Chapter 47: Interlude 8: There are always sceptics
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**Becky Shorter**
- Haa!...
It's been a few months since Bart's scandal, and I continue to have nightmares of which said guy is the protagonist.
I dream about the look in his eyes when he met mine after Bart left the gym. I don't know why I went there. Frankly, the whole thing came out of nowhere and so suddenly that I was a little freaked out. I felt like I was in a dream or something.
Back to Bart's gaze, I couldn't quite make out what he was trying to say, either then or now. It seemed to be both a plea for help and a desire to be left behind.
That look, the fact that Bart's family refused to protect him-these things made me run inside myself, as far as my feelings for Bart were concerned, and hide behind a routine. For a while, that helped.
However, then I found out that Bart was missing.....
-Weeks earlier-
- Hey, Liz. - our mutual friend, a year younger than me and Liz, suddenly walked into our classroom.
- Huh? Allison, where are you from? - Lisa, who had been in the clouds for days, was genuinely surprised.
- Do you know where Bart is? I can't find him. - The whole class froze at the mention of that name. Yeah, if Lisa wasn't already an outcast, the story with her brother would definitely make her one.
- B-Bart. O-he... - Lisa suddenly became nervous. - I don't know...
- What do you mean? - Allison tilted her head in surprise, causing her pencil to fall out of her ear.
Lisa later told her, and unknowingly me, that Bart was nowhere to be found after he was released from custody. The police refused to open a missing persons case, citing Lisa's brother's bad history with Springfield, and that most likely he had just decided to go somewhere far away where no one would know him. Besides, he was an adult, so he could do whatever he wanted.
Of course, his parents might have insisted, but.... Bart's school went out of its way to accommodate him, if you could call it that. The principal assured them that their son would be 'drawn' the minimum scores for graduation and sent out into the world. The gesture was dictated by the fact that the school had already suffered enough from Bart, so they wanted to at least get rid of him without a scandal.
- What a caring attitude. - Alison commented ironically. - The more I learn about the hypocrisy of adults, the more I want to be a child.
Listening to Alison and Lisa talk was hard. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my thoughts were tinged with regret at my inaction.
- Why would you even be interested in my brother...? - very weak, almost a mouse squeak asked Lisa.
- He's my college essay topic. - Lisa, like me, was surprised to hear this. - After the 'MeToo' movement started, unfortunately, all sorts of.... To put it mildly, bad girls. who not only smear the real victims with their filth, but also frame innocent people for it.
- Allison, don't tell me you believe this sexist conservative propaganda? - How do you get a liberal's fuse back on quickly? Start a conversation about politics...
- I'm sorry that stories along the lines of - 'I consented to sex with my husband because I was afraid he might hit me, even though he never did in thirty years of marriage, which means he raped me'; don't appeal to me.
- But you are a woman and should understand the fear of men, their tough nature!
- Haa... If that's what women think, I'll stick with girls.
Always good at keeping Lisa quiet, Alison's words were followed by silence.
- ...So you don't think Bart did it? - Lisa asked hesitantly again.
- I don't know. - To which Alison just shrugged.
- HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! - causing Lisa and I to scream collectively.
- Huh? Did you hear that? I think someone else was screaming along with you. - ooh-ooh.
- Don't change the subject! - right Liz, get her to continue our mutual conversation where I'm standing a few metres behind a wall for cultural reasons. - Why do you even have doubts?! He didn't deny it!
- Well. How could a virgin who was afraid to take my hand do something like that? - Alison's words made me raise an eyebrow, and Lisa...
Lisa's face took on a dumbfounded look. I don't have enough experience, or understanding, to describe or realise the feelings that Alison's words caused her.
.....
As time went on, I began to take an interest in Alison's investigation. Although I tried to stop myself at first, I eventually gave in to the urge.
- So Bart was isolated in class after the incident? - That's how Alison introduced me to her colleague friend.
- Yeah. Not that he seemed to mind. - Another beautiful girl, Isabella Gutierrez.
- So that's how he dealt with the guilt? - and the most infuriating part is that she's smart in addition to her looks. Which gives me the exact same look Alison gives me when I ask her questions. I'm sorry not everyone here is a grade-skipping genius!
- It could have been interpreted this way... - Isabella began to explain. - If he hadn't behaved the same way, after the transfer..... And as Ali told me, the fire wasn't Bart's fault.
Everyone at school knew that Jimbo and his friends were behind the fire. And Bart was expelled because instead of fighting with students or extorting money from them, he was making fun of teachers. Which the school hierarchy considered a great sin.
Anyway, it was Alison's account of the fire that made Isabella change her mind about Bart.
- He never made excuses, never even said he didn't do it. So everyone at school just assumed that he really did try to set fire to his past. Doesn't that ring a bell?
- But-but why didn't he try to stand up for himself?! Didn't try to justify himself?! - Isabella's calm words made me emotional.
- I guess he didn't think anyone would believe him? - Alison said calmly, which made me feel uncomfortable, being the only one on the emotion. - That's best to ask Bart.
Ask Bart?
But how, if false accusations made him a real criminal first, and then forced him to leave for an unknown destination?
- If Bart's family is out of the picture, the only way to find out where he went is from his wrestling coach. Unless, of course, you're looking for trouble by looking for the criminals he was hanging around with.
Next, I finally proved useful and saved the girls time by giving both the name and where to find Engle. Their complete lack of awareness of Bart's life when he was the town hero even surprised and made me laugh.
However, going to see Coach Engle yielded nothing. The man said he had no dealings, and hadn't met Bart at all, since the Sherry scandal.
So the whole three of us hit a dead end, and while I was thrown off, Isabella and Allison decided to listen to the stories of Jessica, Sherry, and Terry...
.....
The Bart story is finally dead. Alison and Isabella's article brought a new side to the story that made people stop holding on to one single option.
- Haaah!
The truth is, there's still no word on Bart. Maybe that's why I keep having nightmares about him from time to time.
Sometimes I wonder if he knows that they tried to clear his name. That I was helping in this?
However, the answers that come to mind all hang around one thought - why should he care? If he didn't care that others thought he was an arsonist, yes a rapist. Why would he care that he was now determined to have those labels removed from him?
- I guess. If I were Bart, I'd never go back to Springfield.
After all, everyone in this town has turned their backs on him. It's entirely possible that he doesn't think there's anyone in it to go back to.
- Haa. The important thing is that he's healthy and happy wherever he is.....
Speaking of happiness. It's probably worth mentioning that Isabella and Alison's article had no impact on Jessica's lives, which was cracked first.
- Is attention worth another person's life? - her motive is truly pathetic.
Next up was Sherry, who spoke reluctantly. According to Ali and Easy, the whole situation didn't reflect well on her either. She had left the troupe, lived in a mediocre flat, and even dyed her hair red to hide her identity.
Frankly, I couldn't get anything out of her. Alison even wrote in the article that the only thing Sherry helped them with was confusion.
- On the other hand, she could also be a victim.....
Another result came from her sister. Who willingly gave interviews as long as she thought Easy was one of those people who wanted to write about what a bastard Bart was. And she changed her attitude dramatically after the cover-up.
According to Isabella, Terry, although she's making a confident appearance, is clearly at a bad game. She spends most of her time at home, has neglected her appearance and, judging by the constant voice breakdowns, is not in a calm state of mind.
- Maybe it really was her.
In addition to cleaning up Bart's Springfield persona. Unfortunately only here, because it's a small town. Word of the story, even though it's on the Internet, spreads fast. Also, the article was able to help Alison and Isabella with receipts.
And while Alison has yet to graduate, Isabella is about to graduate....
Bart's diploma has already been handed out. Well, his family got a diploma with his name on it.
- No, I'm awake.
I guess the only good thing that came out of all this is that I made a new friend.
- Isn't that great?
She's a little hard to understand sometimes, even though we're the same age.
- You decided you weren't going to party and get drunk at uni anyway, so why not take that chance from your parents?
I don't understand why she can't take an all-expense paid trip to Mexico as a graduation present...?
- Huh? To go with you? I don't know. Where exactly? Monterey? Is there a beach there?
Maybe a trip to Mexico will take my mind off Bart. Who knows, maybe I'll even meet someone there.
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