confirmation and Mrs. Randle nodded slightly, closing and opening her eyes at the same time.
'That's not my fault,' I said.
'Hmmm,' Mrs. Ironwood muttered. She looked at Mrs. Randle as though the two of them heard voices I didn't hear 'It's never their faults,' she said with a smirk, and Mrs. Randle nodded again, closing and opening her eyes as before. She resembled a puppet, the strings of which were in Mrs. Ironwood's hands.
'Well, why have you sent for me?' I asked.
Before replying, Mrs. Ironwood pulled her shoulders back and up even straighter and firmer. 'I have asked Mrs. Randle in here to take notes, since I am about to commence a formal expulsion hearing.'
'What? What have I done now?' I cried. I looked at Mrs. Randle, who this time kept her eyes down. I returned my gaze to Mrs. Ironwood, who was staring at me with such intensity, I thought I felt her gaze pass through me like a beam of heat.
'What haven't you done? is more like it.' She shook her head and looked down at me from the height of her contempt. 'Right from the start, from the background on you that your stepmother so frankly confessed, from the arrogance and disdain you exhibited during our initial conference, from your attitude about our rules, violating the off-grounds restrictions almost immediately, from the manner in which you defied my wishes, I knew your attendance at Greenwood was a mistake of gargantuan proportions and destined for horrible failure.
'Punishments, warnings, even friendly advice did little or no good. Your kind rarely changes for the better. It's in your blood to fail.'
'Exactly what am I being accused of doing?' I fired back defiantly.
Instead of replying immediately, she cleared her throat and put on her pearl-framed reading glasses. Then she lifted the papers under her hands to read from them.
'This is to formally commence step one of the expulsion procedure as outlined in the governing bylaws of Greenwood School as set down by the board of directors. ?The student under question,? ' she read, and looked over her glasses at me, ? ?one Ruby Dumas, has, on the date described herein, been summoned to be informed of her hearing and to hear the charges levied against her by the administration of Greenwood Schools.
' 'Number one,? ' she began in an even more authoritative voice, ' ?she has willfully and knowingly trespassed on a well-designated off-limits location on the Greenwood campus and remained at this location after curfew.? '
'What?' I cried, looking again at Mrs. Randle, who had her head lowered and was scribbling rapidly on her notepad. 'What location?'
' ?Number two, she has willfully and knowingly participated in immoral behavior on school property while under school supervision. ? '
'Immoral behavior?'
' ?The above charges will be levied and adjudicated at a formal expulsion hearing this afternoon at four P.M. in this office.? ?
She lowered the papers and then her glasses.
'I am to instruct you as to our procedure. A panel consisting of two faculty members and your student body president, Deborah Peck, will hear the charges and the proofs and render judgment. I will oversee the proceedings, of course.'
'What charges? What proofs?'
'I've read you the charges,' she said.
'I haven't heard anything specific. Where am I supposed to have gone that's off-limits on the campus? The mansion? Is that what this is about?' I demanded. Her cheeks reddened as she shot a quick glance at Mrs. Randle and then looked at me.
'Hardly,' she replied. 'You were seen at the boathouse after hours.'
'Boathouse?'
'Where you went to have an illicit rendezvous with an employee, Buck Dardar.'
'What? Who saw me?'
'A member of this faculty, a well-respected, long-time member of this faculty, I might add.'
'Who? Can't I know the name of my accuser?' I demanded when she hesitated.
'Mrs. Gray, your Latin teacher. So there is no question she would be able to recognize you,' she concluded.
I shook my head. 'When?'
She looked at the papers as if it was a great effort to do so and said, 'You were seen entering the boathouse at seven-thirty last night.'
'Last night?'
'And you remained after curfew,' she added. 'The remaining details of Mrs. Gray's testimony will be given at the formal hearing.'
'It's a mistaken identity. I couldn't have been in the boathouse at seven-thirty last night. Just call Buck in here and ask him,' I advised.
She smirked. 'Don't you think I had enough sense to do just that? He was called in here first thing this morning, and he did write out a confession,' she said, holding up another document, 'corroborating what our eyewitness saw.'
'No,' I said, shaking my head. 'He's mistaken or he's lying. You'll see when he comes to the hearing and sees me and realizes . . .'
'Buck Dardar is no longer on these grounds. He has been relieved of his duties and he has already left the
