Naturally.
Bridgette sniffs and straightens her shoulders and Eden seems to take this as a sign to drop her hand. She does, and retreats to her bed and her food. I pick up the chicken and broccoli, waiting for Bridgette to speak.
She takes a bite of an egg roll, then looks at both of us. “Don’t you think it’s a bit harsh to call someone a Pharisee, though? I mean, those guys in the Bible were like that to their core. They didn’t become that way, they just were.”
“So what do you think happened with Joy, then?” I ask
Bridgette shakes her head slowly. “She fell somewhere along the way and no one was around to pick her up, I think.”
“Doesn’t she have friends?” Eden asks.
My head shoots up. “You guys aren’t friends with her?”
While I’d never seen them hanging out with Joy apart from group mealtimes when we all sit together, I’d assumed my roommates would be friends with her.
“No,” Eden replies. “I mean, we include her, and stuff, but she never really talked to us. Her roommate said Joy was always in their room studying, or at the library.”
“Talked?” I question. “Past tense?”
“She’s not here,” Bridgette cuts in.
“You said you didn’t know what happened to her,” I challenge.
She huffs. “We don’t. She hasn’t talked to any of us since before everything happened, but Maggie said she’d be staying somewhere else for a while, until everything gets sorted out.”
Grace.
I think about the word that swirled through every fiber of my being when I pleaded to Maggie to not get Joy expelled. The word that is the most powerful word anyone on this campus has, whether they recognize it, or not. Again, I’m left wondering where Jesus was. Where was Joy’s Jesus when her heart began to darken into the blackness reflected in her eyes? Where was her lasso as she sank into the depths of spite and hatred? Because that’s what I firmly believe was behind her accusations toward Roland and me. Hatred. At one or both of us.
Before I can form a response, there’s a knock at our door.
“Hey ladies, it’s Maggie, can I come in?”
Grace.
I leap to my feet, a couple of sauce-covered broccoli trees tumbling onto my bed as I sloppily set my container down. Opening the door, I find the sweet smile and bright eyes of one of the few people I trust at Carter University—my RA, Maggie. Without much thought, I step forward and wrap her in a tight hug, exhaling at the sight for sore eyes.
She squeezes back with comforting firmness before asking, “Everything okay?”
“Where’s Joy?” I question, stepping back and fetching a tissue from my desk to clean up the spilled broccoli.
“That’s what I wanted to come talk to you about. Ladies,” she eyes Eden and Bridgette, “could you give us—”
“If it’s okay with you,” I cut in. “I’d like them to stay. I’m not much for secrets these days.”
Maggie gives a slight nod, closing the door behind her.
“Well, there’s no real way to dance around this. Joy’s parents have removed her from school.”
“What?” My roommates and I snap at the same time.
“I don’t get it. I thought she wasn’t going to get in trouble.” My heart is racing as I stand again, to pace the two-square-feet of available space in my cramped dorm room.
“Kennedy,” Maggie cuts in gently. “There’s been no official disciplinary action taken by the school as of yet. The Dean of Students still needs to speak with you regarding the issue, as well as other people who were around that day, and anyone who may have known about her plan ahead of time.”
That there were co-conspirators, even just guilty by association, hadn’t occurred to me. I’ve been operating under the assumption that she’d acted alone. Especially given she doesn’t seem to have any real friends on campus.
“When did she leave?” Eden asks quietly.
“Her parents picked her up last night.” Maggie sits in a free desk chair and crosses her legs.
“Why’d they take her out? Where they afraid of repercussions by students?” Bridgette voices something I hadn’t even considered. I knew people found her actions distasteful, but repercussions?
Maggie nods. “That was part of it, though the university assured them that they would take all precautions necessary to avoid that. Their main concern, naturally, is the state of Joy’s spirit and mind. The Martinezes are in shock, and want to help Joy as best they can, so she can hopefully return to CU after winter break.”
“Well, when can I get a chance to talk to her? Shouldn’t I be able to talk with her at some point before she returns—if she returns?” I lean against Eden’s bed and cross my arms in front of me.
“Of course,” Maggie assures. “The university will remain in contact with the Martinez family to receive updates on Joy’s treatment, and then we can schedule a time for peer counseling for the two of you—”