Chapter 4: Exposed

On their way to school there was a question practically eating Danny alive to which he already knew the answer. He wasn't sure if he could handle Lacey actually saying no or come up with some lame excuse about how it may affect her so-called friend's impression of her. Danny glances over at Lacey debating whether or not this would be the right time to ask her the question that he so desperately wants to ask. Lacey was unaware of the subtle nervous glances Danny was making. Her main goal was to cheer him up. Lately he's been acting strange, having weird dreams and at that moment behaving as 'Mr. Doom and Gloom' and it was making her feel depress. She knew he was probably apprehensive about the process and outcome of the hearing; which was the only reason she had refrained from telling him he was a drag. Although she hated being around miserable people, she wasn't entirely insensitive. Lacey had been driving five minutes and Danny had not uttered a single word. Usually Danny would ask her a million questions about pop culture or the latest hit songs; but not today. Lacey found his silence to be quite unnerving. Something was on his mind and it probably had something to do with the hearing. Lacey hated talking about the hearing. It made her feel guilty as if she were betraying him by not wanting to attend. They had discussed this over the phone the night Danny hosted the dinner and haven't talked about it since. Lacey couldn't take the silence anymore! She needed a distraction; so instead of asking him how he felt or a really annoying hypothetical question, she simply turned up the music and sung the lyrics to a song that Danny had never heard before. She had a hunch that Danny's nervous glances and dead silence was the result of that prior discussion.

At first he respected and understood her reasoning but now that the hearing was only an hour away he realized he wanted her there and he wanted her to speak on his behalf. He wanted to hear what she really thought of him. Danny felt himself becoming emotional. The lump developing in his throat seemed to grow the more he realized that Lacey wasn't willing to fight for him. It was all starting to get to him. Danny turned to look at her angelic face and began to feel a steady burn in his chest that raged resentment towards Lacey. He caught the impression that she was willing to sit back and watch people drag his name and character into the ground. Lacey was vigilant therefore Danny knew that Lacey was aware of the few people who would say decent things about him while the majority would take delight in slandering his name. Danny was appalled that such possibilities didn't even seem to faze her. In spite of his better judgment he threw caution to the wind and asked Lacey anyway. "I know you said no before and at first I said I would respect your wishes, but deep down I'm dying inside knowing you won't be there for me during my worst hour. Lace, are you speaking at the hearing today?"

Lacey pretends to not hear the question and turns the radio up louder. Danny grew agitated at Lacey's attempt to avoid discussing the trial hearing. It was very obvious to him that it made her uncomfortable. Danny turned the radio off and repeated the question. Lacey absolutely despised this question. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, swallowed hard and slowly turned to look at Danny. He had already turned his whole body in her direction and waited patiently for Lacey to respond. Lacey couldn't bear to look at him again. His soulful sad dark brown eyes made it very difficult for her to stand her ground. Lacey believed Danny had every right to ask this of her considering she was the one person that knew him personally. Lacey parked a two blocks away on a street behind the school building. Danny knew the drill. This is where she always dropped him off to avoid anyone seeing them. As much as Danny hated this routine he knew it was the only way to keep Lacey from being ostracized. Danny felt that no one should have to deal with that kind of animosity on a daily basis, especially Lacey. Danny hesitates from getting out of the car. He needed an answer. "Lace are you coming to the hearing today?" Lacey looks down at her lap and then at Danny. She knows she should go and show her support, but she is afraid of how it may look considering her friends believe he killed Regina. Even if she agreed to only show up as a speculator, she didn't think she'd be able to sit back quietly and allow the students to vilify Danny's character. Danny could see that this decision tormented her; so instead of begging he just exited the car, slammed the door and walked away. Lacey shouted his name from the car, "Danny wait! Let me explain!" Danny ignored Lacey's call and kept walking towards the school and never looked back. Without thinking she started to get out of the car and run after Danny but before she stood up she spotted Archie standing across the street. Once again she had to choose between Danny and popularity. Lacey reasoned that now wasn't the time to run after Danny, especially since Archie's eyes were burning a hole into the side of her face. She pretended not to see Archie, stared straight ahead and drove off towards the student parking lot.

Lacey parked the car in the student parking lot and began to check her hair and make up. Just as she was about to open her car door, Archie appeared, opened the passenger door and sat down. Lacey was in shock. "What are you doing Archie?" He gnashed his teeth, "Tell me I didn't just see the freak get out of your car and then you calling after him? Please, tell me I didn't just witness that?" Although Lacey didn't feel she needed to explain anything to Archie, she didn't want to make matters worse for Danny or create any further suspicion considering Archie was speaking at the hearing today. Lacey smoothed out her hair and feigned a nonchalant attitude. "Yes, I was giving him a ride. Is there a crime against giving another student a ride if you are both running late and heading towards the same destination?" Archie shook his head in disbelief, "Lacey you need to stay away from that freak. I know we aren't together anymore and you probably think it isn't my place to tell you what to do, but after today you may want to steer clear of him." This comment peaked Lacey's interest. "What's going to happen today?" Archie smirked, "Regina's mom has convinced the board, the teachers and the soccer team that Danny needs to be expelled. She wants him out of the school, out of the town and placed in prison. She was convinced he was responsible for the murder of Regina, poisoning of Cole and just about all the tension looming over this town. She will stop at nothing. The Freak doesn't stand a chance. I know you two were friends years ago, but he is bad news. I'd hate to see you go down with him." Archie got out of the car, slammed the door and walked away before Lacey had a chance to ask another question. She then glanced at the time on her dashboard; she only had five minutes to get to class before the late bell rung.

Lacey made it just in time for class. She glanced at the clock on the wall and then at her teacher. She tried very hard to focus on her teacher's instructions but all she could think about was how Danny was about to suffer through an unjustly swayed trial hearing. If Danny gets expelled as a result of this hearing, she may never be able to have an accepted and open relationship with Danny. The sound of her father's voice forbidding her from seeing Danny seemed to echo in her mind. Nonetheless, how would this affect his chances of getting into culinary arts school? How will the town treat him, after knowing that he was expelled for allegedly harming another student? Just a few days ago Lacey was in favor of home school for Danny but now she felt he should not be forced into this decision because he was falsely accused. The idea of Danny being expelled began to bother Lacey even more. Expelling him would mark him as guilty and no matter how many good deeds he'd do, he'd still be treated like an outcast. The more Lacey thought about the closed-mindedness of the people in her town the more she grew sick with herself for upholding the same mentality in order to please her friends. It became clear to Lacey that if she didn't attend the hearing she'd be just as bad as everyone else. Lacey was convinced that this injustice had to stop and she needed to address Regina's mother, the ringleader of all this persecution. She glanced at the clock again and then at the door leading to the hallway. The hearing would commence in three minutes. Lacey got up and walked over to her teacher and whispered if she could have permission to attend the hearing. The teacher nodded and wrote Lacey a pass. Lacey then walked swiftly through the halls constantly looking over her shoulder, hoping that none of her friends would see her heading in the direction of the auditorium. Lacey slowed her pace as she approached the double doors of the auditorium. She reached for the handle but then yielded at the sound of Archie's voice resonating from behind the double doors. Lacey retracted her hand, leaned her back up against the hard metal auditorium doors and thumped her head against the doors as she contemplated whether or not going in was a smart idea.

Lacey wanted to hear what Archie was saying. From the sound of it all, Archie was surprisingly giving an unbiased assessment of Danny's character. Lacey exhaled while listening to Archie's testimony. She then began to pace back in forth and convinced herself that eavesdropping from the hallway was probably a better idea. However, such a resolution was quickly spoiled when she heard Regina's mother ask Archie to talk about the fight he had with Danny. Lacey gritted her teeth when she heard Regina's mother ask this question. It was quite evident that Mrs. Crane wanted to reveal negative things about Danny. Archie seemed to hesitate, but he began to talk about how Danny had punched and hurt him. Lacey rolled her eyes when she heard Archie say he is scared of Danny. The silence in the room and then someone from the board asked if there was another student that wanted to speak. Lacey began to get nervous because there seemed to be silence, which meant that there was no one else willing to say good things about Danny. Lacey stood up and just as she opened the door she saw Jo walking down the aisle towards the microphone. Lacey sighed in relief because she knew Jo would say decent things about Danny.

Lacey tried to ease her body in-between the double doors without making a sound to draw attention but that attempt failed because the doors squeaked when she released them. Everyone turned and looked at her. Danny turned as well and was thrilled to see Lacey. The audience then turned their attention back to Jo. Jo cleared her throat, "Danny is a wonderful guy. I mean he is just an amazing person." One of the male board member's then asked Jo, " Why do you feel this way? Jo became flustered and responded, "Because I think I'm falling for him." Everyone in the audience gasped and broke out in chatter. Jo looked around and seemed to have the expression of a girl who regretted the words that seemed to spill out her mouth. Danny was flabbergasted. He avoided making eye contact with Jo and anxiously turned around to see Lacey's reaction. Lacey didn't know what to think. She was completely confounded and until now unaware that Jo felt that way about Danny. Lacey initially felt sorry for Jo's embarrassing confession which would eventually be spread through rumors and later mocked; but the more she considered it the more she had this overwhelming urge to declare Danny as hers. Lacey noticed Danny staring back at her and could see that he too was unaware of Jo's feelings. Lacey realized her facial expression weren't giving Danny any relief because he seemed to turn his reluctantly. As much as she wanted to act as if Jo's confession didn't bother her, she couldn't feign it. Jo walked swiftly with her head down back to her seat. The main conductor of the board banged his gavel to restore order in the auditorium. Danny glanced at her but couldn't keep eye contact. The thought of Jo admitting she was falling in love with made extremely uncomfortable. Jo was like a sister to him therefore he could never see her as a love interest. Danny folded his arms and sunk in his chair. All he could think about now was whether or not his actions or gestures could have lead Jo to get the wrong impression. Danny' eyes fell to the floor of the podium as he tried to make sense of it all. He assumed that Jo had some inkling that he was crazy about Lacey. He thought Jo could draw such a conclusion based on the number of times he had inquired and obsessed over Lacey.

Meanwhile Lacey began to tense up when she saw Cole approach the podium. Cole's testimony could possibly make or break Danny's chance of being expelled. Cole glanced at Danny and then at Archie and then leaned down to speak into the microphone. The silence in the audience was deafening. Cole cleared his thought and spoke; "I played with Danny on the soccer team. He was a great soccer player, teammate and friend. I honestly do not know whether or not he poisoned me; and that's the honest truth." Cole glanced a Danny and Danny nodded his head to imply that he was grateful for Cole's honesty. Cole then glanced at Archie as he walked back to his seat; Archie gnashed his teeth in disgust at Cole.

While the audience hummed whispers of astonishment, Lacey never took her eyes off of Regina's mother. Although subtle, the board director looked to Regina's mother as if for confirmation and Regina's mother shook her head as to imply unacceptable. She then mouthed the words stick with the plan. After Regina's mother mouthed the affirmation to the board director she then looked down at Danny and sneered. The sight of Regina's mother sly smirk irritated Lacey and was all it took to push her over the edge. Lacey immediately knew what was about to happen. She arrived to the conclusion that Archie wasn't lying about how determined Regina's mother was to have Danny permanently removed from school. She had evidently already convinced the board director to expel him regardless of the student's testimony. She couldn't allow Regina's mother to get away with this injustice. Just before the board director swung his gavel to state the verdict, Lacey rushed to the podium. Lacey looked at the audience and nearly fainted from nervousness. Lacey figured she probably should have considered her stage fright before she practically ran down the aisle to the podium. Lacey licks her lips, turns back to look at Regina's mother to which almost caused her to loose her nerve; but it was the sight of elation that canvased Danny's face and his slouch slowly unfold into an erect position. Danny couldn't believe Lacey was about to risk everything she held dear to her to speak on his behalf.

He had half a mind to stop her before she uttered a single word but he couldn't seem to move because deep down he wanted her to expose the truth about them. He was tired of hiding their relationship, tired of sneaking around, tired of lying, and tired of feeling like a recluse. And although he knew consequences and persecution would certainly follow he didn't care because Lacey was worth it; and evidently she thought he was worth it too. Lacey locked eyes with Danny and they focused only on one another as if no one else was in the auditorium. Danny mouthed the words, "Are you sure?" and Lacey took a deep breath, blinked and gracefully nodded, "Yes." Mrs. Crane's posture straightened and made known her delight in seeing Lacey about to make a testimony because she thought Lacey was on her side. "Mrs Crane was certain Lacey would defend Regina's honor by letting everyone know how dangerous Danny was considering he killed her best . Crane was practically salivating at the mouth as she waited impatiently to hear Lacey testify against Danny and bring her late daughter Regina justice. Ms. Porter time is ticking. Is there anything you want to say?" Lacey cleared her throat, and spoke with conviction, "I at one point opposed the idea of Danny coming to our school. I used to ignore him, pretend he didn't exist because I didn't want to have anything to do with someone who would murder his aunt. But then one day my best friend Regina died and everyone I knew believed that this horror could only have generated from a person capable of murder. So I went along with the assumption that Danny probably did it. However, I found myself watching him where as before I was content on ignoring him. I began wondering why someone who was given a second chance at the life he missed out on would do something so heinous. It just didn't make any sense to me and so I grew even more curious about him. It wasn't until the Fall Festival that I realized why I watched him so closely, let alone why I even cared to figure him out. It took one argument to help release the pent-up desire we both shared for each other; and when I kissed him I knew he wasn't a sociopath because chemistry can't be faked." The crowd gasps. Lacey didn't allow the noise to distract her and instead of pausing she persevered. "From that time up till now, I have seen him sad, depressed, happy, worried and terrified. He tries so hard to fit in and to be accepted. He has dealt with harassment, blatant disrespect, accusations, threats and slander with such commendable grace. Yes, he did something awful when he was young, but now he is trying to redeem himself.

And just when things are starting to look up he is being accused of poisoning a teammate. Cole was the only player on the team to consider him as an equal. He was the only teammate to give him the benefit of the doubt. Ask yourself why would he risk the opportunity of a second chance and friendship after working so hard to attain them in the first place. Have you wondered whether others may have a motive to frame him?" Lacey turns and stares hard at Mrs. Crane and continues, "No. Instead of considering facts and other possibilities you rally the board and soccer team behind closed doors and wave your authority to see to it that he suffers a fate as dreadful as your daughter's because deep down you have convinced yourself he is responsible. Am I right? In conclusion, if Danny is expelled for this, mark my words, this will turn into a legal battle." Suddenly Karen stood up and shouted, Lacey's right, you have a conflict of interest and you shouldn't be up there making any decisions!" Regina's mother caught offense and bellowed, "Well your son is a murderer!" Then Karen countered, "Well your daughter was a whore!" The auditorium became besieged in uproar. The director of the board banged his gavel 10 times to restore order in the auditorium. Lacey walked away from the podium and glanced once more at Danny before she made her trek back up the aisle, but no eye contact was made. Danny was so preoccupied with restraining his mother, that he didn't notice Lacey exit the auditorium.

As the doors closed, Lacey felt safe to finally exhale. Her hands were trembling and a chill of adrenaline seemed to rush its way throughout her body. She felt thrilled and terrified all at once. Lacey then balled her hands into a fist, shut her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Seconds had passed before she could slow her heart rate. The sound of the gavel finally ceased and she could hear the director of the board preparing to deliver the verdict. Lacey covered her ears and walked away from the double doors. As much as she wanted to hear the director say Danny was not guilty and therefore exempt from being expelled she knew she couldn't handle him saying otherwise; especially after she just expressed her most inner thoughts and feelings in front of practically everyone. As Lacey walked her way back to class, she knew someone had either filmed or instant messaged all that had occurred in the auditorium; which meant it was only a matter of time before Syrita was alerted. Lacey was well aware that the moment she stepped on the podium she would be creating a milestone from which there was no turning back. Instead of going home to avoid public humiliation, she simply smoothed her hair back and braced herself as if she were going into battle.

To be continued