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Megan's Mistake
Prologue
This was supposed to be the greatest year of Megan's life. It was her senior year of high school, captain of the cheerleading team, envy of all the other girls, and wettest dream of all the boys. Nothing but good times lay ahead for the prettiest girl in Lakeview High. Sometimes though, life throws you a curve and things don't always turn out the way they are supposed to.
It was April now, a particularly cold and rainy day. Megan was sitting on a bus headed to the California Correctional Institute for Women. She had been convicted on a bogus narcotics charge. She knew it, her family knew and so did the judge. But no one here on this bus cared, of that she was sure.
Chapter One
Her life began unraveling the previous fall. Megan had been politely, but firmly, declining the repeated sexual advances of another girl on her cheerleading squad. A beautiful blonde with big blue eyes, Megan was used to shooting down the hopes of the boys, and occasionally even some of her less-then-scrupulous teachers. Things were different with Tiffany however. A fellow cheerleader, Tiffany was extremely aggressive and one who was used to getting her own way. Being the only child of a rich and powerful judge can make some girls that way.
One evening after practice, Tiffany made her boldest move yet; attempting to touch Megan in a very provocative way in the showers after practice. Disgusted by the thought of being handled that way by another girl, even one as cute as Tiffany, caused Megan to immediately vacate the showers and run straight home. That, in hindsight, would be the biggest mistake of her life.
The following day, of what ordinarily would have been just another day at school, quickly snowballed out of control. The principal and two police officers were waiting for Megan next to her locker. This, she surmised, was not good. With little hesitation by the police officers, she was forced face first against the wall, handcuffed, and escorted out the door past both stunned teachers and classmates alike. She barely had time to notice the three large bags of white powder being placed into an evidence bag by a crime technician. The walk to the police car was a blur to her. However as she was being stuffed into the back of the squad car Megan was able to notice Tiffany, standing close by wearing a tiny little smirk on her face.
The next five months were a whirlwind. Megan was not allowed back into school, and she had little time for anything but preparing for her upcoming trial. Despite her attorney's constant reminders about overwhelming evidence, Megan and her family completely ruled out any type of plea bargain. She had done nothing wrong. Why should she plead guilty, even to a reduced charge?
Once the trial got underway, Megan could feel the scales of justice start to tip heavily against her. The presiding judge was coincidently (?) none other than Tiffany's own mother, Pamela Heartstone. How could she get a fair trial? Her incompetent lawyer was able to nothing about that. When it finally came time to take the stand in her own defense, her pleas of innocence fell onto the deaf ears of the jury. People in this community were tired of drug dealers, no matter how young and how pretty they were.
After the three-week trial, it came as a surprise to no one when the verdict was read: "Guilty, on all counts!" Megan took one last look at her parents, tears now pouring out of everyone's eyes. Quickly, she was manhandled by the guards and taken out of the courtroom.
During the sentencing phase, at the suggestion of her lawyer, Megan dressed in a plaid red skirt, white blouse and white nylons with garters. The thought being that the innocent schoolgirl look may play well with the judge and lead to a reduced sentence. Megan's lawyer thought that the judge herself had a daughter who was a classmate of Megan's didn't she? Certainly she would try to give Megan a reduced sentence if she could. Right?
Both attorney and client gulped as they heard the judge's brief words. "8 Years". It was the maximum sentence allowed by law. The judge said her hands were tied. The state would not allow any deviation from the sentencing guidelines. Within minutes Megan was led to a bus that would take her immediately to the new maximum-security penal colony for women, a five-hour drive upstate.
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