Chapter 13: Fix this

HARTLEYThe whole revenge has gone too far. Watching Hade's pride and ego crumble beneath him was supposed to be fun. Seeing Hade in that state confessing to me as, neon girl, a vibrant flicker in his dim world, struck me hard. The motorcycle club was not just a pastime for him; it was a family he'd constructed when his blood relatives faded into the background.I understood Hadé too well. At seventeen, when my parents were consumed with their careers, I wandered into a different world—the motorcycle club. They took me under their wing. It wasn't just bikes and leather; it was laughter, acceptance, and the most important lesson of all: what family could feel like when you had none, save for a few fleeting moments.I have made a terrible mistake, one that I intend to fix. "Miss Hartley, what can I do for you?" the board member asked, breaking me from my thoughts. Her presence was a stark reminder of the mess I'd helped create."I filed a complaint regarding the Delgado Motorcycle Club..." My palms were clammy. "I want it reinstated."The board member's face hardened, a wall I was struggling to climb. "Your complaint sparked a lot of debate. Even students spoke out about their negative experiences. I'm sorry, but the club cannot be reinstated.""But please, Hadé made a mistake. He's trying to fix this.""And you think he can fix this by asking you how much you charge?" she raised an eyebrow at the mention of the fundraising incident I'd foolishly escalated. I hated myself for getting involved."He was upset. He lost his club," I argued, desperation creeping into my voice."His behaviour isn't excusable," the board member replied coldly."Please! I joined the club recently. Hadé is changing his ways." My heart raced. I felt foolish for pleading yet again, caught in a drama I never wanted to play a part in."Hadé mentioned a woman joining the club, and she isn't a student here," the board member said with caution."That's me!" I blurted out without thinking. "He thinks I'm not a student... and I've been involved without discrimination," I confessed, gulping down my anxiety."You don't sound confident," she remarked, and something in his tone made me bristle."Okay, it was touch and go," I admitted, feeling exposed. "But he's opened up to me. Losing his club might be what he needs—a wake-up call." My voice trembled with conviction. "Can't you speak to the chairperson or do something?""Even if I wanted to help, the decision is final. I appreciate your new information, but I'm sorry, Miss Hartley."Defeated, I left the office, my heart heavy in my chest. I had allowed my anger with Hadé's bullying to blind me, and now I felt like the architect of his downfall."Please, I recently joined the club. Hadé is changing his ways," I said desperately."Hadé has only mentioned a woman joining the club, and she isn't a student here," the board member said."That's me. I go by a different alias. It's a long story. He thinks I'm not a student here. And I've been participating in the club's activities without...discrimination," I confessed."You don't sound confident," the board member remarked."Okay, it was touch and go in the beginning, but recently, he's opened up to me. I don't think he's a bad person," I said with conviction. "Losing his club might be what he needs to change his ways. A wake-up call. Can't you speak to the chairperson or do something to have it reinstated?""Look, even if I wanted to do something, the club has already been disbanded. I'm sorry, Miss Hartley. But I do appreciate you bringing this new information to our attention," the board member said with a sympathetic smile.I excused myself and headed towards the exit, feeling frustrated and defeated. My mind swirled with regrets, mostly stemming from the confrontation with Hadé. I had let my emotions ignite a feud that spiralled beyond control, and now it felt like I was losing everything I cared about. I briefly imagined my dreams of chairing the biking club slipping away and felt the sting of failure in my chest.It was then that I accidentally bumped into Ryan."Sorry, I didn't see you there," I muttered, my gaze glued to my shoes. I tried to walk past him, but Ryan grabbed my arm."What's wrong?" he asked, concern etched on his face."I had a meeting with the board member," I admitted, my shoulders slumping. "I was trying to get the club reinstated, but it's too late.""Why the change of heart? Weren't you pretty dead set on watching everyone suffer because of your feud with Hadé?" Ryan raised an eyebrow."I'm trying to fix this, alright?" I spat, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. "If I had known what he had been through, I wouldn't have judged him so harshly. Not that it justifies his actions.""Wait, hang on. What has he gone through?" Ryan asked, his interest piqued.I sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "I can't tell you that. It's a secret. I just wish there was a way I could help.""There might be a way you can help," Ryan said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "There's a place called Checkpoint where all the bikers hang out for races. There's this girl who's been racing against Hadé. The board said that if she testified to prove it wasn't discrimination against women, they wouldn't disband the club.""I can't lie to them," I argued, shaking my head. But then I realized what I had just said. Ryan's eyes widened."You can't make her lie... Josh is a sexist ass too," I added, trying to backtrack, but the truth was out."Wait, you're neon girl?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow."No... maybe... You can't tell anyone, please. Hadé confided in me. If he finds out I'm her, he'll be crushed. And then he'll be back to hating me," I explained."But if he finds out you reinstated the club..." Ryan trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid."He won't," I replied firmly. "He's too stubborn and too much of a slimedog to admit when he's wrong... sometimes."I thought about the one-off chance he could apologise to Neon Girl."That's true," Ryan agreed."One second," I said, frustration bubbling inside me. I stormed back into the office with renewed determination."Miss Hartley, our meeting is over," one of the board members snapped."No, you said to Hadé that if a girl testified, you wouldn't disband the club," I announced, standing my ground. "I did, and you have to honour your word!""Hade didn't know neon girl was Hartley," Ryan chimed in, joining the conversation."The board gave him until the end of the week. The deadline has passed," the board woman replied."Aww, come on! It's not his fault he didn't know my name. I kept it hidden," I argued, the walls closing in around me."And why exactly?""Revenge. I wanted to humiliate him for being mean to me." I confessed, the words spilling out like pebbles from a jar.The board woman shook her head disapprovingly. "Honestly, you are a grown woman. You are not children.""Please. Look, I'll even donate money to the college. My parents will send a check in the mail."Ryan's eyebrows shot up. "How rich are your parents?"I hesitated. "Well, enough to donate $50,000." "I'll give the school $50,000, and the club gets reinstated," I'd offered, my voice tinged with desperation hovering at the edge of quiet determination. "You are resorting to bribery now?" The board woman's stern demeanour cracked slightly. I caught a trace of a smile lurking at the corners of her lips. This will be like taking candy from a baby. Find the sweet spot and the safe opens. "This club is more than that. This is his family. I know because I was once in a club like his. My parents were never around, and my sisters and brothers became my mentors, my support." I winced, exposing fragments of my past, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "The club is detrimental for his well-being as well as countless other students Do you want to be responsible for students failing in the class because they feel alone and depressed because they don't have access to one thing where they feel like they belong and- ""Okay, Miss Hartley, we get your point," said a man from behind us, who was standing in the doorway.Mr. Rudd, the principal, appeared at the threshold, gestures purposeful and voice steady. "I'm aware of the complaints regarding the Degaldo Club," he stated, his gaze scanning the boardroom. "I'll need to discuss this with the members, but the likelihood of reinstating the club—""Omg, if you say zero, I swear—" I blurted, my exasperation spilling over as I surged from my chair. "Don't make me threaten a hunger strike! Do I need to blackmail you lot?"Mr. Rudd's brows raised with surprise, but then a flicker of amusement crossed his face, which shocked me more. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Given the fact you're willing to risk your position at this campus tells me everything I need to know," he said, his tone shifting slightly, as if my passion had struck a chord in him. "You've raised some very good points. I'll reinstate the club."My breath caught in my throat. "One condition. You keep my identity a secret," I said, the words rushing out before I could second-guess them.Mr. Rudd glanced at his colleague, whose name I didn't even know. "She's the neon girl Hadé and Erik mentioned," the colleague informed him."Unbelievable," Mr. Rudd shook his head, disbelief mingling with something softer—curiosity, perhaps."I don't want him to hate me again," I said, thinking of Ryan, the boy who'd once been my best friend, now turned distant since the incident that had fractured our close-knit group and led to the club's disbandment."The truth will come out eventually," Mr. Rudd replied."And one day, yeah, but not now. Please." I leaned forward, my voice an urgent whisper. "I need this club. We need it.""Fine," Mr. Rudd finally conceded, crossing his arms and studying me critically. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep at night knowing I'm the reason my students are depressed because we disbanded their support network. But we are keeping a watchful eye. Any more incidents and there will be no redemptions.""Yes, definitely. Thank you, sir!" My voice exploded with joy as I stood up, nearly knocking over my chair. The weight of anxiety that had held me captive finally shattered."Okay, now both of you get to class," Mr. Rudd said, a new light in his eyes, though I was sure it wasn't admiration—it was responsibility.As we burst into the hallway, adrenaline pulsed through me like wildfire. I was ecstatic, my heart thumping wildly against my ribcage. Without a thought, I grabbed Ryan's hand, and before either of us knew it, we were high-fiving as we had just scored the winning goal in an epic game."That was insane!" Ryan exclaimed, his face lit up with the kind of smile that used to belong to us before everything went wrong. "I can't believe you did that!""Me neither. But it worked!" I laughed, the sound echoing down the empty corridor.Delgado Club... welcome back.