As Nadia sat outside of Ms. Sauve's office, she thought back to the events of the previous night. It seemed unreal how much her life, how all of their lives, had changed in one night. Allie had revealed what had been bothering her for the past few weeks. Allie had been raped by Dean, a guy whom she had cared about and who she thought cared about her. Nadia, Kendra, and Brandy stayed that evening as Allie told her Mom and Brad what had happened to her. They were all there to console Allie, and reassure her that what had happened to her was not her fault and that she had no reason to be ashamed. Nadia also realized it was the first time that she had seen, the usually humorous Brad, actually shed tears. Allie's Mom suggested that she and Allie come speak to the school guidance counselor. Allie said she would, but only if Brandy, Kendra and Nadia would accompany her. So here they were. Ms. Sauve had said she really wanted to talk to Allie and her Mom alone first, but that the rest of the group could wait outside and she would let them inside in a few moments.
"So what do you think they're talking about?" Brandy wondered aloud.
"I don't know?" Kendra replied, "Maybe she's telling them what they need to do to put that creep behind bars."
"I still can't believe what happened to poor Allie, she's so nice and sweet. Something like this shouldn't happen to anybody, but Allie always went out of her way to be extra nice and considerate to everybody. It just isn't fair." Nadia lamented.
The three girls just looked at each other, all in silent agreement. After a few more minutes passed, Ms. Sauve finally opened the door and told them to come in. Brandy and Kendra both took seats sitting to each side of Allie and her Mom. Nadia stopped close by the door.
Ms. Sauve started speaking once everyone was settled. "Well girls, I've been speaking to Allie and Mrs. Knight and they've decided to go to the police and press charges against Dean. (A/N: Allie's Mom still goes by her married name, even though she is divorced) What this means is that they will be in for a long and difficult process. But I think that they've made a brave decision to come forward and pursue this action. I've also told them that taking a rape case to trial won't be pretty. The defense lawyers are going to try and bring up anything from her past that they feel they can use to get their client off of the hook. That's why I've called you in here. Allie is going to need as much support as she can get and I didn't want anybody to be caught off guard when rumors and accusations start being aimed towards her."
"But I don't understand? Allie didn't do anything wrong." Kendra stated.
"We all know that," Ms. Sauve replied, "but in a criminal trial both sides try to convince a jury that their truth is the correct one. I've seen first hand the maneuvers that lawyers use to try and persuade jurors."
Just then they heard a knock at the door. Ms. Sauve explained to the girls that she had asked Allie and her Mom if it was all right to bring in another student, who had been attacked last school year. Allie and her Mom had said that would be fine.
"It's okay, the door's open. You can come in."
The four girls were shocked to see Paige Michalchuk standing in front of them.
"Paige. I had no idea something had happened to you last year." Allie commented.
Paige took a seat on a small table that was adjacent to Ms. Sauve's desk. She crossed one leg over the other and faced everybody in the room.
"It's not the kind of thing that I really wanted the whole world to know." Paige replied, "It took me a long time to admit it to myself and even then I only told a few of my closest friends. Eventually they convinced me to talk to Ms. Sauve. I came to her yesterday after I found out from Nadia and Brandy that you had been involved with Dean. She put two and two together and we figured that he had done it to someone, again."
"Again?" Kendra asked.
"Yeah, Dean raped me at a party last year." Paige continued, "It took me months to come to grips with it, and when I finally did, I decided to press charges against him."
"Then why is that monster still walking the streets?" Brandy inquired.
"Because the legal system sucks lemons, hon." Paige observed, " The D.A. said he believed me, but by me waiting so long to come forward he said they would have a weak case, at best. The case is still pending while they try to get more evidence to nail Dean. They even took him downtown for questioning. I had hoped that would scare him and he wouldn't ever think of doing this to anybody else again. I guess I was wrong. What makes it so frustrating is that I can't even go public with what happened, so I can at least warn other girls about him."
"What do you mean?" Nadia asked.
"Since Dean is still a minor, his identity has to be kept private unless he's convicted of a crime. I mean it's insane, he commits the crime but he has more protection under the law than me." Paige revealed.
"So what chance does my daughter have by going to court with this?" Mrs. Knight asked.
"I can't make any guarantees, but hopefully by your daughter and Paige testifying against Dean, it'll be enough to put him away for a very long time." Ms. Sauve answered as honestly as she could.
The session lasted for another hour, with Paige and Allie talking about how they were coping with everything that had happened to them. Once the session was over, Ms. Sauve suggested that Allie continue to see her on at least a weekly basis, and the girls could come with her if Allie wanted them to. Allie said she would continue coming and asked Paige if she wouldn't mind sitting in on a few sessions occasionally. Paige replied that she didn't mind a bit.
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A few days passed and things seemed to be getting back to normal, or as normal as could be expected given the circumstances. Nadia was moving down the hallway, with Lee at her side.
"So are we still on for this Friday?" Lee asked.
"Of course. Where are we going to go?" Nadia questioned.
"I was thinking of seeing a movie. We can go see the new Matrix movie that just came out." Lee suggested.
Nadia wasn't into science fiction movies, but she was willing to adjust if it meant spending time with her sweetie.
"Okay. Do you want to meet there?" Nadia asked.
"Actually, I was thinking since the theatre is only a couple of blocks from your house, I could come to your house and we could walk from there together?" Lee suggested.
"That'd be great!" Nadia exclaimed.
As they were walking, they passed a guy who put a rose into a locker and then quickly walked away.
"That's so romantic. I bet that rose is for his girlfriend." Nadia commented. Lee just shrugged his shoulders in agreement.
At lunch Nadia was beaming about her date. As she sat with Kendra, she told her about a new outfit she had gotten, just for the occasion. But Kendra seemed a little distant.
"Hey Kendra, is everything all right?" Nadia asked.
"Yeah, I just zoned out for a minute. One of the volunteers in my Dragon dance had to drop out. I don't know if I'm going to be able to find a replacement this late." Kendra revealed.
"That's too bad. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out something." Nadia said trying to comfort her.
Just then Allie walked to their table and sat down.
"How's everything Allie?" Kendra asked.
"It's getting better, one day at a time. I had another session with Ms. Sauve yesterday. I feel better each time I talk to her. Paige was even at this session and made a joke to Ms. Sauve. Something about all the girls she brings to her for help, she should get a co-op job working for the guidance office." Allie told them. "So, Nadia, have you and Lee decided where you are going on your date?"
"We're going to see the Matrix." Nadia replied, "I know, sounds so romantic."
"You'll have fun, Lee is sooo in love with you." Allie teased her.
"He is not." Nadia protested, "At least I don't think he is."
The girls continued talking and teasing each other for the rest of the lunch period. For Nadia, it felt good to have things, kind of, back to normal.
If only it would stay that way.