Chapter 16: One Thing After Another

January, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

When we arrived in Chicago, I drove Kathy to her apartment, and then headed home. I greeted the girls and went to my office to print out the paper that I'd written at Bethany's. I wrote a bit in my journal and then headed down to the basement for a sauna. It was the weekend, but with all our friends gone, and only my housemates around, I decided on the weekday rules and turned the sign the correct way to reflect that decision.

I had been in the sauna for about ten minutes when Elyse, Kara, Sofia, and Katy all joined me, sat on their towels, and about five minutes later, Cindi and Julia came in.

"So much for a quiet, relaxing sauna!" I said with a grin.

"You love it and you know it!" Cindi said, doing a quick pirouette before sitting down on the lower bench.

"How's Bethany?" Kara asked.

"I'd say she's doing much better. She hates her physical therapist, but except for that and not being able to go upstairs yet, she's in reasonably good spirits. She's supposed to get clearance to climb stairs this week. It has something to do with a combination of the surgery and skull fracture and her doctor worrying about her hurting herself. She can't ride in a car much at all before March because of the risk of injury from the shoulder belt."

"She has to be going stir-crazy!" Kara said.

"A bit. She got to spend some time with Kathy, which helped, and she also said that Larry drops by to see her. And she's been working on her project, which keeps her busy. Something else that frustrates her is having to rely on Larry to check out materials from the UC library for her."

"How long before you two can get together?" Cindi teased.

"I told her she'd need a notarized order from her doctor! But Doctor Barton warned me that it could be six months. A lot depends on her rehab progress. Surprisingly, the chest injury was far more problematic than the skull fracture, the shattered forearm, and the splenectomy. But we'll worry about that later. How were things here?"

"Quiet," Elyse said. "More or less the usual people have showed up. How long do you plan to keep going to Ohio?"

"I'm not sure. It really is up to Bethany. In two weeks I won't go see her because I'm going to the Daytona 500 with Kara, Stephie, and Red."

"You lucky bum!" Julia said. "Will you still get Michigan tickets?"

"Probably. Stephie's cousin Emily always arranged those, and I have no reason to think she won't do it again."

"Any fallout from the hearings?" Katy asked.

"Well, there were two grad students, one in the Math Department and one in the Chemistry Department, who were expelled, along with Callie. Another guy, who was her partner, was suspended for a year. He wasn't expelled because he gave up the grad students. Callie had the book thrown at her because she refused to cooperate and tried to pin everything on me."

"What a skanky little bitch!" Cindi said. "I'm glad you didn't actually touch her. Who knows what you might have caught?"

I sighed, "It's not completely over. I can't give any details, but she's suing Bert, Charlie, and me for defamation. And she's suing the school to be reinstated."

"What the fuck?!" Elyse exclaimed.

"I already talked to a lawyer. Don't worry about it too much now. I'll know more tomorrow afternoon."

"Can anything ELSE go wrong?" Elyse said, totally exasperated. "Since November, it's just one thing after another!"

"Don't ask that question!" Katy said. "It's just begging for more trouble. Steve, do you think she can win?"

"I have no clue," I said. "The lawyer advising the committee seemed to think not, but that was with regard to the university. I have no clue about the other thing. As I said, I'll know more tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know it happened. I can't say anything more yet."

When it was time to get out, Kara followed me up to my room and showered with me, and we got right into bed. I pulled her close to me and we cuddled.

"Kara, do you think I'm a self-centered, insensitive asshole?" I asked.

She was quiet for a moment, "No, but I'm the wrong person to ask. You know my feelings for you and what I want from you. Me being here with you right now, bare, is perfect. Who accused you of that?"

"Joyce," I replied. "And she was pretty much echoing what Karin said last Summer. Well, what I said to Karin and Karin confirmed. The thing is, Sofia basically said something very similar last week. That's three people who are pretty important to me. I know you have issues with Joyce, but it's not as if she's the only one with the opinion."

"I'm over the issues with Joyce, Snuggle Bear. I know you'll have business dealings with her because of her grandfather, and that's fine. I know she'll be around, and I can handle that. But if three girls have told you the same thing, then yes, it might be true."

"So, what do I do about it?" I asked.

"Try not to be?" she giggled.

"If only it was that easy," I chuckled. "I think Karin really did hit the nail on the head with her point that I always only think of me and not others. I've caught myself doing it, usually after the fact."

"It's a balance, isn't it? Looking out for yourself without thinking the world revolves around you?"

"You think the world revolves around me!" I chuckled.

"Yes, but I'm different. Your sister feels the same way, but for different reasons. Maybe you should talk to Katy."

"Katy?" I asked.

"She appears to have a corner on the 'Steve immunity' formula!" Kara giggled. "She held out for a couple of years, even though she wanted you quite badly."

"That's not a bad idea, Honey," I said.

"Good. Now shut up and love me, Snuggle Bear!" she said, moving on top of me.

On Monday, my morning classes seemed to drag. I was anticipating calling the attorney's office, and had trouble concentrating on the lessons. When my second class finally finished, I went straight to the Hub to use the pay phone to call Robert Klein's office and find out what he thought. His secretary transferred me to him almost right away.

"Mr. Adams," he said, "I'll need you to come in and submit a retainer and sign a representation form. As soon as you do, I'll file a motion to dismiss the defamation claim as well as a motion to quash the deposition. Most likely, the dismissal motion will succeed, but the motion to quash will probably fail."

"You'll have to explain that," I said. "And can you represent my friends Charlie and Bert as well?"

"I can, because I'm fairly confident that the dismissal motion will succeed. All three of you were called as witnesses in the university proceeding. While it's not quite the same as in court, all the precedent says that you can't be held liable for defamation in testimony. The same is true for complaints made to state licensing boards, and that's very similar to what happened at IIT. I'll need representation forms from them as well. The fee will only be slightly higher because I can do all three at once."

"And the deposition?"

"A 'motion to quash' is one to have the subpoena withdrawn. There are various arguments that I can make, but I don't think they'll succeed. The whole point is to get your objections to the process on the record. When the deposition happens, I'll be with you and your friends, and will get any objections to questions on the record as well. I have to warn you, though, because it's discovery, you don't have the same protections as you would in court. I'll do my best to keep them on the straight and narrow, but they are permitted quite a bit of latitude."

"I'll get on the El right now and come sign the forms and drop off a check. I'll pick up some forms for my friends and get them signed and dropped off right away."

"See my secretary. I'll get started on the motions. I advise you not to talk about any details of the case to anyone."

"Got it. Thanks, Mr. Klein."

After I hung up, I walked quickly to the cafeteria to let Kara know that I had to go to the Loop. She offered to come along and I accepted. As we were walking towards the El, I saw Bert and waved him over and let him know what I'd found out. He had enough time to come with us, and I agreed that was fine. I thought about trying to find Charlie, but I had no idea where she might be, so we hopped on the El and were downtown about ten minutes later.

We walked the short distance from the El to the attorney's office, where Bert and I both signed representation forms and I wrote out a check for $500 as a retainer. I took a form for Charlie and got an envelope from the secretary to mail it back. Bert asked about the cost, but I said we'd discuss it outside.

"Just call when she's signed it and dropped it in the mailbox," the secretary said.

I thanked her, and we left the office and stopped at Gold Coast Dogs for Chicago-style hotdogs and fries.

"How much will this cost in the end?" Bert asked.

"I have no clue. A lot depends on whether or not he can get it dismissed. But don't worry about it. I'll cover the costs unless is gets completely out of hand."

"Do you think he can make it go away?"

"He sure thinks so, because we only said anything when we were giving information for the investigation. Just make sure you don't talk about this to anyone before we have to give our depositions."

"Why do we have to do depositions?" he asked.

"According to Melanie, it's a way for her lawyer to find out what we're going to testify about and what we're going to say. I can't imagine it'll be any different from when we talked to Doctor Bauer or the committee. I guess they'll try to find some weakness in the school's case. But that really can't hurt us. If her defamation suit is dismissed, then it's the university's problem, and it seemed to me like their lawyer was ready for the lawsuit to be filed immediately."

"So if this dismissal thing goes through, I have nothing to worry about?"

"Correct. You might want to talk to your parents, if you haven't already, and let them know we have a lawyer. You're over eighteen, so I think that means that they have no direct involvement, but you probably should let them know, anyway."

"They'll totally freak out! I think I'll wait to see if the lawyer can do what you said."

We finished our lunch and went back to campus. Bert took the form for Charlie to sign because he'd see her later in the afternoon. I kissed Kara and headed to The Hub to call the attorney that Don Joseph had recommended — Samuel Jacobsen. I was a bit surprised when he answered the phone himself, but then I wondered if I'd been given a private, direct number. I identified myself and why I was calling.

"Yes, Mr. Adams, Mr. Grossi let me know that you would be calling. He asked me to accommodate your school and work schedule. When would you like to come in?"

"In a couple of weeks, Mr. Grossi's granddaughter will be in town. A lunch meeting on the 22nd would be perfect."

"A lunch meeting would indeed be perfect. I have to be in court during the morning. This is just about setting up a Delaware corporation and an Illinois DBA, so it shouldn't take too long. You'll just need to sign your name a couple of dozen times. Bring a copy of the business plan, if you don't mind."

"Thanks, Mr. Jacobsen," I said. "Joyce and I will see you about 11:30am on Friday the 22nd."

"See you then."

I hung up and headed to Mark's class. When I arrived, there was nobody in the room and a note on the door said that class had been canceled. I turned to leave the room and ran into Andy Stevens, a student that I knew vaguely.

"Did you hear what happened?" he asked.

"No," I said warily.

"Somebody in the class accused Professor Agnini of having an affair with a student in exchange for a better grade."

I suppressed a groan. It had to be about Staci. I was going to be VERY upset if Mark was fired, because I very much enjoyed his class and he was an excellent professor. Whoever turned them in was going to be on my shit list for sure.

"When did this go down?" I asked.

"This morning, from what I hear. I don't know any further details."

"Well shit. Mark's a great professor. Any idea who complained?"

"Not for sure, but I bet it was Joni Lynch. She sits next to me and has it in for Staci for some reason. She doesn't like you very much, either."

Joni Lynch was a quiet girl who barely participated in class discussions, and when she did, made fairly weak arguments. She also didn't seem to have a good grasp of the material.

I nodded, "We're the two who talk the most and get the most attention from Mark. And we hang out with him after class. All the other kids who hang out are guys, so unless Mark's gay, Staci was the only target, if it's like you say."

"It's strange. Last semester, you two hung out a lot, so I would never have suspected anything going on between her and Professor Agnini."

"I guess all we can do is wait to hear. I wonder what the school rules are on this."

He laughed, "According to Toby, there aren't any. Just rules against sex in exchange for grades. I was surprised."

"Interesting. Well, all we can do is wait to find out. I'm going to go get some coffee and chill until my last class."

We parted, and I headed to The Bog, rather than the Student Union in The Hub. I wanted to be there in case other students showed up. I had just taken a seat when Staci walked in, looking very upset. I saw her and waved her over. She sat down across from me and slumped down in the chair.

"How bad?" I asked.

She sighed, "That little mousey chick who sits behind me? She told Dean Stauffer I was fucking Mark to get a better grade!"

"You don't need to! Every other student in class will testify that you're the second best student!" I grinned.

"Asshole," she laughed. "Sad but true! Anyway, I had to give Dean Stauffer all of my assignments from last semester, and Mark had to give him all the tests. There's no way they can prove anything because I had such good grades."

"What about the sleeping with him part?" I asked quietly.

"I know you know. But unless there's evidence of favoritism, it won't get that far. In other words, if everything checks out, they won't care."

"And the rules?"

"Only ban trading sexual favors or money or whatever for grades. I was surprised, really."

"If you need anything from me, just let me know. I do have to say, and this is spoken as someone who has made really dumb mistakes in some of his relationships, you probably should have waited until you finished this semester."

"Hindsight is 20/20," she sighed. "Keep this quiet, but we're going to move in together when the semester is done."

I chuckled, "That ought to make Joni's head explode. You're sure everything is going to work out?"

"Given how vague the rules are, I'm reasonably confident. The ethics guidelines for the teachers simply say that they should 'avoid' romantic relationships with students under their supervision."

"Who wrote those?" I chuckled.

"How many girls go to this school?" she asked. "It's about 10%, right? And there are maybe five female professors. Unless they had somebody gay, it probably never even crossed their minds. I bet it does now."

"I suspect so," I agreed. "So you think he'll be back to class on Monday?"

"I do. I hope our frigid classmate doesn't have her head explode!"

"I doubt it's that," I said. "I mean, you never know, but I suspect she just doesn't like us wrecking the curve."