7: Political Affairs

It was during the middle of science class when I was called to the Principal's office.

Chloé looked smug, while everyone looked surprised.

"Did you do something?" Nathaniel whispers.

"I better hope so, or else I wouldn't be called," I say smoothly as I grab my pack and head out.

When I knocked on the door, Mr. Damocles' voice called me in.

Chandler was already waiting for me with a warm smile on his face, "Ready?"

I simply nodded.

Chandler just had to look at my school principal, "You are free to go."

Chandler led me away and we both went to his car.

"So…?" I asked once we were on the streets.

"Mayor Bourgeois is sweating like a sinner on Sunday church," Chandler smirks.

"That's a Princess and the Frog Disney reference," I pointed out.

Chandler merely shrugs, "I should have known that it would not escape you. But in all seriousness, Bourgeois' administration is getting really nervous.

"You are just called in as a witness. I'm sure you know what happens." He frowns. "Sorry, I shouldn't have worded it like that."

"It… wasn't intentional," I sighed. "Let's just get this over with and make him squirm."

"That I like to hear."

We were waiting in a private conference room in the Grand Paris Hotel, hosted by none other than Mayor Bourgeois.

Kathy was waiting for us, her cellphone on hand and talking rapidly in Franglais, French and English. She was probably talking to one of their superiors.

Soon I see some waiters coming in and offering us trays of food and drinks.

Chandler ordered a shrimp cocktail, but he quickly retracted his order when Kathy not too gently elbowed his ribs.

Kathy and I didn't order anything.

She then gave me a rundown of what was going to happen.

Since we are accusing a high political figure, and said figure wants to keep it on the down low, the Embassy was going to send not just my lawyer, Chandler and Kathy (agents), but also a diplomat that's apparently a hot shot in this Embassy.

André is going to send in his lawyers and some people of his administration to join us too.

Kathy whispered to me that André was mostly likely going to be overly friendly just so I would retract my statement out of guilt.

Chandler and Kathy laughed, knowing that there was no way I was going to back down.

They said that if things are a lot more serious, we can take it officially to court and have André kicked out of office.

But for now, we are going to see how both parties are going to settle this.

Soon we heard some voices coming from the door and I only recognized André and my lawyer as they went into the room, accompanied by many people in business suits.

Ms. Jureau came and greeted me and sat beside me. Then a stern looking man, in his late middle age, offered his hand towards me.

I gave it a firm shake. "I'm Jeremiah Walker, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Baudelaire."

"Same to you, Mr. Walker," I nod and he sat on my lawyer's other side.

On the other side of the long table was André and three other people, two men and one woman.

"Now that we are all here, let's start already," Mr. Walker says as he takes out a pad and pen and sets it before him.

Soon Ms. Jureau and the three unknown people are doing the same.

"Let's start with when the incident started. Mr. Russo?" Mr. Walker says as he takes out half-moon glasses and sets it gently on the bridge of his curved nose.

Chandler clears his throat as he verbally presents his version of what happened, starting with how Chloé immediately started to falsely accuse my classmate and demanded Roger to take unlawful action.

As the story unfolded, André was visibly sweating as everyone else was critically judging him silently, except for the unknown woman beside him. She must by his lawyer.

Though I am glad to hear that Roger kept his job and was actually promoted.

His lawyer actually made a point about André's generous act.

"Would you like to add anything Mr. Bourgeois?" Mr. Walker asks passively.

He looked at the lady and she firmly shook her head. "No, sir."

I knew she was the lawyer.

"Now, what do you have in your possession that backs up your statement, Mr. Russo?" One of the unknown French men asks.

Chandler simply takes out his phone and my lawyer silently asks for me to take out my own phone too.

"In these devices, we have recorded audio that backs up his statement.

"And as previously reported, Miss Baudelaire's classmate was also recording part of the situation. So in her possession, she has a copy of the video that her classmate sent her."

"How do we know that it hasn't been altered?" One of the old men says from beside André. "And why isn't the student in question here either?"

My lawyer spoke up, "My client would not do that, and if you wish, she can give you a copy from a portable USB drive that you can analyze."

It was a silent command for me to take out said piece and show it at the table. "And as for the student, he does not know that this meeting is happening as requested by Mr. Bourgeois for this meeting to be classified from other civilians."

They didn't say anything out loud and instead huddled together, whispering so low that I was surprised that they could even hear each other.

"May we have a thirty minute break so that we can analyze this video in private?" The lawyer asks.

Mr. Walker nodded, "Very well."

Soon the other team left the room with the USB.

And now it's just us… for thirty minutes.

"Miss Baudelaire," Mr. Walker starts making me look at him. "I have to say that I am glad that you pushed for this case."

"Huh?" I blinked.

He laughs, "You're very brave. Do you know how many teenagers don't do anything because they believe they don't have the power to do so until they are an adult?"

I stayed silent before I said quietly, "It's not just teenagers. Adults get scared too."

We all were solemn after that. Mr. Walker sighs and he seemed to age ten years in that one exhale before he looked directly at me. "I'm familiar with your case. It shouldn't surprise me that you would not be afraid of something like this.

"I'm sorry that it happened to you." He clears his throat.

"I'm sorry too," I whispered.

There was a long pause before Kathy said, "Jolene, do you want to come with me and stretch our legs?"

I nodded and we both stood up and left the room. Kathy said that we would be back in thirty minutes.

"Kathy,"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for taking me out," I gave her a small smile.

"No problem, to be honest that was a break for me too," She gives me a knowing smile. "And since we are here I'm sure we can explore the place a bit.

"As much as I don't like Bourgeois, I have to admit that he has good taste." She nods approvingly as we look at the decorative hallways.

We stopped at a velvet-covered plush bench and just sat there.

In front of us was an oil-painting of the famous Tuileries Garden, their flowers in full bloom.

The silence was comfortable before I asked, "What's really going to happen?"

Kathy sighs, "Normally, we would leak this to the public so that it would be taken to a real court in front of a real judge.

"But we both agreed for this to be more private, for not only Bourgeois, but for your own protection as well." Her lips twist to a frown as she stares at the painting in front of her. "I think that what is going to happen is that he will be under a tighter leash and have a governor representative to keep a closer eye on him so that he doesn't abuse his power anymore.

"But they will try to undermine your name. I'm sure they have been trying to figure out who you are.

"There was a request yesterday about your passport and personal file. We… had to give it to them, since you do have a visa and you are in their 'land'.

"I'm sure they are going to pull some bullshit about how Jolene Baudelaire barely existed less than a year ago and how could they trust someone like you. Blah blah blah," she scoffs. "That is what we brought in Walker. He is aware of your situation and will talk to them about you and how your words can be taken very seriously."

She shakes her head and looks at me, "You shouldn't worry too much, you'll be fine. But if things somehow do go… bad, I heard that your Japanese is very fluent." She offers softly.

"...I don't want to leave," I admit. "I just got used to it here and- and I made friends." The faces of Adrien and Cat both come to my mind. "But if I have to… then I guess I wouldn't have a choice, huh?" My shoulders sag.

Kathy places a hand on my shoulder, "Hey, think positive. I'm sure you get to stay here as long as you like with your Green Card. Hell, you can even apply to become a permanent resident in a few years."

Now that made me smile softly, "That would be nice."

She stands up, "Come on, it's almost time."

What Kathy predicted came true.

They pulled the 'How-do-we-trust-a-barely-existed-Jolene' and wanted to invalidate our statements.

So Mr. Walker told them about my classified status.

Thankfully, he only mentioned that I am under the Witness Protection Program and that if they have a problem with that he can immediately call France's Chief of Security for confirmation.

Appearently, one of the other men actually knows the guy and they did make the stupid call.

It was funny to see how that arrogant man was told off in such a cold manner that it surprised me that he wasn't a frozen human popsicle.

I gave my direct declaration about how André harassed me during that one time.

Then the higher-ups demanded another recess.

After almost an hour of waiting outside with Kathy and annoyingly André, did they allow us to come back in.

When we were all seated, the arrogant man cleared his throat, "From the evidence provided to us and after a thorough evaluation of the situation, we have come to a conclusion."

"Mayor André Bourgeois," The other man says, "You have been found guilty and as such you are fined with 5000 euros to compensate Miss Jolene Baudelaire. And," he clears his throat, and looks rather more uncomfortable, "You will be under supervision under an official governor representative and audit all of your actions for an undetermined amount of time."

"Any objections, Mr. Bourgeois?" Mr. Walker asks and I could tell that he was trying really hard not to smile.

"None, I… understand," André sighs with defeat as his forehead was starting to shine with sweat.

"Also, before we leave, I believe Jolene deserves to hear an apology," Ms. Juneau smiles with fake innocence.

I freaking love her.

"Yes, yes," André mumbles as he grabs the hanky on his chest pocket and dabs it gently against his forehead. He looked at me and his whole body was tense, "I apologize, Miss Baudelaire, for my actions. It was wrong of me."

"Oh? I am so happy to hear that," I reply with a soft smile, "I accept your apology. I do hope that it will never be repeated again." My shit-eating grin on full power.

Chandler coughs to cover his laugh and Mr. Walker did nothing to hide his amusement.

"It's time that we escort Jolene back to her school," Kathy states standing up as Chandler and I followed her actions.

And so we left.

When we were in their car, Chandler says, "Let's have lunch, my treat."

Kathy looks back at me and deadpans, "McDonalds."

I smiled, "Sounds delicious."

Chandler cheers, starts the engine and drives us to the nearest McDonalds for our victory meal.

When they dropped me back to class, there was an hour left and I could feel everyone's stare as I handed Ms. Bustier my hall pass.

When the bell rang, almost everyone went towards me.

"Hey, what happened?" Alya asks.

"Yeah, you missed almost all of school," Max points out the obvious.

"Did you go to a doctor appointment?" Rose asks.

"Or the dentist?" Juleka continues.

More questions were asked and I could barely keep up before Adrien interrupts the sea of sounds.

"Why don't you guys let Jolene answer before we ask anything else?"

They closed their mouths instantly and I let out a grateful smile towards Adrien, who simply replied within his own.

My eyes slowly looked at each of them as I let my brain give me any plausible excuse.

Then the lightbulb lit. "I lost my Green Card," I start. "My aunt and uncle helped me get another one today, but it was a long process.

"I had to do a lot of paperwork and explain to the Embassy when it happened and other questions. It was mainly a lot of waiting." I shrug, my lie coming out easily. "I didn't think it would take that long, but I'm grateful it didn't take longer."

Everyone accepted and they didn't have a shadow of doubt that it was a lie.

Which is good.

I was promised to keep the real thing a secret.

And I'm a professional when it comes to that.

Soon everyone cleared out and did their own thing, except… Adrien.

He was waiting for me at the door. "It's good that you explained what happened. I was worried that something bad had happened," he reveals, his eyes showing the truth of his words.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," I said truthfully. "I don't like having my friends worrying about me."

"Hey," he places a hand on my shoulder. "Friends worrying about their friends is a natural thing. It is whether they make the worries go away is what makes a good friend. And you did that today."

I smiled fondly, "Okay then. If you say so, my friend." Then I hesitate before I raise my hand, but have it flat, as if ready for a handshake.

"Back where I come from, friends are called 'homies' and homies greet differently." Then I cleared my throat as I felt a blush coming. "Copy my hand."

Adrien looks confused, but he did as he was told, but… "The other hand."

"Oh."

Gently, I slap my palm against his, then the back of my hand against his, "And finally a fist bump."

He holds it out and I first bump it with the bottom of my fist on top of his, then the opposite and finally on the center.

"Okay now this time like you mean it," I smirk.

Adrien smiles as we did the 'homie handshake' that I learned from my cousins.

"Hey, homie," I said in English.

"Hey, homie," Adrien repeated with a lopsided smile.

I giggled as a rush of warmth came over me. Like I was being covered in a fluffy blanket. "See you tomorrow?" I asked in French.

"See you tomorrow," he smiles softly as we parted ways.

AN: I love MBL, but it really ticks me off that the Bourgeois get away with a lot of things. This is just what I think could have happened if there was someone who doesn't take BS from them.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Next chapter will be longer and another original.

Special shout out to PopperPaper and bananajoe (guest) for reviewing. You guys made my day. Thank you PopperPaper and HinaLuv3r109 for following/favorited this story. You guys are amazing.