The Right Time (Together-Part 1)(Completed)

Chapter 20

Dorien

Thanksgiving goes off without a hitch. I'm determined to have a good time and forget about my troubles for the day. The food is excellent, the company fun and Zosia's with me. Chris decided that he's coming home with me until Monday and then he'll fly back home from there. I'm moved because he's taking time away from Se to do it. He told me that they've had a whole week together and she feels that we should spend this time together. Rob's upset because he can't hang with us because he goes to school there. I told him that we could fly down to Texas and hang with Chris one weekend after this is all over.

I wanted Zose to come back with me, but she said that since Chris is coming, she didn't want to interfere and we needed that guy time. Besides she would end up riding down with us on Saturday and flying right back home on Sunday. She told me that she would come down the next weekend.

I finish out the semester at school and enroll into the community college back home. I got all of the classes I needed plus one more. I know that I'm going to be doing a lot of nothing until this is all over so I'll be able to handle the extra class. We had to go to court one more time so I could get privileges to leave the state for Christmas. I'm able to go home the week of Christmas and come back January second. Zosia still has school, so she can't come stay with me. Chris decided that he'll come and hang with me until it's time to go home. Poor Se, having to split her time with Chris, with me. She's been very understanding about it though.

We did get my court date though. January eighth. The day of reckoning as I call it. Since I have two weeks before I go home. Mark starts prepping me for my case. The first test came back negative for cocaine, but there were dust pieces of it in my hair. The second test came back positive for cocaine in my system, but very light traces. My car came back with traces of cocaine all through it. On the rugs, the seats, the windows. Everywhere. But the patterns in the front passenger seat and one of the rear passenger seats showed that someone was in the car with me. It just can't be proven who. He prepped me as much as he could before we went home for Christmas.

Christmas was awesome as always, but I was kind of upset because I had to order all of the presents online. I like to shop just as much as any woman and like to pick out my own gifts. Spending that time with Zosia and our families is like a healing balm on my soul. I didn't want to leave them at all. We also had a small family gathering for New Year's Eve. We brought in the New Year looking at it on television and sipping on a glass of champagne. Zose dropped me off at the airport before going to school the next day.

Mark starts coaching me again on what I do in court. He asks me every possible question that can be asked and coach me on the answers that I should give. They subpoenaed Ryan, Larry and Coach to appear in court. Meanwhile, I also start preparing for school this semester. I order my books and look up the syllabus for each class online and print it out. When my books arrive, I start working ahead for when the case starts so I don't fall behind.

Ms. Pam won't let Zose out of class to attend court with me but she comes. She has been visiting me as much as my parents. She's always been a second mom to me and during this, she has proven that she thinks of me as a son. She always has a hug and some encouraging words. I am thankful to her for that.

The first day of court doesn't look good for me at all. They call me up to the stand and I tell what happened in my own words. After it was all over for the day, Mark asked me did they read me my Miranda rights. I thought about it and told him no. "We can stop all of this with just that tomorrow. What do you say?" Mark asks.

"No, I want all of them to pay for setting them up. If it comes down to it and I have to go to jail or use that, we can use that. But until then, let's finish this out." I tell him.

By the end of the week, it doesn't look good. I'm wondering how I'm going to get out of this. The coach denies calling me to pick up Ryan and Larry and they deny even riding with me. We even brought in the guy at the convenience store I visited and he denies even seeing them. They must have gotten to him. Zosia came in tonight and we are all sitting around the table. Mark tells us, "We'll pull the Miranda rights and get you off on Monday." I'm a little pissed right now. "It just isn't right that they can get away with this. I wish there was a way that we could prove that they were in the car." I say.

"Maybe there is." Zosia says quietly.

"How?" Mark asks. She looks at me. "Remember when you first got that truck, we installed cameras in it so we could record ourselves for our reality show. We stopped thinking about it because every time we looked at it, everything we did was stupid. Those cameras are still in that car." I had forgotten all about those cameras. "Do you still have the passwords?" I ask. "I do. I still looked at it every now and then, but I haven't looked at it in a while." She says.

We grab the laptop and pull up the website. Zosia puts in the password and there they all are. We pull up the date in question. We fast forward until around the time that I picked up mo and schmo. There they are getting in the car and doing everything I said. When I went into the store to get my drink, the video shows them putting the drugs under the seat and admitting that the coach put them up to it and why from three angles. It seems that I took someone else's scholarship that he wanted on the team really badly.

Mark subpoenaed Coach, Ryan and Larry to show back up in court on Monday. He wanted them there so they could be arrested on the spot. He arranges for security just in case they try to leave the courtroom while the video is playing.

We all thank Zose for remembering about the cameras in the car and copy it to a couple of thumb drives for court. I'm finally able to breath. When I go to bed that night I hold her tight. We have a really nice weekend, since this has taken the burden off of my shoulders. We order dinner in to celebrate so we don't look suspicious by going out. We keep what we have confined to the apartment that we're in. We don't want to take any chances.

Zose's mother allows her to stay in town Monday, but doesn't allow her to go to court with us. As expected, when the video was shown, proving that I was set up and why, all three of them tried to leave the courtroom. Security held them until the judge dismissed the case against me. They were arrested immediately and taken into custody.

The celebration that night was big. I called Rob and he met us at the restaurant. We are a lively bunch relief making us louder than we have been since this first started. Mark filed a motion to the NCAA, to let me play football at the school of my choice next year and they granted it immediately. I was able to move home.

The school was suspended and fined by the NCAA for the actions of the coach and a couple of players. The school decided that for the time of the suspension, that they wouldn't have a football program. They fired the whole staff and will build it up again from the bottom. They told the players on the team, that they could keep their scholarships until they graduate or they'll release them to another school.

The school contacted me and told me that they would be happy to have me back if I would like and I could keep my scholarship. As much as I wanted to tell them off, I respectfully declined and told them I wouldn't be back.

Zose and I visit the other three colleges that welcomed us and we end up picking Duke in North Carolina. We get ourselves set up for next year. The coach tells me that I'm good, but I may not get as much playing time because of who they already have in their lineup. I tell him that I'm not looking to go pro, I just want to play football. He nods and tell me that I will get to play.

We let everyone know what school that we picked and Carly tells us that it's one of the schools that she applied to and Rob tells us that he's going to apply there also since Carly applied there. He tells us that it's a really good school also. I feel like I can finally breathe, I got my day in court and was found innocent and I have my school worked out for next year.