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I felt energized again after the meeting with the Woodhouse lawyer and the campus administration. I wasn't the only one, and Jenna's decorations reflected her emotions. For April she went with a cherry blossom theme since they had bloomed on campus with their pink blossoms everywhere. Our door was covered in various shades of pink with photos from the campus. She had continued the theme on the floor's bulletin board too, replacing the tissue paper flowers with fake cherry blossom branches. Bobby had helped her with the decorations this month. It wasn't perfect, but they were both happy. We celebrated her nineteenth birthday at the start of the month, and her parents got her a new gaming system. That meant Bobby came to the room more often, excited to play with a new toy.
Eric’s hearing continued through the first week of the month. He had already met with them the previous week, so there was no chance we would run into Eric before or after. Jenna walked over with me that day. I left Adam some messages inviting him to walk with us, but he never responded. We found him waiting outside President Fairfax’s office when we got there. Adam was called into the room first and was there for about fifteen minutes before leaving. I looked up at him, hoping he would stop to talk to me, but he walked past without saying a word; Jenna patted my arm. I wished I knew what was going on in Adam’s head.
I was the last to go in to testify. I went into the office and picked a seat at the end of the conference table. Aside from President Fairfax, there were two other, male professors at the table. I knew neither of them, and they weren't introduced, as if I should have known already.
"We have a few questions for you." President Fairfax said. "We've spoken with all the witnesses and Eric. Obviously, we have your original statement, but we believe some things hadn't been asked because the campus police didn't have the full picture."
She turned to one of the professors in the room and rolled her eyes. I had been afraid that she was going to lead an attack on me, but maybe it wasn’t coming from the university president.
“It came to our attention that you and Eric had a previous romantic encounter at a Halloween party. Was this really an attack or was it you changing your mind without explaining that to Eric?” one of the professors asked.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “but I don’t recall your name.”
“Dr. Stewart from the Literature department,” he said clearly annoyed that I didn’t know.
I turned to the other man, hoping he'd take the hint too.
“I’m Dr. Wallace from Biology.”
“Before I answer any questions, why are Dr. Stewart and Dr. Wallace in this hearing?” I asked.
“We’re members of a campus task force that deals with accusations such as this,” Dr. Wallace said. “If we determine a need, we will support victims if they report the event to the police. We also determine any academic punishments for the perpetrator. We’ve found that more situations arise from a misunderstanding between two inexperienced adults.”
I knew what that meant, but I kept going.
“How were you two selected to be on the task force?” I asked.
I looked at President Fairfax, who seemed utterly content with my questions.
“We were,” Dr. Stewart said before anyone else could talk, “selected by our department chairs.”
“Are there women on the task force?”
Both men stared at me like I had two heads, and the university president continued to say nothing. I had all the information I needed to know how this would end.
“To answer your question, I never had any romantic interaction with Eric before he attacked me. I later learned that, on Halloween, he had a romantic interaction with my roommate Jenna.”
“As Jenna explained to us,” President Fairfax said.
"Regardless, it's my right to change my mind at any point. Eric was someone I considered a friend. I would have felt comfortable explaining that to him if that had been the case, which it wasn't."
"So, you weren't raped at all?" Dr. Wallace asked me.
"I was attacked sexually. If my friends hadn't heard me yell for help, who knows how-"
“But,” Dr. Stewart interrupted, “you were not actually raped.”
I felt the heat rise to my face, and I bit my lips together to avoid saying something nasty.
“No,”
"Those are all the questions I have then," Dr. Stewart said, and Dr. Wallace nodded in agreement.
President Fairfax sighed with a look of resignation and frustration. I thanked them as I got up from the table and shook the President's hand, making a point of ignoring the two professors. Clearly, unless it was actual rape, some people didn't care. I wasn't surprised, but it didn't diminish my disappointment. When I got back to the room, Jenna started ranting about it as soon as the door was closed.
"The professors refused to believe me about Halloween," she said pacing around the room. "Eric assured them it was you, and that's all they cared about."
I shrugged as I dropped onto my bed and let out a deep sigh.
"Eric got to testify first, and obviously, these professors wanted to believe him over anyone else."
“Yeah, but, like, he’s a politician.”
“Exactly...”
"I asked Adam, and he told me the professors acted like he had saved you. Like all you did was, like, I don't know, faint at the shock!"
I had to laugh at the scene playing through my mind. Jenna gave me a look, probably realizing how ridiculous that idea was, and broke out in laughter herself.
I was summoned to President Fairfax’s office the next day and told the panel had decided not to punish Eric in any way.
“The other two members, specifically, didn’t think he did anything wrong,” she said, her expression making her continued frustration clear.
“I have the right to ask the cops to pursue this legally.”
“You do and, as a woman who has experienced sexism, I’m encouraging you to do so,” she said, slowly nodding her head. “I just want to warn you that it's unlikely to go differently. If you’re lucky, they’ll do more than file a report.”
We were sitting at a small table in her office, feet from the larger one we had sat at so many times this month.
“My friends wanted me to do this for the future. They think there’s some official record that might ruin his future political aspirations.”
“Is that why you actually did it? Is that all you’ve been expecting from this?”
I thought about it and nodded.
"Yes, I think that is all I can expect, and I'm sure even that's a stretch."
President Fairfax shrugged.
“Maybe something will change, someday,” she said.
I got up to leave her office but decided to take a chance to get more answers.
“Why did you allow the Housing office to increase prices for next year?”
A smile spread across her face.
“I’m glad you asked because I’m particularly impressed with the role you ended up playing.”
“You wanted me to bring the Woodhouse family to the table again, didn’t you?”
"We had done it all right in the beginning, but we hoped they would offer to donate the money to rebuild the dorm. When they didn't, and you started pushing the affordability issue, I recognized my opportunity. You are the type of student they love. You showed them the motivation and maturity level of the student body. Eric, who met with me shortly after he attacked you, was incredibly transparent but thought he was playing a political game. He told us to do what we wanted, and SGA wouldn't protest. You organized people, encouraged them to speak for themselves, gave them tools to do so, took none of the credit, and then used a connection to get to the family and brainstorm a solution that made them look excellent."
President Fairfax looked pleased with herself as she explained it all to me. I almost felt like I was the spy hearing the bad guy’s plan in a movie. She might not have anticipated the exact direction the conversation would go; the private dorm idea hadn’t been expected, but she got the results she wanted. I might have been played, but I had seen a master at work.
“Frank helped me,” I said, wanting to make sure Sally’s mother knew his value.
"He did, and it's had the effect he intended. You did it because you knew it was the right thing to do. What do you plan to get out of it?"
I didn’t have a response. I had nothing to gain in any of this.
"You handed me exactly what we needed. The university's administration took a small hit, but our students did this on their own. I'm impressed, and a bit proud."
I didn't know what to say other than to thank her. I was conflicted in how to feel. Should I be defeated because nothing had happened to Eric or proud of my role in the Woodhouse Hall drama through the year? I wanted to go to Adam for comfort and support, but he still wouldn't open his door when I knocked. I ended up sending everyone a group text, letting them know what happened with the hearing, choosing to focus on the negative for a few hours. Gwen and Steve picked me up that afternoon and took me out for dinner after I went to the police station to press charges. I had resigned myself to this not ending in my favor, but there was no comfort in it.
***
“Do we have any other reports for tonight’s meeting?” Eric asked with a yawn.
“Um, yeah, we have a bunch of them,” Steve said, perfectly expressing everyone’s reaction to Eric ending our meeting prematurely.
The room was packed again. The rumor of a big announcement had spread, and the Woodhouse Hall residents had returned in high numbers. In the back, I saw Sally, Norma, and Adam. I wasn't the only one who noticed them, I could see Frank giving them the side-eye. I was sure he, like me, was afraid that Sally and Adam were now a couple.
“We have an election committee report,” Holly, the committee head, said first.
“Fine,” Eric said with a sigh.
Holly passed around a paper listing candidates for all the positions. “I have one addition that came in just before the deadline, but I had already printed these up. Amelia has submitted her application to run for Vice President.”
I watched, from my new spot across from him, as Eric's face got red and he pursed his lips. I glanced over at Heath, who was glaring at me. The rest of the room cheered, a response I wasn't expecting at all. I looked at the list of people up for election, as the sheets were passed around, and was happy to see so many new names, many of them Woodhouse Hall residents, on the list to be senators.
The rest of Holly's report was about dates and policies for the election process. She looked directly at Eric the entire time, and I wondered what games he had already tried to play to get the upper hand. Given how often his plots were backfiring this year, I wasn't worried.
“What else?” Eric, clearly irritated, said when Holly was done.
“I have a report,” Steve said.
Steve rarely had any report to give since Eric had his hands in everything. We had planned this already.
“What do you have to report about?”
“Woodhouse Hall. We’ve reached an agreement with the university,” Steve was radiating his excitement.
“We aren’t involved in that fight. I already discussed this with President Fairfax. Amelia and I agreed on how to settle it already,” Eric said with a wave of his hand.
"Well, this is my report, and I've continued to work on behalf of the people we represent, as their elected Vice President," Steve said as if he always had something to share.
"Whatever, give us your report, then."
“I’m going to turn it over to Amelia and Frank. You did most of the work to make this happen. I only showed up to a couple of rallies and looked adorable.”
There were giggles from the room, but only Sally clapped, quickly stopping when she realized nobody else was doing the same.
"Thank you, Steve, for allowing me to give this report," I said. "After Eric had this infamous meeting with President Fairfax, new options came to light. Frank had an inspired idea to go to the Woodhouse family and ask them to help us find a solution that wouldn't destroy their legacy on campus. Over Spring Break, we met with the family and spent some time brainstorming solutions. We proposed a number of them to President Fairfax and the administration when we returned to campus. This included representatives from the housing office. I was notified personally, by the Woodhouse family lawyer, moments before we got to the meeting, that one was accepted, and contracts signed this morning."
“Who authorized you to speak to President Fairfax about this?” Eric asked when I stopped for a breath.
“The Woodhouse family authorized both of us to propose this, with their lawyer present,” Frank said.
“So, this isn’t set in stone?” Eric asked.
"Yes, it is," I said, keeping everyone's focus on me, "and I know the terms that will impact us."
“Well, what are they then?” Eric asked.
"The Woodhouse family is going to donate the money to build the new dorm, and it will continue to be named Woodhouse Hall."
A cheer went through the room before I could tell them the critical details. Eric, annoyed with the outburst, banged his never-used gavel to get everyone to focus again.
"You need to know the details," I said, picking up where I left off. "For the two years of construction, the cost of rooms on campus will be scaled by how many people live in one room and which dorm you're in. So, if you're in the Honors Dorm, one of the most expensive on campus, but sharing a suite with two people to a room, it will be less expensive than if you had the bedroom to yourself."
There were a smattering of claps and whispers between people. I knew that dorm was where all the students in the Honors college were supposed to live, but some couldn't afford it and ended up in Woodhouse Hall.
"This means housing prices aren't going to go up this next year, but in future years they can't go up more than ten percent. When Woodhouse Hall is complete, there will be larger rooms to accommodate three people living in a room, and some rooms will be priced lower to keep things affordable."
"I have one thing to add," Frank said when I finished. "I may have gotten us to the Woodhouse family, but the solution was all Amelia's idea. If she hadn't already had a relationship with the family because she visited their yarn store downtown, this wouldn't have happened."
The room broke out in cheers again. The rest of the meeting was uneventful. Eric and Heath kept glaring at me, and I realized I didn't care. I had handled it as best I could.
“Amelia?” Holly said to me after the meeting.
Holly, who had checked me into Woodhouse Hall months ago, was a sophomore and, other than her senator duties, chairing the election had been her first big responsibility.
“I’m sorry my paperwork was in at the very last minute.”
"Oh, that's no big deal. I'm glad you gave it to me before the deadline," she said with a smile. "I wanted to thank you for what you did."
“About Woodhouse Hall?”
"No," she said, practically whispering, "about going to the administration about Eric. I know nothing happened to him, but it was courageous."
“Why?” I asked, not realizing others knew so much about this.
"You're not the only one he did this too, and I reported him too. Please don't tell anyone, I'm really embarrassed that I let it go as far as it did and I don't think he'll get punished. Sally Fairfax explained that you did it, so someone would know what he's like and maybe he won't always get away with it."
She gave me an awkward hug.
“You’re welcome?” I said, hoping this was enough.
She walked away, with a smile on her face. Maybe I had done something to make her feel better. The legal system might not work in my favor, but it could for someone else. I turned to my friends and realized Adam was still with them. He gave me a small smile, and I did the same, torn between my desire to hug him and my irritation that he seemed to think he could slip back into my life with just a smile.
Sally, Norma, and Frank were gone. I hadn't told anyone about what I had done, but I had apologized to Norma for my behavior after the rally. She brushed it off and accepted the apology, but I knew it was necessary. Adam's softened attitude to me made it clear that Norma had probably talked about it. I was irritated with him for pretending nothing had happened and that he was acting like he was blameless for how our relationship had deteriorated over the semester.
“Sally and I think you’re going to win the Vice President election,” Adam said as we walked out of the building, back towards Woodhouse Hall.
Jenna and Bobby had pulled ahead, talking energetically about something. I resisted the urge to argue with him, but I could tell it was going to happen.
“I’m not sure I care what you two think.”
Adam was too shocked to respond.
“It feels like you’ve been on everyone else’s side this semester and not supportive of me at all,” I continued.
Adam stopped in his tracks.
“I always take your side, Amelia.”
“That’s not how it feels to me, especially for the past few months. You’ve actively avoided me, refusing to talk to me about what’s irritated you. That’s not how this works.”
Adam quickly turned away from me and started walking again. I picked up my pace to catch up to him.
"It's just that sometimes you make a bunch of dumb decisions," He said once I caught up. "Like with Jenna. I mean, look at how happy she and Bobby are. If you had your way, in September, she would have ignored him. You wanted her with Eric, and you couldn't see any other option. This is why you missed that Eric wanted you, even if he was completely off base. You openly mocked someone with a disability. You're always flirting with the guy Sally's dating."
“You know what went on with that already,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, when you get it right, you’re amazing. Look at everything you did this year for other students. When you get it wrong, you’re a hot mess. I hate seeing you like that.”
I didn’t know how to respond right away; glow in the validation of his compliment or defend my decisions.
"What happened with Jenna was a mistake I've been working to correct and has nothing to do with the way you've been treating me. What I did to Norma was mean, but that's between Norma and me. I'm not perfect, of course, I'm going to make mistakes. You're not angry with me about what I've done to other people. This is about you and me, and I don't know what I did.” I said, feeling more attacked than praised.
“You didn’t do anything, I needed a break.”
“From what?!” I asked and stepped in front of Adam, forcing him to stop walking again.
"From you! Eric ruined everything," Adam said, staring at the ground. "I realized I was doing the same thing he was doing, waiting for you to realize that there was something more than friendship here, between us."
I stood there, in front of him, with my mouth open. I wasn't appalled at this revelation, it was everything I could have hoped for. I was shocked that he had been feeling it for so long without saying anything to me. When I wouldn't move, Adam went around me to continue walking. I recovered from my shock quickly and started walking again.
“Why haven’t you ever said anything to me?”
"Right, because I want to be that guy with unrequited feelings between us. I was fine, we were fine. I was ready to say something, and then Eric fucking ruined it."
“Why did Eric ruin it? I was literally in your bed for two nights!”
"Yes, that's exactly the right moment to make a move. The woman you love has been attacked by someone she trusted, and now you're going to make the same move when all she wants it comfort."
"Then, why stop talking to me?"
"Because you're oblivious to me and all I want to do is kiss you. It took me weeks to build up the courage to tell you how I felt, and then, in five minutes, it was ruined. I couldn't simply pack it all up again and go back to acting like it was nothing."
“It’s been months, Adam. You never had a problem telling me how you feel. You’ve been doing it all semester.”
I could see Woodhouse Hall getting closer as we walked. Adam started walking so fast that I couldn’t keep up with him.
“Adam, please stop and talk to me!” I called to him, hoping it would slow him down.
Not only did he not slow down, but he picked up his pace, knowing I wouldn't be able to catch up. When I got back to the dorm, I banged on his door, hoping he would open it and continue the discussion. As per usual, he didn't.
“I don’t think he’s there,” Jenna said, walking past me, probably having left Bobby’s room and going to ours.
"Did you know he was in love with me?" I asked, following her back to the room.
“Sort of,” Jenna said with a sigh.
“What does that mean?”
"I made a move, and he told me."
I dropped on my bed, feeling a weird mix of confusion and anger.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.
"He didn't want me to, and when you told me you were, you know, in love with him. I assumed you’d both figure it out.”
“Did you tell him how I felt?”
I looked at my friend, silently imploring her to stop making me drag this information out of her.
“No! I didn’t want to get in the middle of it.”
“JENNA!” I said, losing my patience.
“What? I’m sorry! I did encourage him to talk to you. You know, like you did with Bobby.”
I fell back on my pillows, thinking about what to do next. How do you talk to someone who sneaks in and out of the building, ignoring when you knock and pretending he's not getting messages from you? Why couldn't he be an adult about this? I turned to Jenna, ready to whine about it, but reconsidered, forming a plan. I needed to gather some data first.