by Arlo Arrow
“She was there for a long time, Mr. Dent. Care to explain yourself?”
“Ms. Hawthorne. She gave you this, didn’t she? We can get messy if you’d like.”
Dean Heech inhaled sharply. “Yes, we can. Stay away from the girl, or else I’ll make sure you don’t get that inheritance and that Cecilia can’t step foot in another educational institution ever again. Am I clear?”
“She’s innocent!” I shouted.
“She’s involved,” he countered. “I’m removing her from your class. Don’t test me. Now leave.”
I shot out of his office and slammed my fist against the wall, putting a dent in it. I had the ability to make this very messy, but then I’d only be thinking about myself. Cecilia would be affected and that wouldn’t be fair to her. I promised myself that I wouldn’t venture down the path my grandfather took, having people killed.
But the temptation danced on my tongue, luring me with the sweet taste of revenge and the satisfaction that came with it.
Cecilia would be dragged into a scandal, and I’d have opened an old wound in the Dent family. We didn’t need press. And Cecilia . . . she didn’t need me.
Not with a bunch of shit tied to me.
I ignored her calls and resumed teaching my class useless math they probably wouldn’t use in life unless their jobs were in the science or computing fields. Solely being in the math field was rather bland, and all numbers did was repeat themselves. A couple of times through the lecture while I took breaks, I resisted the urge to call her, or even to check to see if she’d left another message.
Ms. Hawthorne was obviously following us too closely.
During my lunch break, I called Jeff.
“Hey, what’s up, G?”
“Heard anything from the judge?”
“Why? Did you get yourself into trouble?”
This wasn’t the time to eat. I could hardly focus, so I popped a mint into my mouth as a lousy replacement for food.
“I need you to watch Cecilia, make sure no one harms her. Do that until the end of this semester, okay?”
“What happened? Shit, did you two get caught? George—”
“Jeff, shut up. I need you.”
“Fine, I’ll make sure she’s okay. Gotta find her first. Where is she?”
“I got a text that she was at the Morgan Supermarket.”
“Good, I’ll swing by and update you. Take it easy. You need to get this inheritance or else your younger brother, Roshman, will get it. We do not want that happening.”
“Got it. Thank you, Jeff.”
“Yeah, yeah. What’re friends for?”
I hung up and tried to pick at my lunch.
Roshman . . . my evil half. He’d be the perfect mirror-image of my grandfather if he had that amount of money and contacts.
This whole town would be corrupted within days, and the streets would run rampant with crime. Then once again, the Dent name would be destroyed, and no one would want anything to do with us. Family members would lose business, stocks would go down, and even I would’ve had to move.
I taught another round of classes, hoping to numb my mind from all the shit that had happened within the past hour.
Cecilia was ripped away from me with a filthy threat. That man, Heech, must've said something in particular to upset her that day.
Was it the same threat as he’d given me?
Then why did he—ugh, I needed to stop replaying this conversation in my head.
There was nothing I could do now without making bad decisions.
The students worked on their lessons I gave them and the class ended without a hitch. Ms. Hawthorne didn't bother to come in, and I had a good suspicion as to why.
She did this thinking that she'd be the only alternative. It'd show her right if I showed attention to another female teacher here who looked and acted like a proper lady.
Revenge. One taste of it, and I'd end up no better than Roshman. I focused on my breathing to relax me and packed up to go home. There was no word from Jeff yet, and I couldn't help but worry. Here I was, a Dent, yet I could do nothing.
Complete bullshit.
The only highlight of my day so far was not having to look at Ms. Hawthorne's face again.
I slipped into my car and gunned off for home. Dinner wasn't going to be anything fancy. As a matter of fact, this simmering depression of mine was calling for one of those greasy pizzas with extra cheese.
I arrived home and parked my car in a different spot from the usual. I had no doubts that Ms. Hawthorne was still following me or had someone following me.
Cecilia was sitting beside my door, sleeping, waiting for me to arrive.
I wanted to reach out and scoop her up, bring her inside.
But that would've only sealed her fate in the worst way possible. Instead, I shattered my heart into pieces by slipping inside quietly and closing the door.
Which I failed to do without making that loud clunking noise.
"George?" she mumbled, waking up. I set down my briefcase and walked to my office.
She knocked on my door.
"George? Please, we need to talk!"
The phone in my back pocket vibrated. I looked, and it was her. I sent her a text.
Cecilia, leave. We can't do this anymore. It's too dangerous.
"George!" she yelled. "I don't care what you say. I'll sit here and starve if you don't open this door!"
At this rate, her threat and her tantrum were going to cause attention.
Deep down in my heart, there was a barrage of razors and needles, slashing away at me. She threatened to starve herself, and she was serious.
Jeff sent me a text soon after.
Let her in, he said.
That was odd. He was the cautious type, overly cautious. If anything, I expected him to say the opposite.
What? I texted back.
Let her in. The girl really loves you. Can't stop that.
I smiled. Cecilia must've said something to him. She had that effect on people. I ran to the door, opened it, and saw Cecilia in tears.
"I thought you were going to abandon me," she cried.
I grabbed her inside and kept her up against my chest.
"I'm so sorry," I said, feeling my heart break. "The dean spoke with me today, and he threatened your academic livelihood if we didn't—"
"I don't care. I'm dropping school! I can't do it anymore. I was just living a lie, and that wasn't fair. Plus, the dean isn't anyone upstanding himself. He tried to pull some moves on me." She sniffled.
"Moves? Did he touch you?"
She looked back up at me, flashing those lovely eyes at me. I gripped her waist. "Tell me, darling."
She nodded her head. I took my phone out because Jeff was going to have some skull cracking to do.
Cecilia put her hand over my phone before I could hit Jeff's speed dial number.
"Don't. I have it under control. After tonight, he's not going to be able to bother anyone again!" she said. Strength blossomed in her eyes.
This was the other side of Cecilia. The strong side.
"Pray tell, darling. What will you do?"
I kissed her forehead.
"Hey, I'm not that helpless. I just wanted to see you and tell you that I'm going to go to another school that's cheaper and take up English as a major."
"Really? I'm proud of your decision. How much do you think this degree will cost?" I asked.
"I don't know yet, but I'll work and get a few loans. I'm adamant about this. Plus, at least my math skills have improved. I should be able to pass any math entrance tests pretty easily!"
Cecilia looked at the time on her phone and pouted. "Well, I have to go. I have some reputation crushing to do."
"Please tell me Alison is involved."
"She is!"
"Well there go my worries," I joked.
Cecilia bounced out of my apartment a happy rabbit again. But what was this plan?
I dialed Jeff.
"Yeah?"
he answered.
"Follow her. I mean it. She's got some plan up her sleeve to get back at the dean. But I don't want her hurt."
"Will do."
Before I hung up, I remembered those texts Jeff sent me. "By the way, Jeff. What did Cecilia say to you to make you text me about opening the door?"
"Well, she didn't say anything. She gave this homeless man some food and money. Goodhearted. Rare to find. If she were the kind after your money, she wouldn't have the heart to do what she did. That's all."
"I like that eye of yours. Call me if anything happens."
"Sure thing, George."
I hung up and went to take a shower. There was a particular set of black clothes I owned but never wore. Tonight would be the night I wore them.
Chapter 13
Cecilia
"Cecilia!" Alison called, hanging out of the door to a study room in the library. I waved and went over.
When I looked inside the room, I saw Kim Young, one of the best in the school with tech stuff.
"Where's Tash?" I asked Alison.
"He had to do something with some important competition. Kim owes me a favor and he's also the best!" Alison said, her head high in the air.
"So, what're we doing again?" Kim asked.
We sat down at the table and I looked at both Kim and Alison.
"In short?" I began, "The dean is a perv and we need to have people see it."
"Ahh, you want to set him up so when he gets caught, he's gone for good."
"Yes. Can you do that?"
Kim Young lay back in his seat, a confident smile stretching across his face. "Of course, nothing a little mic and a spy cam can't do. When are you going to start this?"
"Tonight. Do you have what we need?"
Alison butted in, "I do! I bought some stuff I figured would help. I have a Redman's spy cam and a mini-mic."
"Good, we'll have your phone tether your internet so we can keep a good connection," Kim added.
The plan was settling in.
One of the librarians knocked on the door just as we were scribbling down more additions to our plan.
"I'm sorry," the librarian said, opening the door, "but we have to close early. Something's wrong with our computer systems."
"No problem," I said, gathering our stuff.
"It's school-wide. Classes are cancelled and other school facilities are shut down. You might as well go home or back to your dorms."
Alison cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes. We expect it to come back up tomorrow."
The librarian left and my heartbeat picked up. It was tonight or never.
"We need to move quickly," I said.
"Yeah," Alison agreed. "Let's go to our dorm."
Kim leaned onto the table as we were getting ready to leave. "But I'm a male. I cannot enter."
Alison rolled her eyes. "Pfft, please, you cannot enter the regular way. But you can enter. Just follow my lead."
Kim gathered his laptop and followed us to our dorm building. I kept an eye out for the dean or Ms. Hawthorne. I didn't put it past them to be tailing my every move.
So the dean thought he could feel me up and then threaten my education? We'd see about that.
Alison took another way into the dorm that involved pulling Kim through a window. He was pretty thin, so that didn't take long. I went around the regular way since I didn't feel like getting scratched up.
When I got to our room, Kim and Alison were already setting up the equipment.
"What are we? The FBI?" I asked, sitting down on my lower bunk.
"Might as well be. I always thought of studying criminal justice," Alison said, helping Kim with some wires.
"Cecilia, let us wire you up," Kim said, motioning me to stand up and come over.
I remained standing while they put a camera, hidden in my choker along with some earrings that housed the miniature mic.
We were all set.
"One more thing," Kim said. "Where's your phone?"
"Right here," I said, taking it out my pocket.
"All right, let me see it. I'll tether your mic so we can see what's going on—"
"And if he tries anything too brash, we'll call the police and I'll come in swinging! Or hey, I can use this lucky metal bat!" Alison said, throwing punches in the air and acting like she was swinging a bat.
"There we go, we have connectivity. Keep your phone as close to your body as possible."
"There's one other detail I want to tell you about," I said to Kim.
"There's some sort of footage that I need to swipe from him."
"Then take this," Kim said with a bright smile, digging out a small USB. "The dean isn't a smart man. Prefers to keep everything on a laptop. Look for it. There's only one. Stick it in there and I can corrupt the whole laptop!"
He was happier about this than I was. It made me wonder if the dean had been unfair to Kim somehow. I wouldn't be shocked though.
I stuck the USB in my other pocket and both of them wished me luck.
I walked out of the dorm and made my way down to the dean's office. On my way there, I crossed paths with Ms. Hawthorne.
She stopped and sneered at me.
"Something wrong, Ms. Hawthorne?" I planned to take both of them down.
"Nothing, you little slut. I wish I had hit you good that day with my car instead of side-swiping you."
Someone was going to go to jail.
"You were trying to hit me?"
"Yes, now if you'll excuse me," she said, knocking me to the side.
Yes, bitch. You sealed your fate.
I walked into the hallway of the Mathematics and Administration building and went over to the dean's office. It was true. He really did stay long hours, the pervert.
"Dean Heech? Can I speak to you for a moment?" Now that everything was beginning to get real, my legs jiggled like Jell-O.
He was the big fish I needed to fry.
The light to his office lit up the dark halls. Not all the lights were on, but there were fewer compared to earlier in the day. The university believed in preserving as much energy as they could.
The sound of shuffling papers clued me in that he was there.
The technique I learned in a yoga class for stress was to breathe deeply. Eliminate all worry, even if only for a moment.
I knocked on his door and Mr. Heech harrumphed as he got up to check the door.
"Who is it?"
"Cecilia Winters, Dean Heech."
He opened the door and his eyes scanned my body like a Xerox machine. I squirmed under his scrutiny and forced myself to speak.
"Cecilia, speak!" Alison said into my ear bud.
"Um, I wanted to talk to you about my scholarship and classes."
He moved out of the doorway and motioned for me to come inside.
"What is it, Ms. Winters?" he said with a low, deep voice. There was a growl in there somewhere.
"Well, I wanted to know if I could switch my law class for English."
He sat down behind his desk. That laptop of his was right within arm’s reach. How was I going to get to it with him in the room?
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
He chuckled and got up. "Stay right here. I need to check a few things."
"That's not a good sign. He's trying to make sure you guys are isolated," Kim said. "Hurry, the USB. I'll make the camera have a natural looking disruption so you can put it in. Go!"
I connected the USB into his laptop and listened for Mr. Heech's footsteps.
"I'm in!" Kim said. The tapping of his fingers on the keys rattled through my earbud. "Camera is back on."
Then Mr. Heech was making his way back, his heavy footsteps getting closer.
"Hurry," I mumbled. "He's coming."
The USB was small, sticking out to the side where the wall was. I was going to risk the fact that he might not see it.
I sat back in my seat and watched Mr. Heech enter the office. He took off his blazer, and I caught
the sight of a bulge in his crotch.
A strike of nervousness ran through my body. I was here alone, after all.
"What the hell is he so hard for?" Alison growled.
"I'm corrupting the files as we speak. We're at forty-five percent," Kim said.
"So, Ms. Winters, I know you're not here for some classes. Not with the way your tits are hanging out."
I glanced down at my top. My tits weren't hanging out.
"Dean Heech! I think you have the wrong idea!" I said, standing up.
He stood up too and approached me from around the desk.
"Really? You know, I can give you whatever you want if you give me whatever I want."
He licked his lips and grabbed at his crotch.
"So young and tender."
My body trembled.
The USB in the laptop let out two loud beeps. Shit. Mr. Heech looked and saw the tiny stick inserted into his laptop.
"Bitch! What the fuck is this? A USB?" he yelled.
"What USB? I can't see anything from here! I have to go. I'm sorry I came here!"
Heech lunged for my arm and dragged me back into his office.
"Stop! Get off me!" I screamed.
"Cecilia! I'm coming!" Alison yelled.
"Damn it, the camera Wi-Fi is unstable! It's losing connection!" Kim said, freaking out.
The door to Heech's office burst open, and in charged a man clad in black. Heech had ripped at my shirt, almost taking it off, but the man who had barged through the door threw him off me.
The man in black bent down and whispered into my ear, "Are you okay?"
I knew that voice! George!
Alison's angry stomping echoed down the hallways as she got closer. When she got to the door, she saw me and George.
Heech was in a pile of folders, drawers, and cabinets that were knocked over him. He tried to get up, but George threw him pretty well.
Alison took out the USB and the police were called.
The next day, footage of the dean had begun to go viral all over social media. He wasn't only fired from his job, but his ass got blacklisted from stepping foot into any job ever again. Hope he had savings. He was going to need it.
Oh, and Hawthorne? That little confession of near-murder? Yeah, her ass was fired and blacklisted too.
I remembered that look she shot me as the police dragged her swampy ass away in handcuffs.
