I raised my hand to ask a question in class and my teacher had escorted out by security.

“These yours?” he asked.

“No! I don’t know what that is. Someone put that in there.” I said as my voice cracked.

Professor Braille’s expression was smug now, satisfied, like she’d been expecting this. The guard exchanged looks with his partner.

“Ma’am, you’re going to need to come with us now.” the guard said.

“This is insane,” I whispered.

Everyone watching me. I literally just raised my hand. Professor Braille finally met my eyes directly.

“You know exactly what you did.” Professor Braille said.

The security guards flanked me as I walked down the aisle. 180 students watched in complete silence.

Someone’s phone camera followed me. Just before the door, I turned back.

“I didn’t do anything!” I said, my voice doing that embarrassing crack thing.

The door closed behind me. My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

I stood outside the building staring at nothing, my entire life falling apart over $340 I didn’t take.

Detention in the Basement

The taller guard pulled out his radio and spoke into it about securing evidence, while the other one looked at me and asked for my student ID. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely unzip my wallet.

Students poured out of the lecture hall doors behind me, every single one staring as they passed. Some slowed down to get a better look, others had their phones out taking pictures.

My stuff was still scattered on the ground where they dumped it. The younger guard, whose name tag said Kevin, picked up the pill bag and held it closer to his face.

He turned it over a few times, then looked at me. He asked me to describe what was normally in my backpack.

I tried to steady my voice, but it came out all wobbly. I told him my economics textbook, a spiral notebook, three pens, my laptop, a phone charger, and my water bottle.

He wrote something down in a small notebook he’d pulled from his pocket. He asked if I took any medications or supplements regularly.

I shook my head and said,

“No, nothing like that.”

He made another note and underlined something. The other guard was talking on his radio about transporting me to headquarters.

Kevin put my things back in my backpack, including the pill bag, and zipped it up. They each took a position on either side of me and told me to come with them.

We walked across campus, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on us. A girl from my dorm saw me, and her mouth literally fell open.

The security office was in the basement of the administration building. They brought me through a side entrance and down a hallway with flickering lights.

Kevin opened a door to a tiny room with just a table and three chairs. He told me to sit down and wait.

They took my backpack with them and closed the door. My phone started buzzing in my pocket immediately.

I pulled it out and the screen was full of notifications. Text messages, Instagram comments, Snapchat messages, all coming in faster than I could read them.

I tried to open one, but Kevin came back and told me I needed to put my phone away. He said I wasn’t allowed to contact anyone until they finished their initial report.

I asked how long that would take and he said he didn’t know. He left again and I heard voices in the hallway.

Someone mentioned chain of custody, and someone else said something about documentation requirements. I sat there staring at the blank white wall, my phone still buzzing every few seconds in my pocket.

I had no idea what was happening or what they were going to do to me. Kevin came back about 15 minutes later with his notebook.

He sat down across from me and asked me to walk him through my entire morning. I told him I woke up at 7:00, took a shower, got dressed, and grabbed my backpack from my desk chair at 7:45.

He asked if anyone else was in my room that morning. I said no, my roommates were already gone to class.

He wrote that down. He asked when I’d last looked inside my backpack before class.

I thought about it and said probably last night when I was doing homework. He asked if I’d left my room at all between 7:45 and when I went to class.

I said no, I’d gone straight from my room to the lecture hall. He made more notes and asked if my door was locked when I left.

I told him we don’t usually lock our doors during the day because we’re always coming and going. He looked up at me and asked who had access to my room.

I realized what he was getting at. I said all three of my roommates could go in whenever they wanted.

He wrote something and circled it. Then he asked about my relationship with my roommates and specifically with Lily.

My stomach dropped. I explained about the accusation this morning, about the Venmo thing, and about how she’d threatened to ruin my life.

Kevin’s pen moved faster across the page. He asked if Lily knew I’d be in that class today.

I said yes, she definitely knew because she’d mentioned her aunt teaching it. His eyebrows went up slightly when I said that.

He asked me to clarify the connection between Lily and the professor. I explained that the professor was Lily’s aunt and that Lily had probably called her before class to tell her some twisted version of events.