That should have lowered the pressure. Instead, it brought a new one. The board would now examine not just the transfer, but the way Jiselle had tried to enforce it before the review was complete. Holly did not want to turn the missing page into a scandal. She wanted the board to follow its process and give the gym a fair chance to make its case. But the parents had begun to ask questions. Why had Jiselle issued a deadline before the board reviewed the transfer? Why had she taken the contract away rather than provide a complete copy? And why had she tied Holly’s signature to a complaint about the confrontation? Jiselle had an explanation ready. She said the delay was administrative. The deadline reflected her understanding of the agreement, and the discussion of a complaint was an attempt to resolve the dispute privately. She denied trying to intimidate Holly. The dispute had now widened beyond who would use the room. It had become a test of whether the town would accept a transfer pushed through on incomplete paperwork, and whether a community gym could survive long enough to be heard.
The board scheduled a public review for the following week. Holly prepared a packet with the current lease, rent receipts, the town office’s confirmation, and the family statements. She included her own account of the confrontation and Ben’s mother’s statement. She kept the description factual and left out what she could not prove. Jiselle submitted a response. She described herself as the rightful incoming tenant and accused Holly of obstructing access to the property. She also said the children had been caught in an unsafe environment. To Holly, that claim turned the room upside down. The same person who had shoved Ben was now describing herself as the one protecting the children. At the review, the board would have to hear both versions. Holly wanted to be there with the papers, the parents, and the facts. But Jiselle had prepared for the meeting too. She had hired someone to organize her documents, and she arrived with a thicker folder than before. The missing attachment might finally be inside. If it was, the board could approve the transfer despite the way Jiselle had handled the deadline. If it was not, the board would have to decide whether the agreement was incomplete and what should happen to the gym.
While the dispute remained unresolved, on the morning of the review, Holly unlocked the gym early. The furnace still failed, but the portable heaters had kept the room from freezing. Neighbors were already there touching up the walls and clearing a corner for the meeting. A stack of donated gloves sat on the desk beside the repair estimate. Ben came in carrying his wraps. He asked if they would practice after the board meeting. Holly looked at the empty bags and the children gathering by the door. “We’ll see what the board says,” she told him. Then she took the folder from the desk and headed for the town hall. The people who had filled the gym came with her. They were bringing statements, receipts, and a question the board could no longer avoid. Had Jiselle actually secured the right to take the room? But before Holly could make her case, the board chair announced that Jiselle’s new submission had arrived and that one page in it could change everything.
