This is a short chapter, but it sets up for the next one.
Part 1: Home Not So Sweet Home
I watch as Dick Grayson leaves the school with his guardian. It is perfect. I can see that his guardian isn't happy. The setup has begun. I know I won't be able to do anything until Monday. It was nice to know I remembered the combination for that particular locker, and that they never changed it. Monday won't come soon enough for me.
Of course, being in disguise has helped. No one notices one more student or even one more staff member. Dick Grayson you will be in for a wild ride. I hope Bruce Wayne throws you out on your ear. Then I can pick up the pieces of your pathetic life and make it even more miserable. And by the time your guardian finds out that it was all a lie, it will be too late. And with you completely gone, I may just find a way to bring back my father's empire.
Dick Grayson kept his head down as Alfred drove both of them back to Wayne Manor. The look on Dick's face was like that of a condemned prisoner. He kept his head down to shield his eyes, so Bruce would not see the pain, and anguish he felt. Dick knew he had not cheated. He had been putting extra study time in both the batcave and at school. He wanted Bruce to be proud of him. Now all that had been shattered. His academic record had been sullied, and he did not understand how or why. With his mind on what happened, he didn't see the approach to the manor. He looked up to see his Aunt Harriet wave at him from her prized roses. He could not face her beloved features. He wasn't even aware that Bruce was speaking to him. Instead, Dick grabbed his backpack and raced into the manor, up the stairs to the second floor and into his room. He locked the door refusing entry even to Alfred. He pressed his back to the door and slid to the floor, burying his head into his knees. Only then did he allow the hot angry tears to fall, his cries muffled by his legs.
Bruce's words continued to play their ugly dance in his head. It was two hours before he made his way to his bed where he continued to cry out his broken heart, his broken spirit. Eventually, he fell asleep. He did not hear the gentle knock that came from Alfred letting him know that his dinner tray waited outside his door. And even if he had taken the tray, Dick had no appetite. He lost it the moment Bruce had not believed him. Though Dick did not want to be vindictive, he knew Bruce was only doing what was right. If the roles had been reversed, given the evidence, Dick probably would have done the same under similar circumstances. Still, Dick would have liked to think that he would have listened and found out the truth.
Dick knew without a doubt he had not cheated. There was no way that he could have done so, with his studies and his time as Robin. There was no way he could have taken those exam papers. If only there was a way to convince Bruce, but the evidence was too strong in the prosecutor's favor. What Dick didn't know, as the days progressed, things would go from bad to worse.
Continues with Part 2: Solitary