Page 33 of The Banned Books Club

Her eyes had been shining with tears when she looked up.

GIA ROSSI:Not at first.

While he’d heard the gasps and murmurs around him, Cormac had remained silent, his gaze on her face. She was doing the same thing here as she’d done with the alcohol—admitting to some small wrongdoing so that the rest of what she said would be more believable, he’d thought.

MR. BRINDLEY:Why not?

GIA ROSSI:I was shocked...and...and overwhelmed, I guess. To be honest, I don’t really know. I still thought I liked him, that...that he was a cool teacher... I don’t know.

She’d shaken her head helplessly as she’d repeated that she didn’t know.

MR. BRINDLEY:Then what happened?

GIA ROSSI:He pulled off my shirt, undid my bra and started kissing my breasts. That was when I pushed him away and said I wanted to talk about my paper.

Cormac winced. Even now, he felt sick. At this point, Mr. Brindley had been forced to raise his voice to be heard above the noise.

MR. BRINDLEY:And how did he respond?

GIA ROSSI:He said I didn’t need to worry about my paper. It was one of the best in the class.

At that point, the murmuring had crescendoed to the point that it nearly drowned out the prosecutor’s next question, and the judge had to warn the gallery to remain quiet.

MR. BRINDLEY:Yet he gave you a D?

GIA ROSSI:Yes. That made me so mad I pushed him away again. I knew then that...that there was nothing wrong with my work. He’d used my paper as an excuse to get me to come over.

MR. BRINDLEY:What happened next?

GIA ROSSI:He told me I was all he could think about. That he would give anything if only I’d go into the bedroom with him. But by then I was too grossed out by what was happening to even let him touch me—the bad grade I didn’t deserve, the alcohol, the rest of it.

MR. BRINDLEY:So what did you do?

GIA ROSSI:I tried to wrench away. But he had hold of my arm and wouldn’t let go. He kept telling me that I’d enjoy myself if...if I’d just quit fighting. That he’d be gentle with me, and I deserved someone who was experienced for my first time. He said making love would be something we’d both always remember and not to worry about my scholarship because he’d give me an A in the class.

Once again, the noise that’d erupted in the gallery had made it difficult to hear the prosecutor—and once again, the judge had warned everyone to pipe down.

MR. BRINDLEY:Did he tell you he loved you?

GIA ROSSI:He did. I asked him about his wife, and he said he’d leave her if we could be together.

Cormac had shot a glance at his mother when Gia had said that, but Sharon had sat, rigid and stoic, and hadn’t returned his gaze. Those words had cut him, too, though. That his father would walk away from the family for a student... It’d been unthinkable.

MR. BRINDLEY:And do you feel as though you ever loved him?

She’d hesitated as if she didn’t know how to respond, before finally answering.

GIA ROSSI:It wasn’t love. I liked him. I thought he liked me. I trusted him. I couldn’t believe he’d give me a D if I didn’t deserve it. And I knew I didn’t want him to keep touching me. It felt creepy, wrong.

MR. BRINDLEY:And did he stop?

GIA ROSSI:Not right away. He was trying to get inside my pants. He unbuttoned and unzipped them and jammed his hand down the front. I was trying to fight him off, but it wasn’t until I started to scream for help that he realized my answer was really no. Then he let me go and stepped back as though he was shocked I wouldn’t go into the bedroom with him.

Tears had started rolling down her cheeks, which she’d quickly wiped away.

GIA ROSSI:I told him I was going to tell the principal that he’d cheated me on my grade. Somehow, I was more concerned about that than anything else, since...since the physical stuff really hadn’t gone that far, and I felt partially to blame for drinking with him. But then he started to threaten me, said that he’d fail me if I told anyone. He said I asked for what I got by flirting with him at school and that he held all the power, so no one would believe me, anyway.

The silence that’d fallen over the court after that statement had been more deafening than the noise. Mr. Brindley didn’t speak for several seconds. Cormac had known even back then that he’d been drawing out the moment for dramatic effect. He’d wanted everyone in that courtroom, especially the judge, to see that evening through Gia’s eyes.

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