Twice Over

Chapter Sixty Four - Extricate

extricate

verb

free (someone or something) from a constraint or difficulty.

By the time I went to the office, I'd already called my mum and Wallace letting them know that I was implicated by school staff in an inquiry, but that I hadn't been informed what it was that I had been implicated in.

"Hi, I'm Lily Twice. I was asked to come to the main office." I kept my voice sounding slightly bored as I looked briefly at the new office lady that I hadn't met before. Then I looked out the window to the street beyond.

"You're late. They are waiting for you in the family room. This way, Ms Twice." I looked at the thirty something year old blond office lady and wondered if she had any relation to my business studies teacher. Their pursed lips and pinched eyebrows looked exactly the same.

"One moment, please. I didn't get your name, Ma'am." I asked her before she had move from behind the reception desk. She paused a moment, looking annoyed, then responded.

"I'm Ms Bordeaux. This way please." She turned to leave again. I ignored her and stepped up to the desk.

"Hi, Ms Brussels. How are you today." The lady I'd spoken to at the beginning of the week was startled as I said hello.

"Oh, Ms Twice. I am fine today. You'd better go in, they are waiting for you." I smiled at her and nodded. I waved goodbye to the nice office lady that had taken my report on Monday then slowly followed the crankier office lady to the interrogation room - I mean family inquiry room. The frowny look on the snotty woman ahead of me was exactly what I was after. I wasn't playing by her rules, but making my own up as I went along.

The room was long, with a wide table at the end with four staff members already seated at it. Another woman, my business studies teacher Ms Pointer, was seated to the side. There were no other chairs in the whole room. It looked like a court house session in the military. Like what I imagined if a soldier was being court marshalled. The only thing missing were the JAG lawyers and the hot-as-hell prosecutor.

I looked around the room as I stood before everyone, crutches in hand, bag on my back. I'd already set up my phone and tucked it into the little phone pocket on my back strap, facing forwards. It just so happened to be connected live to a rather powerful school trustee and this little Miss' step-father.

"What are you looking for, Student Twice?" The man sitting in the middle of the table gruffly asked.

"Oh, I was wondering where the lawyers were." I replied lazily, letting them know I wasn't phased by the power trip they all seemed to be on.

"This is a school inquiry, not a legal procession. We have brought you here today to ask you a few questions. You have been implicated in plagiarism."

"Uh-ha." I nodded then looked around again.

"Ms Twice, could you please take this inquiry seriously." Another lady staff member who was seating barked.

"Oh, no one offered me a chair to sit on and rest my sore leg. I was just wondering if corporal punishment in school was now legal," I lazily asked again. When they all started blowing up, labelling me as a rebellious delinquent and what-not, I sniggered behind my hand, then whispered, "Three, two, one..."

Bang! The door to the family room was slammed open so powerfully, it crashed against the wall behind it. Then the principal barged into the room, looking rather upset.

"Ms Twice. I'm sorry about all of this. Please make your way with me in to my office." He waved me out of the room, then wiped sweat off his forehead. I sniggered at the inquiry room full of useless staff members, then nodded to Ms Pointer as I left. She had a very sour looking expression on her face.

Once I was seated in the Principals office, I was served spring water and shortbread by the Mr Shanto's assistant while he popped out to find out what was going on. I had already thanked Wallace for his help and we'd said our goodbyes over the phone.

"Thank you for waiting a moment while I sorted this out, Ms Twice." Principal Shanto hurried into his office, looking a little stern. He rounded his desk and took a seat then braced his arms on his desktop.

"It has come to staff attention that a project you have been working on in your business studies class may have been copied from another student's work."

"So because I'm new here, it was deemed that I did the plagiarism?" I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, because that makes sense." I said sarcastically. "It really does make sense, pulling me away from my classes; setting up an inquiry fully loaded against me; isolating me from support of parents or peers; refusing me common courtesy such as a chair to sit on while my leg is healing up; then blaming the whole incident on me without any hard evidence." I let that hang in the air of the Principals spacious office.

"My business teacher, Ms Pointer, on the first afternoon I met her in classroom 26B had a prejudice attitude against me. She claimed that the apple didn't fall far from the tree and suggested that in order to prove myself to this school and my newly adopted family, then I had to - and I quote, 'do this assignment on your own and hand it in on time or you wont be getting and marks from me, as I wont be marking your papers.' Mr Shanto, I have done everything she has asked, handed in a one page outline of said assignment – which I am completing on my own. The assignment I must point out, is almost completed by me."

Mr Shanto cleared his throat into his fist. "The inquiry was set up to look into plagiarism of the assignment work in Ms Pointer's class. She has evidence that your work was copied from another student."

"Evidence?" I asked then took out my phone and sent him an email that I'd already set up for this occasion. "I also have evidence, that someone is trying to set me up to be accused of exactly that – plagiarism, or theft, or possession of stolen property, or libel against a fellow student. Take your pick." I waved at his computer and smiled at the older gentleman.

"I've just sent you an email that outlines the police procedures of the theft of my laptop last Friday. Also attached is an insurance claim of the same computer. Maids at the estate were arrested and fired from their positions. My computer was returned then handed into police as evidence. All of my school work was backed up to an online cloud account. All of the work, notes and assignments, whether in part or in full, were printed off and handed in to the office when I made a report of the theft of my laptop. All of these copies were signed by the office staff, dated last Friday.

"Four days ago, Monday morning, I reported back to the office stating that the laptop had been recovered. A video of that interaction with the office staff shows all the material I had printed out and handed in last week. It shows the dates and signatures that were stamped onto those assignments and class notes. I also took a photo of Ms Brussels holding those reports, indicating she was aware of this taking place." I stood up, collected my things then smiled at Mr Shanto as he sat at his desk looking angry, but not at me. "If you can not recover the report or the classwork and assignments that I printed out and handed in, then please use it as formal evidence.

"I do trust that this is enough to remove these accusations against me and I hope you will get this situation sorted soon. Please have a report sent to myself and my step father, Wallace Overmeyer once it is all over with. If you need anything further, the email I just sent you, also outlined three different ways to make contact with my lawyer. Good day, Principal Shanto."

I smiled all the way back to my English class. That felt good. Oh so good. I felt sorry for Principal Shanto because I felt that he was at least trying to sift through it all and find out the truth. Now I just hope that the stupid little snot that Eyva roped into being a patsy for the whole affair gets what's coming to her, and hopefully implicates Eyva along the way.

Feels good to kick stupid people arse.