Jeff, Virgil and Gordon have to attend a hearing to determine the fate of principal bell. The chairman of the school board promises to makes sure Gordon doesn't have to come into direct contact with him.
Jeffs lawyer has instructed them to not talk about it before hand and he has helped them with their witness statements.
A charge of gross misconduct has been levied against him, and if found guilty he will be sacked.
The hearing is scheduled for a Friday in late October. The last thing any of them want is for Gordon to relive the incident but he is determined to go through with it, if only to stop him from doing something similar to someone else.
"Do I really have to wear the suit?" He asks Scott, a grimace on his face.
It is hanging on the black of the door complete with a pair of shiny leather shoes and a tie.
"Yep! You need to make a good impression, for once in your life!" Scott tells him affectionately, "get dressed and I will help you with the tie".
They have had breakfast and Scott has agreed to drop John off at school in his newly acquired car, having finally plucked up the courage to take his test
Mumbling under his breathe about how unfair it is Gordon slowly gets dressed.
"Sit!" Scott orders him as soon as he is ready, and attacks his bed hair with a wet comb.
"Gerroff me Scotty!" He moans as he tries to escape.
"Nope you're going to look smart even if it kills me!" Scott tells him. Now applying copious amounts of his favourite super-shine hair gel and combing it in, ignoring his protests.
"See perfect!" He tells him taking a photo on his phone, for prosperity as he knows Gordon will be his usual scruffy self by the time he gets home.
"Right let's get this over with. When you get home dive into the pool fully dressed! Then you'll never have to wear that suit again!" Scott tells him grinning.
"Don't even think about it Gordo!" Jeff tells him, walking into the room. Some residual fear remains in the 7 year old and he subconsciously hides behind Scott.
He too is wearing a suit identical to the one Gordon is wearing, only a lot bigger.
"It's freezing out there! Jump in the shower with it instead!" He continues laughing.
"Now let's get out of here", Jeff tells them holding his hand out for Gordon.
Gordon giggles as he takes the hand being offered to him and the two of them walk down the stairs together.
"Looking good Gordo" Grandma greets him. Placing a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him.
"I look like a penguin!" He replies in dismay, his mouth full of fried egg.
"How do you think I feel?" Virgil replies. Looking equally uncomfortable in his suit.
"Okay you two, let's get this over with" Jeff tells them, the second their plates are clean.
"SHOTGUN!" Gordon shouts running out into the garage, and jumping into the front seat. Virgil doesn't bother protesting. It isn't worth an argument as he too gets in the car.
The hearing is taking place in the office of the head of the school board. Jeff has been briefed on the full procedure, and ensured that Gordon is being protected as much as he possibly can be, or Jeff wouldn't be here.
Gordon as the victim is allowed to give his statement via video link and will not be cross examined by the defence.
"Tell me Gordon, what did you do to get expelled?" He's asked first.
"I borrowed some sheep and locked them in the teachers lounge" he replies.
"Is that all?" He presses him gently.
"No. I also pulled a fake fire alarm and when the sheep got out someone got hurt" Gordon continues.
"You have a history of getting into trouble don't you? We have hear a copy of your school discipline record and it makes interesting reading."
"Erm yeah sort of" Gordon says his eyes downcast with the look of remorse he has perfected over the last 7 years.
"Would you say you the spanking has made you feel differently about getting into trouble in the future?" The head of the board of governors asks.
"At first it did. But that was because I was so scared of everything I couldn't speak I thought if I spoke I would be annoying and then someone would hit me again" Gordon's voice starts to quiver.
The psychologist representing his interests stops the questioning.
"That's enough. You have his written statement, he doesn't need to go through it in detail, he's suffered a deep psychological trauma at the hands of someone who was put in a position of power and responsibility and abused that power in the worst possible way, he has since undergone a counselling programme and has finally realised that what happened to him was not his fault." He concludes.
"Okay Gordon, we have enough you can go now" he's told.
Virgil is sent in next. He has to qualms about seeing old bellend in person again. He looks around the room. The 12 man board are all present as is a note taker. Old Bellend is sitting in a chair off too the side a union representative, looking in Virgil's eyes as arrogant and evil as the day he was when he had Gordon paddled.
Virgil describes what happened to the board.
"We went into the principals office, and he had the paddle out on the desk waiting. He didn't give Gordon a chance to defend himself. He ordered my dad to beat him, and he didn't feel like he had any other choice."
Virgil cracks, he hasn't really spoken about what he witnessed.
"It's okay Virgil. Take your time. Have a drink of water" the head of the board doing the questioning tells him.
Virgil slowly sips the water in his glass, composing himself to be able to carry on.
"Dad asked me to hold him down. I had to hold him in place while he struggled and screamed. And I couldn't stop it. My brave little brother who has been through so much in his life already was tortured for Mr Bells amusement. It wasn't necessary and it should never have happened." Virgil finishes.
"What happened when you got him home?"
"I looked after him. He wouldn't speak or eat anything until my older brother helped me get him to eat."
"I tried to stop it. I tried to protect him but I couldn't" Virgil is sobbing uncontrollably now and doesn't stop even when he is lead from the room.
"We will recess for thirty minutes" it is announced by the head of the board.
Jeff can't stand this. Not knowing what is going on in that room while Gordon and then Virgil make statements to the board. His own statement has been rehearsed a thousand times but he can't help feeling nervous. He knows he has to take some responsibility for what happened.
"Mr Tracy. Tell us about what happened when Gordon was born".
Jeff wasn't expecting that question.
"He was born 8 weeks early following some complications with his moms pregnancy. He had a problem with his heart which required corrective surgery". He tells him.
"Knowing this you still agreed to the paddling?"
"Yes. Gordon was given a clean bill of health from the cardiologist when he was 18 months old he is physically perfectly healthy" Jeff assures them.
"How did you feel when Mr Bell told you he wasn't prepared to let Gordon's expulsion be overturned unless you agreed to paddle him?
"Sick. But I felt like he had me over a barrel, there were no reasonable alternatives other than moving him to a new school 15 miles away and for a young kid that kind of strain would have been too much for him. He blackmailed me" Jeff insists.
"I understand that Gordon is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, is this correct?"
"Yes, he was too scared to speak, he shut himself down and if it wasn't for his brothers he may not have gotten through this. My little boy thought starving himself to death was his only solution. And it took me 4 days to finally get my head out of my ass and do something. He's getting better, but he won't sleep in a room on his own, the nightmares are getting less frequent though."
Jeff thought the worst part would be giving evidence, but he was wrong. The worst part was waiting for a verdict. A second meeting has been set for the following afternoon where the board will announce their decision.
They're shown out of a side entrance away from mr bell, and Jeff takes them home. Not bothering sending them to school for the afternoon.
"Can I jump in the shower with my suit on now?" Gordon asks his father once they're home.
"That depends. Do you have another one for tomorrow?" Jeff asks him. Knowing the answer already.
"No" Gordon replies.
"Then no you can't! Wait until after the verdict and then you can ruin your suit!" Jeff promises him laughing, before collapsing on the sofa in the living room.
"Where are grandma and Alan?" Gordon asks.
"Grocery shopping" Virgil replies, walking back from the kitchen with a large tub of ice cream and three spoons, with the note she has left them.
They all get changed into more comfortable clothes and Jeff gets a fire going and the three of them settle on the floor in front of it and share the ice cream.
They are delighted with the boards decision to uphold the gross misconduct charge and mr bell is officially dismissed from his job.
Jeff lets both Gordon and Virgil burn the suits to celebrate!
Jeff also files a civil suit against him on Gordon's behalf and a judge awards him 250 dollars in compensation. Which Gordon asks to Donate to a children's abuse charity. Jeff adding his own donation on top.
Jeff has never been prouder of his boys, and he has just the thing to show them how much he appreciates and loves them.
