Center Stage - Chapter 24

I was still exhausted the next morning after our long hours in the studio the day before, but I made sure to be on the UNC campus well before the time for my meeting.

I made my way to the administration building. They must have been alerted to me coming because I got in line behind some students when the receptionist waved me over.

“Charlie Nelson? They’ve actually moved the meeting to Spranger Hall. It’s just across the quad, big brick building, can’t miss it.”

“Uhh, thanks,” I said.

She wasn’t wrong, the building was easy to find, although I had to wonder why it had moved. I didn’t know a lot about UNC, but this was a much nicer, older style building than the newer but smaller administration building. For some reason, that made it feel like something had changed since the meeting was set up.

I wasn’t wrong. Instead of the head of admissions office, with just Dr. Kincaid and the dean of students, I was directed to a conference room where three people, two women and a man, sat.

“Charlie, welcome,” a woman said, standing up to greet me. “I’m Dr. Kincaid, head of admissions. This is Dr. Knowles, our dean of students.”

She gestured to a man with graying hair and glasses, who nodded at me.

“And this,” Dr. Ellington continued, indicating the other woman. “Is Dr. Jameson, president of the UNC system.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised. I’d imagine the president of a university was a busy person with a full schedule. I might have started picking up some notoriety, but I hadn’t imagined it was enough for a cryptic request for a meeting would warrant bringing her into it.

“It’s an honor to meet you all,” I said, shaking their hands before taking a seat.

“Well, Charlie, we’re very excited about the possibility of you attending UNC,” Dr. Kincaid said, smiling warmly. “And congratulations on signing with ARC Records. We heard you have a release coming up soon?”

Yeah, actually, I was just in Raleigh recording an EP that’ll hopefully come out next week.”

“That’s fantastic,” Dr. Jameson said. “You know, we have a great music program here at UNC. Some of the best facilities in the country.”

While I thought that was a bit of a stretch, I imagined the president of a university had to be their biggest cheerleader, so I wasn’t going to argue it.

Dr. Knowles chimed in. “The opportunities for someone with your talent would be incredible.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. “But I should apologize. I wasn’t completely truthful about the subject of this meeting.”

The three exchanged worried glances.

“To be clear, I am interested in attending UNC, but only under specific circumstances relating to a situation involving one of your faculty members.”

“I see. And what situation might that be?” Dr. Kincaid said.

“My best friend Hanna Phillips is … or rather was, a student here. Through most of last year she was in a relationship with Horace Cross, a professor in the business school. Her professor, in fact.”

Dr. Knowles’s face tightened in a way that suggested he knew what I was talking about, but Dr. Jameson seemed caught completely off guard.

“A professor is in a relationship with one of his students?” Jameson asked, looking to Knowles and, I think, seeing the look I caught.

“Yes,” I said. “Hanna started dating Cross partway through last year when she was nineteen. She idolized him and was very influenced by his selecting her for a class she normally shouldn’t have been in yet. One that he was teaching personally. It’s not just Hanna, however. He seems to have a pattern of seducing students, then discarding them when he finds a new conquest.”

“That’s a very serious accusation, Mr. Nelson,” Jameson said.

I noticed I’d suddenly become Mr. Nelson instead of Charlie.

“I want to say I’m not here to cause UNC problems. And I know these are serious accusations, but it’s not only the truth, but with how long it’s been going on, I can’t imagine it will be difficult to find proof of. He is, in fact, dating a student right now named Tiffany, whom he discarded Hanna over. If that was all it was, I wouldn’t say anything because. As wrong as it is with their power discrepancy, I could chalk it up to my friend making bad choices. But that’s not all it was. Cross publicly claimed that Hanna was delusional and a stalker, and was expelled because of these allegations with a letter from your office, Dr. Knowles, just a day after they were made, which makes it unlikely that my kind of investigation was done.

Dr. Jameson turned to Dr. Knowles with an expression I know I would not want to get, in Knowles’s situation. “Alastair, please tell me you weren’t aware of these allegations.”

The dean shifted uncomfortably. “There have been ... rumors, but we have not heard specific allegations until now.”

“I want to say, I’m not accusing the university of anything,” I said again. “Or Dr. Knowles. I’m sure you have done your best in the situation and these types of things could get very messy. I just know that, in this case, an honest mistake was made.”

I actually believed none of that and, from the way Knowles was looking, he’d known about this for some time and had been sweeping it under the rug. If I had to guess, I’d say he’d gotten complaints which he’d ignored out of hand and probably even punished the person reporting to him.

But, with all the trouble I’d had, I knew men like Knowles. Happy to rule their little kingdom and supremely confident in their moral superiority. Challenging him would make him dig his heels in and, even if I could get him reversed, he would go out of his way to make Hanna’s life hell, since even if I ended up coming to UNC, my status would make me untouchable.

Better to smooth it over, back him up to ensure he didn’t lose face, and claim it was all a big oopsie. I was a slow learner, but I was learning.

“This is appalling,” Dr. Jameson said, shaking her head. “Absolutely reprehensible.”

“I want to reiterate I don’t think the school did anything wrong here. These kinds of situations are, I’m sure, very tricky. Everything I have heard is that Dr. Knowles is an excellent administrator and someone like Cross is the type of person to influence those at lower levels and silence his critics to keep Dr. Knowles’s investigations from learning the truth.”

Jameson looked doubtful, but Knowles was looking smug. Smug was good. Smug meant unthreatened, which meant he wasn’t mine, and therefore not Hanna’s, enemy.

“I just don’t want UNC to lose the opportunity to have such an amazing student with a bright future in its halls. Yes, she entered into the relationship willingly, but she was just a kid who looked up to him. He’s the one with all the experience and authority. He knew exactly what he was doing.”

“Alastair, have there been other incidents like this?” Jameson asked, her tone almost pleading for him to say no.

“There have been ... a few similar situations in the past, but nothing substantiated.”

“Again, I am not looking to cause issues, and I know the school has to protect itself. I’m not looking to cause a scene or make a loud public statement. All I’m asking for is a little help for my friend and something to be done about Cross. I’d like to see Hanna readmitted and her record cleared. That’s the only thing I’m actually asking for. I would, however, also like for Professor Cross to be fired which, let’s be real, is in the school’s best interest at this point. I know it hasn’t been a public problem for the university yet, but if he keeps it up, which it seems like he will, it seems unlikely this doesn’t end in a lawsuit or very embarrassing public backlash.”

“You’re not wrong,” Jameson said, shooting a pointed look at Knowles.

“In return, I’ll make sure Hanna stays in line, this stays secret, and I’ll attend UNC for college. Very publicly and supportively. There will need to be, separate from that, some allowances made for my schedule, since my career can be unpredictable, but I’m sure that can be worked out.”

Dr. Kincaid jumped in eagerly. “I don’t see there being a problem working with your schedule.”

Dr. Jameson turned to Dr. Knowles. “We can make this work. Alastair, I want this handled immediately. Reinstate Hanna Phillips and have Professor Cross in my office by the end of the day.”

“Of course, Dr. Jameson. I’ll take care of it personally,” Knowles said, looking like he’d eaten a lemon.

Maybe I hadn’t dodged a bullet there after all.

“Good.” Jameson said, looking back at me. “Charlie, I apologize for this situation. I assure you, we take these matters very seriously.”

“I appreciate that.”

“As for your enrollment,” Dr. Kincaid said eagerly, “we would be thrilled to have you as part of the Tar Heel family. When can we make the announcement?”

“Let’s give it a week or two. I need to let USC down gently before they make their announcement. I don’t want to burn any bridges.”

“Of course, of course,” Kincaid said. “We can coordinate with your publicist on the timing.”

“Speaking of which,” I said, standing up, “I should probably give her a heads up about all this.”

Dr. Jameson stood as well, extending her hand. “Charlie, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I promise, we will make this right.”

I shook her hand, then Dr. Kincaid’s and Dr. Knowles’s. “I appreciate you all taking the time to meet with me. I’m looking forward to being a Tar Heel.”

When the meeting finished, I headed back to Wellsville. Lyla and Seth had headed back hours before, so I was on my own. I knew this might be a possibility, which is why I’d driven out separately. On the plus side, the drive back from Raleigh gave me plenty of time to make the necessary calls about my change of plans.

USC was first on the list. I didn’t explain everything, of course, just that there was a family issue that required me to attend school closer to home, and that I would not be able to go to USC in the fall. Predictably, they didn’t take the news well.

“Charlie, we simply can’t accept this last-minute reversal,” the dean said after I explained. “We have already made a lot of plans contingent upon you enrolling this fall.”

“I understand, and all I can do is apologize again.”

There was a long pause on the other end. I could almost hear him trying to think of a way to convince me to stay.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, Charlie. Opportunities like this don’t come around often. I’d hate for you to have any regrets down the line.”

“I would too, but sometimes there are things out of our control. You have my word, though, if things change, USC will be at the top of my list.”

We exchanged a few more pleasantries and I managed to get off the phone. I would probably be their least favorite person for a while, but it wasn’t like I’d signed a contract, so there wasn’t much anyone else could do.

The second call, however, actually had me worried.

“Hey babe, you got a minute?” I said when Kat answered.

I should have told her when I was there, since I was in town, but I really wanted to get back and break this news to Hanna and her mother in person. I did a quick recap of the UNC meeting and my decision. Kat didn’t say anything the whole time, and after I finally wound down, she was silent for a long time, which worried me.

Considering the fight we’d had over choosing USC in the first place, I honestly had no idea how she was going to take this.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve talked to you first before going there, but I didn’t know if it would work or if I was even going to go through with it before I got there,” I said when I couldn’t take the silence any longer.

“Charlie, you don’t need to apologize,” she finally said. “I’m not thrilled you had to do this, and I’m really pissed at Hanna for being so incredibly selfish, but I know why you did it and know you’d do it again. I’m actually proud of you.”

“Really?” I asked, relieved.

“Yes. I wish you would have gone somewhere that could have benefited you more, but you’re right, this is probably the only thing that would have actually fixed her situation, and I’m actually pretty sure it doesn’t matter what college you go to. Your music is in a different place than it was when we talked last time, and you’ll be fine either way. Which means I can be happy that we won’t be long distance anymore without feeling guilty. So yes, you’re off the hook.”

To say I was relieved would be an understatement. We talked most of my drive back, mostly because I had time and found long distance driving boring, and because I was selfish enough to make Kat entertain me while I did it.

The house was eerily quiet when I got home. I knew Mrs. Phillips was there because her car was in the driveway, and as far as I knew, Hanna hadn’t left the house since she got expelled.

I found Mrs. Phillips in her room, looking like she was trying to read a book, but I recognized her angry face and knew she was stewing. The more the two of them fought, the more they seemed exactly like one another.

“Hey, where’s Hanna?”

She gestured vaguely upstairs. “In her room, I think. We...we had another fight.”

“Could you come out to the living room? I need to talk to both of you,” I said, getting a defiant stare in return. “Please?”

“Fine,” she said with a sigh.

“Thank you.”

I headed upstairs and found Hanna curled up on her bed, face buried in a pillow. She looked up as I entered, eyes red and puffy.

“Charlie? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Raleigh.”

“I was. We need to talk. You and your mom both. She’s already downstairs.”

“I can’t. Not right now.”

“Yes, now. Come on.” I held out my hand, pulling her up.

They sat on opposite ends of the couch, but at least they were in the same room.

“I had a meeting at UNC this morning with the head of admissions, dean of students, and president of the college,” I started off.

To say both were shocked was an understatement. They both kind of stared at me, completely losing the attitudes.

“What? Why?” Mrs. Phillips asked.

“Because I needed to fix this situation. Not only was Hanna’s entire future in danger, but so was your relationship, and I wasn’t going to stand by and let that happen. They pushed really hard for me to go there, and I knew they still wanted me, so I have leverage, and I used it. I explained to them about Hanna and Cross, not just their relationship but the ongoing pattern of relationships he’s had with students for years, and still has, but with a new student. I told them I was willing to go to UNC, but only under the condition that they reinstate Hanna immediately and remove any record of this incident from her file. I also told them that Cross had to be gone since I wouldn’t go to a school that allowed a professor like that to prey on students.”

Hanna’s jaw dropped. “You...you did what?”

“I told them what it would take for me to go there. It helped that the university was furious. Apparently, the dean of students knew this was going on and allowed it, or at least hadn’t made moves to stop it. That’s the baffling part because he’s a major liability for the college, which the president agreed with. They’re firing Cross immediately and reinstating you, effective immediately.”

“Charlie, I can’t believe...why would you do that for me?”

“What do you mean, why would I do that? Hanna, you’re my best friend. I couldn’t just stand by and watch you throw your life away over some predator.”

“But Charlie, you can’t just... You shouldn’t have to sacrifice your plans for me,” she said, and got real quiet. “Especially after how I’ve treated everyone this past year.”

It was good she was at least finally recognizing that she wasn’t without blame in this, and that she’d hurt the people around her. It gave some hope that she’d be able to start making amends for it.

I moved to stand in front of her and knelt down, so we were eye level with her on the couch, and placed my hands on her knees.

“Hanna, there is literally nothing you could do that would make me stop fighting for you. Can’t you see that? I love you. You and your mom are my family.”

She began to sob, putting her hands over her face. I pulled her into my arms and squeezed her tight, not saying anything for several minutes. Her mom just watched us, tears sliding down her cheek as well.

“But, you need to get your head out of your ass. This is the second guy in a row that you’ve almost thrown away your most important relationships for. If you keep going down this path, one day you might succeed in pushing everyone away for good. I’m glad you realized you messed up, but you’re going to have to do work to fix it.”

She pulled back out of my arms and wiped the tears away, sniffling a few times to get herself under control.

“I know. I’m so sorry, Charlie. I’ve been a terrible friend. You were going through so much and I’ve only cared about myself.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to. You did a number on your mother.”

“I know,” she said, looking to her mom. “I’m so sorry mommy. I messed up so bad and I was such a bitch to you. I’m so so sorry.”

Mrs. Phillips slid over on the couch and pulled Hanna into her arms, ‘I know baby. You made a mistake, but Charlie’s right. We love you and won’t let this come between us.”

I reached out and squeezed their hands, just wanting to be a part of the family. I think she recognized that, because she reached out and pulled me in, mashing both of us between her arms.

“Charlie, I don’t even know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”

“You don’t have to say anything. You’re my family and I love you guys. Besides, this doesn’t even come close to paying off the debt I owe to you. You and Hanna quite literally saved my life.”

The love fest went on from there as we just kept hugging each other and saying how much we loved each other.

I’d been on stage in front of thousands of people and I’d been on national television.

None of them compared to just being here with Hanna and her mom. With my family.