Page 79 of Shattered

He didn’t wait for their reply as he jumped in his truck and drove the two blocks to the nearest grocery store.

When he walked back in an hour later, he had three full shopping bags in his hands and a smile plastered on his face. He was going to friend the shit out of Sam to make up for the tears he had caused the night before.

He may have gone a little overboard.

There were the various whipped creams; the caramel, vanilla, and hazelnut drizzles; the powered cinnamon and brown sugar; and then the various types of sweet creams (he’d chosen almond, hazelnut, soy, white chocolate, french vanilla, etc).

But he was most excited about the peppermint flakes he’d found on the baking aisle. He had no idea if that was a coffee thing or not, but there was no way he was passing them up.

Chapter 33 - Sam

Somehow, getting to Wednesday felt like it took a million years, but still it seemed to strike without warning.She had barely slept at all the last few nights. Normally, her meetings with the board were for various luncheons and events.

This was a disciplinary meeting.

Her second.

And that did not bode well for her mental health.

To make matters worse, this was an entirely new committee since her other disciplinary meeting, so she had no idea what to expect from them. She tried to calm herself with the thought that absolutely no one could be worse than the dreaded Mrs. Saunders, but Sam had learned a long time ago not to count your chickens before they hatched. For all she knew, the next board would make the previous one look like child's play. At least the new head of the board had seemed nice the couple of times she’d met her before, so all she could do was hope.

“Take a deep breath. It will all work out,” Christian said from beside her on the bench, a soothing hand rubbing her knee. They were in one of the university's newer buildings and the light from the crystal chandelier above them was making her sweat.

“I know.” But she didn’t know. And when a small man who couldn’t have been taller than Sam poked his head from behind the door and called her name, she was sure she was going to vomit.

“Good luck, I’ll be out here for you the whole time,” Christian said as she stood.

*******

The auditorium was so bright. Sam was sitting in a lone chair before a half circle table set on a platform about five feet higher than her. It made her feel as though she were a small child getting ready to be admonished for stealing a treat from the kitchen.

The air was stifling and, for a split second, she thought she couldn’t breathe. Her throat tightened and she shifted in her chair, desperate to suck in as much air as possible into her lungs. She heard a slight tapping echo through the room and then realized it was the sole of her shoe rapidly banging on the marble floor below her.

There were seven of them sitting before her. Four men and three women. And they held the keys to her future. Sam recognized the woman in the middle as the new committee head, Ms. Clemmings, and she felt a moment of relief at the thought. Ms. Clemmings seemed more down to earth than any of the other committee members she’d met to date. She wasn’t covered in diamonds, nor did she appear to have spent thousands of dollars on plastic surgery. She looked as if she could be anyone's mom.

“Miss Williams,” Ms. Clemmings said and Sam shot her eyes upward to meet her gaze. “As you know, my name is Ashlyn Clemmings, and I will be presiding over this hearing. Is there anything you would like to say or ask before we get started?”

“No, ma’am.” Sam tried to smile, but couldn't hide the worry in her eyes.

“If at any time you do not understand what is being stated, please raise your hand so we can further clarify,” Ms. Clemmings continued and Sam nodded. This was a good sign. Mrs. Saunders had never given any of the recipients a chance to speak or ask questions at previous meetings. “It has come to our attention that there have been some recent developments in your academic standing. Are you aware of these changes?”

“Not completely,” Sam responded.

“As you know, Giving Hearts is funded by many individuals in the community, but also from a large stipend provided by the university. Due to the large sum awarded to our various recipients, we have high standards that each has to meet and maintain. It seems as though your nearly perfect track record will have a few blemishes this year.”

Sam swallowed, but the woman wasn’t admonishing her. If anything, she felt as though Ms. Clemmings had a large amount of sympathy for her and was just reciting an obligatory script.

“This does not bode well for our community. As I am sure you are aware, numbers matter, and right now the amount that we are allowed to give to various orphaned students is dependent on how well our current cohort performs. Hence, if you make high scores then the university sees our program as a success and they award increased funds for other upcoming students once you have graduated. If our current recipients do not do well, then the university may see fit to shift our funding to other, more successful programs.” She stopped talking then and waited for a response.

“I understand,” Sam replied.

“We don’t hold you to such high standards as a punishment, but more to ensure that we will be able to provide for others down the line. It seems you have encountered some recent hurdles in your classes this semester. At this time, you are welcome to provide some information as to why this may be.”

At least this woman seemed kinder, and even a little sad at all that the rules required. The previous committee head had seemed to bask in the terror she’d imposed upon others. Sam took a deep breath and, with a shaky voice said, “I’m aware that I scored poorly on a lab assignment earlier in the semester, however I completed an extra assignment later that same week to bring that grade up. I am also aware that I may not have performed well on a chemistry midterm. I'm not sure of my exact scores on either assignment at this time. I am unaware of any other poor grades.”

“Thank you, Miss Williams. However, we are not concerned about two small individual grades. We are concerned about your current overall failing grade in Advanced Biological Sciences 428.”

Sam froze.

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