Chapter 4: The Hearing
The disciplinary hearing for Jake and Margaret was held two weeks later, in the school’s auditorium, which was packed with students, parents, and reporters. Lila sat at a table in the front row, her parents sitting beside her, holding a stack of documents that included the security footage, the server logs, and the email from Jake to his mom.
Jake and Margaret sat on the opposite side of the auditorium, Jake looking pale and nervous, Margaret looking angry and defiant. The school’s lawyer, Ms. Bennett, began by presenting the evidence: first the security footage, which showed Jake breaking into the Dean’s office, then the server logs, which confirmed that Jake’s laptop had connected to the campus Wi-Fi network in the west wing at 9:47 PM, and finally the email, which was timestamped at 10:02 PM.
“Mr. Hale had access to the Dean’s office keycard the week before the break-in, because he was running for student body president,” Ms. Bennett said, holding up a keycard log. “He used his keycard to enter the office, then removed the keycard from his lanyard and used a flathead screwdriver to pick the lock so he could change his grade. He then returned the keycard to his lanyard and left the office, wiping his fingerprints from the door handle before he left.”
Jake’s lawyer, Mr. Thompson, tried to argue that the footage was edited, saying that Lila had hacked into the school’s security system to plant the footage. But Ms. Bennett presented a forensic report from a local cybersecurity firm, which confirmed that the footage had not been altered in any way. “The file was created on the day of the break-in, and it has not been modified since then,” she said.
After three hours of testimony, the disciplinary committee announced their verdict: Jake Hale was expelled from Westbrook Preparatory Academy, and he would lose his eligibility for the Westbrook Leadership Internship. Margaret Hale was banned from all school property, and she would be required to pay a $5,000 fine for trespassing and harassment.
The crowd erupted into cheers, and Lila’s parents hugged her tight, tears streaming down their faces. Jake stood up and ran out of the auditorium, and Margaret followed him, screaming and yelling as she went. Lila didn’t pay attention to them. She was too busy staring at the committee members, who were smiling at her and handing her a sealed envelope.
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“Congratulations, Lila,” the head of the committee said. “You have won the Westbrook Leadership Internship. You have shown incredible courage and integrity throughout this entire process, and you deserve this more than anyone.”
Lila opened the envelope, and inside was a letter confirming her spot at the internship, which would start in August at a local nonprofit organization that focused on providing free tutoring to low-income high school students. She’d always wanted to use her education to help others, and now she had the chance to do exactly that.
