Prove It

Chapter 9

Chris held an ice pack against the left side of his face, effectively covering his eye and cheek. Tristan could see around the pack where Chris’ face had begun to swell and turn purple. His exposed right eye was red around the iris and the area around his eye had multiple cuts that had been stitched up. His nose was bandaged and stuffed with gauze to stop the bleeding. Tristan took little satisfaction in seeing that Chris looked way worse than he did. They traded twin stares of hostility and hatred. The silence was broken by Mrs. Garrison.

“Do you gentlemen want to tell me what happened in the cafeteria?”

They both stayed silent. What went down in that room was between them. Tristan was sure Mrs. Garrison already knew all the details. If she wanted a confession, she wasn’t going to get one from him.

“What do you have to say for yourselves?” she continued, becoming annoyed at their lack of response.

More silence.

“I should suspend the both of you. This school has a zero tolerance policy for fighting. But lucky for you, Coach Strahan talked me out of it. We believe we’ve come up with an appropriate punishment. Effective immediately, the both of you are no longer on the swim team.”

“What!” Chris exploded. “You can’t be serious.”

Tristan sat there, the impact of the words failing to register their full meaning. He just couldn’t bring himself to care.

“We are very serious, Christopher,” Mrs. Garrison said. “You should be thankful we didn’t expel you. At least this way, this incident doesn’t impact your permanent record.”

“We’re seniors. Getting kicked off the team could affect my acceptance to Ohio State. My scholarships.”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you broke the rules.”

“Coach?” Chris pleaded. Coach Strahan kept his hands folded as he stood against the wall, refusing to acknowledge Chris’ outburst. Chris turned panicked eyes to Tristan.

“You’re not going to say anything?”

Tristan wasn’t sure he heard right. Was Chris seriously talking to him? Was he trying to act like their fight didn’t happen? As far as Tristan was concerned, Chris was dead to him.

“Are we done here? Can I go?” Tristan asked.

Mrs. Garrison looked at him, irritated.

“If you have nothing more to say, then yes, we’re done here. The two of you are dismissed. But you are not to go to class. I’m sending the both of you home for the rest of the day. You can make up the work you’ve missed tomorrow. I hope you understand that you got a pass today, gentlemen.  I want no more trouble from the two of you. Do I make myself clear?”

“This is bullshit,” Chris muttered.

“What was that, Christopher? You save something to add?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Then get out of my office.”

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Tristan wasn’t sure why he walked to his locker. He didn’t need anything out of it, but he opened it anyway. The entire day felt surreal. He wished it was just some fucked up dream he couldn’t wake up from. Like it didn’t happen. But he knew the truth. Jessica cheated on him with Chris. And he was off the swim team.

The first thing Tristan spotted when he opened his locker was a handwritten note. He could tell a girl wrote it, but he didn’t recognize the handwriting so he knew it wasn’t from Jessica. He was about to read it when the bell rang. The last thing he wanted was anymore unwanted attention so he stuffed the paper in his pocket, slammed his locker closed, and he headed straight for the exit.