November 17th 2022

Chapter 321
Our Shock of Consequences

Through no purposeful intent, the 'sentence' on the participants of the cheating scandal came down on Maya's birthday. With the way they had gathered not too long ago to commemorate five years since Lambert, it was almost appropriate, wasn't it? Five years ago, she hadn't felt too keen on celebrating her birthday, still coping with the loss of her student, and right now she was feeling much the same, as she'd been dealing with everything since they'd returned from holidays.

She hadn't been there, that first day, when the parents had finally come along and met with the principal, but she'd heard plenty about it afterward to know how it all had gone. Lamar's mother and stepfather had come for him, and the news that he had stolen answers from tests in four classes and used them had landed, as they might have expected, like a ton of bricks. Surely there had to be some kind of mistake because Lamar would never… But then he'd confessed to it, and so the shock had transformed to shame and, as far as she'd heard, a very tenuous hold on volume control. She had no idea what had happened once they'd left the school, but when Tre and Rolly had returned to school the next day, without their younger brother, there had been an awkward air to them, like their evening at home had been anything but rosy.

Of Lydia's meeting with her fathers and the principal, Maya had heard much more, naturally. After they'd gotten out of there, Michael and Keith had come to find her in class, hoping maybe to get a better grasp of what had happened. Maya could hardly help them there, but she did her best. She was as confused and baffled as they were. Lydia was in the quiz team, and they knew she'd been doing well, so why on Earth would she do this? What could have possessed her? What… or who?

Their meeting with the principal had been longer than that of the McNeil-Whitley family's, because once they had addressed Lydia's part in this, they had also gotten the Cullens back in New York on the phone, to discuss Matt's part in all this. The two families had been getting along very well all this time, but suddenly with their two children caught up in this situation, accusations were being tossed around of one or the other having been a bad influence on the other, or that perhaps Michael and Keith had not been watchful guardians enough to prevent it. It had not been pretty, and by the end of it Matt Cullen had officially been withdrawn from the exchange camper program. He was taken back to the Sullivan-Reyes house, where he was aided in packing his bags before being driven to the airport. He'd been gone ever since, and Maya had barely managed to say goodbye.

Lucas had been doing his best to keep up with how the boy was doing, though it hadn't been easy. As Maya had expected, the Cullens had turned their ire on Sullivan Stables next, giving them an earful or three. As of yet, the school hadn't said anything to suggest they would no longer host exchange campers, which was a relief, though both Lucas and Maya suspected that there would be a bit more scrutiny as to who they picked from here on out, as though one fifteen-year-old's choices had spoiled the entire effort. For now, Lucas was contemplating whether they might seek out someone who'd like to have a shortened stay in Austin, not unlike what they'd had in the first year of the program, but he didn't have many hopes for it. They'd just have to wait until the fall.

That might have been the end of it, but as they'd both told Maya they wanted to do so, MJ and Ash had come forward, revealing their part in all this, even if they hadn't actively participated. The principal had been near his limit already, dealing with the first three, so these two felt like excess. Still, he hadn't been able to just brush it aside, so the two of them had been sent home with letters to their parents rather than bringing them in. They were suspended for a week and considered lucky for it. As far as she'd heard where Ash's family was concerned, their mother had reacted about as well as Maya had figured she would. It didn't matter that Ash had not actually done anything. They were suspended for a week, but they were grounded for the rest of the school year and summer, and the only thing they would be lucky about would be if they got to see the sun when they didn't have school. That benched them from the LGBTeam, which might have been the worst of it, right after what it would mean for them and their girlfriend, as the two of them already didn't get to see each other in class anymore.

Then there were Maya's own parents, when MJ had come home with that letter. In some ways, he might have gotten it easy, even though he hardly had anything to be reproached for. He hadn't cheated, hadn't helped them. He'd tried to convince them not to do it, had managed to change one of their minds… His only 'crime' had been not to tell on them, and whether it was that both of his parents hadn't exactly been model teenagers while he was near enough to one in every way, or that he was so far on the outside of this, Katy and Shawn had made sure that he would use this week to think about the whole situation, and they'd left it there. They didn't have to worry at all. MJ was definitely thinking about everything, about his friends… his boyfriend…

Lamar and Lydia had been suspended for a month. As they'd guessed, it hadn't taken long at all after the parents had arrived for the identity of 'the cheaters' to spread like wildfire around the school. On the one hand, Maya was relieved at the fact that the witch hunt could end, but still… It wasn't going to fix the problem. All she could think about in the beginning was Lucas, when he'd been suspended, and when he'd returned to class. Yes, his circumstances were different in many ways, but the result wouldn't be so, would it? Those two were going to be mistrusted and given the eye, probably for the rest of their time at this school, and they had a little over three years left of that. This one stupid act was going to follow them wherever they went. And what would happen when they started applying to colleges?

It had been nearly two weeks since 'the shock,' and while three of her classes had for the most part returned to normal – a small blip of an exception specifically with Lara in first period and Tre and Rolly in last – one remained just… off. Post-lunch with the freshmen had been finding its rhythm before the break, or it had felt that way to Maya, but now… Now, all they could see were the absences. MJ and Ash were back, which was something, but it had been rough going on that first week, with suddenly five less faces in that room. Now there were still three missing, one of them for good, and the other two until February. It trickled down to their diaries, everyone in that room. After those pages filled with happy memories from the holiday break, it was followed with what might have been one of the bleakest sets of pages she'd seen in all her years.

Now, even as Lamar and Lydia were coping as best as they could with their suspensions, this wasn't over, and today… Today they found out what would follow their eventual return to school. If they only knew how much of a debate it had been inside their school, between their teachers… They had no idea how close they'd come to being outright expelled. Several of the teachers had spoken on their behalf though, including those whose classes they had cheated in. Were they being let completely off the hook? No, not even a little. Already, Lamar had been removed from the boys' basketball team, for the remainder of the year and perhaps the remainder of his time at the school. If it had been up to Dylan alone, he might have responded differently, but it was out of his hands. As it was, he would do his best to advocate for him in the coming years, but it might well be that his high school playing days were over for good.

As for Lydia and the quiz team, this had been a trickier decision. Ultimately, it was a club and not connected to the school in exactly the same way. The principal had chosen to leave the decision up to the advisors, to Maya and Cory. It had demanded nearly an entire evening's discussion, as the Friars had received the Matthews over for dinner. While Lucas and Topanga looked after the Friar sisters along with twelve-year-old Hunter, the former student and teacher and current colleagues talked the situation over. Already, Lydia's suspension had thrown the team out of balance. She wasn't there in the mornings along with Nika, Rolly, and Maia, and they'd then had to cancel one match, others they might have participated in now left in limbo, and if that wasn't bad enough, then they had bigger competitions, one of them out of state before the end of this year… What were they supposed to do? Should they kick her out? Find her a substitute? If they did that, how long would she be out? Or should they just allow her back outright? Should there still be some penalties, to her and not the team? In their hearts, neither Maya nor Cory wanted to kick her out or do anything at all. They both knew that. The problem was that they couldn't always follow their hearts, especially not with this.

In the end, for the benefit of the team as a whole, not letting them be penalized by having to break in a new member this late in the year, Lydia was allowed to reintegrate the team when she would return. That would take care of this year, but after that… After that, they would have to re-examine the situation and decide what would happen in her sophomore year and onward. There had been some debate among the other three in the team. They'd had plenty of time to explore the question, naturally, and they were as perplexed as the others, if not more. Like their advisors, they didn't want to lose their new teammate, but they were also thinking about what it would look like for their team if it got out that one of their members had cheated so spectacularly in her classes. It could discredit them, prevent them from competing. Already, they had been hearing whispers from friends in other teams.

For now, they had to focus on school, and what would happen when Lydia and Lamar returned. When Maya got home that afternoon, as exhausted and un-birthday like as she'd felt in her now thirty-five years of living, she got to tell Lucas about what had been decided. Lamar and Lydia would neither one of them get to participate in any activities at the school other than class – other than the quiz team for one – and along with having to see the guidance counselor once a week, they would be in detention for the remainder of the year… as supervised by her. One hour, every afternoon.

"Are you going to be okay picking up the little butts from preschool? I'll do both drop-offs in the mornings," Maya told her husband, but he shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he promised her, and she hummed, leaning to rest against his shoulder, where she was held, the top of her head kissed. "I feel I should tell you there's a messy but very lovingly decorated cake with your name on it in the refrigerator," he whispered, and despite everything, she laughed lightly. "I think we've used up the entire load of sprinkles for the greater Austin area."

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners