HEARING DAMAGE
TEEN NOLA - CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE !

THE YOUNG QUIGLEY GIRL offered the brunette a perfunctory smile that most certainly didn't meet her eyes. Misty sauntered over with purpose towards the stand where Nola now sat, one leg pulled up, knee pressed to her chest. The blonde peered over at the group, staring at them all one-by-one as if she were sizing them up, trying her best to figure out who was the best target. Nola watched her silently, the grip she had on her leg tightening with each passing second as Misty drew out the already long process.

At the sound of Misty drawing in a dramatic sounding breath, Travis's hand stopped its motions for a brief moment, allowing his focus to shift away from his drawing that he had been working on since the beginning of the trail and to settle on the girl who had become his closest friend since they had been out there, sat quietly on the stand.

One of Misty's brows rose up in curiosity. She stared down at Nola as she inquired, "You were up late the night of the fire, yes?"

"I was." Nola replied honestly, her head lulling into a small nod.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Misty's next words were quick and to the point. "Did you set it?"

The level of nonchalance Misty had acquired to ask her such a bold, accusing question caused a bout of shocked laughter to fall past Nola's lips. "You're really jumping the gun, aren't ya?" She replied rhetorically, her shoulders still shaking slightly with amusement. Her lips curled into a small smile as her head shook. "No, I didn't set the fire, Misty."

The curly haired blonde nodded. Her lips were pursed now, her hands clasped together in front of her body as she stepped away from the Rilke girl. There was a pause in the procession. Misty appeared deep in thought, her eyes glazed over before it seemed to snap away and determination marred the features of her face.

She spun back around as she repeated once again. "You were up late the night of the fire, correct?"

Her repeated question cause many to roll their eyes. It appeared to many that Misty was now grasping at straws, trying her damndest to justify her decision to call Nola to the stand.

When Nola nodded her head, not bothering to give a verbal response to a question she had already answered, Misty suddenly smirked.

"And that was the very same night you had been passed over as leader, yes?" She spoke as if this was brand new information, as if she was learning this for the first time. As if she was unaware that was an extremely sore subject for Nola.

"So one could infer from this information that maybe, just maybe you set the fire to prove that the Wilderness was wrong for that." Misty was sauntering back and forth, her feet kicking up dirt with each step. "You were one of the first who noticed and warned us of the fire, after all."

Nola blinked.

She stared up at the girl, her mouth gaping open. "Why would I do that?" She exasperatedly inquired, looking at the blonde like she had gone crazy. Which for Misty wasn't exactly a stretch of the imagination.

            "It's a yes or no question, Nola." Misty deadpanned.

            A loud exhale broke free from the Rilke girl as she glanced about in disbelief. This was such a stupid line of questioning. As her eyes landed on Natalie, the girl just sent her a defeat expression before answering, "Just answer her."

            Nola's shoulders fell. With no other option available, she quickly acquiesced to the curly-haired blonde. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Someone could assume I did it because of that."

            Tension now seemed to cling to the balmy Spring air. Burning from her friends gazes harshly seared into her skin. She felt judgment from them, judgment for something she hadn't even done headed her way in droves, coming in the form of intense stares and furrowed brows. As if she would ever burn the cabin down. What the fuck would she actually gain from doing that?

            They were falling for it. Misty's words were winning them over, were convincing them of something totally unfounded. All because the bespectacled freak wanted to save her little 'boyfriend' from the fate he deserved, the fate he brought upon himself when he set the fucking cabin alight and left them all to burn alive.

            Stevie's words from before came spewing out of her mouth before she could even hesitate to bite her tongue and swallow her words. "But I saw your face that night too, Misty."

            She was lying, she hadn't seen Misty that night. She only hoped that shining the metaphorical light at Misty would lessen the accusations that had been thrown at her. She just wanted the others to see she wasn't capable of something so awful. None of them were, really. The only one to have true motive for setting the cabin alight with them all trapped inside was Coach Scott, the person they all should be focusing on instead of blaming each other.

            "You were just as upset. You also thought it should have been you so don't you dare try to blame me for something that you yourself also could have done." She snapped at the Quigley girl.

            She then turned to look at the group. "I didn't set the cabin on fire. I would never do that." Earnestly she spoke, a hopefulness overwhelming her gaze. "I mightn't be the leader but I would never put anyone here at risk to prove a fucking point."

            Quiet settled upon the camp. Her honest words appeared to have taken effect. No longer did those glances of scepticism scorch her skin. Even Misty had become subdued. Her desire to pin it on Nola seemed to fade as she uttered, "Maybe you're right. Maybe it was Coach Scott, or maybe it could have been any one of us for any number of reasons."

            With a new sense of purpose, Misty's voice grew stronger. "I mean, who knows, maybe it could have been Crystal?" She hypothesised, throwing her very clearly dead friend's name into the mix. She then glanced over her shoulder at Nola. "Do you agree?"

            Nola felt like shit. In the span of thirty seconds, Misty had managed to take her words and use them against her. Her accusing Misty had inadvertently given the blonde the very ammunition she needed to further defend Coach Scott. To cast doubt on the accusations against him.

             And she had no fucking choice but to agree. Begrudgingly, she nodded her head while stating, "You're right, it could have been any one of us."

            Smug once again, Misty turned to look at the jury. "Well, that sounds a lot, to me, like reasonable doubt." With her shoulders squared and her jaw clenched with conviction, she carried on with her defence. "I mean, if it could have been any one of us, then is it fair to convict a man of attempted murder?"

            Yet again Nola found herself backed into a corner of her own making. "I guess not."

            That was all Misty needed to hear. With a sharp nod, she turned to Natalie and announced, "No further questions."

          With a deep, disgruntled internal sigh, Nola rose to her feet while everyone began to faintly talk amongst themselves, walked over to the table and all but threw herself onto the log beside Taissa and Shauna. Her voice was quiet as it was filled with frustration. "You better have something planned, Tai, cause I just got my fucking ass handed to me."

           Taissa's gaze was low. She looked equally annoyed by how Misty had managed to turn the trial around. "I was going to rest so I have no idea."

            Shauna looked deep in thought. She sat quietly with the two girls, the thumb of her left hand rubbing into the palm of her right and her eyes locked upon the judge. After a moment, she declared, "Natalie knew where he was hiding."

            Nola's eyes widened in surprise at her girlfriend's words. "Wait, are you serious?"

            "How do you know that?" Taissa asked. When Shauna nodded her head to the space behind Nola, both Tai and Nola turned their heads inconspicuously until their sights landed upon Misty fucking Quigley, chatting quietly with her returned little boyfriend. Taissa turned back around and with a whisper, asked, "How long have you known this?"

            The Shipman girl was quick to point out, "Why are you asking me?" Her question prompted all three girls to shift their hardened gazed towards Natalie, who sat oblivious to their revelation. Suddenly, the trio had a new angle to pursue, one that would surely lead them down the path of victory and Coach one step closer to his demise.

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            "ALL RIGHT, TAI, DO you have any more witnesses?" The Scatorccio girl asked of her friend, still completely unaware of what lay ahead now that Taissa knew of her deceit.

            "Just one, your Honour." Taissa breathed out as she leaned her hands on her knees while raising to her feet. With a somber expression, the Turner girl's lips became tightened as she announced her intentions to the group. "The people would like to call Natalie Scatorccio to the stand."

            As expected, a clamour of confusion erupted from many of them, especially from Misty, who appeared to take personal offence. "Objection. No, no, no. The judge can't be a-a witness. That's unprecedented."

            "All of this is unprecedented." Taissa responded to her, her forehead creased as she pointed out just how unorthodox this trail already had become.

            Misty ignored her. Instead she turned to look at Natalie, her brown eyes staring through her thick lensed glasses. She attempted to implore with the girl. "Your Honour."

            This didn't work, however. Natalie didn't look back at the blonde and instead kept her gaze forward as she gave in. "I'll do it."

            As she rose to her feet, ready to head over and take the stand, Taissa, in a thinly veiled bitchy way, uttered, "Oh, do you mind?" While pointing at the white cloak draped over her shoulders.

Natalie stopped in her tracks for a second as she struggled to understand Taissa's words. Finally, she nodded while untying the cloak and pulling it from her body, bunching it up and setting it down into the seat she had just vacated.

Once she was sat down on the tree stump that acted as the stand, Taissa clasped her hands together in front of her body, took a calming breath and then began. "Your Honour—"

"Nat is fine." The Scatorccio girl cut her off with a wave of her hand. She didn't really care for formalities especially if she was going to be on the stand.

Taissa's lips pulled into a tightened smile at her brushing off. "Thanks. Nat, when was the last time you saw Coach Scott before today?" She began her interrogation.

Natalie thought for a moment then answered, "The day we—I drew the queen."

"You last saw him before the fire?" The Turner girl then curiously inquired, her arms folding across her chest as she feigned innocent intrigue.

"Yes."

Taissa's brows quickly furrowed. "Before we drew cards?" She asked while peering down at the Scatorccio girl, the angle giving her the perfect view of her natural roots beginning to overtake her entire head.

This line of questioning had Natalie stuttering, "No-no."

"No." Taissa repeated in a single breath. She took a step back, moving from the girl and towards the jury behind her. A symbolic attempt to alienate Natalie. "So, after the Wilderness chose Javi but before the cabin burned. Where did you see him?"

"Outside the cabin." Came Natalie's response.

This then prompted Taissa to ask, "What was he doing?"

"Nothing."

            Taissa scoffed. "He had to be doing something."

            Natalie weakly shrugged. There seemed to be something behind her movements, something she was holding back. "He wasn't doing anything. He was just leaving."

            Her explanation sadly meant little to Taissa, who continued to dig. "But he had just come back." The Turner girl argued, once again acting as though she was unaware of exactly what Natalie had been keeping secret from them. "How did you know he was leaving?"

            Sarcasm weaved through Natalie's words, falling past her lips. "Because he walked away." She quipped derisively, the girl seeming barely a second away from snorting a laugh at Taissa's expense.

            "Because he saw what we did?" Silence followed. It was tense. The air felt thicker. No one moved.

            This was it. Taissa's moment to shine was now. She could do this. "So, he disappeared, came back, then immediately left, never to be seen again, and then a fire broke out. You don't think that's suspicious?"

            Natalie's shoulders squared. She appeared defensive, looking like a dog safeguarding its toys. She pretended like she wasn't affected by Taissa's sords by simply shrugging. "Maybe. Maybe it was just a coincidence."

            "Why didn't you try to stop him from leaving?"

            "Objection." Natalie called out. She wasn't about to be accused of something or have the situation spun out of control.

   Taissa's nose turned up. She let out a hollow chuckle as she retorted, "You're the witness."

             Her words did little to stop Natalie from trying to defend herself and stop the trial from falling out of order. "And the judge. Sustained."

            There was a beat as Taissa regrouped herself, as she took a deep breath and let it go. A tight, annoyed smile was sent Natalie's way before Taissa began to speak once again. "When the cabin burned, did you think Coach Scott did it?"

           The tremble of Natalie's bottom lip as she acknowledged the question said all it needed to for Nola. It was clear that at some point, even if incredibly briefly, Natalie had considered Coach Scott as a possible reason for the fire. Natalie shrugged however, not giving her true feelings away. "I thought anything could have caused it. Um...a spark from the fireplace, a candle falling over—"

            "But not Coach Scott? You never wanted to ask him?" Taissa swiftly cut her off.

            "I couldn't." Natalie responded as if stating the obvious, after all, how could she have asked Coach Scott if he had a hand in the cabin's burning if he was nowhere in sight?

            A faux sense of interest washed over Taissa's face. "Why not?" She asked

            "Because he wasn't around to ask."

            "But you knew where he was!" There it was. The big reveal. Now everyone knew of Natalie's betrayal.

            As the group began to descend into unbridled racket, calls of disbelief at Natalie's lies and hurls of anger from those who felt wronged, Taissa carried on laying into their leader. "You've known this whole time. Misty figured that out."

            "Objection." Misty weakly called out. Her voice was lost in the commotion.

            Taissa's voice bellowed free from her throat. "You didn't just see him before the fire. He saw you, right? You spoke to him. That's how you knew he was leaving. You knew where he was going but you have orders not to search for him anyway." She harshly pointed down at the Scatorccio girl, hovering over her as she sat motionless on the stand.

            "You've been lying to us to protect him, and this trail was just another desperate attempt for you to let him off the hook. You can stop me anytime I'm wrong." Taissa now cried out, tears of frustration beginning to gather in her eyes.

            Finally, with no other option but to speak the truth, Natalie said, "Okay. I knew he was out there. But he didn't want anything to do with us. I knew that we could just let him live in peace because he wasn't any kind of threat."

             This feeble attempt at an excuse wasn't good enough. All it did was fuel Shauna's anger. The Shipman girl jumped to her feet and stomped forward. "Wasn't a threat? How was that for you to decide? You let him go and we almost died!"

            Though she didn't stand up alongside Shauna, Nola's fury was no less intense and suffocating. "She's right. We deserved the right to make that decision together but you took that from us to save the one person who had the most motive to burn us in our sleep. Why is that fucking fair, Nat?"

            Natalie had the good sense to actually shrink back from the wave of justified criticism. She couldn't bear the heat, which suddenly felt reminiscent of the flames that flickered wildly as the cabin was consumed by the orange glow, from the gazes of those who felt she had deceived them.

            Misty managed to find her voice which allowed her the ability to demand, "Order, order, order!" All the while her hand slapped ferociously against the table.

Tears that had yet to shed formed within Natalie's eyes, settling against her waterline as she fought the urge to sob. With little regard for Natalie's feelings, Taissa's gaze turned hard as she stated, "The prosecution rests."

         "Your witness." Natalie informed Misty through gritted teeth.

         Misty stayed quiet for a moment. She looked incredibly conflicted, almost as if seeing how easily the group had gotten riled up caused her to lose her urge to fight. Finally though, as what seemed like forever, the curly-haired blonde spoke up. "Your honour. I'd like to call Coach Benjamin Scott to the stand for questioning."

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           BEN SCOTT SAT STIFFLY on the stand, his body tense, his hands folded tightly in his lap. His eyes never left Misty, the only one he could rely on to aid him in avoiding being sentenced to death for something he hadn't even done. The remaining teenagers sat opposite him, their expressions unreadable, their silence louder than any gavel. He didn't dare look at them. He couldn't stand to see what he already knew: judgment, disappointment, resentment.

           Misty stood in front of him, her hands dangling down by her sides, fingertips trailing along the exposed skin of her outer thighs. Her posture was deceptively relaxed, but her eyes were sharp, probing. She knew deep down this was her last chance to save Ben from being persecuted to the fullest extent.

           "Why'd you wanna be a coach?" She began, her voice light, curious. The question was casual, almost conversational as if they had met at a party and were engaging in small talk, but they all could sense the weight beneath it. This wasn't small talk. This was dissection.

           "I...I didn't."

           The answer landed harder than Misty had expected. She blinked, caught off guard. "Well, you were a sub, right?" She pressed, her voice a little thinner now. "Have you always wanted to be a teacher?"

           Ben shook his head slowly. Deliberately. "No."

            "But you like kids, right?" Misty's voice was different now—brighter, almost forced. There was something beneath the surface of her tone, something fragile. She was wavering greatly. "Like, working with teenagers and stuff?"

           Ben didn't flinch. He didn't even pretend. The honesty came out flat, heavy, and unadorned. "Not really. No."

            The bespectacled blonde's face changed. The last shred of warmth drained from her like water down a sink. She straightened her shoulders, her expression hardening into something sharp and cold. Her eyes, which had once looked up to him with admiration, now burned with something closer to contempt.

            Then, with a voice like a knife: "Then why the fuck are you here, Ben?"

            A humourless breath of laughter escaped from Ben, the sound brittle and tired. His eyes narrowed as he leaned back slightly, gaze still fixed on Misty, the irony of it all bitter on his tongue. "What, stranded in a forest? Uh, well, Misty, see, we were in a plane crash." He quipped sarcastically, dry wit masking the deeper exhaustion underneath.

            But Misty didn't crack a smile. She took a step forward, undeterred. Her voice, now edged with a tremor, pushed past the sarcasm. "Yeah, but why were you on the plane? Why spend so much time coaching girls' soccer at a high school if you hate it all? I mean, you've been at Wiskayok High for nine years. You could have left at any time."

            The way her voice shook made it clear this wasn't just about logistics anymore—it was personal. Her words were a plea wrapped in accusation, a desperate attempt to understand the contradiction sitting in front of her. "I mean, every—every school needs a coach or a substitute teacher." She added, faltering slightly as she tried to maintain control.

            Ben didn't hesitate. Maybe he was too tired to lie. Or maybe, for once, the truth was all he had left. "You guys ended up being the best in the state. I guess I figured, at some point, I'd...maybe get offered a better gig?"

            His voice was flat, honest, almost offhand. But Misty flinched. The emotional punch landed cleanly. Her arms dropped slightly, her hands balled into trembling fists.

            "Then, what, in the meantime, you just...you just hated us?" She inquired, her voice rising with the hurt now seeping through every word. "You never had any fun? You just—it's all a job to you?"

            The accusation cut deeper than she probably meant it to. Ben blinked, startled by her reaction. That hadn't been his intention. "I didn't—no, I didn't say that." His tone softened, regret slipping in as his posture loosened. "Look, I...I liked teaching, okay? I didn't think I would, and then I did."

            He let out a sigh, the kind that seemed to release more than just air—frustration, sorrow, guilt. "And, yeah, of course I ended up caring about you guys, too. I liked coaching you. Because you guys were...God, you were annoyingly fucking relentless." He chuckled, genuine warmth pushing its way through the weariness.

            That earned a few reluctant smiles from the table of teens who had been sitting stone-faced throughout the exchange. It wasn't much, but for a moment, it cracked through the haze of accusation and survival, a brief echo of the world before.

            Ben looked at them now—really looked. He let himself meet their eyes, old memories surfacing and reshaping the hard lines of his face into something softer. "And uh, you were underdogs." He uttered quietly, fondly. "I kind of like those. I am one. Grew up one. Stayed one."

           For a second, silence fell—not cold or tense, but thoughtful. The trial paused, not with a verdict, but a shared sense that maybe the story wasn't quite as black and white as they'd all wanted it to be.

            "And you'd never want to hurt an underdog, right? Keep them down?" Misty quietly asked, her voice breaking past the silence.

            A deep, exhausted sigh escaped from Ben, his shoulders slumping beneath the weight of it. "Look, if I wanted to hurt you, I..." His words trailed off as he ran a hand down his face, the rough bristles of his black beard catching at his fingers. He looked like a man unraveling. "Well, hell, I would've turned half of you in for getting so shit-faced the night before our first away game that I had to pretend to the staff I got food poisoning in seven different rooms."

            He glanced over, fixing his gaze on Van and Taissa, and motioned toward the pair as he spoke. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would've told the school and your parents about finding you guys together in the back of the parking lot after practice last year."

            Taissa's spine went rigid, her jaw clenched tight.

            Then came Misty. Ben peered up at her—the girl who has once been unhealthily obsessed with him and now the girl whose hands he had placed his life and prayed she could save him. "And I would've put you on the team instead of asking you to be the equipment manager because I knew you'd get hurt and then get bullied when you weren't good enough."

            His expression shifted—some of the steel dropped away. In its place, a weary, weathered grief surfaced. His gaze fell to the dirt, the man unable to meet theirs anymore. "My entire family sucked. No one really cared what happened to me or what I was doing, and I think I just wanted to look out for you guys the way... the way I never got."

          Misty looked rattled by this. She believed him, why wouldn't she, but if what he said was true, then, "Why did you leave us?"

            Ben's eyes flicked back up, wide with emotion, like an animal cornered. Panic seeped into his voice. "Look, I... I loved you guys and I cared about you guys and then we got here, and—Jesus, you cut my fucking leg off a-and you didn't listen to me anymore or—or care about any of the—" He stopped to drag in a shaky breath, his shoulders rising with the effort. Then came that dry, brittle chuckle again, like he was already breaking under the pressure. "And now you are literally putting me on trial and I didn't even do anything except try to get away from my own—"

           His pupils trembled now, barely able to hold focus. "I... I was scared that I... maybe was next. That I... that you guys didn't need me anymore, and s—" He bit his tongue, cut himself off. No more. No more excuses. No more running from the ugly truth that had followed him like a shadow.

           "Know what? I was a coward. I left you and I shouldn't have. I acted exactly the same way my parents would have, and that is embarrassing to me."

           His eyes searched the group—then landed on Shauna. Held there. His voice cracked. "It is shameful. And I am so fucking sorry, Shauna."

A sharp pain jabbed Nola in the chest. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she stood amongst her friends, listening to their coach desperately apologise to them all. Suddenly she found herself unable to believe he had any hand in burning the cabin down. The pure, raw emotion, the genuine misery he expressed spoke to her, told her that he couldn't have hurt them, that he had fled due to fear, not resentment. She blinked which sent a few tears trickling down her cheeks. Through her blurry vision, her eyes darted over to Natalie who seemed just as sad on his behalf but also wore a faint smile.

Like she knew his words were convincing them all, slowly but surely. Nola's jaw tightened instantly as she raised her hand to wipe away the tears, smearing them across her cheeks.

Ben took a breath to steady himself as he too wiped away tears from his face. The dirt and grim that caked his skin became smudged. "Um...what you guys have all done here, by the way, to—what you had to do to survive...it's fucking incredible. I didn't appreciate it, I should have."

An affectionate bout of laughter left the man. "Cause the truth is that I'm in awe of all of you. Kind of always have been." He professed sadly. "Look, I fucked up by judging you, and, uh...I may not understand your belief system...but I didn't try to kill you."

His head shook weakly. He desperately insisted, "I wouldn't do that. I couldn't."

           The tug at the corner of Misty's lips was fragile as she smiled through her tears. With a sniff, she proclaimed, "No further questions."

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"OKAY. SO WE SHOULD vote now." Natalie declared with a deep frown. Despite her frown, a look of determination did still manage to work its way upon her face. As she took a step towards the table that everyone had gathered around once the trial came to an end, she set down the makeshift gavel. "Two-thirds majority vote wins. Tai, Misty and I shouldn't vote because we were part of the hearing of whatever."

She swallowed hard. She seemed antsy, jittery. She was definitely on edge but fighting off the urge to get down on her knees and beg the group to not sentence Ben to his death.

            "Those who find Coach guilty, raise your hands."

            A few hands rose up almost instantly. The fingers of Shauna, Melissa, Stevie and Van hit the sky before Natalie had even finished speaking. A contemplative tightening of her lips has Nola struggling how to best manage her feelings on Coach Scott. On one hand, she truly didn't believe he was guilty of burning the cabin down anymore even though she had been so sure since it had happened. On the other, the way in which Natalie had deceived them all truly filled her with rage. No matter if she believed him innocent, the Scatorccio girl has no right to make that decision for them all.

            Perhaps that very anger was the push she needed to raise her hand.

            Natalie looked disappointed but not surprised in the slightest by the raising of Nola's hand. "Those who find Coach innocent, raise your hands." Natalie prompted as they dropped their hands.

            Up went the hands of Akilah, Travis, Britt, Lottie, Robin and a hesitant Mari. Gen hadn't bothered to raise her hand during either count. The young girl appearing conflicted from siding with her best friend, Melissa and sentencing Ben to his death or siding with the others and forcing a rift between herself and her friend.

            Natalie's brows furrowed. She blinked in confusion. "That's six. That's not two-thirds." She uttered shakily. She was struggling to understand how to carry forward with the needed majority.

            "So, what do we do when—"

             Natalie cut Misty off. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, an act that expressed the stress she was under. "We vote again until, uh, people change their votes and we get the two-thirds majority. Okay, one more time. Those who find Coach guilty, raise your hands."

            Yet again, she took a calming breath though it was muxh more of a struggle than the first time around. "Those who find Coach innocent, raise your hands."

The very same hands rose up and of course when it came time to vote on who found Coach Scott guilty, as expected the same hands flew to the sky.

"One more time."

That very phrase was repeated over-and-over, resulting in the very same outcome every single time. The decision that should have taken only a short amount of time and the simple act of counting raised hands, got drawn out into a long, exhaustive process. On Natalie's part, it was the very definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results despite previous experience. Many grew tired of standing there, raising their hand then letting it fall while some became frustrated, enraged.

One of those people turned out to be Nola, who in a fit of built up white-hot rage, shouted, "This is such bullshit. You're all lying to yourselves!"

The group looked surprised at her outburst. Some of them, such as Shauna and Melissa, nodded their heads in agreement with her. They two had grown angered by the way the whole voting thing had dragged on, by the way those who voted him innocent were some of the same people who deemed him guilty mere days ago.

Natalie stared over at her. "The trial's over, Nola." She scolded the brunette. The sharp turn to face her from the Rilke girl caused Natalie to jolt back.

Through gritted teeth, Nola snarled, "Don't speak to me, Nat. I'm still fucking furious with you." Her voice was consumed with rage. She turned back to the others, blocking Natalie out as she continued to preach. "He tried to kill us. I know it and you know it."

She wasn't finished. With bite, her words slipped past her lips. "Do you all remember the smoke? The flames that so nearly consumed us? Watching as the cabin burned down in front of us in the dead of night?" She asked of them, deliberately reminding them all of the fear they had felt that night. The terror of being stuck out in the snow with no shelter in sight.

Her hand rose up to point over at the man. Despite her own beliefs on his innocence, she carried on in her ventures to corral the group to come to a unanimous agreement. "That was his fault. He can lie and say he didn't but he did cause who the fuck else would have done it?"

"We didn't listen to him anymore and we began listening to the only thing that has steered us in the right direction this whole time. The Wilderness. And the Wilderness led us straight to him."

She went quiet though her own voice echoed in her ears and no doubt, everyone else's. "He tried to kill us so it's only fair that we exact justice." She implored in a quiet voice that compared to her previous volume could be considered a whisper. "Anyone who finds him guilty, please raise your hands."

Perhaps it was the fury that still emitted off from her that changed their minds or maybe it was the way in which she reminded them all of exactly what they had suffered or just maybe it was the way in which she so calmly asked them to raise their hands that actually caused them to listen.

One-by-one, hands of those who had deigned him innocent before, lifted up and reached towards the blue sky above. Slowly but surely, Lottie rose her hand, then Travis did. Followed by Akilah, Britt, even Robin though she had tears in her eyes are she did. The only one who didn't was Mari, who appeared just as outraged by Nola's interruption as Natalie and Misty.

With thirty seconds, the vote of guilty had gained more than was necessary. The terrific weight that had weighed heavily on Nola's chest vanished and she could finally breathe with ease.

With a pride filled smirk, Shauna's eyes trailed over Nola before shifting to stare over at Natalie, who looked absolutely devastated. "That's the needed majority, Nat."

            "I know." The Scatorccio girl replied, her eyes watery as she stared back at Shauna, her fists clenching down by her sides. "By majority decision..." Her voice trailed off as she swallowed back her emotions against the hard lump in her throat. She shakily glanced down at Coach Scott, who had kept his back to the group the entire time they voted to decide his fate.

            "We find you, Coach Scott, guilty of attempted murder."

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author's thoughts.
chapter fifty three, not proofread
i hate this chapter oh my god, ive never despised my writing more but at least ive furthered nola as a character. Anyway I hope you enjoyed :)