Deciding Corinna's Fate

At philosophy class, Claire and I sat down motionless and quiet. Our thoughts were on Francesca who waited with bated breath to see if Corinna would be handed a severe sanction.

We waited all morning to see if Corinna would indeed come to class. However, not even a single soul of hers walked through the door.

By the time class came to a close, there was still no word about Corinna's fate. Perhaps we were too impatient to know the truth immediately.

In the meantime, me and Claire met up with Francesca for a short conversation.

"Any word with Corinna?" Claire asked.

"None so far," Francesca responded cautiously. "We'll just have to expect the announcement soon."

With photography class looming in a few short minutes, I had to politely bid adieu to both Claire and Francesca for now. Upon going upstairs, I met up with Michelle who was fresh from basketball practice.

"You look sweaty," Michelle commented as she willingly gave me her towel. "What's going on?"

"Well, I met up with Francesca," I promptly informed Michelle while gently wiping my face with her towel. "And she filed complaint papers to the discipline office in relation to the bullying incident a few weeks ago."

"She already did, huh?" Michelle wondered. "Well, good for her. But when will they make an announcement?"

"Maybe this afternoon, probably in a few days at the very least," I answered. "Expect the public address system to deal with this situation soon."

At photography class, Michelle and I met up with Taylor and Erin who brought along printed copies of our assignment. While waiting for our group to be called, I received a text message from Francesca.

Francesca typed:

"Christine, Corinna had indeed arrived in school. I saw her walk to the library today."

I replied:

"Don't worry about it. Just stay safe and calm no matter what."

Francesca typed one final message:

"Okay then Christine. Stay safe too dear friend."

"I received some bad news. Corinna is here," my nervous voice tinged with fear upon announcing this fateful news.

"My goodness," Michelle commented with a puzzled look on her face. "It's going to be ugly later on."

Just then, the professor called my group to present the class assignment. While Erin connected her laptop to the projector, Taylor spoke passionately about our project.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our project focused on Mount Makiling, one of the Philippines' top tourist attractions. This local park is filled with various florae and faunae and is notable for its bubbly hot springs."

"We also captured pictures of the prominent magnetic hill at Los Banos," Michelle added as Erin promptly presented the images one by one. "Our group was able to take a few motion shots of vehicles that involuntarily move due to gravity caused by the hill."

"That was impressive," the professor evaluated with a pleasant smile. "You sure flashed some very remarkable and professional-like images. It was as if you were experienced photographers."

"It was no big deal," I promptly replied. "Michelle knows a lot about handling a camera and that rubbed off on us."

When class ended, I opened my smartphone and texted something to Francesca.

"Francesca, are you available right now?"

Francesca replied:

"Sorry but my class starts in a minute. I'll send you a message once my class concludes."

I concluded with:

"Okay then. See you later."

Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon. As I headed to film production class, a direct message from the public address speakers brought my considerable attention.

"Calling Christine, Francesca and Corinna," the authoritative voice emanated from above. "You are all summoned to appear inside the discipline office at 2:30 in the afternoon. Again, 2:30 in the afternoon. Come inside as soon as your respective classes end. Thank you for your patience and understanding."

"Wait, 2:30?" I screamed hysterically at the speakers. "But I have class that afternoon."

Michelle promptly turned her face to me and presented a practical proposal.

"It's all right Christine," Michelle said thoughtfully. "You can cut class today. Ella and I will provide you our notebooks later."

"But does this mean there will be punishment for cutting class?" I questioned.

"No that's not the end for you," Michelle advised. "Each student is allowed four opportunities to cut class, but if you were absent on the fifth without a proper explanation, your name could be erased from the list and an F will be written beside it."

"Oh well," I answered. "After all I rarely cut class so that's fine with me."

Then the clock struck 2:30 in the afternoon. While on the way to the discipline office, I suddenly bumped into Francesca.

"Hey Francesca," I greeted her. "Sorry for bumping you on the way, but are you ready to face your demons?"

"Christine, I'm a little tense," Francesca admitted. "The impending decision could define my whole stay in this school."

"Don't worry about it," I earnestly advised Francesca. "If in case they unanimously decided in Corinna's favor just move on and look ahead. No excuses."

Upon arriving at the discipline office, me and Francesca were given a blank stare by Corinna. She then turned her back at us.

Shortly after, the board convened and began to look at the papers. At that very moment, Corinna's started sweating and her body shook with tension.

"Looks like Corinna is anxious right now," Francesca silently commented. "She couldn't handle the truth."

The academic board, led by the college's assistant dean, promptly began to speak.

"Any last words?"

Corinna did not utter a single word. Her rigid expression expressed how guilty she really was.

On the contrary, Francesca felt confident. Moral justice could not come soon enough.

Finally, the board made a decision.

"Upon further review, the board found the defendant guilty," the assistant dean announced. "Miss Corinna, you are hereby expelled from the school effective immediately and are no longer allowed to re-enroll in this institution."

On one side of the room, vindication filled both of us. On the other side, dejection consumed Corinna's face.

Without mumbling another word, Corinna swiftly left school, her head lowered down in cruel shame. Meanwhile, Francesca and I hugged near the door, having earned some much-needed justice.

Later that afternoon, Francesca voluntarily decided to sit in with Michelle and Ella for the remainder of film production class. Her lovely face glowed fiercely with everlasting joy and satisfaction she sincerely thanked me for all the moral support and motivation.

"Without you, Corinna would have stayed here," Francesca gleefully said. "Thank God she'll never step foot in this school again."

"We're genuinely thrilled you made a reasonable decision," I responded favorably.

With no further classes left that day, Francesca sat comfortably and at ease with Michelle and Ella while I waited outside. Yet in spite of that, it was clear that not one of us in school are safe from further danger.