Page 78 of Lords of the Campus

My stomach drops. I knew Cameron only got a slap on the wrist, but I didn’t realize they cleared him of the assault charge. I grip the arms of my seat tightly under my fingers, trying to make sense of what’s happening.

It feels like the world is being yanked out from under me. My cheeks are red and I try to fight the tears that threaten to fall. I know I’ve been behaving badly. Hearing this stuff brought back up is humiliating for me.

I don’t even know what to say in my defense. I feel helpless and tiny right now, as though these strangers are judging my life choices without understanding them.

“We’re going to take a short break and when we come back, we’ll discuss the situation in more detail,” Bainbridge states. I glance over at the dean, whose expression is schooled into one of stern authority, offering no reprieve. I feel a lump in my throat and I let out a shuddering sob, leaning against Levi, who wraps his arms around me comfortingly.

“This is all our fault,” Archer mutters, anger in his ocean-blue eyes. “Everything they’re accusing you of, it’s because of us. You wouldn’t be here if we weren’t fucking idiots!”

I can feel the fury radiating from him. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I’m going to explain what we did. We’ll deal with the consequences, even if it means facing our own expulsion. It’s the least we can do.”

“No!” I say, grabbing him. “Please.”

Archer looks down at me, a puzzled look on his face. “Why?” he asks, his voice going hoarse. “We deserve it.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” I tell him, giving him a pleading look. “I can’t lose you guys. Life without you here would be miserable and I’d have a bigger target on my back with you gone. That’s what they want, anyway. They want to get rid of you by going through me. They’ll be expecting you to confess, to bring yourselves down for me.”

“Lyric is right,” Zane says, pain in his eyes. “We can’t let them win. We have to do whatever we can to protect her, but we can’t do it if we simply sacrifice ourselves by falling on the sword. What if we got witnesses to testify on your behalf?”

“The charges might be trumped up, but they’re true,” I tell him. “I can’t get people to lie for me.”

“It’s not about lying, though,” Levi says, his expression turning thoughtful. “What if we took the angle of having character witnesses come in and talk about how much good you’ve done for the school?”

“That’s a great idea,” Archer agrees, snapping his fingers. “We’re going to fix this, baby. Don’t worry about a thing. Let us take care of it. We’ll testify for you and we’ll find others who can attest to your quality of character.”

“Will that be enough?” I ask, misery filling me. I’m so fucked if this hearing doesn’t go well. If I get expelled, that’s the end ofmy college dreams, the end of my hope for a better life for myself and my son.

“It has to be,” Zane says, determination crossing his features.

The council calls us back in and we file back to our seats, facing them once again.

The professor stands in the center of the table, the rest of the committee on either side of her. “We’ve discussed the situation and we’re in agreement that your behavior is unbecoming of a student at such a prestigious school as this,” she says. My heart aches.

“Right now, unless you can provide compelling evidence to the contrary, we’re leaning heavily in favor of dismissing you from our university.”

I feel like throwing up.

45

ARCHER

Though we tell Lyric that she has nothing to worry about, anxiety still knots up in my stomach as we walk into the room and face the disciplinary board. The air in the room is thick with tension, each word from the committee cutting through my thoughts like a knife. I sit beside Lyric, trying to keep my face impassive, but the accusations keep coming, each one landing like a blow.

I glance at Lyric, her eyes wide and filled with fear and anger. My heart sinks as I realize that every single incident they list out was a direct result of our actions, the relentless bullying, the manipulation and the cruelty we put Lyric through.

We thought we were teaching her a lesson, but now it’s clear that we were wrong. The weight of our mistakes crashes over me like a wave and I struggle to keep my composure.

Unless we find a way to fix this, our behavior is going to cost Lyric everything.

I sit back in my seat, mind racing. We need to act fast. We need to find a way to make the committee see the truth, to understand that Lyric is not the villain here. But more than that,we need to find a way to make amends for the damage we've done.

The hearing continues, voices droning on, but I’m lost in my thoughts. I know we’ve wronged her in unforgivable ways, but if there's any chance to salvage this, we have to take it.

During the short break, I pull Levi and Zane aside into a quiet corner of the hallway. The grim expressions on their faces mirror my own.

"We need to act fast," I say, my voice low and urgent. “This entire thing is a sham. We know that they only care about Lyric’s behavior because of the stuff that Cameron pulled. He and his cousin are framing Lyric, trying to make her look like she’s wild, like she’s out of control. We need to prove it to the board.”

Levi nods, his jaw tight. “What do you have in mind?”

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