shall we say, conquests believe they were injured. I commend you for having the maturity to recognize your part in it. However, Dr. Mackey was well aware of the rules. We're suspending him without pay for the remainder of the semester, and his tenure is in question. You could say he's on probation. Do you consider that a satisfactory consequence for his infringement of school policy?"
I didn't know why he was asking me, a freshman, about matters of employee discipline. It seemed a good compromise, though, as Justin would retain his job after his suspension, and he'd have the opportunity to mend his ways. Privately, I suspected that he would continue his pattern of behavior, but that was on him.
"Yes, sir, more than satisfactory, thank you."
It seemed more than possible that Justin's revenge would be to attempt to influence the school on Drew's punishment, so my group of protesters and I rushed to join the others. Finding Ri, I asked if she knew anymore about when Drew's hearing would begin.
"He just went in," she said.
It seemed we held our collective breath until Drew came out again, smiling.
He made his way to pry, standing in the front of the crowd, and hugged her. "They aren't going to kick me out of school, but I still have to talk to Coach about whether I can play. Thanks, you guys," he said to the crowd in general. "I don't know if you guys helped with the decision, but I really appreciate the support. If I'm allowed to continue on the team, I'll do my best to not let you down."
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