Barracuda Blue - An Online Webseries

Rachelle paces back and forth in the library at the Barracuda Blue. Her mind is still racing over the fact that Malcolm Summers has expelled her, and Nate Meadows, for plagiarizing their art history term paper. Rachelle recalls how she and Nate worked on their paper's together, but they never did remotely close to cheating; it's not in her moral compass to do such a thing, especially she has, always, been a straight A student. Her and Nate, however, have realized that they must do, something, to prove their innocence, but they haven't come up with anything concrete as of yet.

"You're going to burn a hole in that expensive carpet," Nate chuckles to her as he moves into the library and sees his friend walking back and forth. "You're stressed, aren't you?"

Rachelle sighs heavily as she looks back at back at him once her pacing has stopped. "How can I not be? We still haven't thought of a way to prove our innocence! I'm so close to graduating with straight A's and now this has happened? This will ruin my entire future, Nate!"

"I know, I know," Nate comes up to her and puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her calm. "I believe that the truth will come out; we didn't do anything wrong, right? We…we just have to believe that."

"That's not enough for me!" Rachelle hisses back to him before she looks at him. "Sorry, I…I didn't mean to snap at you. I know that this isn't your fault. You're in the same boat that I am."

"Not exactly," Nate chuckles back to her. "I was not about to gradate at the top of my class, far from it."

"Still, your future is just as impacted as mine is, Nate."

"Remember when we first met at school that day?" Nate asks her quickly. "I asked you to help me with my paper and I suggested that I help you relax? I think it's time that you take me up on that offer, Rachelle. You're super stressed and it's time that you let me help you unwind."

/\/\/\

A few hours later, Rachelle and Nate are sitting by the pool outside of the Thornton mansion. The pool is about three times the size of the one at the Barracuda Blue, and they have multiple loungers, a large grill, and a bar at their fingertips. Rachelle lays in the sun, trying to relax, as per Nate's request.

Nate looks over at her for a moment and realizes how beautiful she is. Her bikini is showing off all of her curves in the right places. He licks his lips at the sight of her. As he watches her, he can't help but think back to his arrival at the Barracuda Blue earlier in the day, before he saw Rachelle in the library.

He arrived at the Barracuda Blue and parked his Toyota Corolla. He knew that Rachelle was in the library, but something told him to make a stop before he went to the library, so when he was on the third floor, he went into Lyzz's accounting office first. He breathed a sigh of relief when no one was in the office.

He moved towards her desk and opened the top drawer of the desk. He saw nothing but a pad of paper and some dried out pens. So, he opened the second drawer and some file folders; he moved them around and that's when he found a small bag, which was filled with white powder. He got a smile on his face as he put the drugs in his pocket.

"Nate?" Rachelle looks at her friend, which causes him to snap back into present day.

"Yea, sorry, I guess I was daydreaming," Nate replies to her as he takes off his sunglasses.

"Where did you go just now? You looked a million miles away," Rachelle notes back to him.

"I was just wondering if my idea to relax was helping you?" he teases her. "Because if it's not, I have another idea."

Rachelle arches her eyebrow back to him. "And what idea would that be?"

Nate moves to his bag and pulls out the bag of cocaine that he found in Lyzz's office, unaware that it is also laced with fentanyl.

"We could do a line?" he suggests to her as she looks back at him in horror.

"You want me to do drugs?" Rachelle asks him, stunned. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Oh come on," Nate chuckles back to her. "One line and you'll be on cloud nine, I promise. You'll forget all of this school bullshit."

"You really think so? I've…I've never done anything like this before."

"That's why I'm here," Nate winks at her. "I will make sure nothing happens to you, and if you want, I'll do a line with you."

"I…I do need something to take this edge off…" she finds herself nodding back to him. "Okay, one line…and you do one with me."

Nate smiles back to her and puts a line of the drug out on the small table that is next to them. "Now, you just close one nostril, and snort it up with the other…"

Rachelle uneasily moves closer to the drugs and, then, snorts it up. Immediately, she leans back into the lounger and giggles a little, feeling already some numbing sensations. Nate, then, makes the noise as if he snorted some of the drugs as well, even though he didn't.

"How are you feeling?" he asks her, pretending to be feeling high.

"You were right," Rachelle giggles. "I'm flying….I'm flying so high…"

/\/\/\

The following day, Nate swiftly moves into Café Tropical and sees Rachelle sitting on the patio with large sunglasses on. He gets a sly grin on his face as he believes that she must have a slight hangover from yesterday's cocaine use. He realizes that because Rachelle doesn't use drugs often, yesterday's hit might have hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Morning, how you feeling today?" he asks her as he sits across from her.

Rachelle groans back to him. "I've been better," she admits to him. "I…I don't think I should do more coke anytime soon."

He chuckles back to her. "It actually gets better with time," he reveals to her. "But I get it. I hope it helped at the time, anyways?"

"I can't lie that it did make me feel better, even for a short time," she smiles back to him. "So, thanks?"

"Did you get a phone call this morning?" he asks her, changing the topic to something that happened earlier in the day. "Just wondering if it was just me or you too?"

"I did," Rachelle nods back to him. "About the trial?"

"Yea," Nate nods back to her. "Malcolm will be on trial with the school board to uncover what actually happened with our term papers."

"Not only that but his laptop will be examined," Rachelle reveals to her. "All this time, Nate, we have been trying to think about how we can prove our innocence but this could happen naturally. This could be our way to prove that we didn't cheat."

"I am praying for that."

/\/\/\

Orvilla sits behind her desk in her office at the Barracuda Blue. Her long finger is taping the side of her coffee cup as she is wondering what is going to do; she got a call earlier in the day advising her of the school deciding to put Malcolm Summers on trial to see what happened with Nate and Rachelle's term papers for their art history class.

"I have come too far for this trial to stop me now," she whispers to herself. "There is only one that I can do and I have to ensure that it happens before the trial begins."

Before she can say anything else, the door to her office opens and Arrow appears. "Morning Orvilla," he says as he moves into the office. "Cole Rockwell is still here; his room is up for reservation next week. Do you think I should move the reservation to another room?"

"Yes, that is fine," Orvilla replies to him quickly. "We have no idea how long Mr. Rockwell will be with us, so we will have to make the changes as required."

"Cool, I'll handle that this morning," Arrow says as he moves closer to the desk. He can tell that Orvilla is thinking about something; he has known her long enough to know when something is on her mind. "Alright, what's up? I can tell that the wheels in your head are spinning about something."

Orvilla chuckles back to him. "You know me so well," she winks back to him. "I learned this morning that Belview Academy is going to put Malcolm Summers on trial to see if they can find out the truth about Rachelle and Nate's term papers."

"Are you worried that he will cave and tell the truth?"

"I am not," Orvilla admits to him. "He knows that we own him; if he says anything, he will lose his marriage. It's his computer that I am worried about; the school noted that they will have it examined. That could be our downfall."

"Unless the computer can't be examined?" Arrow suggests to her. "I'll handle it and make sure that, even if they examine it, they won't find anything to suggest anything other than that Nate and Rachelle cheated."

"You're the best Justin," Orvilla smiles back to him. "Let me know once it has been handled."

/\/\/\

Rachelle steps off the elevator on the third floor of the Barracuda Blue and moves towards Lyzz's office. Nate had to head back to the main island, but he left her the bag of cocaine and told her to use it at her discretion. While she woke up feeling rough around the edges today, she realizes that with the trial pending, she does want another hit of the cocaine. The only place that she thought she could do the drugs without getting caught was Lyzz's office.

She opens the door and scurries inside. Once the door is closed behind her, she turns and looks at the office. On the small desk, she picks up the picture and sees Lyzz and Ash from a few years earlier. She realizes that Ash's death is still the main reason that Lyzz ended up struggling so much. She sets the picture back down before she looks into her purse and sees the bag of cocaine that Nate gave her.

Se has no idea where her friend would have gotten the drugs, but she doesn't care about that right now; she puts out a line on the desk and bends down, snorting it up quickly.

She shakes her head once she is done and tapes her nose to ensure there's no residue. "That'll help me get through the morning," she whispers to herself as she puts the bag back into her purse.

/\/\/\

Orvilla stares out of the large window behind her desk that is in her office. She never gets tired of the view that she has, and seeing the ocean brings her a sense of calmness, which she needs right now. She knows that she has worked very hard on her plan to remain as CEO of Meccanica; she won't let anything, or anyone, stop her now.

"That is some view," a voice calls out from behind Orvilla. Orvilla slowly turns around and is surprised to see Nate standing in her office. "I can see why you love it so much."

"Nathan, I am surprised that you're here. What if someone saw you?" Orvilla quickly tells him.

"I made sure no one was round, don't worry about that," Nate says as he comes up to her and hugs her. "How have you been?"

"As you know, very busy with the company and the plan to stay as the CEO," Orvilla says before she kisses both of his cheeks.

"Yes, I am doing my part," he tells her quickly. "Don't worry about anything; I am doing everything I can to ensure Rachelle doesn't graduate."

/\/\/\

Orvilla sits at her desk with a scotch in front of her. Nate's visit earlier has left her rattled; she hadn't seen him in a few weeks because they know that they have to keep their distance, but seeing him has brought up a lot of memories for her.

Years earlier, Orvilla found herself caught up in a love affair with the most dashing of men. Augustus was tall, charming, handsome, and happened to be in the mob. When Orvilla met him, he was trying to leave the mob scene, but that was proving to be more difficult than he expected. Augustus had been involved with a woman, Annamaria Bell. They were inseparable, and he was thrilled when she revealed that she was pregnant with his child. Once his child, Nate, was born, Augustus realized that he had to leave the mob to give his son, and Annamaria, a better life.

His mob boss, however, realized that Augustus wanted out and sent him a very clear message to ensure that Augustus stayed in the mob: he had Annamaria killed. Devastated, Augustus was left to raise Nate by himself. He felt trapped and, as a result, stayed working for his boss, but always was plotting a way to get out of the mob.

About a year after Annamaria's killing, Augustus and Orvilla met and it was love at first sight. Orvilla, a woman who doesn't often become fond of children, even grew to love Nate. Once again, having a woman in his life, Augustus wanted out of the mob. He told his boss that he was done and he never looked back. Worried that his boss would kill Orvilla, or Nate, Augustus left New York and took his family to Hawaii.

Augustus, Orvilla, and Nate were making a life for themselves in Honolulu. Things were going great; Orvilla was helping Samuel with the initial plans of Meccanica, and Augustus got a job in the finance sector. One day, Augustus and Orvilla took Nate to the beach. Augustus rented some jet skis, and they were taking turns going out for some rides while the other stayed back to take care of Nate, who was only 3 years old at the time.

Orvilla will never forget this day as it is the day that changed her life forever. She had just come in from the water, when Augustus announced that he was going to use the jet ski. They kissed goodbye, and Augustus kissed Nate's forehead, as he was sleeping. Orvilla waved to him as he got on the water toy, but five minutes later, the jet ski exploded into flames! Orvilla screamed in horror, but she realized, immediately, that the mob must have found Augustus and they sent a very clear message.

Orvilla, from that day forward, raised Nate because she couldn't let the man she loved down by letting his son go into foster care.

As the years went by, Orvilla told Nate that she would help him with anything that he needed, but their connection would have to remain a secret, which he agreed to.

Orvilla snaps back into present day and gets a grin on her face. "You remind me more and more of Augustus every day," she whispers to herself. "The fact that you're helping me will ensure that Rachelle never becomes CEO of Meccanica, and that's the way it should be."

/\/\/\

The following morning, Rachelle and Nate are sitting in the back of the small office at Belview Academy. Nate looks at her and smiles at Rachelle, trying to tell her that everything will be okay, even though they are both scared about the outcome of the trial that is about to take place.

At the front of the room, Malcolm Summer sits in a chair and next to him is his legal representative. In front of Malcolm, there is a long table with 5 chairs, each one is occupied by one of the board members that will act as the jury in the trial. Malcolm and his lawyer finish whispering to one another when the five board members enter and move to their seats. The board is made up for three women and two men; the head of the board, is a Hispanic woman named Juanita Fernandez, and she clears her throat before she begins.

"We are here today to determine if there was any wrong doing on Mr. Malcolm Summers' part in the expelling of two of our students, Nathan Meadows and Rachelle Thornton. Both students have been accused of plagiarism on their art history term papers, and both have maintained that they are innocent. We have had Mr. Summers work, and personal, laptop's examined. Can we hear the respond from the computer technician please?"

A middle-aged man moves forward and nods back to the board. "Mr. Summers provided his personal laptop and there were no signs of foul play on it," he informs the board members.

"And the work computer?" Juanita asks him quickly.

"Unfortunately," he quickly replies to her. "The storage room where the work computer was being held had the fire sprinklers go off last night; everything in that room was destroyed."

"Yes, I did hear about that," Juanita tells him. "We've already ruled that it was an accident. That means, that it is Mr. Summers' word against those of the two students, and we have no reason to believe that Mr. Summers, who has been a valued employee at Belview for years, would have reason to lie about his students term papers. The ruling will remain; the students are expelled, and Mr. Summers did nothing wrong."

Malcolm shakes his lawyer's hand, while Rachelle and Nate uneasily look at one another, realizing that their only hope of proving their innocence was just taken away from them.

/\/\/\

"I want a double shot of tequila," Rachelle tells Alex, who is taking her order, along with Liam and Kymberlynne's at Café Tropical. Rachelle wants nothing more than to forget the fact that her future has completely been ruined, and she feels like there is not a damn thing that she can do about it.

"Rachelle, is that the best decision right now?" Liam asks his sister. "I know that you're upset about the trial, but drinking?"

"Don't lecture me," Rachelle rolls her eyes before she looks at Alex. "Two shots, and hurry please."

"Right away," Alex grins back to the group before he leaves to get their order.

"I'm so sorry darling," Kymberlynne tells her daughter. "I know you had hoped that this trial would clear your name, but you know what? I still believe that the truth always comes out. It…it might just take longer than you would like it too."

"Shut up," Rachelle hisses back at her. "You haven't been here for years and now you want to give me some Hallmark bullshit advice? Go us all a favor, Kymberlynne, and go back to the rock that you crawled out of."

Liam looks over at his mother, who is visibly upset by what Rachelle just said to her. Kymberlynne stands up and rushes away from the table. "Did you really have to be so harsh to her?"

"You're defending her now?"

"I didn't say that," Liam replies to his sister. "I'm saying, you're upset, but you don't have to take it out on the rest of us, Rachelle."

"My shots are here," Rachelle ignores him as Alex places the two shots down on the table. "Joining me?"

"Nah, I'll pass," Liam tells her, worried about his sister.

/\/\/\

Orvilla moves to the small bar in her office and pours herself another scotch. She is desperate to find out what happened at the trial because she knows that her entire plan could come crumbling down if she doesn't get her way. She knows that Arrow, somehow, arranged for the school's sprinkler system to go off last night, and she just hopes that it was enough to find the information inconclusive.

She moves back to her desk when she hears her cell phone ring. "Orvilla speaking."

"It's Nate," he says as he watches Liam and Rachelle at the table in the Café. "It's done; the trial went exactly as planned."

"Thank you for letting me know Nathan," Orvilla smiles to him. "Good job."

"Thanks. I knew you'd be happy."

"This is just the beginning my dear boy," she whispers to him. "Soon, the world will be ours, and you will be included in that. Believe me."

"I have to go, keep in touch," he says before he hangs up and looks over at Rachelle, knowing that he has to carry out the next phase of his plan.

/\/\/\

A short time later, Nate moves up to Rachelle's table and notices that she is a bit tipsy. He gets a grin on his face, knowing that his next phase of his plan will be easier to carry out as a result of her being drunk.

"Numbing the pain of the trial?" he asks her as he sits next to her.

"This is a nightmare Nate, and there's nothing we can do about it!" she tells him. "God, I was so dumb to think that the trial would clear our names."

"You're not dumb, you're a smart, beautiful woman," Nate replies to her. "Don't let this get you down; we will prove that we are innocent, it will just take us longer than we wanted."

"You sound like my mother."

"I don't want that," he chuckles to her. "Does she also call you beautiful and sexy? Cause, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you in that bikini."

"Are you hitting on me?" she asks him as her cheeks flush.

"I am," he nods back to her. "I already showed you one way to unwind, let me show you another way, one of my favorite ways."

He leans in and kisses her passionately on the lips. When they part she nods back to him. "Where?"

"My car," he tells her. "You can be on top?"

"Let's go," she grabs his hand, eager to forget the pain that she is feeling.




	Written by: Dallas Walsh
	Rachelle paces back and forth in the library at the Barracuda Blue. Her mind is still racing over the fact that Malcolm Summers has expelled her, and Nate Meadows, for plagiarizing their art history term paper. Rachelle recalls how she and Nate worked on their paper's together, but they never did remotely close to cheating; it's not in her moral compass to do such a thing, especially she has, always, been a straight A student. Her and Nate, however, have realized that they must do, something, to prove their innocence, but they haven't come up with anything concrete as of yet. "You're going to burn a hole in that expensive carpet," Nate chuckles to her as he moves into the library and sees his friend walking back and forth. "You're stressed, aren't you?" Rachelle sighs heavily as she looks back at back at him once her pacing has stopped. "How can I not be? We still haven't thought of a way to prove our innocence! I'm so close to graduating with straight A's and now this has happened? This will ruin my entire future, Nate!" "I know, I know," Nate comes up to her and puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her calm. "I believe that the truth will come out; we didn't do anything wrong, right? We…we just have to believe that." "That's not enough for me!" Rachelle hisses back to him before she looks at him. "Sorry, I…I didn't mean to snap at you. I know that this isn't your fault. You're in the same boat that I am." "Not exactly," Nate chuckles back to her. "I was not about to gradate at the top of my class, far from it." "Still, your future is just as impacted as mine is, Nate." "Remember when we first met at school that day?" Nate asks her quickly. "I asked you to help me with my paper and I suggested that I help you relax? I think it's time that you take me up on that offer, Rachelle. You're super stressed and it's time that you let me help you unwind." /\/\/\ A few hours later, Rachelle and Nate are sitting by the pool outside of the Thornton mansion. The pool is about three times the size of the one at the Barracuda Blue, and they have multiple loungers, a large grill, and a bar at their fingertips. Rachelle lays in the sun, trying to relax, as per Nate's request. Nate looks over at her for a moment and realizes how beautiful she is. Her bikini is showing off all of her curves in the right places. He licks his lips at the sight of her. As he watches her, he can't help but think back to his arrival at the Barracuda Blue earlier in the day, before he saw Rachelle in the library. He arrived at the Barracuda Blue and parked his Toyota Corolla. He knew that Rachelle was in the library, but something told him to make a stop before he went to the library, so when he was on the third floor, he went into Lyzz's accounting office first. He breathed a sigh of relief when no one was in the office. He moved towards her desk and opened the top drawer of the desk. He saw nothing but a pad of paper and some dried out pens. So, he opened the second drawer and some file folders; he moved them around and that's when he found a small bag, which was filled with white powder. He got a smile on his face as he put the drugs in his pocket. "Nate?" Rachelle looks at her friend, which causes him to snap back into present day. "Yea, sorry, I guess I was daydreaming," Nate replies to her as he takes off his sunglasses. "Where did you go just now? You looked a million miles away," Rachelle notes back to him. "I was just wondering if my idea to relax was helping you?" he teases her. "Because if it's not, I have another idea." Rachelle arches her eyebrow back to him. "And what idea would that be?" Nate moves to his bag and pulls out the bag of cocaine that he found in Lyzz's office, unaware that it is also laced with fentanyl. "We could do a line?" he suggests to her as she looks back at him in horror. "You want me to do drugs?" Rachelle asks him, stunned. "You've got to be kidding me!" "Oh come on," Nate chuckles back to her. "One line and you'll be on cloud nine, I promise. You'll forget all of this school bullshit." "You really think so? I've…I've never done anything like this before." "That's why I'm here," Nate winks at her. "I will make sure nothing happens to you, and if you want, I'll do a line with you." "I…I do need something to take this edge off…" she finds herself nodding back to him. "Okay, one line…and you do one with me." Nate smiles back to her and puts a line of the drug out on the small table that is next to them. "Now, you just close one nostril, and snort it up with the other…" Rachelle uneasily moves closer to the drugs and, then, snorts it up. Immediately, she leans back into the lounger and giggles a little, feeling already some numbing sensations. Nate, then, makes the noise as if he snorted some of the drugs as well, even though he didn't. "How are you feeling?" he asks her, pretending to be feeling high. "You were right," Rachelle giggles. "I'm flying….I'm flying so high…" /\/\/\ The following day, Nate swiftly moves into Café Tropical and sees Rachelle sitting on the patio with large sunglasses on. He gets a sly grin on his face as he believes that she must have a slight hangover from yesterday's cocaine use. He realizes that because Rachelle doesn't use drugs often, yesterday's hit might have hit her like a ton of bricks. "Morning, how you feeling today?" he asks her as he sits across from her. Rachelle groans back to him. "I've been better," she admits to him. "I…I don't think I should do more coke anytime soon." He chuckles back to her. "It actually gets better with time," he reveals to her. "But I get it. I hope it helped at the time, anyways?" "I can't lie that it did make me feel better, even for a short time," she smiles back to him. "So, thanks?" "Did you get a phone call this morning?" he asks her, changing the topic to something that happened earlier in the day. "Just wondering if it was just me or you too?" "I did," Rachelle nods back to him. "About the trial?" "Yea," Nate nods back to her. "Malcolm will be on trial with the school board to uncover what actually happened with our term papers." "Not only that but his laptop will be examined," Rachelle reveals to her. "All this time, Nate, we have been trying to think about how we can prove our innocence but this could happen naturally. This could be our way to prove that we didn't cheat." "I am praying for that." /\/\/\ Orvilla sits behind her desk in her office at the Barracuda Blue. Her long finger is taping the side of her coffee cup as she is wondering what is going to do; she got a call earlier in the day advising her of the school deciding to put Malcolm Summers on trial to see what happened with Nate and Rachelle's term papers for their art history class. "I have come too far for this trial to stop me now," she whispers to herself. "There is only one that I can do and I have to ensure that it happens before the trial begins." Before she can say anything else, the door to her office opens and Arrow appears. "Morning Orvilla," he says as he moves into the office. "Cole Rockwell is still here; his room is up for reservation next week. Do you think I should move the reservation to another room?" "Yes, that is fine," Orvilla replies to him quickly. "We have no idea how long Mr. Rockwell will be with us, so we will have to make the changes as required." "Cool, I'll handle that this morning," Arrow says as he moves closer to the desk. He can tell that Orvilla is thinking about something; he has known her long enough to know when something is on her mind. "Alright, what's up? I can tell that the wheels in your head are spinning about something." Orvilla chuckles back to him. "You know me so well," she winks back to him. "I learned this morning that Belview Academy is going to put Malcolm Summers on trial to see if they can find out the truth about Rachelle and Nate's term papers." "Are you worried that he will cave and tell the truth?" "I am not," Orvilla admits to him. "He knows that we own him; if he says anything, he will lose his marriage. It's his computer that I am worried about; the school noted that they will have it examined. That could be our downfall." "Unless the computer can't be examined?" Arrow suggests to her. "I'll handle it and make sure that, even if they examine it, they won't find anything to suggest anything other than that Nate and Rachelle cheated." "You're the best Justin," Orvilla smiles back to him. "Let me know once it has been handled." /\/\/\ Rachelle steps off the elevator on the third floor of the Barracuda Blue and moves towards Lyzz's office. Nate had to head back to the main island, but he left her the bag of cocaine and told her to use it at her discretion. While she woke up feeling rough around the edges today, she realizes that with the trial pending, she does want another hit of the cocaine. The only place that she thought she could do the drugs without getting caught was Lyzz's office. She opens the door and scurries inside. Once the door is closed behind her, she turns and looks at the office. On the small desk, she picks up the picture and sees Lyzz and Ash from a few years earlier. She realizes that Ash's death is still the main reason that Lyzz ended up struggling so much. She sets the picture back down before she looks into her purse and sees the bag of cocaine that Nate gave her. Se has no idea where her friend would have gotten the drugs, but she doesn't care about that right now; she puts out a line on the desk and bends down, snorting it up quickly. She shakes her head once she is done and tapes her nose to ensure there's no residue. "That'll help me get through the morning," she whispers to herself as she puts the bag back into her purse. /\/\/\ Orvilla stares out of the large window behind her desk that is in her office. She never gets tired of the view that she has, and seeing the ocean brings her a sense of calmness, which she needs right now. She knows that she has worked very hard on her plan to remain as CEO of Meccanica; she won't let anything, or anyone, stop her now. "That is some view," a voice calls out from behind Orvilla. Orvilla slowly turns around and is surprised to see Nate standing in her office. "I can see why you love it so much." "Nathan, I am surprised that you're here. What if someone saw you?" Orvilla quickly tells him. "I made sure no one was round, don't worry about that," Nate says as he comes up to her and hugs her. "How have you been?" "As you know, very busy with the company and the plan to stay as the CEO," Orvilla says before she kisses both of his cheeks. "Yes, I am doing my part," he tells her quickly. "Don't worry about anything; I am doing everything I can to ensure Rachelle doesn't graduate." /\/\/\ Orvilla sits at her desk with a scotch in front of her. Nate's visit earlier has left her rattled; she hadn't seen him in a few weeks because they know that they have to keep their distance, but seeing him has brought up a lot of memories for her. Years earlier, Orvilla found herself caught up in a love affair with the most dashing of men. Augustus was tall, charming, handsome, and happened to be in the mob. When Orvilla met him, he was trying to leave the mob scene, but that was proving to be more difficult than he expected. Augustus had been involved with a woman, Annamaria Bell. They were inseparable, and he was thrilled when she revealed that she was pregnant with his child. Once his child, Nate, was born, Augustus realized that he had to leave the mob to give his son, and Annamaria, a better life. His mob boss, however, realized that Augustus wanted out and sent him a very clear message to ensure that Augustus stayed in the mob: he had Annamaria killed. Devastated, Augustus was left to raise Nate by himself. He felt trapped and, as a result, stayed working for his boss, but always was plotting a way to get out of the mob. About a year after Annamaria's killing, Augustus and Orvilla met and it was love at first sight. Orvilla, a woman who doesn't often become fond of children, even grew to love Nate. Once again, having a woman in his life, Augustus wanted out of the mob. He told his boss that he was done and he never looked back. Worried that his boss would kill Orvilla, or Nate, Augustus left New York and took his family to Hawaii. Augustus, Orvilla, and Nate were making a life for themselves in Honolulu. Things were going great; Orvilla was helping Samuel with the initial plans of Meccanica, and Augustus got a job in the finance sector. One day, Augustus and Orvilla took Nate to the beach. Augustus rented some jet skis, and they were taking turns going out for some rides while the other stayed back to take care of Nate, who was only 3 years old at the time. Orvilla will never forget this day as it is the day that changed her life forever. She had just come in from the water, when Augustus announced that he was going to use the jet ski. They kissed goodbye, and Augustus kissed Nate's forehead, as he was sleeping. Orvilla waved to him as he got on the water toy, but five minutes later, the jet ski exploded into flames! Orvilla screamed in horror, but she realized, immediately, that the mob must have found Augustus and they sent a very clear message. Orvilla, from that day forward, raised Nate because she couldn't let the man she loved down by letting his son go into foster care. As the years went by, Orvilla told Nate that she would help him with anything that he needed, but their connection would have to remain a secret, which he agreed to. Orvilla snaps back into present day and gets a grin on her face. "You remind me more and more of Augustus every day," she whispers to herself. "The fact that you're helping me will ensure that Rachelle never becomes CEO of Meccanica, and that's the way it should be." /\/\/\ The following morning, Rachelle and Nate are sitting in the back of the small office at Belview Academy. Nate looks at her and smiles at Rachelle, trying to tell her that everything will be okay, even though they are both scared about the outcome of the trial that is about to take place. At the front of the room, Malcolm Summer sits in a chair and next to him is his legal representative. In front of Malcolm, there is a long table with 5 chairs, each one is occupied by one of the board members that will act as the jury in the trial. Malcolm and his lawyer finish whispering to one another when the five board members enter and move to their seats. The board is made up for three women and two men; the head of the board, is a Hispanic woman named Juanita Fernandez, and she clears her throat before she begins. "We are here today to determine if there was any wrong doing on Mr. Malcolm Summers' part in the expelling of two of our students, Nathan Meadows and Rachelle Thornton. Both students have been accused of plagiarism on their art history term papers, and both have maintained that they are innocent. We have had Mr. Summers work, and personal, laptop's examined. Can we hear the respond from the computer technician please?" A middle-aged man moves forward and nods back to the board. "Mr. Summers provided his personal laptop and there were no signs of foul play on it," he informs the board members. "And the work computer?" Juanita asks him quickly. "Unfortunately," he quickly replies to her. "The storage room where the work computer was being held had the fire sprinklers go off last night; everything in that room was destroyed." "Yes, I did hear about that," Juanita tells him. "We've already ruled that it was an accident. That means, that it is Mr. Summers' word against those of the two students, and we have no reason to believe that Mr. Summers, who has been a valued employee at Belview for years, would have reason to lie about his students term papers. The ruling will remain; the students are expelled, and Mr. Summers did nothing wrong." Malcolm shakes his lawyer's hand, while Rachelle and Nate uneasily look at one another, realizing that their only hope of proving their innocence was just taken away from them. /\/\/\ "I want a double shot of tequila," Rachelle tells Alex, who is taking her order, along with Liam and Kymberlynne's at Café Tropical. Rachelle wants nothing more than to forget the fact that her future has completely been ruined, and she feels like there is not a damn thing that she can do about it. "Rachelle, is that the best decision right now?" Liam asks his sister. "I know that you're upset about the trial, but drinking?" "Don't lecture me," Rachelle rolls her eyes before she looks at Alex. "Two shots, and hurry please." "Right away," Alex grins back to the group before he leaves to get their order. "I'm so sorry darling," Kymberlynne tells her daughter. "I know you had hoped that this trial would clear your name, but you know what? I still believe that the truth always comes out. It…it might just take longer than you would like it too." "Shut up," Rachelle hisses back at her. "You haven't been here for years and now you want to give me some Hallmark bullshit advice? Go us all a favor, Kymberlynne, and go back to the rock that you crawled out of." Liam looks over at his mother, who is visibly upset by what Rachelle just said to her. Kymberlynne stands up and rushes away from the table. "Did you really have to be so harsh to her?" "You're defending her now?" "I didn't say that," Liam replies to his sister. "I'm saying, you're upset, but you don't have to take it out on the rest of us, Rachelle." "My shots are here," Rachelle ignores him as Alex places the two shots down on the table. "Joining me?" "Nah, I'll pass," Liam tells her, worried about his sister. /\/\/\ Orvilla moves to the small bar in her office and pours herself another scotch. She is desperate to find out what happened at the trial because she knows that her entire plan could come crumbling down if she doesn't get her way. She knows that Arrow, somehow, arranged for the school's sprinkler system to go off last night, and she just hopes that it was enough to find the information inconclusive. She moves back to her desk when she hears her cell phone ring. "Orvilla speaking." "It's Nate," he says as he watches Liam and Rachelle at the table in the Café. "It's done; the trial went exactly as planned." "Thank you for letting me know Nathan," Orvilla smiles to him. "Good job." "Thanks. I knew you'd be happy." "This is just the beginning my dear boy," she whispers to him. "Soon, the world will be ours, and you will be included in that. Believe me." "I have to go, keep in touch," he says before he hangs up and looks over at Rachelle, knowing that he has to carry out the next phase of his plan. /\/\/\ A short time later, Nate moves up to Rachelle's table and notices that she is a bit tipsy. He gets a grin on his face, knowing that his next phase of his plan will be easier to carry out as a result of her being drunk. "Numbing the pain of the trial?" he asks her as he sits next to her. "This is a nightmare Nate, and there's nothing we can do about it!" she tells him. "God, I was so dumb to think that the trial would clear our names." "You're not dumb, you're a smart, beautiful woman," Nate replies to her. "Don't let this get you down; we will prove that we are innocent, it will just take us longer than we wanted." "You sound like my mother." "I don't want that," he chuckles to her. "Does she also call you beautiful and sexy? Cause, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you in that bikini." "Are you hitting on me?" she asks him as her cheeks flush. "I am," he nods back to her. "I already showed you one way to unwind, let me show you another way, one of my favorite ways." He leans in and kisses her passionately on the lips. When they part she nods back to him. "Where?" "My car," he tells her. "You can be on top?" "Let's go," she grabs his hand, eager to forget the pain that she is feeling.