101: Significance
Luci
Jessie waits for me at the entrance to the administration building. She has such a strong presence yet it isn’t intimidating. Sometimes I wish I was more like that. “Hi Luci. Ready?”
“I think so. It should be the written complaint I sign and that’s all, right?”
“He wants to talk to you about what happened too. Just briefly. I will read through the
paperwork and let you read your portion afterwards.” She assures me.
I nod. “I’m ready.” I tap on the door and wait. It swings open and Dean Rogers stands there
smiling.
“Good afternoon ladies. Come in and have a seat.” He sits at his desk facing us. I watch him lean his elbows on the desk and fold his hands together. “Luci, I owe you a huge apology for what they were allowed to do to you. I do not intend for you to have to pay any longer for this. Did you complain to anyone in administration about this?”
“Your associate dean, Fallon Grimes. I came to her three months after the accident and told
her the football team had basically declared war on me. I didn’t ask for help with Coach
Humphries because I knew he was a lost cause. I didn’t want to be on their radar any longer
though when I did nothing to them.”
His eyes narrow and his jaw clenches. “What did she say to you, Luci?”
I fidget with my fingers. “She….she basically told me I should have known Marshall was out of
my league and not been so naive with him. I should have been grateful to have caught his eye
for as long as I did. Then said the team would eventually move on to another target.”
“Anyone else?”
“No. I gave up after that.” I admit to him. Maybe I am weak. I just didn’t see the point after
coming to the dean of students office. Dean Rogers only started the same year I did too so he
had no real reputation on campus. I was out of fight and still recovering from the accident. It
sent my focus issues into a major tailspin for a long time.
“She’s fired. She was hired by my predecessor and I kept her on. Mistake on my part. Now I
have the complaint I composed based on the email you sent me. I’ll let you two read it over
and then sign it.” He hands it over calmly like he didn’t just end someone’s career.
Jessie takes the papers and reads them. She nods before handing me the first page. It’s my
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101: Significance
words verbatim from what I sent him.
“It looks right to me.” I sign it and hand it back.
“Thank you Luci. I know you are not vengeful, but I am and they need to pay for thinking they
were untouchable.” He puts the paper in his desk. “Last thing I want to discuss with you. Your
major…I know Gina derailed you purposefully. Megan Anderson tells me you excelled in any
class where you learned about child development. Do you want to go back? I will set your
schedule and help you finish quickly. You were ahead of schedule, I understand from her.”
“I was. I should have graduated a semester early. I had to take a few of the classes my fall junior year because I couldn’t change them out. Gina left me alone for those as long as I
withdrew from any the semester after.”
“Do you want to go back? Megan thinks you could be done during the summer session
depending on your end goal.”
I take a deep breath. “I want to be a preschool teacher I think. So yes, I want to go back.”
He smiles now. “I’ll tell Megan and she will set up your schedule. I’ll have her contact you as
she’ll be your advisor to make sure you have whatever you need for this. Luci, if you have any
other trouble, I want you to come to me directly. Anytime. Jason has my phone number and
I’m giving it to you too. There’s going to be a very different attitude on this campus when the
next semester begins. I’ll be making a very formal announcement that what happened to you
will never happen to another student while I am here.”
Sydney
“There she is… Miss Brave Luci. Going after the school hip hip hooray.” I teasingly sing to the
tune of There She is, Miss America as Luci walks into the restaurant. Vince follows with his
hat and scarf covering a lot of him.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t go after them.”
“Should have with a hatchet to that Fallon’s desk and chair.” Stormi says dryly.
They lead us to our table and Vince heads toward the bar tables which will let him see us.
“Start spilling the fun.” I tell her once we order drinks. When she reveals how Gina is trying to
sue the school because she can’t get a job, I laugh. “Poetic justice. I disliked her more than her
husband.”
“I changed my major. He thinks I can be done in the summer.” She drops that quietly.
*Finally!” Stormi says with feeling. “You were obviously miserable as a future accountant.”
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101: Significance
“Didn’t realize it was so obvious.” She says with amusement.
“Oh babe, it was. But I understood your reasons. Now I need an exclusive interview for the paper if you’re comfortable with that.” Stormi smiles at her.
“I don’t know if I can do that. Not sure I like all the attention I was getting before the last
semester ended.”
Stormi nods. “I know. This way, I can print only what you want. Get it all out there and maybe
they won’t keep staring. Think it over.”
“I’ll think about it.” Luci says before giving her order to our waitress. She fidgets as soon as
she’s gone.
“It’s all going to be ok.” I take her hand.
“I know. I’m just tired of this. We shouldn’t need bodyguards.” She glances at Vince.
“Back to distracting you. I want to hear about this tattoo.” I ask her.
She describes it and Stormi’s eyes gleam. “Can we get a picture of it to save in case the
ratchet toad shows up waving that damn flashy ugly diamond ring around again? That way I can hold it up and say “hmmm you got something he could order online but someone else rated for permanent ink on his BODY. One of these sets of feelings is not as strong as the
other. Can you see the difference?” Channel my inner Sesame Street voice, but even more patronizing.” She flashes that mischievous grin and we all laugh.
“I didn’t really think of it that way.” Luci remarks thoughtfully.
“You should. He put you over his heart next to his son, Luci. I mean that’s better than a diamond any day of the week in my mind. And you are worth much more than diamonds in my opinion anyway.” I tell her while suppressing the grin. Stormi stares at me and I wink.
Stormi nods. “Yep and you know what else. He did that first, so you’d know. She’s flaunting that ring all over the place so this makes it even more different from his relationship with her.
A clear line that he wants something more meaningful for you.”
“He treats me like I never thought anyone would. I don’t think I do enough in return though.”
She confides.
“Luci you are standing by him no matter what has come his way recently. You went to bat and chewed out his mother, his ex and her….trollopy toad self. Sometimes, that’s more than anyone else is willing to do. To not run and hold the line right next to your partner when something hard happens. Sad but true.” I tell her honestly.
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“Are you ok Syd?” She places her hand over mine. Stormi piles hers on top too.
“I am. It…it was time. I don’t want to talk about that tonight. Can we talk about our masks for the party? I’m glad it’s not like a full on formal occasion.” I give them grateful smiles for their support and friendship.
“I think Mr. Jason is going for something fun like your family’s Christmas Eve brunch. They all loved that. I can’t imagine the hell they lived in for holidays and birthdays with their mother the last few years.” Luci shakes her head sadly.
Stormi shudders. “I can only imagine.”
We sit and brainstorm. I pull out a little notebook and start trying to draw their ideas. “I can make that one.” Luci points to it. “I picked up my sewing machine earlier with this in mind.”
“Awesome. What about these two then?” Stormi points to another. She nods.
Luci waves to someone a few tables over. “It’s Mrs. Anderson. I’m going to go say hello. She’s my new advisor.”
We keep an eye on her and Vince is doing the same. Stormi pokes me though. “You have
insider information.”
“I might.” I grin teasingly at her. She glares at me. “He custom designed her a ring, but he’s waiting for the center stone to show up. He picked something on the more rare side and maybe I helped him choose. Wanted her to have something different like her and he, of course, decides to get the best one he could find.”
“Now I can’t wait to see it. She has no idea, does she?”
“That he ordered one, no. But I mean you heard her. He told her he’s planning to propose to her. Luci doesn’t dream for the future. I can imagine choosing to change her major was a serious undertaking for her today.” I admit sadly. She’s tough but some things will always be harder
for her.
When she returns, our food shows up and Stormi starts telling us about her family Christmas party. “Mom bought the wrong candy canes. Did you know they made liquor infused ones? It was hilarious.” We all laugh and distract Luci as that happens.
Ivory Row
I have another coming soon with your cliffhanger resolution.
