Patricia XXIX
Summary: Patricia deals with her fear of losing Eddie and Mara's fate is decided.
As she raced through the hallways Patricia asked herself why she was even doing this. It wasn't like she could do anything to dissuade Mr. Sweet's anger. Freezing by the computer lab Patricia heard the headmaster's furious tone. "Have you any idea how much damage your little online stunt today has done to undermine my authority".
Peeking around the corner Patricia could see the previously closed off Eddie perk up after seeing her. "What authority is that Eric?" he sassed.
"As soon as this hearing is over, I want to see you in my office. Do I make myself understood?" Mr. Sweet yelled.
Oh No! Patricia tried to signal for him to knock it off, but he clearly didn't get the message. "Loud and clear cowboy!" he taunted as the teacher stormed out of the room.
"Who's the teacher's pet now Yacker?" Eddie asked smugly.
Oh she could just strangle him! And clearly, he was picking up on her negative vibes judging by the way his face fell. How could he not realize how bad this was!
"How could you possibly think that was a good idea!"
"What?! We are in this together Yacker" He replied upset.
"Sweet was already worked up over Mara bringing scandal to his precious school. You normally would have been able to get away with this but he's totally going to expel you now. SO what are you going to do?!" how could Eddie have been so dumb?
"Huh?"
"Come on weasel! What are we going to do about this? Do you have any dirt on him? I have some, but I was hoping to save the majority of my threats for something bigger. Not that you getting expelled isn't big and all, but his participation in the local cult is kinda big and threatening to go live with the story can only really be used once. Maybe we can just use my kidnapping and how he refused to try and save me…".
"You got KIDNAPPED!?"
"Yeah, last fall. It totally sucked and all, but it wasn't the worst thing that happened last year. But we aren't talking about me…"
"We aren't? And if not can we, because I have quite a few questions!"
"No Weasel" she replied lightly cuffing him. "You just riled Sweetie up worse than ever and now he is heading back to Mara's sentencing. After he suspends her, he's coming after you, so you had better come up with a plan or else you'll be on the next plane back to New York!".
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I think I might have something that should work".
"Great! He's probably cooled down as much as he's going to and is on his way to sentence Mara. So we should get back in there slimeball". Grabbing his wrist Patricia dragged a worried Eddie behind her as she hurried back to the lounge where the trial was taking place.
It was only as they sat back in their seats and Joy shot her a smug look that Patricia realized that she hadn't let go of Eddie's wrist the entire time. She quickly yanked her hand back, and from his surprised face she judged he had forgotten as well. Luckily for Patricia, not so much Mara, Mr. Sweet stormed into the room and called for order.
"Attention everyone, attention! I have listened to all the evidence presented today and have found no weight whatsoever to any of the claims Miss Jaffray has brought against Vera Devenish".
"Quite right!" cheered Victor who had retaken his seat in the back of the room. "Her claims were nothing more than the fabrications of a spiteful girl".
"Be quiet Victor" rebuked Sweet, "I am in charge here. The behavior of the students of this school has reached an all time low. And I will not stand for it for one moment longer. It is time for it to stop. Mara, you have attempted to ruin the reputation of one who wants only to look after you for a second time. This latest transgression leaves me with little option. Mara Jaffray, you are expelled!".
The room descended into complete chaos around a shocked Patricia. Mara had broken into a fresh set of tears, so Patricia joined Joy in comforting the terrified girl.
"Mara please don't worry. I'm sure that there is more to this than meets the eye. I'm going to have a word with Mr. Sweet now" reassured Madame Andrews as she rushed out of the room after the headmaster.
The other students, sensing that things were likely to only get more insane, took the break in drama as their chance to leave for the day.
"I can't believe he expelled you!" declared Nina. Her and Fabian had returned from the latest task just in time to hear the sentencing.
"I hope you're pleased with yourself Eddison. Pranking Sweet like that is what got Mara expelled. I can't believe you pushed her to post it." scathed Fabian.
"Hey! I wasn't the one who Ade her write a libelous article on Vera. She did that all by herself, and we've already been over this. It was Mara's dislike of website content that made her post the article, I was just in the room. If you are trying to find someone to blame for Mara being Mara, blame Mrs. Andrews who put her up to it in the first place!".
"Guys don't blame Eddie, I clearly got it all wrong" cut in Mara. 'Well that is nice of you to say now,' thought Patricia, 'but not even twenty minutes ago you were blaming him'.
"But there is something off about Vera" pressed Jerome.
"No Jerome, it's over" dismissed an upset Mara.
"It's not over until it's over Mara. There must be something we can do to get him to change his ruling".
"Can we file for a re-trial?" asked Alfie. "We've never actually had one of these before, maybe we could ask him to reconsider a suspension".
A little terrified squeak escaped Mara after hearing those words.
"No way! Mara's done more for this school then all of us put together" argued Fabian. "Between her continuing work as Student Rep, editor of the paper and president of several clubs; there is no denying how important she is to this school".
"No one is denying what Mara has done. And when I say that I mean both the good things and the bad things. For crying out loud this isn't the first adult's life she tried to ruin!" Alfie snapped back.
"She was absolved of any punishment in the Ms. Robinson case. That shouldn't be a factor in Mr. Sweets ruling".
"Whether it should be a factor or not Fabian, it is one. Mara got off with a slap on the wrist for something that could have falsely put Mrs. Robinson in jail. This time Vera could have lost her livelihood and any chance of future employment due to a bad performance review. In a weird way we should be thankful for the trial bringing the truth to light" countered Nina.
"Look Mara, we know suspension isn't what you want but it is better than the alternative. Missing coursework for a couple days will suck, but at least you will be able to remain at the school" Joy offered in a soft voice.
"Well how are we supposed to appeal for that?" cried Mara.
Patricia looked helplessly around at her housemates. Everyone, especially those who knew about the cult, was just as clueless as herself about how to help. Before anyone could come up with a plan Mrs. Andrews returned to the lounge.
"Mara and Eddie, Mr. Sweet will see you both in his office" she ordered. "Now please" she urged when no one moved.
Giving Mara's hand a quick squeeze Patricia gave her a little push to get her moving. After the pair had exited the room Mrs. Andrews fixed the remaining group with a harsh glare. "I'm sure I don't have to remind the seven of you about respecting decisions made by our esteemed headmaster. You may return to your house now". Looking around the room at her housemates Patricia knew that they were all on the same page, so when Alfie gave the signal, she joined the others as they made a mad dash for the headmaster's office.
The group arrived just as Eddie burst through the headmaster's door exclaiming "You can't expel her! It's me that you are really mad at, so why are you taking it out on Mara?"
"The first useful thing you said all semester" sassed Jerome as the group filed into the office.
"We're not leaving until you let Mara stay" announced Nina stubbornly.
"Yeah, seconded. Mara's done more for this school than all of us put together" agreed Fabian.
"Out all of you! Out of my office immediately!" yelled the furious headmaster rising to his feet and shooing the group out, slamming the door behind them.
Staring at the closed door Patricia wondered what they were supposed to do now. Eddie had left while the others were still in the office and Patricia had no idea where he had run off to. Jerome was pacing anxiously while Lili and Alfie tried to calm him down. Fabian looked horrified at the fact that he could be losing Mara. And until that moment, Patricia hadn't really let herself consider the real possibility that Mara would be forced to leave. She had just assumed that things would work out and Mara, while punished, would get to stay. Patricia could only hope and pray to any god or goddess listening that Mara would be able to talk herself out of trouble once again.
Five minutes of waiting finally saw the door open allowing a grumpy Mr. Sweet and a smiling Mara to exit.
As soon as the headmaster had left the hallway Mara answered all of their unasked questions, "I'm staying!".
Patricia couldn't help but join the relieved cheers of her friends and laugh as Jerome picked Mara up and spun her around happily.
But Mara hadn't been the only one in trouble, "What about Eddie?" Patricia asked already dreading the answer she knew was coming.
"Where is Eddie I have to thank him for switching punishments with me?!" asked an excited Mara.
Switching punishments? NO! Suddenly Patricia found that she was no longer in a celebratory mood. Spinning sharply on her heel she marched back to Anubis house hoping to find the American boy there.
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
As she entered the house Patricia could hear the loud sounds of an argument. Closing the front door quietly, as to not alert anyone of her presence until she had a better sense of the situation, she crept down the hall to peer through the cracked door into Eddie and Fabian's room. Inside she found Eddie and Mr. Sweet caught up in a vicious argument.
"I'm so disappointed in you, Edison" chided Mr. Sweet. Patricia could only see his back, but she was sure he was making the same face he always made when Mick would fail a test.
"What's new Dumbledore" snarked Eddie, his arms crossed defensively across his chest.
"You know I always suspected that this place might bring out the worst in you. I had hoped though that you would prove me wrong".
"Looks like I disappointed you again"
"Well you finally got what you wanted" stated the headmaster with a defeated sigh.
"Oh really? Victor's converting the cellar into an arcade?"
"I'm sending you home".
"One step ahead of you Eric" spat Eddie gesturing to his half full suitcase.
"Why can't you call me-"
"Dad? Ha! Why would I? You've never been a father to me, and you never will! Just get out!" shouted the American throwing a balled-up shirt in his bag. Patricia was in shock. Mr. Sweet was Eddie's dad?
"If you ever want to talk to me Edison, you know where to find me" reminded Mr. Sweet as he turned quickly to the door. Patricia, realizing what was about to happen, tried to dive out of the way but was too slow. The door flew open exposing the fact that she had been listening the entire time.
"Mr. Sweet is your dad?" asked Patricia before she could stop herself.
"Good evening Miss Williamson" sighed the headmaster as he inched around her into the hallway.
Once Patricia saw him heading upstairs to speak to Victor, she stepped into the room. Closing the door firmly behind her, she hoped the sounds of the upcoming argument wouldn't he heard by the rest of the house.
"We talked about your past and you never mentioned this? Why? I thought you trusted me!" she knew it wasn't logical, but Patricia couldn't help but be hurt by all of this.
"I Do!" Eddie protested grabbing her hands.
"Yeah, well, it doesn't look like that from where I'm standing" she returned angrily.
"Yacker I trust you so much! I've told you things I've never told anyone else"
"Then why didn't you tell me about this? I thought our friendship meant something to you."
Eddie's voice cracked, "You think we're friends?".
"I thought so, but I'm rethinking a lot of things after the latest truth bomb".
"Tricia please… I didn't want anyone to know" he begged
"Look, Weasel" Eddie adopted a hopeful look at the nickname. "I'm going to need a bit to process all of this. I'll see you at dinner".
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
As Patricia closed the door behind her, she knew that she hadn't handled the confrontation well. And a large part of why, was her own issues with her family. Her sucky family was a secret only Joy, Fabian and Amber knew about. Patricia could understand in theory Eddie's desire to hide his relationship with Mr. Sweet, since she definitely didn't want anyone else to know about her parents or Piper. But the fact that his secret family member played a role in her nightmares from last year had her questioning what to do now. Could she continue to get close with Eddie knowing who his family was? What his father had done to her and her friends?
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
Patricia decided to just ignore Eddie for the rest of the weekend as she tried to sort through her tangled emotions. Her luck finally ran out Monday afternoon as Eddie chased after her across the front lawn. "Yacker hold up! Come on Yacker… Patricia! Patricia please just talk to me".
Sighing she stopped and turned around to talk to him "What Eddie?".
"Look, I know you are still processing or whatever, but I just wanted you to be the first to know that I'm not leaving" well that was a relief! even though she was upset with him currently, Patricia would have missed him if he had left. "I was able to strike a deal with my dad" he whispered. "Will you please keep it a secret?"
And… they are back on the dad topic. "Eddie…"
"I know you're hurt that I didn't tell you, but I really don't want to be associated with him"
"I can understand that. So yes I'll keep your secret".
"Thank you!" he reached out like he was going to hug her.
Stepping back Patricia threw a hand up to stop him, "I'll keep your secret, but I still need more time".
His face fell, but he respected the boundaries she had set. The pair spent the rest of the walk back to Anubis talking about homework and Friday's upcoming Ping Pong match.
So Mara has finally hit rock bottom, let the process of healing begin! This was the last chapter that was dedicated to the trial arc, so we will be moving onto the curses and ping pong next week.
Next Week: The new Sibuna's are initiated and Nina gets some horrifying news.
I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story so far in the comments or my Tumblr House-of-Secrets! Xo Evie