Played (16 page)

It never rains but it pours.
Alicia and I were sitting in the Student Union, in retrospect a poor
choice, having our belated lunch, or perhaps early dinner would have been a
better description. I was still in shock that my life had become a public
spectacle, my worst nightmare.

Alicia helped in talking it out, and I
realized there was an upside. I could be myself, no more guarding my words and
hiding the fact of my daughter. I was happily describing her cute toddler ways
to Ali when I looked up and froze in shock.

Justin was bearing down on us, just feet
behind Alicia, and he looked like a thundercloud. Now what? As he arrived at
Alicia's elbow, he took the offensive.

"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 these 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."

~~~