Harlyn stepped out of the office and took a seat between Bruno and Alex as the secretary stood nearby and watched them.
They had all been in for questioning, James too, but he was taken to the infirmary after.
Mr Nelson, the new principal of Horizon High, walked out of his office and stared at Jaiyana.
Exhaling, he asked, “Will you come in?”
She shook her head and looked at Harlyn, who was scared out of her mind. “What’s more to say when you know the story? If you’re going to suspend me or kick me out, just do it. The only one innocent here is Harlyn.”
“Without your cooperation, I cannot do a proper investigation,” he said.
Just then the door opened, and in walked James’s father. He looked at the kids in the office, then at the principal, and asked, “Who hurt my son?”
Alex glanced over at Jaiyana and saw that she was still looking at Harlyn.
Turning to Harlyn he saw she wasn’t looking back at her and he found this strange. Why’d it seem like Harlyn feared her girlfriend?
Mr Nelson got James’s father into the office to speak to him.
Harlyn’s parents were the next to arrive and dragged their daughter to the side to speak to her and find out what had happened.
They were called into the office and Harlyn’s parents almost bit James’s father’s head off.
The doors opened and a handsome African American man stood beside a beautiful, light-skinned African American woman.
Jaiyana shuddered when she saw them and lowered her gaze.
The woman stopped in front of Jaiyana and turned to her. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Why did I get a phone call from Ocean about you fighting at school?”
The man beside her was equally unimpressed with her.
Jaiyana stood up with her head still lowered. She didn’t think Ocean would call them to come and deal with her.
“Excuse me, may I help you?” The secretary asked.
The woman looked over at her with a piercing gaze and said, “I don’t think so. I understand my daughter caused problems here at school.”
The secretary gasped. She was sure that she knew who Jaiyana’s parents were and was not expecting this couple.
“Please, this way. The other parents are waiting in the office,” she said.
The woman followed her but the man stared down at Jaiyana and said, “I warned you of what will happen if you caused trouble at school, didn’t I?”
Jaiyana nodded her head slowly as she started trembling.
The man walked into the office and Mr Nelson, who had met the lesbian couple many times at the parent meetings, was confused.
The woman smiled introducing herself, “I am Jaiyana’s mother Vanessa Miller, and this is her father Romeo Washington.”
“What about her mother’s, Ocean and Misty?” Mr Nelson asked.
Vanessa smiled at him. “Misty and Ocean are our friends. Romeo and I aren’t together and let Jaiyana live with them. Unfortunately, Ocean is out of town and Misty is busy. That’s why we are here.”
He nodded his head and waited for them to sit down. Looking at the five parents in front of him, he said, “I asked everyone down today because an incident occurred at school. The student body, the staff members, and I all know that Harlyn and Jaiyana are together. Mr Watson’s son, James, is in the infirmary as we speak, and the two boys outside were all injured because of Jaiyana Miller.”
The three parents turned to the couple and Mr Nelson too as he continued, “Don’t get me wrong. I am not blaming anyone.”
He sat down and held Harlyn’s phone in his hand and said, “I have proof on here that Harlyn has been harassed by James for quite a few months and we are having all the proof uploaded into a drive and will print copies for you all. Now I understand that a video of Harlyn was released a few months back of herself masturbating according to Harlyn and the boys.”
Mr Nelson didn’t want to say he knew about the video and its contents specifically because he received it too and watched it.
Clearing his throat as he tried to get the images out of his mind, he said, “Since I’ve been placed in this position. It has been my duties to clean this school up and we need to handle this situation.”
He turned to Mr Watson saying, “I’ve reviewed the footage of the incident and I will now play it for you all so that you know what I am talking about.”
He turned his computer screen to them and played the video.
Harlyn's parents weren’t happy and Almar was praising Harlyn as they watched her take care of the boys but Tan?
He glanced over at Jaiyana’s parents and couldn’t see a resemblance. The smile Romeo was trying to hide wasn’t convincing. Anyone could tell that he was proud of what his daughter had done.
Glancing at Vanessa, he raised a brow. Vanessa wasn’t watching the video, instead she was looking at him.
She smiled at him, then turned her attention to the screen.
Mr Nelson paused the video and looked at the parents.
Mr Watson’s face was red from embarrassment and anger. How could his son do such a thing?
The parents were silent, and they had their eyes on Me Watson.
He slowly came to terms with his son’s actions and turned to apologise to Harlyn’s parents, but Tan said, “Whatever you have to say, don’t say it. Your son harassed my daughter and deserved everything that he got.”
He turned to Mr Nelson and asked, “Nevermind him getting beaten up, what are you going to do about him grabbing my daughter’s ass without consent? Because I am ready to press charges.”
Mr Nelson hoped he could resolve this without going to the police.
“I was hoping we could resolve this here, but if that is what you wish then I do not have any objections,” he said.
Mr Watson glanced at Tan, then his husband, and thought about it. If charges were pressed, how would they solve this?
Vanessa looked at Mr Watson saying, “Anyone can tell that Jaiyana was protecting her girlfriend? How she did it is unethical, but that was her reason. If you think of pressing charges against her, things won’t fall on your plate; instead, you’ll be made fun of by your peers.”
Mr Watson looked at Vanessa oddly, yes of course he was worried about his image but how did she know that?
Composing himself, he said, “How about we all do what we want? If the girl’s parents want to place charges against my son, then do it. At least he’ll learn from his mistake.”
He glanced over at Vanessa and Romeo and said, “I’ll send you the hospital bill.”
Mr Nelson cleared his throat and said, “And I am thinking of suspending the boys and Jaiyana. Harlyn needs to be dealt with as well. She cannot take videos of herself doing such acts.”
“We’ll speak to her,” Tan said.
Mr Nelson looked over at Vanessa and Romeo and saw that they were expressionless. He didn’t know what to say to them. Jaiyana didn’t even behave like a girl, so who was to blame here?
“Is that all?” Romeo asked.
Mr Nelson nodded his head, “I will have my secretary email you all official documents about today and our meeting. I’d like you all to email me a letter stating what their punishment is going to be. I need to still speak with Bruno and Alex’s parents about this, and I am sure they’d like to hear from you.”
*
Ten minutes before the meeting ends…
Harlyn stood up from the chair and went to sit by Jaiyana.
Jaiyana turned to her, amazed.
“Jaiyana,” she started, but her voice broke and it had a tremble to it.
“What do you want, Harlyn?” She asked and looked away.
Harlyn was saddened by the harshness in her tone.
“Who, who was that woman and man?” She asked.
Jaiyana sneered as she looked at her and said, “My boss and the trainer. You know, the one who gave me the bruises.”
Harlyn’s body started trembling. She took in a shuddering breath and asked, “Why are they here?”
She saw that when they entered, Jaiyana seemed frightened. Maybe it was all true?
Jaiyana scoffed and shook her head. She sat up straight and asked, “What gave you the courage to speak to me now? Didn’t you just think that I was a monster?”
Harlyn frowned. “No, I never…”
“Don’t lie to me,” Jaiyana cut her off. “I knew it from the moment I looked at you after beating James up. Harlyn, I defended you. You are my girlfriend but instead of saying thank you to me, you look at me as if I am a monster, and you know what? I don’t even give a shit anymore. I’m glad that my parents are here. Maybe now, they’ll take me out of this hellhole and I can do what I’ve always wanted.”
“What do you mean?” Harlyn asked.
“It’s over between us,” she said.
Harlyn was shocked to her core. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“Are you deaf?” Jaiyana asked, and everything she had to say after that.
The parents walked out of the office. Tan and Almar were confused. Harlyn wasn’t crying before they went in. Maybe it hit her now that she was harassed?
Vanessa stopped in front of Jaiyana as she stood up. She lifted Jaiyana’s chin to look at her and said, “They’re suspending you.”
Almar looked over at Jaiyana and wanted to thank her for defending Harlyn. He was proud to have a daughter-in-law like her.
But as he thought that, Harlyn’s words dropped, telling them she broke up with her and a resounding smack flew across Jaiyana’s face.
Vanessa walked away, leaving everyone shocked. Jaiyana’s head was ringing, and she could feel that her nose was about to bleed.
Romeo grabbed her by the back of her neck and dragged her out of the office as though she wasn’t even human.
“Almar, Almar,” Tan called his husband. He wanted him to stop Romeo, but he was stunned in place.
*
Outside, Romeo threw Jaiyana against the car and said, “You really fucked up this time, didn’t you? Didn’t I tell you to behave in public? You can expose us at any moment!”
“Did I say I want to attend school?” She asked him harshly.
Romeo grabbed her by the mouth and shoved her against the car. “Watch your tone when you speak to me. Did you forget your place?”
“Behave, Ruthless, you don’t want the cameras catching you,” Vanessa said lazily.
He let go of Jaiyana, but he was still fuming.
He made his way around the car and got in, followed by Vanessa.
Winding the window down, Vanessa said, “Pack your shit, you’re going back to Canada.”
