Beautiful Creatures (48 page)

Principal Harper addressed Mr. Hollingsworth from his seat at the table, the Prosecution, or more accurately, Mrs. Lincoln’s
hangman. “Yes, sir. The petition was brought to my attention by several
concerned
parents, and it was signed by over two hundred a Gatlin’s most respected parents and citizens, and a number of Jackson students.”
Of course it was.

“What are the grounds for expulsion?”

Mr. Harper flipped some pages on his yellow legal pad like he was reading a rap sheet. “Assault. Destruction a school property.
And Miss Duchannes was already on probation.”

Assault? I didn’t assault anyone.

It’s just an accusation. They can’t prove anything.

I was on my feet before he even finished. “None of that’s true!”

Another jumpy-looking guy at the other end of the table raised his voice to be heard over the rain, and the twenty or thirty
old women whispering about my bad manners. “Young man, have a seat. This is not a free-for-all.”

Mr. Hollingsworth pressed on over the din. “Do we have any witnesses to substantiate these accusations?” Now there were more
than a few people whispering to each other to see if anyone knew what “substantiate” meant.

Principal Harper cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yes. And recently, I received information that indicates Miss Duchannes had
similar problems at the school she previously attended.”

What is he talking about? How do they know anything about my old school?

I don’t know. What happened at your old school?

Nothing.

A woman from the School Board flipped through some papers in front of her. “I think we’d like to hear from Jackson’s Parent
Partnership President, Mrs. Lincoln, first.”

Link’s mom stood up dramatically and walked down the aisle toward the Gatlin Grand Jury. She had seen a few courtroom dramas
on TV, herself. “Good evenin’, ladies and gentle-men.”

“Mrs. Lincoln, can you tell us what you know about this situation, since you are one of the original petitioners?”

“Of course. Miss Ravenwood, I mean, Miss Duchannes, moved here several months ago, and since then there have been all sorts
a
problems
at Jackson. First, she broke a window in the English class—”

“That came close to cuttin’ my baby to shreds,” Mrs. Snow called out.

“It came close to seriously injurin’ several children, and many a them suffered cuts from the broken glass.”

“No one except Lena was injured and that was an accident!” Link yelled from where he was standing in the back of the room.

“Wesley Jefferson Lincoln, you better go home right now if you know what’s good for you!” Mrs. Lincoln hissed.

She regained her composure, smoothing her skirt, and turned to face the Disciplinary Committee. “Miss Duchannes’ charms seem
to work quite well on the weaker sex,” Mrs. Lincoln said with a smile. “As I was sayin’, she broke a window in the English
classroom, which frightened the students so much that a number of civically minded young ladies took it upon
themselves
to form the Jackson Guardian Angels—a group whose sole purpose is to protect the students at Jackson. Like a Neighborhood
Watch.”

The Fallen Angels nodded in unison from their seats on the bleachers like someone was pulling invisible strings attached to
their heads, which, in a way, someone was.

Mr. Hollingsworth was scribbling on a yellow legal pad. “Was this the only incident involvin’ Miss Duchannes?”

Mrs. Lincoln tried to look shocked. “Heavens, no! At the winter formal, she pulled the fire alarm, ruinin’ the dance and destroyin’
four thousand dollars worth a audio equipment. As if that weren’t enough, she pushed Miss Asher off a the stage, causin’ her
to break her leg, which I’ve been told, on good authority, will take months to heal.”

Lena stared straight ahead, refusing to look at anyone.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lincoln.” Link’s mom turned and smiled at Lena. Not a genuine smile or even a sarcastic smile, but an I’m-going-to-ruin-your-life-and-enjoy-doing-it
smile.

Mrs. Lincoln walked back to her seat. Then she stopped and looked right at Lena. “I almost forgot. There is one last thing.”
She pulled some loose papers from her purse. “I have records from Miss Duchannes’ previous school in Virginia. Although it
might be more accurate to call it an
institution
.”

I wasn’t in an institution. It was a private school.

“As Principal Harper mentioned, this is not the first time Miss Duchannes has had violent episodes.”

Lena’s voice in my head was bordering on hysterical. I tried to reassure her.

Don’t worry.

But I was worried. Mrs. Lincoln wouldn’t be saying this here if she couldn’t prove it somehow.

“Miss Duchannes is a very
disturbed
girl. She suffers from a mental illness. Let me see…” Mrs. Lincoln ran her finger down the page as if she was looking for
something. I waited to hear the diagnosis for the mental illness Mrs. Lincoln thought Lena suffered from—the state of being
different. “Ah, yes, here it is. It appears Miss Duchannes suffers from bipolar disorder, which Doctor Asher can tell you
is a very serious mental condition. These
people
who suffer from this affliction are prone to violence and unpredictable behavior. These things run in families; her mother
was afflicted as well.”

This can’t be happening.

The rain hammered down on the roof. The wind picked up, lashing the door of the gym.

“In fact, her mother murdered her father fourteen years ago.” The entire room gasped.

Game. Set. Match.

Everyone started talking at once.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please.” Principal Harper tried to calm everyone down, but it was like taking a match to dry brush.
Once the fire got started, there was no stopping it.

It took ten minutes for the gym to settle back down again, but Lena never did. I could feel her heart racing like it was my
own, and the knot in her throat from choking back her tears. Although judging by the downpour outside, she was having a tough
time with that. I was surprised she hadn’t run out of the gym already, but she was either too brave or too stunned to move.

I knew Mrs. Lincoln was lying. I didn’t believe Lena had been in an institution any more than I believed the Angels wanted
to protect the students at Jackson. What I didn’t know was if Mrs. Lincoln was lying about the rest, the part about Lena’s
mother murdering her father.

But I knew I wanted to kill Mrs. Lincoln. I’d known Link’s mom my whole life, but lately I hadn’t even been able to think
of her like that anymore. She didn’t seem like the woman who ripped the cable box out of the wall or lectured us for hours
on the virtues of abstinence. This didn’t seem like one of her annoying, yet ultimately innocent causes. This seemed more
vindictive and more personal. I just couldn’t figure out why she hated Lena so much.

Mr. Hollingsworth tried to regain control. “All right, everyone, let’s settle down. Mrs. Lincoln, thank you for takin’ the
time to be here tonight. I’d like to review those documents, if you don’t mind.”

I stood up again. “This whole thing is ridiculous. Why don’t you just set her on fire and see if she burns?”

Mr. Hollingsworth tried to gain control of the meeting, which was bordering on becoming an episode of
Jerry Springer
. “Mr. Wate, have a seat or you will be asked to leave. There will be no more outbursts during this meetin’. I have reviewed
the witnesses’ written accounts a what happened, and it seems this matter is quite straightforward and there is only one sensible
thing to do.”

There was a crash, and the huge metal doors in the back of the room flew open. A gust of wind blew in, along with sheets of
rain.

And something else.

Macon Ravenwood strode casually into the gym, dressed in a black cashmere overcoat and sharp-looking gray pinstripe suit,
with Marian Ashcroft on his arm. Marian was carrying a small, checkered umbrella just large enough to shield her from the
downpour. Macon didn’t have an umbrella, but he was still bone-dry. Boo lumbered in behind them, his black hair wet and standing
on end, making it obvious he was more wolf than dog.

Lena turned around in her orange plastic chair, and for a second she looked as vulnerable as she felt. I could see the relief
in her eyes, and I could see how hard she was trying to stay in her seat, to keep from throwing herself, sobbing, into his
arms.

Macon’s eyes flickered in her direction, and she settled back in her chair. He walked down the aisle toward the members of
the School Board. “I’m so sorry we are late. The weather is just treacherous out there tonight. Don’t let me interrupt. You
were just about to do something
sensible
if I heard correctly.”

Mr. Hollingsworth looked confused. Actually, most of the people in the gym looked confused. None of them had ever seen Macon
Ravenwood in the flesh. “Excuse me, sir. I don’t know who you think you are, but we are in the middle of proceedin’s. And
you can’t bring that… that dog in here. Only service animals are permitted on school grounds.”

“I understand completely. It just so happens that Boo Radley is my Seeing-Eye dog.” I couldn’t help but smile. I guess technically,
that was true. Boo shook his huge body, water from his soaking wet fur showering everyone sitting close to the aisle.

“Well, Mister…?”

“Ravenwood. Macon Ravenwood.”

There was another audible gasp from the bleachers, followed by the buzz of whispering moving down the rows. The whole town
had been waiting for this day since before I was born. You could feel the energy in the room pick up, from the sheer spectacle
of it all. There was nothing,
nothing
, Gatlin loved better than a spectacle.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Gatlin. How nice to finally meet you all. I trust you know my dear friend, the beautiful Dr. Ashcroft.
She has been kind enough to escort me this evening, as I don’t quite know my way around our fair town.”

Marian waved.

“Let me apologize once again for being late; please do continue. I’m sure you were just about to explain that the accusations
against my niece are completely unfounded and encourage these children to go home and get a good night’s sleep for school
tomorrow.”

For a minute, Mr. Hollingsworth looked like he might be convinced to do just that, and I wondered if maybe Uncle Macon had
the same Power of Persuasion Ridley possessed. A woman with a beehive whispered something to Mr. Hollingsworth and he seemed
to remember his original train of thought. “No, sir, that’s not what I was about to do, not at all. In fact, the accusations
against your niece are quite serious. It seems there are several witnesses to the events that transpired. Based on the written
accounts and the information presented at this meetin’, I’m afraid we are faced with no choice but to expel her.”

Macon waved his hand toward Emily, Savannah, Charlotte, and Eden. “Are these your
witnesses
? An
imaginative
band of little girls suffering from a bad case of sour grapes.”

Mrs. Snow leapt to her feet. “Are you insinuatin’ that my daughter is lyin’?”

Macon smiled his movie star smile. “Not at all, my dear. I’m
saying
that your daughter is lying. I’m sure you can appreciate the difference.”

“How dare you!” Link’s mother pounced like a wildcat. “You have no right to be here, railroadin’ these proceedin’s.”

Marian smiled and stepped forward. “As the great man said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere.’ And I see
no justice in this room, Mrs. Lincoln.”

“Don’t you talk your Harvard talk around here.”

Marian snapped her umbrella shut. “I don’t believe Martin Luther King Jr. went to Harvard.”

Mr. Hollingsworth spoke up authoritatively. “The fact remains that accordin’ to witnesses, Miss Duchannes pulled the fire
alarm, resultin’ in thousands a dollars in damages to Jackson High School property, and pushed Miss Asher off the stage, resultin’
in injuries to Miss Asher. Based on these events alone, we have grounds to expel her.”

Marian sighed loudly, snapping her umbrella shut. “‘It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.’” She looked
pointedly at Mrs. Lincoln. “Voltaire, another man who did not go to Harvard.”

Macon remained calm, which seemed to aggravate everyone even more. “Mister?”

“Hollingsworth.”

“Mr. Hollingsworth, it would be a shame for you to continue on this course of action. You see, it’s illegal to prevent a minor
from attending school in the Great State of South Carolina. Education is compulsory, that means required. You cannot dismiss
an innocent girl from school without grounds. Those days are over, even in the South.”

“As I have explained, Mr. Ravenwood, we do have grounds, and we are well within our power to expel your niece.”

Mrs. Lincoln jumped to her feet. “You can’t just show up here out a the blue, interferin’ with town business. You haven’t
left your house in years! What gives you the right to have a say in what happens in this town, or with our children?”