The English Year - 50. The Trial Of Corbin M Crowley

I stayed in my room for what felt like a million years. I was paralyzed at first, unable to decide exactly how to proceed. I didn’t know what to do, and in all honesty, I had no idea how I would fight these charges. They wanted me gone. They thought I had done something so bad with that article that I had embarrassed the fraternity. Did they think I knew about the scandal because I was involved? Did they somehow know about my deal with Chip? Did they have evidence that I had helped write the entire thing? Or were they merely embarrassed because I was attached to the paper. Were they grasping?

Not knowing what they had on me made the next task almost impossible. I decided I had to be prepared for any and everything. No bombshells. I was fighting a war on every front. Land, air, and sea. I had to assume they were ready to lay me to waste. Lay it all out bare.

And so I began the process of predicting what they knew.

With the allegations on the page, I felt fairly confident that they knew I had a hand in writing the article. Pete had figured it out. Everyone on campus had been whispering about it all week. It wasn’t a farfetched theory, but I made the assumption they had evidence behind that theory.

I wasn’t sure what that evidence was, and that’s what I needed to figure out in order to mount a defense. One thing was clear, it was more than a hunch or a rumor. They knew.

They also knew that I had lied to Dom when I told him I had nothing to do with the article. Linking those together linked all the charges together.

Involving myself in the scandal was ungentlemanly. Opening myself up to campus wide chatter was embarrassing to the frat. And lying to Dom was materially dishonest, and therefore made me an untrustworthy brother.

That was their case.

And so after I pulled myself together, I began to strategize on how to dismantle that case.

The first thing I did was call Brian, my former roommate, and ask if he still had his copy of the fraternity bylaws. Sure he was the records keeper for the trial, but Brian was fair. He dropped them off at my door within minutes of me calling him.

I sifted through the laws regarding expulsion trials and found exactly what I was looking for. I felt like Elle Woods preparing my defense, and this was just step one.

The next thing I did was make three short but thorough phone calls, telling each person on the other end of the line exactly what I needed from them and when. Once I had that secured, I got to work on what I did best: opposition research.

It took all morning, an hour-long shower, multiple boxes of kleenex, and several shots of vodka that I had stashed in my fridge before I was ready to emerge. In that time, I had come up with a strategy, made the necessary arrangements, and decided once I put things into motion, there was no turning back. Part of my defense was a full court press. A steamroll. A wrecking ball.

I walked out of my room and into the normal Saturday afternoon hustle and bustle going on in the Great Hall. Pledges cleaned while sophomores supervised. I didn’t see anyone from my class in the halls, and I was fairly certain after my morning outburst, they had all decided to avoid the house while I was there. Maybe they were at the gym, or out to brunch. I didn’t actually care. They weren’t on my radar, or who I was actually looking for at the moment.

I made my way through the house downstairs to Dominic’s room. I knocked forcefully.

“Who is it?”

I didn’t answer. I heard footsteps approach the door, and as soon as it opened, I pushed my way through.

“We have something to discuss,” I pushed past Dom and walked into the center of his room, uninvited and clearly invading his personal space. I turned and squared away with him. This was it. This was the showdown he had begged for.

“Okay,” he shook his head slowly. “I assume you got the summons.”

I pursed my lips first and folded my arms. I didn’t respond. I had thought all of this through. I was playing chess while Dom was playing tic tac toe.

“Look, I get you’re upset, but we decided this was the only way to get your attention,” he pressed on. I squinted my eyes.

“You get a fair chance to defend yourself. It’s up to the brotherhood.”

I remained silent. I cocked my shoulders and squeezed my arms over my chest even tighter. I would have been mortified if I had had to stare myself down, and I could sense Dom’s discomfort, and dare I say, intimidation. I was the big bad wolf, and I was there to blow his house down.

“Do you have any questions? You said we need to talk.”

I maintained my stance, and again didn’t say a single word. This time I drilled right into his gaze with mine, channeling every ounce of fire from within that I could.

“Corbin,” he squirmed. I finally cut him off.

“You have forty-eight hours,” I said flatly. My voice was sharp, emotionless. Dom gave me a quizzical look.

“You have forty-eight hours to drop the trial,” I repeated.

Dom crossed his arms to match my stance.

“That’s not going to happen. We’ve already filed it with nationals.”

“Then un-file it and tell them you made a mistake.”

“That’s not how things work, Corbin. You know that.”

“Well, then we begin the trial on Monday evening at 6. Tell everyone,” I said, walking past Dom and opening his door to exit. I could tell he was thoroughly confused.

Just as swiftly as I’d barged in, I pushed past Dom and walked out of the room.

“That’s not how this works,” he called after me.

“We begin at 6. Sound the alarm, Dom,” I picked up the pace as I waltzed towards the back landing staircase and back up to my bedroom.

“Corbin, there’s a procedure for all of this,” Dom followed after me. “You don’t just get to make up your own rules.”

I spun around on a dime, and Dom almost ran smack into me. My arms were still folded.

“Show me the rules,” I demanded. My gaze could have turned our fraternity president into stone right then and there.

“I put them in the letter. On your door.”

“Not the letter,” I answered slowly. “Show me the rules.”

I leaned into him menacingly.

“The bylaws.”

He swallowed.

“I don’t have them on me,” his voice softened and narrowed to just above a whisper.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Go get them.” I opened my eyes wide.

“Corbin.”

I cut him off again.

“I’ll wait here. I have nothing on my plate until Monday evening at six.” I cocked my head to the side.

“There are rules,” Dom stood his ground. “Ten days to prepare the case.”

“Up to ten days,” I replied. I took a step towards him and even though he was several inches taller, I made sure my nose was lifted towards his, inches apart. He could feel the fire in my chest. “The defense has up to ten days to prepare its case. The prosecution should be prepared to present its case before they even file for a 4/5ths. The bylaws also say the accused can speed up the process if they feel an immediate decision is in their best interest to avoid conflict, discord, or further turmoil. Section eight of the expulsion trial procedures.”

I quoted from the bylaws Brian had dropped off as if it was a Supreme Court decision.

There was a long silence between us as we sized each other up. I was ready for anything. I was prepared for everything.

“Well the prosecution needs a chance to prepare.”

“You had a chance,” I countered. “Before you put that piece of paper on my door like an eviction notice. You had your chance, and if you didn’t have your case together, maybe you shouldn’t have typed up your little rules and stuck them on my door.” I took another inch forward until Dom and I were almost touching, a thin layer of sheer hatred separating us. “We begin at six.”

“You don’t call the shots here, Corbin. I consulted Alumni Advisor Dreiling. You don’t… you don’t call the shots here.”

I let out a chuckle. I scratched the tip of my chin, grinned, and ran my tongue over my teeth.

“Let me tell you something,” I sneered. “Right now you’re wondering if you’ve made the biggest mistake of your college career. The answer to that is yes. Not only am I going to win this when the truth comes out, but I will take you down so thoroughly the entire brotherhood will know just how incompetent and stupid you really are by the time I’m done. Everything you’ve worked for will unravel, and your legacy will fall apart. You will leave this campus a shadow of a president of what will be a great house the moment you step away from it. I will demolish you. We begin Monday at six.”

“Corbin, I don’t think you understand-”

“Understand what?” I cut through. We couldn’t have been standing any closer. “What is it that I don’t understand?”

Dom opened his mouth to say something then closed it. It was only then that I took a step backwards.

“What you’ve done is underestimate the one person you shouldn’t have underestimated. Section eight of the bylaws. Go read them. You’re not the only one who can contact nationals, Dom. Maybe when I call them and tell them I want this done immediately to avoid further discord or turmoil, they’ll agree.”

And that’s when I went in for the kill.

“If I’m such an ungentlemanly, embarrassing liar, why would you even want me around for a week and a half? When we can get started now? Think of all the turmoil I could cause. Think of the discord I could sow. Ten days is a long time, Dominic. In fact, when I got the list of guys involved in the scandal, I had the guys removed from their houses immediately. I didn’t need ten days, Dom. Grow a pair. If you want me gone, we do it now. We begin Monday at six.”

I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I turned, and bounded up the stairs to my room.

“And Dom,” I called back before I closed the door on him. “You have forty-eight hours to decide if this is really what you want to do.”

I closed my door with a slam, and immediately started packing an overnight bag. I didn’t wait or hesitate. I put a pair of jeans and a couple sweaters in my gym duffle, a change of underwear, and some socks. I pulled my blue blazer and dress slacks off their hangers and stored them in the duffle carefully, to not get wrinkled. I folded up my Zac Efron throw blanket in case Pete didn’t have an extra for me. We’d already discussed the idea that I couldn’t remain in the house pending this trial. It would undoubtedly be too much. I wanted to be able to assemble my defense clearly, without distraction, and Pete offered up his space for the next two days.

Just as I was getting ready to leave, I heard a soft knock at the door. I opened it, to find Roberto, Austin, and Brian standing there. Notably missing from the usual crew was Hutch, which wasn’t much of a surprise.

“Can we come in?” Austin asked.

“Sure,” I replied nonchalantly. “But I’m headed out.”

I turned to fill Mister’s food bowl as they shuffled in. Brian moved my bag to the floor and took a seat on the armrest of my couch. Austin and Roberto both sat down.

“Corbin, can we just talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” I replied, still working around the room.

“Dominic told us downstairs. Just now. That you’re expediting this thing.”

“Sure am,” I said casually.

“Why?”

“If I’m going to be gone, I’d better get going sooner rather than later,” I shrugged. “Why push off the inevitable.”

“Why do you have to go at all?” Roberto asked. Brian shot him a look. One vote for me, I thought, in the grand scheme of this all. There was no way Roberto would vote against me, even if I’d shot someone in the middle of our Great Hall. The others, however, were going to stay true to the process, I assumed. “This is bullshit.”

“I agree, and you call can thank Dom and Hutch for this bullshit,” I shrugged again. I put the scoop into the bowl, and returned the scoop back to the bag. I wasn’t worried about losing, and hadn’t actually thought through the logistics of moving out, but if in fact I was forced to, I’d have to figure something out with Mister.

Austin piped up again, clearly chosen as the spokesperson of this trio of reason.

“Corbin, what if there was a way to not have to leave… immediately.”

I turned to look at all of them, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“What if we could broker some sort of a deal with Dom and Hutch. So you get to stay through the end of the year. And then maybe at the end of the year, you deactivate in good standing. Drop any committees. Don’t participate in rush, just… you can still be here without being here. And that way it’s not such a sudden goodbye.”

Hearing him say goodbye drove home that they could potentially vote to remove me. These brothers before me had already envisioned a life without me in their house, if not their lives.

Deactivated brothers weren’t the same. Sure they could hang around at parties or whatever, and sometimes stayed friends with everyone. Sometimes it was financial. Sometimes it was the mental strain of being in a house. Sometimes it was acrimonious, but most of the time it was just a parting of ways as friends, best for everyone.

No matter how they sliced it, this would not be one of those situations. Even if I could stay in the house through the end of the school year, I would know I was marching slowly down a path of departure. A slow march that I wasn’t interested in at all.

Instead of answering, my attitude got the better of me. I walked slowly to my door, and opened it.

“You all are welcome to leave now,” I said quietly. Roberto gave me a painstaking glare that almost broke me, but didn’t. I held firm.

‘Corbin,” Brian tried to chime in but I cut him off.

“I’m not entertaining this conversation with you at all. How dare you suggest that I walk away from this brotherhood that I helped build. That I pledged an oath to. I’m not quitting.”

“You won’t have the votes,” Austin choked. I looked each of them in the eye one by one, and then turned my head back to the door. They rose slowly.

I didn’t say anything else as I watched all three of them leave the room. Roberto refused to make eye contact with me, which sent a pain down into my stomach.

The next few days were filled with preparation. I tried my best to stay out of Pete’s way that Sunday, but we were intermingled in a way, playing house in his small suite. The best part about spending two full days with him, uninterrupted and uncomplicated, was that we got to fuck like none other.

He practically tore my clothes off as soon as I got there with my bag in hand. He threw my duffle into the corner and pulled me in for a kiss. By the time I even had a chance to settle, my sweater was pulled over my head, and Pete and I were lying on his bed, making out like oversexed teenagers.

That Saturday afternoon was a marathon of fucking. Pete wanted me in every position he could think of to make up for lost time. We went from grinding on his bed, to me riding him, to me reverse riding him. Finally, he pulled me up, set me gently down on his bed and drove in as forcefully as he could to finish off facing me. He was tall enough that as we both rode the orgasm wave, he could easily bend over and kiss me. With his arms around me, and my legs wrapped around his waist, Pete and I came within seconds of each other for the first time.

It’s almost as if his dick never even went down. Shortly after our first orgasm, I felt Pete’s cock poking into me as we lay there together. I didn’t think I had it in me to get fucked again, but I had other talents, and so while we lay there still catching our breath, I began to stroke him softly. Pete moaned in my ear, as he pumped his hips and scooted even closer to me.

I stroked him, using the remnants of his cum as lube before it dried up.

“God, Corbin,” he groaned. “This feels amazing.”

Encouraged and inspired, I turned, kissed him gently, and then slid my way down his body, until I was face to dick with his recharged cock.

I should have been studying. I should have been preparing. I should have been doing a million things, but there I was doing that. And loving every second of it.

With every flick of my tongue under his cockhead, Pete moaned and jolted his dick further into my mouth. Every time his cock grazed the back of my throat, I felt a pearl of precum ooze out of his rigid cock and down my throat. With every push of my head down more and more forcefully, the more I wanted to do anything to please this man.

And so we both enjoyed the moment. Me giving Pete the best blow job I could muster, and him moaning the most amazing sweet nothings into my ear as I did.

And that’s when something that has hardly ever happened to me finally happened. As I was sucking Pete’s cock, enjoying every drip of precum that escaped, I realized I was slowly grinding my own body across his bed. I unwittingly created a friction so intense, that even though I was completely focused on Pete and his pleasure, I found myself erupting onto his sheets, right then and there. I didn’t take my lips off his cock, but he could tell by my own moans and groans that something was happening. He gripped my head, and while I was enjoying my own eruption, I felt Pete pull back and spew wave after wave of cum directly onto my tongue. He pushed my head down, flooding my throat with the rest of the load.

After what felt like the most cum I’d ever swallowed, I scooted up so that Pete and I were once again face to face. He kissed me gently, rubbed his hands through my hair, and sighed with contentment.

We took a short nap, and while the day was still young, I finally peeled myself away from Pete so that I could pull my defense together and be ready for Monday. Wearing his rowing sweatshirt, and steal glances as he worked at his desk while I sat cross legged on his bed, I went through everything I assumed they knew about my involvement, and how I could counter it.

There was one cog in the wheel I couldn’t quite put my finger on until late in the evening on Sunday. Pete and I were still basking in an after dinner study break when I got a message on my phone from David asking if we could talk. I told him to meet me in the alley that separated Pete’s dorm from the frat house.

“Am I interrupting something?” David eyed me up and down, and I was acutely aware that I looked pretty sexed out at that point. Hair messy, wearing my boyfriend’s sweater. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had traces of Pete’s cum stuck to my face.

“You wanted to talk?” I asked stoically. I knew what he wanted to say as soon as I’d read his message, and pieced together the last part of the puzzle. It was him.

“It was me,” he said softly, his breath wafting in the cold air. I didn’t respond, but followed his breath with my eyes, avoiding eye contact, and waiting for him to elaborate. I wanted to hear him say it.

“I told them what I saw on your laptop. After we fucked the other night,” he confessed. I knew Dom would have more evidence than just campus wide rumors. I knew Alex would never rat me out, and was actually counting on her to testify on my behalf. I knew that someone else would have had to get into my things to give Dom the tip that it was actually me who wrote the article. And I knew this person would have had to have access to my laptop.

Once I realized what David had done, it changed things, but knowing was better than being blindsided.

“Thanks for telling me,” I replied softly, turning to walk away.

“Corbin, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to leave. I didn’t think this would happen when I told them.”

I stopped and turned. I didn’t raise my voice, but instead, I looked David up and down like he was a complete fool.

“What exactly did you think would happen?”

The silence between us was palpable. There was a gulf between us the size of an ocean, despite us standing mere feet away from each other. I wasn’t angry, I decided. I was disappointed.

“Corbin, I can lie… I can tell them I made the whole thing up,” he pleaded with me.

“What did they promise you?” I asked quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“When you went to Dom with what you saw on my laptop? What did they promise you?”

David swallowed.

“You’re my little. You know how I operate. You must have learned something. Don’t tell me you sold me out for free.”

“Social chair. When you leave,” he said.

“Newby won’t like that.”

“And a vote on the EC next year. Sophomore at large,” replied.

“Lee really won’t like that at all,” I shifted my weight. And then I realized something. “What are they giving Lee? An official office?”

“Sergeant at arms,” David whispered.

“Did you guys plan this together?” I asked.

“When I told him what I saw, it was his idea to…”

“To offer a trade,” I replied. I didn’t know if I was relieved that David hadn’t done this on his own, or even more disappointed he didn’t get more out of the deal. His pledge brother had played him, I decided. And together they’d improved their own positions better than any freshmen I’d ever seen.

“Corbin, I can lie,” he repeated. “If it means you get to stay. I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I thought quickly.

“Do you want me to lie when they call me?”

“No,” I answered slowly, the wheels in my head already turning at full speed. “No.”

“What? Corbin, they’ll get rid of you if I tell them what I saw.”

“David,” I assured, my voice soft but steady. “When they ask what you saw, I want you tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Do you understand me?”

He looked at me quizzically. I turned to leave, knowing he was confused, but confident that even if he told the truth, I could see my way around it. My strategy would need to change slightly, but I was prepared for that. I could still press on with my Lie, Cry, and Deny plan, even with David’s testimony in their camp. I just needed to be meticulous in my framing, and so when I got back to Pete’s that’s what I worked on.

Monday finally rolled around. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in my house, besides David, since I left with my things on Saturday afternoon. There was no need to. I was holed up with my boyfriend of one week, and while we continued to make each other cum as if we didn’t have anything else to do, when Monday morning came, we left his suite, and walked hand in hand to campus.

Monday dragged like none other. Every time I looked at the clock, it felt like a lifetime had gone by, when in reality, it had only been a few minutes. I went through the motions of going to class, not absorbing anything. Counting down until six o'clock that evening.

I chose six because it was our regularly scheduled Monday chapter. This would simply be an elevated version.

I met Pete in the dining hall at five for an early dinner, and then we walked back to his place. I dropped my things off in his room, got dressed, and kissed him goodbye, before walking over to the fraternity house.

“You’ve got this, babe,” he said with a kiss to the forehead. He had fully engrossed himself in this journey, and I felt him transfer his positive energy straight to me. “Take what’s yours.”

Jacket, shirt, and tie were all required for formal chapter. Because we were having guests, Dom had mentioned in his announcement of the schedule change that we would not be wearing robes until deliberations after all guests had been questioned. I was okay with that, as the robes were stuffy, hot, and smelled of years of dust and sweat buildup and only the occasional washing.

I wore khakis, a white button down from Express, a yellow tie, and a blue blazer that had a beautiful single gold button. It had been a graduation gift from my church. It still fit, even if a bit snug in the shoulders. I buttoned the top button, and as soon as my six pm alarm went off, I walked defiantly downstairs and into the basement where the formal chapter was to be held.

I walked down into what was normally the small TV room right off the dining room, and adjacent to the large dancefloor where our parties were normally held. Behind the TV in this room was a small hatch that led to a secret room behind it. That room was larger, and where we held all secret meetings. I was greeted by Dom waiting by the hatch for me. The look in his eyes indicated he was actually relieved to see me. Did he think I’d skip? Be late?

I knew I was the last one to arrive, and I had planned it that way. Normally for formal chapter, guys began arriving at least fifteen minutes early, as it took a while for everyone to crawl through the hatch from the TV room to the chapter chamber.

“Are you ready, Brother Crowley?” I didn’t answer, but instead crawled through the hatch which was narrow and about waist height, and emerged inside the dark room on the other side.

The room was lit by several candles placed throughout. There was a long table at the end of the room where Hutch and Brian both sat alongside Oli, the sergeant at arms. Dom took his seat in the center of the group, his gavel in front of him. There was an empty chair in front of the table facing the rest of the brotherhood. Along the two longer walls that flanked the table were the rest of the brotherhood, all in rank order.

The first surprise of the night was seeing the freshman squeezed on the rank file benches. I hadn’t put much thought into whether they’d be there or not, but I suppose it made sense. They weren’t sworn in brothers yet, but they’d been inside the secret room before when they tore their bids, albeit they had been brought in blindfolded. I wondered if that had been the case this time around. I sat down closest to the entrance, a bit off to the left side, so that I was facing the table from clear across the room.

“Greetings, Brother Crowley,” Dom was the first to speak. He introduced why we were there, even though there wasn’t a single bit of ambiguity. I tried my hardest not to fidget in my seat. Eventually, after reiterating the rules he had already laid out in his summons, Dom swore in the brotherhood to formal chapter rules, which included secrecy moving forward. Everyone repeated the formality, Dom hit his gavel, and we were officially sworn in.

Hutch began with his opening remarks, essentially reciting the charges and how they intended to prove that I had embarrassed the brotherhood, causing irreparable damage to our reputation, behaved in an ungentlemanly fashion, and lied about it all to boot.

I sat up straight listening intently. When Hutch finally sat down, I was invited to stand and give my opening remarks.

“I won’t rehash why we’re here. I didn’t do any of the things that I’m being accused of. There’s no proof I had any participation in the article you all seem so embarrassed by. There is no proof that I wrote or published it.Only speculation. And if we’re a brotherhood that is going to punish our own based on speculation, then we can’t call ourselves a brotherhood. I took the same oath you all did, and freshman, you will soon. I didn’t break that oath, and what you will find at the end of this hearing is that any thing that I did do, I’ve always done in service of this brotherhood. The charges here are a lame attempt at someone who has been trying to oust me for a long time to get that ball rolling, and brothers, I implore you not to fall for such a ridiculous and irreversible tactic. At the end of the day, justice favors the truthful, so I intend to lay it all bare for you all to judge. And I am confident that you will not only see that I did not act in an ungentlemanly way, but that I was honorable throughout this entire ordeal, I have and will continue to bring honor to this house, and that no material lies were told in the process.”

The last part was the trickiest. I had lied. But my defense of deny, deny, deny, predicated that I didn’t admit to anything.

Hutch was the first to call his witnesses. He began with Brian. It was an interesting move, but once the line of question began, I understood it. Brian was dating a Chi Omega, Catherine, and he was there to filter what the general mood was on campus towards me.

“Brian, you’ve been dating Catherine for how long now?”

“Over a year.”

“And in this year, she’s shared her sorority’s thoughts on our brotherhood with you?”

“Naturally.”

“You two speak often about the general attitude of the girls towards us?”

“Frequently.”

“When Corbin cancelled our mixer with Chi-O earlier this school year, you brought your concerns to the brotherhood during chapter?”

“I did.”

“Where did you get those concerns?”

“From my girlfriend.”

“Catherine?”

“That’s correct.”

“You would say Catherine has a pulse on her sisterhood?”

“She does.”

“And she is a journalism major, correct?”

“She is.”

“So would you say she has a pulse on the student body as a whole?”

I shifted in my seat, crossed my legs, and rested my arms firmly, my hands crossed at the knee.

“I guess I would, yes.”

“Have you spoken to your girlfriend since the article came out?”

“I have.”

“And what is the pulse in her sisterhood?”

“I object,” I said calmly. “This is hearsay. If she is the pulse, then bring her here.”

“I’m merely trying to understand the conversations Brian has had with members of the community at large. He didn’t overhear a conversation. He was a part of it, therefore it’s not hearsay.”

I rolled my eyes. They continued.

“Her and I talked about how the article isn’t a great look for whomever wrote it. It glosses over the tragedy that happened, excuses the behavior from a Greek standpoint, blames it all on the athletic department even though it was a tear night event, so… it just makes whoever wrote it seem callous.’

“If a member of our brotherhood wrote it, would you say that it would make the entire brotherhood look bad?”

Brian looked me in the eye.

“Yes.”

“Would you say that someone in this brotherhood writing it should have known that it could have brought a stain to our reputation?”

“Yes.”

“Would you say writing and releasing that article was a gentlemanly thing to do?”

“I would not, no.”

I swallowed.

“Brian, do you think the person who wrote that article should continue to represent their Greek letters? Whatever they might be.”

Brian looked deep into my soul, it seemed like. I didn’t break eye contact, but I did swallow nervously. I dared him to answer however he felt like it, but still. Hearing the words jolted me. With only a second of hesitation, he replied.

“Whoever wrote that article didn’t take their own reputation, let alone their organization’s reputation into consideration. Therefore, no, I don’t think they deserve to represent their Greek letters.”

There was a faint murmur in the room. I had been prepared for this level of aggressive questioning, and so after Dom calmed everyone down, Hutch took a seat, and I had my chance. I stood and walked close to Brian, our shadows flickering.

“Brian, did your girlfriend come right out and say you should kick out whoever wrote the article?”

“She said if it were her sorority, they would have, yes.”

“But this isn’t her sorority?”

“No”

“And she isn’t a brother here?”

“No.”

“So her opinion on who should and shouldn’t get kicked out here is irrelevant.”

“I wouldn’t say our reputation outside of these four walls is irrelevant.”

“But you can only speak for your conversation with Catherine.”

“I suppose.”

“Have you spoken to every person in the student body about this situation?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Got it.” I crossed my arms. “Just Catherine.” Brian didn’t respond. “With her pulse.”

“They don’t want to mix with us,” he blurted as I was turning my back to him. “They’ve threatened not to mix with us anymore. Not just about this, but it’s the lynch pin, Corbin. You have to understand that.”

“I understand that you’re making generalizations based on your relationship, that have nothing to do with this brotherhood,” I countered. “Can I ask you just a few more questions?”

He nodded.

“Have you and Catherine spoken since the addendum to the article? When the paper published the apologies?”

“Yes.”

“And her reaction?”

“She actually thought it was well done, and unexpected.”

“Interesting. So not as embarrassing and ungentlemanly as before, then?” I said casually. “Finally, Brian, one more thing. When I came out to you freshman year, would you say that was an easy conversation for me?”

“No.”

“You were there. So was Hutch, Austin, Ben, and Roberto, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I told you guys my deepest secret up to that point, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“And I told you it was the most difficult thing I’d ever done?”

“That’s correct.”

“Do you think if I had actually done this, I would keep it a secret from you? After everything we’ve been through as pledge brothers?”

“Corbin I-”

“Are you aware of any secrets I have kept from you guys?”

“Corbin-”

“When you come to my room, and inquire about all aspects of my life, do I hide anything?”

“Corbin-”

“When you ask me to explain myself, have I ever lied to any of you?”

“Not that I-”

“Not that you know of.”

“Not that I know of.”

“Got it, thank you.”

There was a silence as thick as a cloud in the room. I knew I had scored at least some points, but it wasn’t enough, I thought. We still had work cut out for us.

Next Hutch called David Marcossi up to the empty chair.

I sat up straight and watched as my tall, lithe little walked up to the front of the room. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard as his direct examination began. Hutch was good, I had to admit, and within minutes of questioning, was down to the nitty gritty with David.

Good thing I was ready, I thought. Good thing he had come to me and confirmed what I had already suspected.

“David, besides being your big, is there anything else to your relationship with Corbin?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you and Corbin engaged in a sexual relationship?”

David looked at me. I nodded subtly.

“David?” Hutch repeated.

“Um, kind of yes.”

There was a murmur in the room. I didn’t change my face at all, but continued to look at David directly while everyone else whispered for a brief moment.

“Did you and Corbin engage in sexual relations last week, after the article came out?” Hutch asked.

“Yes,” David answered after a pause, shifting in his seat nervously.

“On Wednesday?”

“Correct.” I could tell this portion of the truth was tricky for him even though everyone knew we were fucking for a significant portion of the semester.

“David on Wednesday after you and Corbin engaged in sexual relations, what happened next?”

“He left. He said he had work to do, but that I could sleep in his room so I wouldn’t have to do pledgeship stuff. He turned off my phone and left his laptop open for me to listen to music.”

“He left his laptop?”

“He did.”

“When he left his laptop, did you happen to go through it?”

“Not go through it,” he said. “I looked at it.”

“Looked at it?”

“I went to change the music, and it was open.”

“When you looked at it, did you observe anything?”

I took a deep breath.

“I did,” he said. “I noticed a Word document that had been minimized. I pulled it open and I observed that it was the article everyone had been talking about.”

There was a collective murmur at that bombshell that lasted a few moments before Dom calmed the room down with his gavel. Hutch continued.

“You read the document?”

“Yes.”

“And can confirm that it was the article.”

“Word for word.”

“What did you do next?”

“I closed the laptop. I thought for a while, and then told my pledge brother what I saw. We then went to Dominic and the seniors and told them.”

There was a slight pause. His testimony seemed more than just a bit rehearsed, I decided. David didn’t talk like that. It was Hutch speak. My eye twitched a little. I was chomping at the bit to get my chance at David, but instead I sat calmly and waited.

“Thank you for your truthfulness today, David. I know how hard this has been on you. Seeing you big under scrutiny in this way.”

Hutch took a seat, and without missing a single beat, I stood up, and went in quickly.

“David, you said you and I have a sexual relationship. That’s not entirely accurate, is it?”

“It is,” he shifted his weight. I stood as close to him as possible, emitting as much intimidation his way as I possibly could.

“We fucked last Wednesday?”

“Yes.”

“But what happened just a few weeks before that?” I asked. “I told you I was cutting things off, didn’t I?”

David swallowed.

“So this ongoing sexual relationship we had… last week was a relapse of sorts, correct?”

“Okay,” he was uncertain.

“How did you feel when I cut things off the first time?”

“I don’t-”

“Disappointed?”

“I guess…”

“You didn’t tell me you were disappointed? That you felt used? You weren’t resentful towards me? For using you?”

“I-”

“Use your words, David.” I snarked when he hesitated.

“I was disappointed, yeah.”

“And when you came begging me to fuck you last week, I made it clear it was a one time thing, correct?”

David didn’t reply. He nodded instead.

“David, I need to hear you say it.”

“Correct.”

“So you get dumped by your big, and then all of a sudden, you can’t handle the disappointment and resentment. You somehow coerce your way into my bed, and then all of a sudden, when I step out, you stumble across proof that I’m the most villainized person on campus? Is that a good summary?”

David nodded slowly.

“In light of how angry you must have felt when I broke up with you, is it possible, just out of curiosity, that you made this whole thing up to get back at me?”

“What?”

I looked around, knowing I suddenly had the room’s undivided attention. You could have heard a pin drop.

“You were so butt hurt when I cut things off with you, you decided to get back at me. And so you made this whole thing up, and you lied.”

“I didn’t lie-”

“Are you sure?” I assaulted. “It’s mighty convenient that I just left my laptop open. Especially if I knew I had damning evidence on there.”

“I don’t-”

“Seems very careless of me,” I pressed on. “Unless you saw my laptop and thought it would make for a good piece of fiction.”

“I didn’t lie.”

“Let’s assume you didn’t. Did you get proof of the Word document before you went to tell the seniors?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you take a picture? Email it to yourself? Print it out? Anything to prove you saw it?”

“No, I just read it.”

“You just read it. Did you show anyone?”

“No, I closed the laptop and then went to tell Lee.”

“Interesting. When you told the seniors, did they ask for proof?” I averted my gaze from David to Dom, knowing that he would say next was my ace.

“They did.”

“And?”

“When I went up to get your laptop, I had closed it, and I didn’t know your password.”

I smirked.

“So they asked you to go steal my laptop so they could see the evidence for themselves.”

“I guess.”

“But they never saw it. Only you saw it? The butt hurt freshman who was resentful that I stopped having sex with you.”

That’s when the hours of Law and Order kicked in. I raised my voice.

“We’re supposed to believe a jilted ex with reason to get back at me who couldn’t even provide proof of what he claims he saw. Are we serious here?”

“I know what I saw.”

“I’m sure you do,” I spat at him. “Tell me, did you and your pledge brother make any trades for your information.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Corbin, that’s enough,” Hutch said, putting both palms on the table in front of him.

“It’s relevant. The brotherhood deserves to know what kind of conniving bitch ass they’re dealing with. He’s my little after all. So is Lee, technically,” I spat towards Hutch with a cock of my neck. “Maybe the two apples didn’t fall far from the tree.”

I turned back to David. He looked like he was about to cry. Perfect, I thought.

“Well?”

“We negotiated some offices within the EC.”

“Democracy at work, brothers,” I waved my hand towards David dramatically. Dom put his head in his hands. “What exactly do you get out of this?”

A pause.

“A vote on the EC,” David swallowed. “And social chair.”

I chuckled. It was time for the kill.

“You traded your big brother in to be their party slave,” I shook my head. “That’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

That’s when the first tear fell.

“I’m ashamed to call you my little,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper at that point. I decided to escalate my volume slowly for the best effect. Turning up the heat as everyone sat uncomfortably while I drilled into David.

“You made up some story about seeing the article on my laptop so you could suck the senior’s dick instead of mine, didn’t you?”

A pause.

“You thought, now is my chance. You didn’t think they’d ask to see it for themselves, but they did. That’s when you had to back pedal and say you didn’t have my password, didn’t you?”

A pause.

“You were caught up in your own lies, but that didn’t matter. The seniors ran with your fiction and now here we are.”

Another pause. My voice rose.

“Tell me. When you were snooping through my laptop, did you notice that I’d sent the Word document to anyone via email?”

David shook his head sheepishly.

“No. So even if it was on there, there’s no proof I sent it? I could have copied and pasted it to a Word document if someone, say… sent it to me?”

“I guess…”

“But you saw it and assumed I wrote it? Without even checking?”

“I-”

“And then conveniently you closed the laptop so that you couldn’t prove to anyone that you’d seen it. Brilliant, actually.”

“I know what I saw,” David reiterated.

“I know what you think you saw, but we’ll never know. And without any proof, you’re nothing more than a pathetic little, butt hurt because I stopped fucking you, determined to get back at me.”

I glared at him with a gaze that could cut through glass.

“You saw an open laptop, and on it you saw a chance to get back at the big who fuck you over, gain favor with the seniors, secure a position for yourself, and now look at you. Pathetic.”

I sliced into David like a surgeon.

“One last thing, David. Did the seniors send you to fuck me that day?”

Dom sat up abruptly. I could tell he wanted to interrupt, but I stuck my hand in his direction.

“I’ll repeat. Did they send you to fuck me?”

“Absolutely not.”

“We’re supposed to believe that as well?”

“Corbin I came to you-”

“Desperate and jilted, okay.” I finished for him. “They just sent you back to get the evidence that you couldn’t even produce.”

He didn’t respond.

“Can I ask you something personal? Between you and I?” A pause. “How does it feel to be the world’s worst fucking little and a liar? All at the same time?”

I watched the tears roll down David’s face with a small ounce of regret. I needed to tear him down. It was the only way. And it had to be real. If he had lied for me, it would have been too neat. The seniors would have torn through him. But this way, knowing he was telling the truth and I was the one sowing doubt was painful, but necessary.

There was a decided dark cloud over the meeting room as I sat down and dismissed David, who rejoined his class in rank order. Dom coughed, gaveled a fifteen minute recess for Hutch to secure his next witness.

I went out to the kitchen to get a glass of water while I waited, purposely avoiding everyone. My plan was working like a charm. I had discredited David, and when I got Alexandria in here to say that I didn’t participate in the article, as was our plan, there would be enough doubt floating around, that even if everyone still suspected me, the lack of proof or evidence would make it hard to convict.

My vindication was palpable as I sat there ready for the next phase of the trial. There was no way they had a more direct link to my involvement than David, and so I was feeling very confident when we crawled back into the meeting space.

The next witness was Dominic. I turned my head, wondering why they needed fifteen minutes to prepare for him. Something didn’t feel right as Hutch announced that he had a few questions for our president.

“Dom, I have just a few questions for you.”

Dom nodded. I sat up, suddenly feeling a bit anxious.

“Last Tuesday, when the article broke, after reading it, you went up to Corbin’s room, correct.”

“That’s correct.”

“To ask him if he had participated in writing it?”

“That’s correct.”

“Did you observe anyone else in his bedroom?”

I shot up in my seat. All of a sudden my confidence evaporated and flush came over my cheeks.

“There was someone under his covers, I observed.”

“Wait!” I burst out.

“Do you know who this person was?” Hutch asked.

“Wait!” I shouted.

“I don’t, but I did observe a VMI ballcap on Corbin’s desk, so I’m fairly confident it was a cadet.”

“A VMI cadet?”

“Corbin has history with cadets,” Dom added.

“You can’t-”

“Thank you Dom,” they pressed on, ignoring my outbursts.

“You can’t do this!” I shouted before the dagger landed right into my heart.

“Oli, you can bring in the next witness,” Hutch called from across the room. I sat there, in sheer devastation, when I watched my entire case go up in flames. Before I could even catch my breath, I watched them bring in the vmee who knew everything that had happened. Who had been there to prepare for the article. Who knew exactly how involved I had been. Who had watched me squirm all weekend about how to preserve my soul while white washing the rapist’s actions towards Claire. Discrediting David was one thing. Mike had details. He had first hand knowledge. He had no incentive to lie, and furthermore, he couldn’t. His honor code at VMI wouldn’t let him.

Blindfolded, they brought him in and led him to the chair. He shook his head as they released the blindfold, and he scanned the room, clearly wondering where he was.

“Welcome to Chi Beta, Mr. Michael Anthony Loggerman. We have a few questions for you about this man, right here. Corbin Mitchell Crowley.”

There was a weight in the room that even my pleading eyes couldn’t get past. I took a heavy breath and looked directly at Mike, who looked back at me with so much confusion. I wanted to jump up, steal him away, and rush off into the night. But there was nothing I could do.

He knew everything. And he’d be forced to tell the truth. And because of that, I was doomed.

“Mike-” I whispered to no avail.

“Shall we begin?” Hutch asked before I blinked, watching my entire Greek life flash before my eyes.