"Right," Liz said sarcastically as she turned and marched out the door.
"Professor Jackson, we didn't cheat," I said quietly. "I know I can't prove that, but I can assure you that neither Liz nor I have ever cheated before and that we didn't do it this time."
"I believe you, Ms. Pierce," Professor Jackson said. "However, since the complaint was filed through the program not privately voiced with me, I have no choice but to follow protocol and do what is required. I am sorry."
"What will happen now?" I asked.
"The department will collect the evidence, talk with the involved parties and then render a decision," she said. "It shouldn't take more than a month, so you'll still be eligible for graduation if you're determined not to have broken any rules."
"I see," I said as the tears welled up in my eyes. I looked down and whispered, "This is so unfair."
"I agree, Ms. Pierce," she said kindly. "But that's true of many things."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cam
As soon as I got done with Leo, I called Alex. Her phone rang and rang and then went to voicemail. I left her message asking her to call me as soon as she could. I knew that I had to tell her about CSC and the new contract before I let Leo know what I was going to do because once he had the green light, there would be no going back.
I swung by the station to switch out my clean uniforms with the dirty ones so I could drop them off at the laundry. As I opened my locker, I overheard two guys from the other shift talking on the other side.
"Have you gotten pushed by Vangel yet?" Brian said.
"Yeah, he hit me up yesterday before he left," Gavin replied. "That son-of-a-bitch is gunning for Lieutenant hardcore."
"Did he threaten to blackmail you?" Brian asked with a derisive laugh. "That asshole told me he'd release my financial records publicly if I didn't."
"What an asshole," Gavin said. "He told me he's
got my juvenile court record. I told him that I was cited as a minor in possession of a six pack of MGD, so he was welcome to do it."
"Yeah, my financials are all about child support and mortgage," Brian laughed. "It's not really scandalous gossip, but you know, it did make me wonder how in the hell he got a hold of my information."
"I wondered that, too," Gavin said. "And then I realized that we're living in a world where everyone's information is available twenty-four-seven if you have the money to pay for it. I told him to fuck off and get out of my face."
"You think he's got any information on anyone that matters?" Brian asked.
"Beats me, but I guess we'll know when Chief asks for votes to support his promotion," Gavin said as he slammed his locker shut. "At that point, we should look into his supporter's backgrounds and see if we can't wring out a little cash!"
"That's cold, man," Brian laughed as they walked out of the locker room and back to the kitchen.
"That son of a bitch," I muttered under my breath as I gathered my dirty uniforms and tossed them in the laundry bag I'd drop off.
Back in the truck, I decided that this was a sign that I definitely needed to come clean -- to Alex and the rest of the world.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Alex
After our meeting with Professor Jackson, Liz and I went to anatomy lab where the cabal of evil girls grinned with satisfaction over their plot to ruin both Liz and I. Liz shot them a death stare from the moment we walked in while I focused on trying to make sure we followed the lab instructions to a tee.
"Everything going all right?" Robert asked as he circulated through the lab helping fix small issues with scales and other equipment.
"Yes, fine," I said brusquely as I sliced into a sample of tendon tissue we were studying.
"No, actually it's all pretty shitty," Liz said cheerfully as she mounted her tissue on a slide and stained it.
"What's wrong, Baker?" Robert asked. "You look like you've done it right."