Dickensen Academy

by Christine Grabowski

  Tyler and Allison rode up front while Ben and I sat in the back. My stomach tied in knots. I didn’t hang out with older students, especially seniors. Now I was about to spend the next three plus hours with these two strangers. As it turned out, Allison had driven Tyler home a couple of other times, so despite their two-year age difference, they knew each other well, eliminating some of the awkwardness. And when Allison gushed, “I’m so excited to have another girl in the car for a change,” my body began to relax. This wouldn’t be so bad.

  “How do you like Dickensen so far?” Allison asked us.

  “Love it!” Ben said. “I’m learning so much, and it’s great to be off on my own.”

  Her gaze shifted for a split second in the rearview mirror to me. “How about you, Autumn?”

  “Ditto. And I’ve made some good friends.”

  Ben smiled and turned his gaze out his window.

  “How do you feel about Dream Management?” she asked. “It can be a bit overwhelming at first.”

  Ben answered within seconds. “It’s so cool! I’m going to miss sending and receiving dreams while I’m gone.”

  “Oh, so you’re one of the lucky ones who can already do it,” Tyler said.

  “Yeah. But the dreams are pretty basic. I’m sure yours are much more impressive.”

  I couldn’t help myself and added, “Actually, Ben conveyed successfully the first time.”

  “No way!” Tyler said. “You’re the guy? Hey, Allison, we have someone famous in the backseat.”

  “Really? I thought it was only a rumor.”

  “It’s true,” I said.

  “Gee, thanks,” Ben muttered under his breath, then raised his voice to address the front. “I’m sure it was beginner’s luck.”

  “So what about you, Autumn?” Allison asked.

  “Uh, no…not yet.”

  “Don’t worry. It takes time. Sometimes once you get over the initial obstacles, you’ll learn the more challenging skills at a faster pace.”

  “Doubt it. I’m afraid I’m already falling behind.”

  “No! Don’t think like that. I bet some of those classmates can’t yet do it consistently. As long as your art and writing techniques keep pace, you’ll be fine. There’s just the little hurdle of conveying to overcome.”

  “I don’t know if little is the right word, more like mammoth,” I said.

  “Maybe. But my point is, once you begin to convey successfully, you’ll be able to move faster through more complex conveyances. Those who convey earlier, such as our friend here, won’t be able to move as quickly through the freshman Dream Management series.”

  “Why not?” Ben asked.

  “Because after conveying the final variation of each dream, you’ll need to spend time developing the next one whereas Autumn’s stories, objects, and settings will be complete and simply waiting for her to have the skills to convey.”

  That made sense. Meeting a senior who had an experienced perspective was refreshing.

  “I have a question for you guys that’s been bugging me for a while,” Ben said.

  Tyler turned toward him. “Shoot.”

  “I’m curious why news of Dream Management doesn’t get out? I mean, I know someone is monitoring the internet, and they threaten us with expulsion and nightmares. But it seems like it’d still leak somehow.”

  Tyler and Allison exchanged a look. Too bad I could only see their profiles.

  “Well, I can’t say all the methods they use,” Allison said. “There are rumors floating around. But I can tell you last summer I ran into this guy at the mall who’d been a couple of years ahead of me. He used to drive me home on breaks until one day he disappeared.”

  Her gaze shifted between Ben and me in the mirror. “It was strange. He didn’t recognize me at first. We weren’t close, but still, we spent countless hours on the road together. After I reintroduced myself, we had a little conversation. Eventually I asked why he’d left school. But then he zoned out into the distance—said he couldn’t recall. Admitted a lot of his memories from Dickensen were hazy.”

  A chill surrounded me, even though the heater was blasting.

  “So I asked what he was doing with the skills he’d learned in Creative Core, and a blank look came over his eyes. It was freaky, like he’d been brainwashed or something—”

  “Allison,” Tyler interrupted. “You’re scaring the freshmen to death.”

  Both our mouths were ajar, but Ben recovered. “No, it’s fine. I assumed the academy must do something like that.”

  Really, Ben? You’re kidding! He’d never suggested anything like that to me.

  Tyler twisted around in his seat to face us. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they only inflict that kind of stuff on students who do something truly awful.”

  After a lengthy silence, Tyler asked, “So what are you guys up to for Thanksgiving?”

  Chapter: 22

  At last, Allison pulled onto my street. We’d gotten stuck in so much traffic, and we had to drop off Tyler and Ben first. Earlier in the week, I’d thought it would be difficult to leave Ben, but when he got out of the car, he barely mumbled goodbye. He seemed miffed I’d bragged about his Dream Management progress. He was so sensitive. But whatever. I was upset he’d assumed the school was brainwashing former students. He was supposed to tell me that kind of stuff.

  By the time I climbed out of the backseat, my family was already waiting in the driveway. I ran into their outstretched arms. Soon Zoey was jumping up against my thighs, so I broke free to squat down and give her some love as my parents thanked Allison and confirmed her plans for the return trip.

  Josh carried my bags while Dad put his arm around my shoulder and guided me toward the front door. “Let’s get you inside.” A warm feeling spread through me. He’d left work early…to greet me.

  The smell of chocolate chip cookies made my mouth water the moment I stepped into the house. As we all gathered around the kitchen table, Mom placed a plate of freshly baked deliciousness and a glass of milk in front of me—a special treat; she rarely baked or allowed sugary snacks before meals.

  Although I’d called home several times a week for the past three months, I had so much to say as I munched on the cookies. My stories tumbled out in no particular order: my friends, my teachers, cross country, Coach Kat, weekend activities, tutoring, my birthday, my classes, Mrs. Humphrey, and hiking. I’d taken photos with my phone, so I showed them pictures as we chatted.

  “So how is class time spent in Creative Core?” Mom asked innocently.

  I was prepared for her question. “Well, it’s an art class. We started with drawing in September. Then Mr. Robbins taught us about watercolors and other painting techniques.” Luckily, there was plenty to discuss, making it easy to leave out the Dream Management portion of the class. I’d thought when the time came to talk about Creative Core, I’d be dying to tell all—not that I actually would—but after the conversation with Allison and Tyler, any desire I had to even hint it was something more than a visual arts class vanished.

  “Let me show you.” I dug through my messenger bag and pulled out a few assignments I’d been allowed to take home.

  Mom leafed through my folder. “These are beautiful, honey.”

  “Well done,” Dad agreed. “Do you mind if I take one to hang in my office?”

  My heart swelled with pride. If only he knew the true purpose of the course, he’d be furious they were teaching such nonsense, as he was sure to call it, and pull me out of Dickensen faster than Josh could devour a pizza.

  “I’m looking forward to next month when we start on ceramics, which will get fired in the kiln.”

  “Haller Lake has an art class where they do some of this stuff,” Josh said. “It’s one of the classes kids consider an easy A.”

  I sighed. “I’m not sure if that’s the case at Dickensen. I guess I’ll find out in January.”

  At that, Dad went off about my recent midterm progress report indicating I was off to a go
od start. He was eager to see the official letter grades, which would be released at the end of the semester when report cards were issued.

  Our conversation went straight through dinner. I’d never been the center of attention for so long and relished it. After running out of stories, I asked what was going on at home. The biggest news: Josh had finished all of his college applications. He’d applied to several out of state, but he’d also applied to some local schools, including the University of Washington, Mom’s undergraduate alma mater and where Dad had attended med school.

  ****

  Friday morning, Mrs. Lopez pulled into my driveway. Julia hopped out of the car and ran toward me. “You’re back!” She wrapped me in a tight bear hug, and we rocked each other back and forth.

  On the way to the mall where we planned to hit the Black Friday sales, Julia talked nonstop. Did she always talk so fast, or had I never noticed before? Somehow, Mrs. Lopez squeezed in a few questions. When I mentioned I took Spanish, she switched to her native tongue.

  “Muy bien,” she said, impressed I was able to carry on a simple conversation. “And with a proper accent no less.”

  At the mall, Julia insisted we go into every clothing shop carrying the latest brands and styles, even though we were supposed to be buying Christmas gifts. She brought outfits by the armload to the dressing rooms. Then she modeled every single item for me. I forced myself to try on a few things, but the focus was on her.

  During lunch in the food court, Julia carried on about how much she loved Haller Lake. She talked about the football games and the homecoming dance. She didn’t mention schoolwork once. Julia’s questions about Dickensen Academy centered on weekend activities and the availability of cute boys.

  I told her about Ben and Ryan. At first I said they were just good friends, like Drew. But after Julia started drilling, I admitted Ben might be something more, which led to a game of twenty questions. It was fun for a while until she painted my relationship with him into something it was not. I mean, he hadn’t even kissed me, and I wasn’t sure if he ever would, especially with the way we’d left things after the drive home.

  We hadn’t even finished our teriyaki meals when I sensed a presence. Two girls hovered over us.

  Julia bobbed in her seat. “Ashley, Jessica, this is Autumn.” Then she turned to me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited them to meet up with us.”

  I blinked a few times and made a close-lipped smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  Ashley and Jessica chattered nonstop too. It was like I was with three Julias, only interested in shopping, boys, and the social life of Haller Lake. Had Julia always been so shallow? We used to have deeper conversations. But now, she seemed more interested in impressing her friends and me. Then again, maybe her babbling wouldn’t seem so mindless if I knew who she was talking about. We were living in different worlds.

  Maybe I’d changed a bit too. I’d grown more independent and didn’t rely on Hannah and Aditi to pull me out of my shell the way I had with Julia. The three of us seemed like equals. Compared to Haller Lake, my school centered more on academics. And of course, Dream Management. I’d love to be shopping with Hannah and Aditi instead. Neither of them was so tiring to hang out with and I could be myself. I was reminded of a conversation with Josh back in August when he had predicted Julia and I would drift apart in high school regardless of my school choice.

  After an hour with the three of them, I made up some excuse about Josh having to pick me up early.

  On the ride home my brother asked, “How was the mall?”

  “Exhausting.”

  “I thought you liked shopping.”

  “I do, for about an hour or two. Four hours with Julia and her friends was overkill.”

  “That’s Julia. I can only take her in small doses.”

  “Yeah. I’m starting to agree with you.”

  We both laughed.

  ****

  When Mom learned Ben was in town, she insisted I invite him to my belated birthday dinner. I suggested he come over early to get to know my family before he was bombarded by everyone at the restaurant. Besides, if he was still mad at me, I wanted time to work it out.

  When Ben arrived on Saturday afternoon, we didn’t have a moment alone because Mom and Dad met him at the door and whisked him straight to the kitchen where they’d put out a bunch of snacks. I’d never seen Ben with adults, not counting our teachers, but he was clearly in his comfort zone. He entertained them with stories about his family and school. He even got Dad laughing about some stupid antics with Ryan. Then Ben switched the conversation over to my parents and asked them several intelligent questions about their medical fields, acting genuinely interested in their responses. I’d never quite understood the phrase worked the room, but I did now.

  After enough time passed, I suggested we take Zoey for a walk. On the way out, Mom pulled me to the side. “You’ve got a smart one there.” Then she winked. “I think he even charmed your father.”

  I bit my lip and smiled.

  Outside, the weather was gray and dreary but not as cold as in the mountains. Fortunately it wasn’t raining or I’d have to come up with another plan to get out of there. Zoey refused to walk in anything worse than a drizzle.

  “What’d you think?” I asked Ben.

  “They seemed nice, especially your mom. But your dad was a bit of a shocker.”

  “How so?”

  “From the way you described him, I expected him to be this hulk of a guy.” Ben chuckled. “But I towered over him. And he can’t weigh more than one-fifty.”

  I grinned. How did Ben do that? Here he was so happy and carefree, making me almost forget I was annoyed with him.

  After a few moments of silence, I mustered up my courage. “Something you said on the drive home has been bothering me. You mentioned the possibility of brainwashing happening to people who left Dickensen. What was that about?”

  “Just me and some of the guys debating that kind of stuff. Erasing people’s memories was one idea. I was thinking more along the lines of threatening with recurrent nightmares or using them to influence somehow.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? Remember how freaked you were after Quinn had his nightmare?”

  I gazed at Zoey trotting in front of us. Ben was right. Those conversations would’ve given me nightmares. He’d tried to protect me, not purposely leave me out.

  “Doesn’t all that talk scare you?”

  “Not really. I find it fascinating and can’t wait to learn more.”

  “Oh.”

  “Do you remember the dream I created for a young child about the train, my Dream Two?”

  I nodded. I remembered everything Ben had ever told me. His second dream had a railroad engineer inviting the dream recipient into the engine car to drive the train.

  “I sent it to Calvin last night. And he got it! You know how kids are. They tell you everything. This morning while I was still in bed, he came hobbling into my room and told me all about it. He was ecstatic.”

  “You weren’t supposed to convey that until winter break. Mr. Robbins said it would be our first opportunity to work with people outside of school.”

  “I couldn’t help myself. It was so easy.”

  I froze mid-stride.

  Ben’s eyebrows fell and his tone became gentle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant convenient. I went in there before bed to say goodnight, but he was already sound asleep, so I made a spur-of-the-moment decision. It wasn’t finished. The setting still needs work. But it took less effort than conveying to Ryan. I can’t exactly explain, but I felt Calvin latch on to the dream from my mind more tightly. He must be super receptive because of his age.”

  Once we started walking again, I asked, “Are you going to tell Mr. Robbins?”

  He wrung his hands. “I’m not sure. I don’t think he’d be mad. He’d undoubtedly be thrilled. But I’m feeling a bit like the teacher’s p
et.”

  Guilt seeped into me with his words. “Sorry about telling Allison and Tyler about your successes.”

  “It’s okay. I just don’t like to rub it into everyone’s face. The whole school doesn’t need to know.”

  Here I was brooding all weekend about a stupid debate Ben had with his friends while he’d already forgiven me.

  Soon we came to our neighborhood park. Most of it was covered in grass, but a swing set and a basketball court stood off to one side. I tied Zoey to a bench and inspected the swings. The seats were dry. We swung, side by side.

  “I hope it didn’t come across to you like I was bragging,” Ben said. “But I was so excited that I wanted to share it with someone. Sometimes it feels like you’re the only person I can really talk to.”

  A lazy smile spread across my face. “I’m glad you told me. That’s how it’s always been between Josh and me.” I pumped my swing higher. “Boys don’t always connect with their friends the way girls do. Girls like to have deeper conversations.” Wow, did I just say that? He must think I’m a total loser. Time to change topics.

  “So…yesterday I hung out with Julia at the mall.”

  “How was that?”

  “Weird. She’s so into the high school scene. I can’t relate.”

  “Yeah, I get it. Most of my friends are into high school sports. I have to admit it would be fun to go to football and basketball games. What about Drew?”

  “Haven’t seen him yet. He’s been out of town until today. I was thinking, maybe we could go over there now? I’m starting to freeze.”

  ****