The Academie

by Amy Joy

  We ate in silence, since I could do little else. When the bell rang, I heaved my weary body from the table and Ruby grabbed up my tray and swept it away.

  “Thanks,” I said again.

  “I guess I’ll see you at dinner? Man, I wish you felt better.” She shook her head. We both knew this next test couldn’t go well for me. I only hoped I couldn’t do worse than placing into a “Basic” class.

  I waved her off as my stomach churned and pleaded with me to return to bed. I contemplated risking a trip back to the dorm for a short nap instead of reporting to my next exam. My good sense got the better of me, and I pulled out my schedule again. Even though all the new students were taking the same exams, there were no large testing rooms, so we had been broken down into class-sized groups. Unfortunately—as we had discovered over breakfast—Ruby and I did not share any testing locations.

  A map was included on the reverse side to insure that we would not run into any trouble. Since I had gone to high school here, you would think that I wouldn’t have any problem, but with the extensive additions and renovations done to accommodate the hundreds of additional students, it was almost as if I had never been there at all. Being directionally impaired and mostly asleep, I could no longer make sense of the map or the room numbers around me. I began to wander in the direction I thought might get me somewhere, bumping against students in the crowded halls as I went.

  In the midst of the bustle, I found a room tucked beneath a staircase. It was difficult to read the number with people moving this way and that, but I felt fairly certain this was the place. With a sigh of relief, I pushed open the door expecting to see a room already full of students seated behind computers.

  Instead, I was caught off guard. I squinted in the darkness, trying to get my eyes to perceive something…anything. But it was impossible. There wasn’t anything there. Just blackness. The deepest, darkest blackness I had ever seen.

  I turned around. The door was missing. No light spilled in from the hallway. It was like my eyes were closed, but they weren’t.

  I stood there, perplexed, unable to comprehend what I was experiencing.

  I shook my head vigorously, trying to wake myself, assuming it was the tiredness playing tricks on me. But for reasons I couldn’t explain, I felt afraid. It was the fear of a child exploring their house alone at night. Everything looks different. The friendly things that greet you in the day become cold, strangers—monsters—in the night. It was not home. It was somewhere else. And then someone would come and flip on the light and all would be happy, friendly and familiar again. I needed to find the light.

  “What are you doing?” A sharp voice came from behind me, causing me to gasp. I turned to find a woman with bug eyes and hair pulled so tightly into a knot that her face was actually drawn back with it, contorting it in an absurd kind of way. Sergeant Murk. I’d met her once before, when I’d come to visit Matt. I’d hoped to never see her again.

  “I—uh…”

  “Oh, you.” She glared down at me. “I should have known. Are you a student here now?” She rolled her eyes. “This area,” she pointed “is off limits. Now I realize that doesn’t seem to matter to you, but as one of our students, if I—or anyone else for that matter—finds you in a restricted area again, then you will be reprimanded. And Let Me Tell You”— she spit as she annunciated each consonant and I backed away—“The Consequences Will Be Severe!”

  “How am I supposed to know what areas are restricted?”

  “Anywhere you are not assigned to be, is a restricted area.” She said it like I must be some kind of an idiot. But seriously, if they wanted an area to be off limits, then why didn’t they post signs and keep the door locked? What the hell do they have to hide anyway? Grades? People really are too touchy.

  Her heels made a loud taps as she walked away.

  Somehow I found my way to my exam room, but it quickly became clear that there was no way I was going to make it through without sleep. I randomly filled in the radial dials next each multiple choice question and then hit the submit button before laying my head down on the desk.

  I didn’t even look to see what class it placed me in. At that point I was so exhausted, I didn’t care.

  10. fitness testing

  “Time to go, Miss.”

  I woke up to find an empty classroom, a pool of drool on my desk, and a sergeant hovering over me. He was a large, middle-aged man, with a short Academie haircut and blubber that extended from his chin to his chest, completely concealing where there might ever have been a neck.

  I lifted my head, wiped the drool with my sleeve as nonchalantly as I could, and grabbed my things.

  “Don’t forget to log off the computer.”

  “Oh yeah.” It was then that I noticed my placement: Earth Science. I huffed at the ridiculousness of it. At this rate, I was going to be on an entire Basic track.

  “The next exams are about to begin,” the sergeant said. “You better hurry up.”

  I pushed in the desk chair, pulled out my schedule, and headed out the door.

  The room ended up being at the other end of the building, but luckily, it was easy to find. I opened the door and took the last seat just as a tall, skinny sergeant who appeared much younger than any I’d seen so far, stood to address the class.

  “I’m sure you are used to the routine by now.” I was still a bit groggy and his voice jarred me. “You may begin.”

  Instead, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my schedule for the day to see how much more of this had left.

  “No notes may be used Miss!” the young sergeant accused.

  Where would I have gotten notes? I held up my schedule.

  He pointed for me to put it away.

  My nap and the walk across the building gave me just enough alertness to get through the exam, but since history had always been my worst subject, I found myself struggling nonetheless.

  Who was involved in the battle of 1812?

  I don’t know. Is it really necessary that I know this?

  Two and a quarter hours later, I had my placement: American History. Great, I’ll be taking classes with a bunch of tenth graders.

  I met Ruby at dinner. “So how’d it go?” She looked genuinely concerned.

  “Not good.”

  She was kind and didn’t push. I was happy when she didn’t try to make conversation. It was one of the things I liked about her: we didn’t have to talk.

  When I’d finished my meal and cleared my tray, I pulled back out my schedule. “Oh god, I’d forgotten about fitness testing.” I laid my head on the table. “Do you think there’s any chance I could claim illness and get out of it?”

  “You could try, but I doubt it. I did fitness testing earlier. It wasn’t bad.”

  “Are you athletic?”

  “Do I look it?”

  “Yeah.”

  She laughed. “You’re too kind.”

  This, my final test of the day, met in the locker room. I stood, surrounded by potential future classmates standing or seated on benches around me while a thin, manly-looking woman paced in front of us. “I’m Sergeant Fratelli,” she said. Dressed in a white Academie polo and gym shorts, Fratelli was all skin and muscle. “Fitness testing is probably new to most of you.” Her eyes moved about the group as she paced. “Then again, fitness may be new to some of you.” Her eyes stopped on me. I looked away.

  “I’m going to run you through a series of activities to measure your strength, endurance, and flexibility. The end result will be the same as every other exam you’ve had today.” She stopped placing and drew her hands together. “We’ll know where to place you.” She looked at each of us again and I could tell she was already sizing us up, placing us into classes. “The first lesson of fitness is to acquire the proper clothing for the activity. You didn’t receive fitness attire in your clothing pack because we don’t expect you to wear these anywhere but here, and I don’t want your smelly body leaving here before you shower and change. Is that
understood?”

  A few nodded.

  “You will answer ‘yes ma’am’ when I speak to you. Is that understood?”

  “Yes mam,” I answered with the group. Yes sir, I thought.

  “Polos and shorts of various sizes can be found in the bins along the wall where you came in. Each bin is marked with a size. The laundry bin is on the opposite wall.” She pointed over her left shoulder. “It’s community clothing here ladies. If you don’t like it, you’re going to have to get used to it.”

  The group let out a collective sigh.

  “Well, if you like that, you’re going to love the showers. She pointed behind where we were sitting. “There are no dividers.”

  Someone gasped.

  “Sorry ladies, but this is no time for modesty. You got a job to do when you come into my class. The first is to get fit. The second is to practice the rules of personal hygiene. For those who need a reminder, I’ve posted a copy on the wall in the back. You can’t miss it.”

  Rules for hygiene? Did she think we were animals?

  “Time to suit up. If you hair is longer than shoulder length, it should already be tied back. There are extra hair ties on the shelf near the front mirror if you them. If you’re hair’s shorter than shoulder length, but you can tie any of it back, I’d recommend you do so. You’re gonna want to see what you’re doing.

  “The gym is out this door”—she pointed to her right. “Meet me there in five minutes. If you’re late, you’ll be doing push-ups for it.”

  There was a sudden movement of pushing as girls flew to the bins to gather their clothing. I stood dazed, wishing this day could just be over with already. When the crowd cleared, I found that the size small bins were empty, forcing me to grab clothes that would certainly be too big. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a problem.

  Five minutes later, we were gathered in the gymnasium. While the locker room appeared to have been renovated, the gym was exactly as I remembered it—with one exception: the bleachers were missing. Guess this meant there wouldn’t be sporting events to attend. I sighed. It’s not that I was a sport fanatic, but The Academie seemed hell-bent on removing any sense of community or normalcy.

  Fratelli blew her whistle. “Four minutes, thirty-eight seconds. Not bad ladies. Please line up now. I need to see five rows in front of me. Spread out about at least an arm’s length so you have some room to move. We’re going to start with some simple stretches to get you warmed up.”

  We didn’t even get through stretches before she started yelling at me. “You—brown pony tail” she pointed at me. “What’s your name?”

  “Allie Thompson.”

  “Thompson, is that all you got? You’re not even moving.”

  I tried to reach further, but my body didn’t budge.

  “Move!”

  “I am.”

  She shook her head. “This ought to be interesting.”

  Next she had us jogging the gym perimeter. “Pick it up Thompson! They’re running laps around you!”

  Fratelli was really getting to me. I searched the walls for a clock as I continued running, gasping for air. No clock. This seemed to be my longest exam yet.

  The worst tasks of all were the pull-ups and rope climb. Both were things I’d love to be able to do. I willed myself to do them. I knew I could. But when it was my turn and all eyes were on me, my body simply wouldn’t cooperate. I hung on to the pull up bar, begging my body to go somewhere, yet it hung there like a pathetic blob. When I got to the rope, I thought for sure I’d make it to the top. I’d been called a monkey in grade school for my love of climbing. Here was my chance to redeem myself. Everyone would see that I was not the loser I now appeared to be. But no matter how hard I tried, I just swung on the bottom of the rope, unable to pull myself further than a few feet off the ground.

  “Pathetic,” Fratelli said. As if I needed her to tell me.

  It wouldn’t have been so bad if others had been struggling too, but that simply wasn’t the case. Sure some of them could only do one pull-up, but it was one more than I had done. Only me and Jenny—a quiet, extremely overweight girl—were unable to offer any visible sign that we were really trying to accomplish the tasks Fratelli assigned. Maybe I needed a fitness class after all?

  When it was finally over, Fratelli released us back to the locker rooms. I hung back, more exhausted than I’d been all day. Jenny was trailing behind too.

  “She sure doesn’t give you a break, does she?” Jenny said.

  I shook my head. “That’s for sure…. So, what do you think the chances are we’ll get her as an instructor?”

  Jenny laughed. “I have a feeling they are all like that.”

  “You have ten minutes before you must report to dinner!” Fratelli yelled from behind us. I hadn’t realized how close she was. By the blush on her cheeks, Jenny hadn’t either.

  “And if you’re late, Thompson, I’m going to build a fire under you and make you climb that rope.”

  I picked up my pace.

  11. paris via time machine

  That night I slept better. I was completely exhausted, and my sleepy disposition was enough to convince Sergeant Garret to give me an extra blanket.

  The next morning, our class schedules were available on the Acadenet—the Academie’s computer system:

  7:30-8:30 a.m. Basic Algebra

  8:45-9:45 a.m. Remedial History

  10:00-11:00 a.m. Introductory Sociology

  11:15 A.M.-12:15 p.m. Introductory Biology

  12:30-1:00 p.m. Lunch

  1:15-2:15 p.m. Earth Science

  2:30-3:30 p.m. Developmental Writing

  3:45-5:00 p.m. Basic Fitness

  5:30-6:00 p.m. Dinner

  “Basic Fitness? There’s such a thing as Basic Fitness?”

  “Apparently so,” Ruby answered over breakfast.

  “Somehow I ended up in two science classes! Who does that?”

  Ruby shook her head.

  “Can you believe this schedule? I swear to you, I am not this dumb!”

  “I believe you.” She said. “But I also know how out of it you were yesterday.”

  “I hope we’re able to move up through the system as quickly as they say we are.”

  Ruby frowned.

  “What?”

  “Are you sure you want to know?” Ruby asked.

  “Yes. What? Do you know something?”

  “I overheard a conversation this morning. A girl was asking our dorm sergeant about changing classes.”

  “And?”

  “It’ll only happen at the change of semesters.”

  “What? No, that can’t be right. They said—in all their propaganda—it said that students could advance at their own pace. It was one of their major selling points!”

  She shook her head. “At the end of the semester you can skip ahead if you demonstrate that you are ready to, but not until then. At least, that’s what I heard.”

  “Oh man, I’m going to be stuck for the next fifteen weeks with a bunch of morons reviewing 1 + 1.” I buried my head in my elbow on the table.

  “Maybe they’ll make an exception in your case? You should talk to someone, tell them what happened. Maybe they’ll let you re-take the placement exams?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that the institution that forces mothers to leave their babies will show all kinds of mercy.”

  Ruby looked stunned.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright.” Her voice cracked and her face was turning red as her eyes filled with tears.

  “Oh god, Ruby. I’m sorry. I’m such a moron.”

  “It’s fine, really.” She dabbed her eyes. “I’m just really hormonal still.” She pulled out a tissue. “You should really talk to someone though. It never hurts to try.”

  I took her advice and went to the main office before heading to my first class to plead for a second chance. As expected, I was told the exams are quite accurate in placing students and if I was placed in those classes, that’s where
I needed to be. If I wanted to move up, I’d have to work hard this semester and perhaps I’d be able to skip a level later on. The whole idea was absurd, but they wouldn’t listen.

  So I headed off to my first Basic class: Algebra. As I walked, the irony of it all occurred to me: that I had been pursuing a college degree and was yanked out to take remedial classes. You had to hand it to them; The Academie was a revolutionary system.

  “Matt?”

  I caught a glimpse of him, just for a second, and then saw him dart into a classroom. Damn!

  I found my room a couple doors down from where I thought I saw Matt enter, so I went in and took a seat.

  The classroom was traditional style—not a computer room and nothing fancy. I didn’t remember it from my high school, but it may as well have been here. The style and facilities were the same. If you saw it anywhere else, you’d still think high school. Worn out desks, linoleum tiled floors, old stuff scattered about the room—a globe, a map, a jar, and one marker board hung beside an old chalk board. And at the far left center sat Stevie—the happy blonde with the bouncing curls from my dorm.

  She smiled as my eye caught hers, and I headed in her direction. “Mind if I sit here?”

  “Of course not. I’m so glad to know someone in the class,” she grinned.

  I smiled. She was so happy all the time. In such a place as this, I found her happiness incredible.

  “What other classes do you have?” she asked.

  I pulled out my schedule.

  “Oh my gosh! I have almost the exact same schedule!”

  She pulled out hers to prove it.

  I grinned as I saw the similarities, but then felt bad knowing that I didn’t belong here. Did she?

  “Yeah, but I see that you got into regular P.E. Can you believe that I’m in Basic Fitness? I can’t even imagine what that class is going to be like. Fitness for the uncoordinated and generally unfit?”

  She laughed.

  I looked around the room and saw Tina slide in the door and take a seat in the back. “That’s my bunk mate,” I told Stevie.

  “Is she nice?”