My bottom lip trembled as I stared at her. I dropped my face into the palms of my hands, shaking my head and fighting a sob. This couldn’t be happening. I swear there was always one thing after another and it wasn’t fair. Why did my life have to be so unfair? I swear Nana cursed me!
“Maybe they’ll show mercy,” Carmen went on, voice softer. “Maybe they’ll give you another chance since it’s your first offense…” I didn’t listen to whatever else she had to say. Her words were going in one ear and right back out the other.
She finally dismissed me and because of my panic, I didn’t go to classes for the rest of the day. Hell, would there have been a point? One of them was a class with Brody and I didn’t want to see him right now, worried I would punch him so hard he’d be left unconscious.
I camped out in my dorm room for the most part. I called Cane but his phone went straight to voicemail, so I assumed he was on a flight or very busy.
I hardly ate and my friends constantly asked if I was okay but I shrugged it off. I tossed and turned that same night. I could feel something bad getting ready to happen and it twisted me up inside. I wasn’t ready.
I’d worked so hard…why was this happening to me?
Chapter Thirty-Four
KANDY
I was on edge for three days straight. I hadn’t heard anything from Carmen or the school, or even Brody and Sophie. Deep down, I had hoped that Carmen never even brought it to the board’s attention. Maybe she spoke to Sophie and Brody and told them to back off…but the fourth day after, proved otherwise.
A man in a gray suit had knocked on our door. Morgan had answered it and when he asked for me, my heart dropped to my stomach.
“Kandy Jennings?” the man requested.
“That’s me.”
“The president of Notre Dame has given me instruction to bring this letter to you. He asks that you please read it carefully and then meet him at 1:30 for a mandatory hearing.”
I nodded, taking the letter, and the man bobbed his head and walked off.
“What’s going on?” Morgan hissed at me as I read over it.
“I don’t know,” I murmured, but I knew exactly what this was. 1:30 was in an hour. I guess they didn’t want to waste any time on this one.
“What does the president need to see you for? What did you do?”
I sat on the edge of my bed, blinking hard as I read over the sentence that was printed on the paper, a dozen times.
Kandy Jennings,
This letter hereby states that you have a mandatory board hearing to discuss documents and proof of misconduct on the premises of Notre Dame University. Please report to the main building at 1:30 p.m. sharp.
The campus president himself signed the letter.
Morgan was over my shoulder, reading the letter as well. “Holy shit! Misconduct? What the hell did you do, Kandy?”
I sighed, blinking the burn out of my eyes. “Remember that older guy I was telling you about? The one I can’t get over?”
“Yeah…”
“He was the man who spoke at the seminar we went to before break. Remember?”
“Wait—shit! The hot one with the tattoos?” Her eyes stretched wide. “He’s the guy?”
“Yes.”
“Well, shit! Now I see why you can’t get over him! He’s fucking hot!”
“I know but…Coach Carmen had pictures of me kissing him in the parking lot. The day when I skipped out on going shopping with you and Gina, it’s because I was hanging out with him.”
She gasped. “Shit. How did she get pictures? Was she watching you?”
“No. I’m certain it was from Brody. Brody showed up the night Cane dropped me back off. It was a little after curfew and no one else was around. Brody got all mad at me and called me a slut. I think he showed Sophie and Sophie told Coach because Carmen said it was a teammate who told her.”
“Are you fucking kidding me! That bitch!”
I shrugged. “Not only that, but Coach said there’s a possibility I can lose my scholarship over this.”
“Wow…if you do, that is really fucked up. This team needs you! What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the board will give me a pass or a warning?”
She nodded, but it was very unconvincing.
My shoulders sagged, my eyes dropping to the letter again. Morgan kept trying to convince me that everything was going to be okay, that I was a good student and had good grades to back me up, but deep in my heart, I knew things wouldn’t be okay.
I left the room forty-five minutes later, crossing campus to get to the main building.
I walked up a tall flight of stairs and checked in with a secretary with white hair and thin-framed glasses, sitting behind a desk. When I rounded the corner after checking in, Coach Carmen was sitting in one of the chairs. She gave me a wary smile when she spotted me.