Chapter 16: Let's Talk
A/N: If you haven't looked at my profile, I just want to let you know that for this story, Craig and Manny never had sex, which means she never got pregnant and had an abortion.
Manny and Paige found an empty classroom and went in to talk. They closed the door and sat down. They were both sitting on the floor with their legs crossed, facing each other.
"I'm so sorry Manny," Paige repeated.
"It's not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for," Manny told her.
"I just can't believe any of this has happened," she said, beginning to cry.
"Um, Paige?"
"Yeah Manny?"
"I can't be on the Spirit Squad anymore. At least not for this year," Manny told her.
"Why? Is it because you don't want to have to hang around me? Because if it is, I don't want you quitting Spirit Squad; you love it too much."
"It's not that, I just…" she trailed off. "I can't do it because I'm pregnant," she confessed.
"Oh my god Manny! Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm definitely positive. I went to the doctor yesterday."
"Do you know who…?" Paige began to ask.
"No. It could be Craig or Mr. Oleander. I'm hoping that it's Chris," Manny said. "I feel like such a slut."
"Manny you're not a slut. What they did to you was not right. We have to fight them," Paige told her.
"It won't work. There's no evidence against them. The only reason they were arrested was because Jason is friends with the Chief of Police. There's no use fighting it," Manny explained.
"Yes there is. I know how we can. Follow me," Paige told Manny as she grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.
The two girls ditched school and went with Jason and Heather to talk to their lawyer. Paige confessed to the lawyer that she and Mr. Oleander had sex. She said that if he couldn't be convicted for rape, then he'd go to prison for statutory rape since she was only seventeen. When she was finished telling the lawyer, Manny objected.
"But Paige! You could be kicked out of Degrassi if everyone finds out. Then you'd have to go to Bardell!"
"Manny, let's just hope that doesn't happen," Paige said, thinking about Dean, the boy from Bardell that had raped her.
They had to wait two more weeks until the trial. While they waited, Manny became more and more nervous. She was positive that she would lose the trial, because Paige lost hers against Dean.
"There's not enough evidence!" Manny shouted at Paige. It was the day of the trial. Paige, Emma, and Manny were in Mr. Simpson's car, driving to the courthouse.
"Don't worry Manny! I am going to make sure that Mr. Oleander pays for what he's done," Paige reassured her.
"But Craig will still get off, won't he?" Emma asked.
"He probably will. You have to have some hope girls," Snake interjected. "You never know, the jury might believe you."
"We're here," Manny announced sadly. They got out of the car and met up with Jason, Heather, Spike, Chris, his parents, Paige's parents, and the lawyers on the front steps. Manny had Jason and Heather's lawyer, Paige's lawyer, and Mr. Simpson's lawyer working on her case. Everyone went in the building and up to the courtroom.
Manny had to excuse herself from the room as soon as they sat down. She went to the bathroom and threw up, unsure if it was morning sickness or nervousness about the case. Emma and Paige followed her to the bathroom.
"It's going to be okay, no matter what," Paige told her.
"Yeah, we're both here for you," Emma added.
"Thanks guys," Manny said and hugged them both. "We better get back to the room before the trial starts. When the girls made it back to the courtroom, JT and Mr. Radditch were there. Craig and Mr. Oleander were also there. Manny's stomach started to hurt the moment she saw them, but she pulled herself together and sat down.
Manny was the first person to testify. She told the entire story, which took almost an hour. She had to take breaks in between because she couldn't stop crying. After she was finally done, Emma went up to tell about Manny not showing up when they were supposed to meet.
"She could have just been blowing you off, couldn't she?" Craig's lawyer asked Emma.
"No, she wouldn't do that to me. If she couldn't make it, she would have called," Emma responded.
"Or maybe she was too busy with her new boyfriend. No further questions." She didn't even get a chance to say anything else. The next person was JT. He explained what time Manny finished helping him in the library. He also mentioned the fact that Manny told him she was in Mr. Oleander's classroom during the time that the supposed crime was committed.
Mr. Oleander went up. When his lawyer asked what happened that day after school he replied, "I was putting away books in my room when Ms. Santos walked in and asked if I needed help. I told her I didn't, but she started helping anyway. After about ten minutes, she threw herself at me. I didn't like the way she was acting, so I kicked her out of the room."
"That is such bullshit!" A voice called from the back of the room. It was JT.
"Young man, another outburst like that and you will be out of my courtroom," the judge snapped at him.
Mr. Radditch testified next. He told the jury about seeing Manny and Craig in the hall. "She was very distraught. I could tell that something was up," he said.
"But you didn't do anything about it did you? You didn't confront my client even though you saw them coming out of his classroom?" Mr. O's lawyer asked.
"I didn't see them coming…"
"Answer the question Mr. Radditch!"
"No," he answered.
"No further questions your honor."
Now it was Craig's turn to take the stand. The story he told was a complete lie, but it was very convincing. "I don't believe that Manny would throw herself at Mr. Oleander. He's not her type," he said.
"I object! That is not relevant!" Mr. Oleander's lawyer yelled.
"Is there a point to this Mr. Manning?" the judge asked.
"Yes sir, there is."
"Objection overruled. Please continue."
"Well, as I was saying, she wouldn't do that. I stayed after school that day to work on my English project. Mrs. Kwan was pretty mad that it was so late. Anyway, I walked by Mr. Oleander's room and the door was closed. I noticed the light was still on, so I knocked on the door, as Manny stated. There was no answer, but I could hear something going on. I tried the door and it was locked. Then I sorta picked the lock…I know I shouldn't have, but I had a bad feeling. I opened the door and…" he paused. "I'm sorry, this just really upsets me," Craig lied. He was forcing himself to cry. A fake tear fell down his cheek before he continued. "He was raping Manny. All I could see was this girl I love being violated by this pervert, and I lost it. I pulled Mr. Oleander off of her and started yelling, and he yelled back. Manny and I ran away from him and bumped into Mr. Radditch. I was afraid to tell him the truth. Mr. Oleander…he…he told me that he would rape me too if I told." At this point, Craig really began to cry. It was still fake, of course, but he was good at it. Mr. Oleander was fuming, but he knew he couldn't object or he'd get in bigger trouble.
"Craig, I know this is hard for you. Can you tell me why Ms. Santos would say that you raped her?" his lawyer asked.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, I helped her out, and I thought she'd be grateful. I really think she was just scared. Or maybe, just maybe, she wanted to get rid of me so she could be with Chris."
"No further questions."
There was a thirty minute recess after Craig talked. Everyone left the courthouse to get lunch from the food cart outside.
"Counselor, are there any more witnesses?" the judge asked Manny's lawyer once everyone was situated back in the room.
"Yes sir. There's one more," he answered.
"Okay, call your last witness."
"Your honor, I'd like to call to the stand Paige Michalchuk." Paige was sworn in and sat down.
"Now Paige, do you think that Mr. Oleander raped Manuela?" the lawyer asked.
"Yes, I do."
"To my knowledge, you did not witness any of the crime, so tell us why you think it is possible."
"Because we had sex," she said quietly.
"You had sex? So this means that he would rape someone?" he questioned.
"Well, no. I mean, that's not the whole thing. One day I left school during lunchtime with Matt…"
"Matt?"
"Mr. Oleander," Paige clarified. "Anyway, he brought me back to his house. We were sitting on the couch eating and he kissed me. Then he tried to lay me down, but I didn't want to. He kept pushing the subject and told me that it would all be okay. He was just getting so mad that I finally gave in. He didn't rape me, but his behavior that day gives me reason to believe he would have. Plus, he was mad at me for avoiding him, and not calling him back, so he took it out on Manny because he knew we were on Spirit Squad together," she finished.
"I see. Now, Paige, can you tell the court how old you are?" he asked.
"I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen? I believe that would be statutory rape, wouldn't it?"
"Yes it is," Paige said.
"You little bitch!" Mr. Oleander yelled at Paige as he jumped up. This caused everyone in the courtroom to start commenting.
"Order!" the judge yelled. "Mr. Oleander, do you want to be held in contempt?"
"No sir," he answered quietly.
"Then I suggest you sit down before that happens. Now, with this outburst in mind, it appears that what Paige here is saying is true. The charge of statutory rape will be added to the list. Mr. Hill, do you have any questions for her?" the judge asked Mr. Oleander's lawyer.
"Yes your honor," he replied and approached Paige. "Can you tell me if you have any proof of your sexual intercourse with my client?" he asked her.
"Yes I do. My lawyer has it with him," she replied. Paige's lawyer brought out some paper work and showed it to the court clerk who had to check it before it could be handed to the jury. Once it was passed around to everyone on the jury, it was handed to Mr. Hill.
"This paperwork says that you are pregnant," Mr. Hill stated. Manny, as well as everyone else gasped.
"That is correct," Paige told him.
"And how do you know that Mr. Oleander is the father?" he asked.
"Because he's the only person I've ever had sex with."
"How are we supposed to know if that is true or not?"
"The same way you believed the whole story that Craig told. I was sworn in, as was he, and I vowed to tell the truth. So I am," she said. She was making Mr. Hill look very stupid.
"No further questions."
Paige sat down next to Manny and the girls were crying and hugging each other. The lawyers had their closing statements, and the jury left the room to go over all the evidence.
"Paige, why didn't you tell me?" Manny asked her about the pregnancy. They were waiting outside the courtroom.
"I was waiting for the right time. I wasn't going to reveal it in court unless I was asked for evidence. Which I was," Paige pointed out.
"Now our kids might be related," Manny joked nervously.
"For your sake, I hope not," Paige told her.
"Thanks. But at least they can be friends. How far along are you?"
"A month. Manny, I think it happened the day after he…" she trailed off and began to cry again.
"It's okay Paige. None of this is your fault at all. I'm not mad at you or anything. Don't worry about it. We can get through this together okay?"
"Okay," she said. At that time, one of the court marshals told them that they could all go back into the room. They had been waiting for an hour and a half.
"The jury will now deliver their verdict," the judge announced. Paige held onto Manny's hand for comfort. They were both praying that both Craig and Mr. Oleander would be convicted. The woman sitting in the last seat, closest to the judge, stood up and began to read off of a piece of paper.
"In the case of Santos versus Manning, we, the people of the jury, find Craig Manning not guilty."
Craig jumped up and hugged his lawyer. He looked over at Manny and smiled. She was crying. "They're both going to get off, I knew it," she whispered to Paige, trying to wipe her tears away.
"In the case of Santos versus Oleander, for the charge of the statutory rape of Paige Michalchuck, we find Matthew Oleander guilty."
Mr. Oleander was extremely angry. He glared at Paige, who was being congratulated by Manny.
"On the charge of rape, we find Matthew Oleander…"
A/N: You'll have to wait for Chapter 17! Just to let everyone know, I know that normally, there would be two separate trials for Craig and Mr. O, but I decided to do it this way because it was easier. There would also probably be a new trial for the statutory rape thing, against Paige, but again, this way was easier. Review!
