Chapter 22: Let Go on Time

Theo's POV

The hearing was held at six in the morning in a hotel meeting room with bad coffee and three people behind a table.

Lena sat beside me.

Her mother sat on her other side, in her black coat, with the whistle in her fist.

My coach sat behind us with her arms folded and a mug.

Across the room, Wyatt's father sat with a lawyer, a leather folder and the face of a man who had never lost a vote.

"The recording was altered," the lawyer said. "We will have an expert."

"At six in the morning?" the woman in the middle asked.

"We will have an expert by noon."

"The free skate is at seven tonight."

The lawyer opened his mouth.

I did not say anything.

"The original was filmed by a teammate who is in this building," Marianne said.

"She flew in last night. She has the file, the phone it was recorded on, and nineteen other people who were at that table."

"I object to that," said the lawyer.

"On what ground?" said the man at the end.

The door opened.

Everyone turned.

Wyatt stood in the doorway in a plain grey sweater, with his mother at his shoulder.

He had a white card in his hand, held close to his face.

He no longer hid that he had to.

"Wyatt," his father said. "Sit down."

"I'd like to speak to the panel."

"You are not on the schedule."

"I know where I am on the schedule."

He looked toward the table and found it on the second try.

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