Page 82 of Pucking Good Girl

“But it can be a loan. Tucker can pay me back next year when he gets his bonus.”

Tucker rubs his chin, considering the offer. “That might work. But I want to pay you back with interest.”

“No,” Talia insists. “I don’t trust Victor not to take the money and still get me expelled. It’s not like I can sue him for going back on a deal, right? And what if he started asking for more money? What would we do then? Cheating is already bad enough and illegal. Let’s not add bribery or whatever paying him to make this go away would be, legally speaking.”

I clear my throat. “I agree with Talia on this. And I’ve been thinking about a way to get out of this since Talia told us. There’s only one possible way out I keep coming back to.”

“What is it?” Mack immediately asks.

I take Talia’s hand and squeeze it, wishing I could do more than this small, physical touch to comfort her. “I think we need to go to Professor Cantucci with this. Tell her everything and hope that she’ll believe you.”

“It’s going to be Victor’s word against mine,” Talia muses, chewing on her bottom lip. “He’s been her T.A. for two years, since he was an undergrad student. She obviously trusts him. Victor could say I’m making everything up to save myself after he caught me cheating. And we know whose story Gen is going to back if push came to shove.”

“But how would he save Gen? She was sitting behind you, and if anyone looked at the identical tests, it’s obvious that you couldn’t have copied from her.” Tucker objects.

Talia groans, covering her face with her hands. “I don’t know. He had Gen write another test to replace the incriminating one since she’s sleeping with him. He said if I don’t agree to his disgusting demands, he’ll give me a failing grade on my test.”

“What the fuck?” Tucker frowns. “But aside from that one typo that tipped him off, your quiz had all correct answers. Unless he exposes you for cheating, he can’t really fail you.”

“Oh, believe me, he can. If he was getting me to take another test, what prevents him from forging one? Or from deleting some of the correct marks on the multiple-choice questions and selecting the wrong answers? He’s thought this through.”

Mack finally begins to see where I’m coming from. “I think Becks is right. You took another class with Professor Cantucci before, right?”

“Two, actually. I took Art History and her Intro to Visual Arts class. Why?”

“I’m assuming you got good grades in those two classes?”

She nods. “I got an A and A plus.”

“Then the professor should at least hear you out. You have a good track record with her, and that must carry some weight.”

“That’s exactly why I think we should go to Cantucci with this,” I continue. “Besides, you said Victor had been her T.A. for two years, right? One of the things that the #metoo movement taught us is that once a creep, always a creep. Some of these monsters could be taken down when their victims finally spoke out. And it was a ripple effect in almost every case. Who's to say that this is the first time Victor tried to extort sexual favors in exchange for help. Even without the cheating, he could have offered better grades for sex.”

Vaughn backs me up. “I agree with Becks. And if the professor doesn’t believe you, you can always challenge Gen to take another test in front of the professor. So that Victor can’t help her.”

“I think that’s a good idea. At this point, you have nothing to lose, pretty girl.”

Talia thinks about it for a second and then offers a cautious nod. “Ok. You’re right, it’s the only way out of this. Professor Cantucci should be back from Europe any day now. I’ll look at her office hours and go to see her.”

“We’ll come with you, pretty girl.” I say.

“Would you really do that? You don’t have to.”

Mack responds before I can. “We’re by your side, baby. We’re a team.”

CHAPTER 20

STRAIGHT AS AND BIASES

Talia

I’m nervous.

The door to Professor Cantucci’s office is closed, and I hesitate just as I’m about to knock.

I’ve been going back and forth about this, knowing full well that once I open this can of worms, there’s no putting the lid back on until this situation comes to a conclusion one way or the other.

The urge to chicken out is stronger than I care to admit. But what other choice do I really have if I don’t want to capitulate to Victor’s disgusting requests?