“Thought it might be some sort of fire code. But the other night, I tried to open it, and it was locked.”
“Doesn’t sound too safe.”
“Nope. Of course, it might open from their side. But I was thinking it kept the freshmen out of their hallway at night.”
My heart pounded in my chest as if we were still running. The locked door reminded me how Gabe had said the upperclassmen weren’t supposed to hang out with freshmen. I started to open my mouth about Ben’s suspicions but stopped. That would be the end to my private discussions with him, and Hannah was the last person I wanted to share Ben with. Any guy in his right mind would choose her over me.
Chapter: 6
My hand shook as I held the paintbrush with nowhere to rest my elbow. I’d never worked at an easel. I glanced at Aditi on my left. From a distance her landscape could’ve been a photograph. Her drawings, like her half of our room, were always precise. Ryan on my right painted with gusto. He used every warm color available to make his sunrise explosive. In his rush, his bright colors mingled into the darker trees.
Mr. Robbins stopped behind us. After a moment, he broke his silence. “Ryan, I love your use of color. Your sunrise makes me feel energetic and eager to start my day. Great art always evokes an emotional response.”
“That’s what I was shooting for,” Ryan replied.
Was he sucking up to our teacher or telling the truth? I studied his canvas. I had a lot to learn about art.
After Mr. Robbins left us to observe some other students, Hannah approached Aditi and me. “Hey, what are y’all up to this weekend?”
Fortunately our teacher didn’t care if we wandered around and talked. He encouraged it as a way to generate new ideas for our own projects. It’s a good thing because this studio was always loud with chatter.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t looked at the Calendar of Events yet.”
“They’re having some sort of sports competition tomorrow,” Hannah said.
I was hoping to do something less socially demanding, like play a board game or watch a movie. But that excuse sounded lame. “I have a ton of homework, but I could definitely make time for a run or something.”
Aditi put down her paintbrush. “Come on, Autumn. Everybody’s going to be there. I’ll do it if you do. You’ve got to be better at all those sports than me.”
“Don’t worry, guys,” Hannah said. “It’s supposed to be low key. They even have wheelbarrow races and balloon tosses.”
Even those events required skill, but Hannah was likely only trying to get involved. She’d never had a chance to participate in school spirit activities.
Ben spoke up from his position behind us. “You girls should come. Ryan and I will be there.”
Everyone wanted to go. I remembered my promise to myself to be more outgoing. “Sure. I’ll sign up.”
After the bell, Ben caught my arm as Aditi and I stepped into the hall. He whispered, “Hey, I think now’s our opportunity to check out the cabinets.”
I turned. Mr. Robbins was strolling toward the bathroom. If we were lucky, he might even chat with the teacher next door before returning.
“I just want to take a quick look for anything unusual.” He’d told me he’d been dying to dig through the cabinets all week for any clues about the secret Gabe was protecting.
I doubted he’d find anything, but I’d use any excuse to spend time with Ben. Especially alone. “Okay. I’ll stand guard.”
Ben rushed back into the now empty classroom.
Aditi turned back to me. “Aren’t you coming?”
“In a minute. I’m waiting for Ben.” I couldn’t say anything because Ben and I had agreed not to mention the little confrontation down by the pond. We didn’t want to get on Gabe’s bad side. Besides, I enjoyed having our own secret. “I’ll see you back in our room later.”
She grinned at me as she backed away.
I stood in the doorway, keeping an eye on the hallway. Fortunately the art studio was huge, so the opening and shutting of each cabinet door only made slight clicking noises near the entrance. I turned my head back over my shoulder. “How’s it going?”
“Nothing so far. Just a bunch of art supplies.”
Suddenly Caitlyn breezed past me into the room before I could stop her. After she spotted Ben, she turned to me, her face a blank slate. “You won’t find what you’re looking for in here.”
Then she strutted back out.
What the heck was she talking about?
That fifteen-second distraction was all I needed to screw up my job.
“Hey, Autumn,” Mr. Robbins said.
My chest constricted.
“Did you need something?”
I followed him to his desk. “Mr. Robbins,” I bellowed, trying to warn Ben and keep our teacher’s attention on me. Ben, with his head buried in the cabinets, likely didn’t hear him return. “I needed to—”
“Ben?” He furrowed his brow. “What are you doing over there?”
He looked like a puppy caught with a chewed-up shoe. “Um, I misplaced my Creative Core notebook yesterday. Thought maybe someone put it in one of these cabinets.”
Mr. Robbins motioned to the other side of the classroom. “Don’t you think they would’ve put it over on the shelves, with the books?”
“Uh, yeah…I already checked there, so I was taking a peek in the cabinets.” Ben’s voice was flustered.
I expected our teacher to demand to know what we were up to. Or worse, send us straight to the dean. But instead, he smiled. “Let me help.”
Together the two of them rummaged through all of the cabinets. Ben never found his notebook. After a while, I suggested he might’ve left it in the library. Then we thanked Mr. Robbins and scooted out of there to avoid arousing more suspicion.
Only when we arrived at our lockers, two floors above, did we slow down.
Overcome with laughter, I spit out, “You should’ve seen your face when he caught you. Priceless!”
“What a stupid idea,” he muttered. He wasn’t laughing. “I didn’t even find anything unusual except a dumb, plastic model of the brain. Some science teacher is probably missing it. Ryan’s right. I need to let it go.”
“I’m just glad he didn’t give us the third degree. He actually seemed amused.” I started laughing again, unsure if it was because Ben was acting so serious, or if I was simply relieved we hadn’t gotten into trouble. “Obviously he’s not hiding anything.”
He sighed. “I had this hunch there’d be something there.”
“Well, I talked with Josh the other day and told him how the freshmen were excluded from a few things around here.”
“Uh-huh?”
“He brought up how college fraternities often haze their freshmen in the fall. So I got to thinking, maybe they’re doing something like that to us.”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “Then that’d mean they have something awful planned.”
I shrugged. “Not necessarily. Supposedly it’s kind of a bonding thing.”
He blew out a long breath. “Maybe I just want to believe there’s some big school secret.”
“Did you notice Caitlyn walk in?”
He shook his head.
“Just for a sec. Said something about how we wouldn’t find what we were looking for in the studio. It was strange. She’s never said two words to me before.”
“Caitlyn’s a little know-it-all. Thinks she knows everything because of her brother.” Ben bit his lip and nodded. “He’s older. Or maybe it’s a sister. I never paid much attention.” He looked back at me, his eyes bright with curiosity again. “Either way, they graduated from here.”
I grinned. “Maybe she does know something.”
****
The sporting competition on Saturday afternoon included traditional sports such as volleyball, soccer, and softball and some team-building events. Aditi and I spent most of our time as spectators. While I watched Hannah play soccer with Ryan and Ben,
it dawned on me she was integrating into our group, so what was the point of keeping secrets? Maybe together we could make sense of all the unusual things that’d been bothering me.
Ben, Ryan, and Hannah met up with us after their game.
“Do you guys want to ditch this competition?” I asked. “I have an idea.”
They stared at me in confusion, although Ben looked intrigued.
“Hannah and I found something in the woods. I think we should check it out now while everyone here is busy.”
“Now?” Ryan’s jaw dropped. “But the competition is getting good. Looks like we might actually beat the sophomores.”
Ben shook his head. “Doubt it. I’m sure it’s rigged. I vote for the woods.”
“Me too,” Aditi said.
Ryan surveyed the field and let out a long sigh before turning to us. “Okay, then.”
I smiled as unfamiliar confidence seeped into my body. I’d never been a ringleader, always the follower. But a mere two weeks on campus, and I was leading my new friends on an adventure.
As we made our way to the trail, Hannah and I explained about the fence we’d discovered, the way we were forced out of Rogers, and the locked door between the wings. The guys admitted the third-floor door was also locked at night. Ben flashed me a warning when I began to relay the conversation by the pond. I winked at him before mentioning I heard some students talking about a fence so wanted to check it out. I glossed over the minor detail that Ben was with me.
Once on the forest trail, it didn’t take long for the guys to pull ahead about twenty-five feet—Ben’s strides were much longer, and Ryan was the type of guy who always sped around.
“It was fun watching the soccer game,” Aditi said. “Never seen one before.”
“Right,” I teased. “You were watching Ryan.”
“Okay. True. But you’ve got to admit he’s good. Now I see why he’s always raving about the sport. He’s got the perfect body for it.”
“I thought you liked that guy in science?” Hannah asked.
“A girl can keep her options open.” Aditi focused her gaze on Ryan up ahead. “Just look at those legs.”
Hannah laughed. “Definitely hot.”
“I can see it.” I bit my lower lip. “But I think Ben’s more my type.”
Aditi turned to me, her eyes wide. “I knew it!”
“Did you hear about her dream?” Hannah asked.
“Shhh!” I hissed.
Hannah whispered, “I’ll distract the guys so you can tell her.” Then she ran ahead while Aditi and I slowed our pace to put even more distance between us.
After I told Aditi what I remembered about my dream and Ben’s, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged. “Ryan made such a big deal about my appearance in Ben’s dream that I was too embarrassed. I haven’t even told Ben he was in mine.”
Aditi’s eyes shone. “You should ask him out. It’s obvious you like him. And I mean, wow, he dreamed about you too.”
My cheeks warmed. “And ask him out where? The dining hall?”
She giggled. “I don’t know.”
“Seriously, I’d never ask him out. I don’t think he likes me that way. What if he said no?”
She smirked. “That could kind of mess up the friendship thing we’ve got going.”
“Yeah.” Part of me had hoped Aditi would be more encouraging and tell me I stood a chance. But she was right. It could be awkward. “Besides, now that Hannah hangs out with us, I’m sure Ben doesn’t even notice me.”
“I don’t know. Ben seems different than other guys. More mature. And remember, he dreamed about you. That’s got to say something.”
“Maybe. But maybe not.” I kicked a pinecone out of my way. “Remember how I thought you looked familiar when we first met?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m thinking you might’ve been in my dream too.”
“You’re kidding! That’s impossible. I’m sure you just saw some girl with black hair and dark skin.”
I shrugged. “I’ve had this funny feeling ever since I got here that something is off. That’s why I want to show you guys the fence. Maybe it’ll make sense to you.” I went on to explain everything I’d discussed with Ben.
“Wow,” Aditi said. “We’ll have to convince Hannah to do a little detective work with Caitlyn.”
“For sure.”
“We’re getting close!” Hannah yelled back to us.
They stopped and waited for us to catch up.
Hannah gestured toward the right. “It was somewhere around here.”
We lingered for a few minutes while peering through the tree trunks. All the shadows made it difficult to see much.
I pointed to a distant section of fence. “There!”
Ben grimaced. “It’s going to be tough to get there.” The fence was in a heavily wooded area. Dense bushes covered the ground. “Let’s keep walking. See if the trail gets us closer.”
When we got within forty feet from the fence, Ryan said, “I think this is as good as we’re going to get.” Then he left the trail and forged his way toward it. The rest of us followed. Too bad I wore shorts; my legs were becoming a scratched mess.
“Man, this is big!” Ryan cried. “It’s got to be ten feet tall.”
“High enough to keep out the dangerous animals, right?” Hannah asked.
“Assume so,” Ryan said.
When I looked up from the attacking plants, I blinked several times. There were two fences. The closest was chain-link with barbed wire at the top. Based on the rust and the growth of vines covering sections, it had been there for years. But behind it, a silver electrical one gleamed.
Ben studied the fences for a moment. “Guessing they’re meant more for people.”
“Wouldn’t electricity keep out the animals?” Aditi asked.
“Of course,” Ben said. “But why go to the expense?”
“On our ranch,” Hannah said, “we use electric fences to keep the livestock from pressing up against them.”
Ryan pulled a few branches back and peered at the bottom of the fence. “Makes sense.”
“And it would keep animals from climbing,” Aditi added.
“True.” Ben shrugged. “But some animals can still get over through the trees. Or even by digging.”
“Are you saying it’s trapping us inside?” I asked, suddenly chilled.
“Well, yes…” Ben said, “or it’s keeping people out.”
My eyes took in the dark forest surrounding us. “I can’t imagine anyone would try to get in this way.”
“Maybe there are,” Aditi suggested. “This campus is closed to visitors except a few days of the year.”
“There are some real crazies out there,” Ryan added.
“Y’all, check this out,” Hannah said as we returned to the trail. “There isn’t any of this salal on the other side of the path. Only near the fence.”
I bent over. “You mean this thick groundcover?”
Hannah nodded.
“That’s random. You think someone was trying to hide it?” Ryan asked.
“Not necessarily.” Hannah squatted down and inspected the greenery. “Planting along the fence would prevent animals from running into it.”
By now the slight chill had spread to my entire body. I was freezing and wanted to get out of here.
As we hiked back to school, we debated all types of scenarios for the academy to take such precautions, from keeping out hunters and animals to preventing the students from getting lost. Ben suggested maybe gates were placed along the fence and that’s what the sophomores had referred to. Ryan gave the most compelling argument: a secure fence would keep the overprotective parents happy whether it protected us from dangerous animals or random weirdos.
My gut told me two fences were overkill for everyone’s theories. Mom had always said I was perceptive. Or were all the changes over the past two weeks simply getting to me?
One thing we agreed
on was Hannah should talk to Caitlyn. But by the way Hannah’s face paled and she started chewing her lower lip, it was as if we were feeding her to a wild animal.
Chapter: 7
I squeezed through the crowd into Bennett Hall. The room buzzed with excitement. Principal Locke had called a mandatory meeting for all freshmen. I’d never been in this lecture hall. It was smaller than the auditorium but ample for our class of fifty. Aditi and Hannah had saved me a spot, so I worked my way toward my friends and plopped down between them.
“What do y’all think this is about?” Hannah asked.
“Don’t know,” I said. “But I bumped into Taylor from cross country, and she was grinning like crazy. So guessing it’s something good.” I didn’t say it, but my gut told me this might be what Gabe and his friends had been discussing. Ever since the examination of the fence last weekend, my suspicions had intensified. However, the pieces appeared to belong to different puzzles. Only Ben had remained questioning like me. He sat with a group of guys a couple of rows above me. I caught his eye, and he gave me a conspiratorial grin. Seemed like he too thought this meeting might be something out of the ordinary.
Principal Locke took the microphone. “Good afternoon.” He waited for the room to quiet. It didn’t take long. He went on about all our accomplishments as we acclimated to Dickensen the last couple of weeks, such as making new friends and establishing routines. His voice grew more and more animated.
“Today, I’m going to shake up your world again.”
My ears perked up.
“Let me get right to the point. We’re going to discuss dreams.”
My throat went dry. It couldn’t be. He must be talking about the aspiration type; he was a principal after all. I glanced over my shoulder to check on Ben. He stared at Principal Locke with his mouth ajar. His mind must’ve jumped to the sleeping kind too.
“Sometimes you may have fleeting images of your dreams upon waking, yet they usually disappear. But sometimes, you remember them. Do you ever wonder why?”
My heart beat faster. Some students were nodding in agreement. Could he be referring to dreams like the one where I took photos on campus?
“Scientists would say whether you recall a dream depends on which stage of sleep you wake and the length of your REM sleep. I don’t disagree. That is for most dreams. But what if I told you there are some dreams you are meant to remember? Dreams that can be recalled with clarity months later. Now, not everyone is capable of having these dreams. This is a gift. And I believe you all have it.”
Dickensen Academy Page 5