Spring Rushing Problem

[Mdm999]

I am an 18 year old guy who is going to college this spring and very interested in rushing a fraternity. I have a big question though:

I have not been at school this fall and have instead been working full-time at home to save for school. The ugly, yet truthful reason I was not at college this fall was because just before I was supposed to move up, I got myself in some legal trouble because of a bad decision. This forced me to delay my entrance into college until this spring so that I had time to clear up my legal trouble. Thankfully, I got the charge dropped and it is now all behind me and I am excited to enter school. However I have been nervous about what to tell a fraternity when I'm asked why I waited to start my freshman year until the spring term. I know I shouldn't lie, but I think it would be very detrimental to my chances of getting a bid to tell them that "I got arrested for weed but it's all good now". That just makes me look bad. Should I instead say "I wanted to take some time off and a break from school" or something similar? What is your advice on this predicament?