"There's the summons. Go in there and give 'em hell, Andrea. It's party time," said Helen, patting them both on the back as they left for the hearing room.
Chapter 17
Andrea Stern was barely sworn when Esther demanded, "are you a medical student?"
Then, suddenly realizing that she had spoken out of turn since it was Diana's prerogative to question her witnesses first, she apologized.
Trenchant immediately asked Andrea to give her name and occupation for the record. Replying to further questions, Andrea testified that she had known Diana for many years and had rented a room in her house for six of them. She attested to the overall integrity of Trenchant. Boldly, mincing no words, she fixed the panel with a friendly smile and continued.
"I think these charges are ludicrous, for two reasons. One is that when Diana Trenchant has a problem with someone, she marches right up and tells them. She is very forthright and would not do anything devious or underhanded. The second reason is that she has always had a high opinion of academic honesty."
A young woman of exceptional intelligence and ability, Andrea had graduated from Belmont, summa cum laude, with a BA, after completion of a double, self-designed major. Because of her great love and knowledge of books, she found employment in the library where she soon became indispensable. There were those at Belmont who recognized and revered exceptional ability and were not threatened by it.
On being questioned as to what she knew about work conditions in NERD, she observed that from what she had heard from Diana, it wasn't a very happy place to work. Directing her answer toward Trenchant, she divulged, "You were not my only source for this information. My aunt works in the department and I heard from both of you enough to form that impression.
"Just last month, my aunt told me that you may have been given an excessive course load in an attempt to break your spirit or drive you out of the department, much in the same way that she was given a very minimum salary increase, in an attempt to get her to move on."