The Academie

by Amy Joy

  Bryan slipped away.

  17. birthday wishes

  “So, how did it go?” Shara asked after Stevie and I had opened our eyes. Shara’s voice had an even more peaceful cadence than usual.

  “It was good,” I said, still slightly jarred by this abrupt return to the waking world.

  “Yeah,” Stevie echoed sleepily.

  “Were you able to clear your mind?”

  “No,” Stevie and I answered in unison. Stevie giggled. It made me laugh.

  “Well, don’t feel bad. It takes a lot of practice—sometimes years.”

  “Are you able to?” Stevie asked.

  Shara looked up.

  “You know, clear your mind,” Stevie said.

  “Oh, yeah; most of the time. Usually I can meditate just about anywhere, but this place kind of threw me off at first. It went much better for me this time.”

  “So, what was that?” my bunkmate, Tina, asked as I gathered my things for bed.

  “What? That?” I asked, looking back across the room where I’d been with Shara and Stevie.

  She widened her eyes impatiently.

  “This girl, Shara, is teaching me to meditate.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. It’s different, so I wanted to try it.”

  “And?”

  “Well, I wasn’t able to do it right, but still,” I shrugged, “it was kind of cool.”

  “So, is that what you were doing in class today?” she asked as she rummaged in the drawer under her bed.

  I paused, feeling slightly humiliated. Did she have to bring that up? “No, that wasn’t meditating. I don’t know what that was. I passed out or something.”

  “I knew something had to be up because you weren’t talking.” She stopped rummaging and looked at me.

  I stared back.

  “You talk in your sleep.”

  “I do?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “I’ve never shared a room before.”

  She began rustling things in her drawer again. “Figures.”

  “I only have brothers.”

  “That never stopped us.”

  “You roomed with brothers?”

  “We didn’t have a choice.” She grabbed her things and headed for the bathroom.

  “Did you see the guys?” Ruby asked as we gathered once again for breakfast.

  Stevie grinned. “I think it’s cute.”

  “What?” I asked, taking a look around. Then I saw it: all the guys had their heads freshly shaved.

  “How’d they do that?”

  A clean-cut boy (they all were now) with a tray in hand stopped abruptly. “They handed out shavers this morning and told us to take care of it. Hello ladies,” he said, smiling at our group. His eyes stopped on Ruby. “I believe we have Calculus together. Miss Stanford is it?”

  Ruby smiled and nodded.

  “Would you mind if I joined you lovely ladies for breakfast?”

  Stevie scooted over to make room and he pulled out the chair next to her, causing her to blush.

  “I’m Robert Cornelius Bratten, III.” Still standing, he extended his hand to each of us.

  Stevie kept grinning. She cracked me up.

  “So, do you ladies have any plans for this weekend?” he asked, taking a seat.

  “Weekend?” I asked.

  “Yes, it starts on a Saturday and ends on a Sunday,” Robert answered.

  “What day is it? I’ve totally lost track already.”

  “Thursday,” Ruby said.

  “Really? Huh…Do we get weekends here?” I asked.

  “Well now, darling, where do you think you are?” Robert replied.

  “Prison.” It just came out.

  “Come now. Surely it’s not that bad. He put his hand on mine. His dark chocolate skin contrasted with my olive tones. I sat across from him, but his arms were long and he leaned over at the opportunity to console me. Not that I think he was all that interested in me. He seemed to be your regular lady charmer.

  “Well, it’s not good,” I answered.

  “What don’t you like? Surely it’s not these lovely ladies here?”

  He was such a flirt. “No; it’s not them,” I said, looking around the table at my new friends. “They’re what’s making this place tolerable.

  “So what? The schedule? The classes?”

  “It’s being trapped here. It’s knowing that I won’t leave. I can’t.” The group was silent. “And it’s being cut off from the outside world.”

  “Ah ha. I think I get it.” Robert was grinning. “What’s his name?”

  “Nobody,” I blushed. Damn! How’d he know?

  “Right. Obviously,” he said, spreading a napkin in his lap. “Well dear, perhaps it will make you feel better to know that you do indeed get time off this weekend, and there are lots of splendid, eligible bachelors here—also trapped, if you will—at this very school.”

  I smiled and shook my head. “So what does the weekend schedule like? Do you know anything?”

  “Well, being the kind fellow I am, the Sergeants,” he glanced at the meal Sergeants posted around the room, “they feel comfortable with me.” He held his silverware as he were dining at an upscale restaurant, and cut neatly into a pancake.

  I shook my head, smiling. He was a suck up.

  “So what do you know?” Ruby asked.

  “Well, young lady, it just so happens that they have some mixers planned for us Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.”

  “Mixers?” Shara said.

  “Yes, you know: get-to-know-you activities. Icebreakers, if you will. They want to create a healthy learning environment, where the students feel comfortable with one another,” he said, looking at me.

  “Maybe you should do commercials for The Academie?” I suggested.

  “I’d be glad to.”

  The rest of the day went smoother than the first several had. Even fitness wasn’t bad despite the fact that Fratelli made us run laps and do push-ups again. But we had already started fencing and I was finding that somehow, I was a natural. I loved everything about it: the protective gear, the practice mats, the foil, and especially, the chance to finally release some of my anger.

  “Hey! Take it easy on me!” Jenny pleaded as we sparred.

  “Sorry! I think I got a bit carried away!”

  “You’re a little too good at this. I’m going to need to learn faster, or you’re going to have to find a new partner so I don’t get killed!”

  I laughed. After the dreadful testing day and the humiliation of my class placements, it was nice to finally feel good at something. “I’ll try to take it easy next time,” I told her.

  In the evening, I met Stevie and Shara at Shara’s bedside again, along with my blanket so we could meditate. Or at least that’s what I told myself. In reality, I was searching for Bryan.

  As we closed our eyes and I found my center, I recalled the dimples dotting the faces of Bryan and his dad as they stood in the driveway. Bryan’s hair was cropped short. But what I didn’t expect was that he was lean and built, as though he spent half his time working out.

  He certainly didn’t look like any computer nerd I knew.

  Anna had no sooner pulled into the driveway and she was out the door, embracing her son. I took my time getting out of the car, not sure how to greet this person I had come to know so well online, but had never actually laid eyes on until now.

  Letting go of Anna, Bryan made his way to my side of the car and opened my door.

  “Hi.” He had Anna’s smile.

  “Hey.” I blushed and looked away, suddenly shy.

  “Can I help you with your things?”

  I stepped out of the car and followed him to the trunk, where we pulled out my bags and silently headed to the house.

  “Hi Allie,” James said, holding out his hand. “Good meet you.”

  “Thanks for having me.” He had Bryan’s chestnut eyes.

  Inside, I was surprised to
see balloons and streamers decorating the foyer. I knew of their plan to celebrate Bryan’s birthday, but I didn’t expect a couple of college professors to put up birthday decorations like normal people.

  In the kitchen, a freshly-prepared, uncooked pizza sat on the counter. “Are you all hungry yet?” James asked, motioning to the stove. “I could pop it in and it’ll be ready in about 15 minutes.”

  “I’ve been dying to have this again,” Bryan said.

  “I figured that,” his dad answered. “I don’t suppose they serve it this way at school, huh?” He smiled.

  “You have no idea.” Bryan scrunched his face in a horrified expression.

  “I could eat if you guys are ready,” Anna joined in. “I didn’t have much for lunch. I was too excited. Besides, I had to eat on the road…” She looked at me. “We don’t eat take out much.”

  “We don’t eat the typical American diet,” James clarified.

  “Try eating that every day,” Bryan said.

  “Oh, I’d rather not,” his mom answered.

  “Thanks,” Bryan said. He smiled at me.

  “I’m sorry, but I still can’t believe they sold that FDA diet crap as a good thing! What a load of—”

  “Here we go,” James said, looking from Bryan to me.

  “Okay, thanks mom,” Bryan said.

  “Fine,” she said, throwing her hands up. “You’ve heard my rant before. But Allie hasn’t.”

  “I’ll tell her later.” He grinned at me. “Are you hungry, Allie?”

  “Sure.” Actually, I was nervous, so hunger was far from my mind. I felt as though I was burning through adrenaline so fast that I’d surely crash before the night was through. I just hoped my anxiety didn’t show.

  “This probably won’t be like any pizza you’ve had before,” Bryan said, “but trust me, it’s amazing.”

  “Okay….” Bryan had told me about a thousand times how good a cook his dad was. Knowing this, I was ready to try anything.

  “Are you allergic to any foods, Allie?” James asked.

  “Only peppers; right?” Bryan said, looking for confirmation.

  “Yup.” I blushed that he remembered from a conversation we’d had weeks ago.

  “Ah, excellent,” James said. I was still looking at Bryan, but out of the corner of my eye I could see James glance knowingly at Anna who was smiling about the interaction that had just taken place. “There are no peppers in here. Just fresh onion, garlic, tomato, basil, spinach, and tofu on a whole wheat crust.”

  “Ever had tofu before?” Anna asked.

  “Just once at school, but they fried it.”

  “Eww.” They said it in unison, which made us all laugh.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t very good. But I’ll give it another try.”

  “I promise that it won’t taste like that,” James said.

  Anna pulled a package from the fridge to show me. “It really doesn’t taste like much. For the most part, it takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with. Bryan loves it.”

  He blushed. “It’s true. Hope that’s not too weird for you.”

  I smiled. “Nah. Who knows, maybe I’ll love it too?”

  Being with the Allens felt like I was in another world. Their understanding of everything seemed to be different—and the way they did things too.

  I looked around and noticed the balloons and the streamers again. Well, I guess some things were the same.

  “So, do I get a cake?” Bryan asked, turning to James.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Wouldn’t be a birthday without one,” Anna added. “Besides, do you think your dad would miss an opportunity to bake?”

  “What’d you make?” Bryan scanned the room for a cake.

  James grinned. “Carrot cake.”

  “Excellent.” Bryan licked his lips in anticipation. He turned to me. “Normally, this might not sound good, but carrot cake is my dad’s specialty.”

  I smiled, not sure what to say.

  “So, eighteen…”Anna said, beaming at her son. “You’re an adult.”

  “Tell that to The Academie,” he said.

  “Well…” For once she appeared speechless, but already I knew better. Even I could see the restraint that held her tongue.

  “So we figured we’d play some games together tonight, if you guys don’t mind,” James cut in, changing the subject.

  “That sounds great,” I said. But am I ever going to get to spend time with just Bryan?

  The rest of the day went by incredibly fast. Bryan’s parents hung out with us most of the time, but I tried not to mind. I knew how much they missed him, and as far as I was concerned, I was a guest at their little reunion-birthday party.

  Mostly we just talked. It was so nice to finally talk to Bryan in person, face to face, rather than a line or two at a time, sent back and forth over the Internet. And there were moments—tiny, seemingly insignificant moments, when his parents would both be out of the room and we would be alone together. In these moments things would suddenly be so different; we were no longer kids, but adults that were still learning what it was like to be around each other. Comfortable and awkward all at the same time.

  After dinner—which was great except for the tofu that was still a little hard to get used to, we sang “Happy Birthday” to Bryan. Right before he blew out his eighteen candles, he looked at me in such a way that I blushed bright red.

  As his parents handed over a present that turned out to be book reader already loaded with his favorites and others they thought he’d enjoy, I felt bad that I didn’t have anything for him. “I didn’t know what they’d let you take back with you,” I explained.

  “It’s fine. This is what I wanted.” I felt his hand on mine, and for the first time I really looked into his eyes.

  “And find your center,” Shara said.

  No…please just a few more minutes…

  “So, how did it go tonight?” she asked as I opened my eyes.

  “Better,” Stevie said.

  “Yeah. Good.”

  It wasn’t a lie. I’m just not sure it was meditation.

  18. the stable atom

  “Miss Thompson?” I looked up from the things I was stashing away to move on to my next class. Sergeant Conrad, my Developmental Writing instructor was addressing me from the front of the room. “I’d like to see you before you leave.”

  Out of all my instructors, Conrad was the most tolerable. Unfortunately, his class bored me to pieces.

  I approached his desk with uncertainty. Surely, I couldn’t have bombed the last assignment. The material was years beneath my ability.

  He waited for the room to clear before he began. “It’s become clear to me already that you don’t belong in this class.”

  “Yeah, I had a rough night the day before the placement exams and…”

  “I suppose you are aware that we don’t usually move students from one class to another mid-semester.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “However, given your family, I’ve asked Major Gray to make an exception.”

  “My family?”

  “Yes, Matthew of course. You are his sister, aren’t you?”

  “What does Matt have to do with this?”

  “Well, he is perhaps our finest student at this institution. He is, quite frankly, the epitome of what we are looking for in an Academie student. I was quite surprised to find you here in my class given your relationship, but as I said, it’s become clear that this is not where you belong.”

  “Thank you. I guess...”

  “Major Gray has approved my request. You will begin Sergeant Roke’s Advanced English class on Monday. Room 212 at 2:30.”

  I scribbled it down on my notepad. “Advanced English?” This was a quite a leap. Ruby, I knew, was in an Intermediate English course.

  “I’m sure you’ll do quite well there. The course will be able to challenge you in ways we both know that you are not getting here.”

  “So, I g
uess you want this back then?” I said, pulling out my Introduction to Basic Writing text.

  “Yes, you won’t need it anymore,” he said, taking it from me. “Oh, but you will need this.” He pulled a paper from his desk.

  “What’s this?”

  “Your assignment for Monday—for Roke’s class.”

  “Oh. Thanks.” I glanced at it.

  Sergeant Roke’s Advanced English

  First paper assignment

  A paper? I had to write a paper for Monday? In Conrad’s class we’d been diagramming sentences.

  “Good luck.”

  I forced a smile and headed out the door.

  “You were moved?” Ruby asked at lunch.

  Stevie looked stricken. “We’ll still have our other classes together,” I said, trying to console her. “I think it was a mistake anyway.”

  “Na, I always knew you were too smart to be in there.”

  I smiled.

  “What makes you think it was a mistake?” Ruby asked.

  “Conrad said something about my brother. And—get this—they moved me to Advanced Writing!”

  “Well, well, well. You’ll be in my class,” Robert said. He’d joined us for every meal since the previous morning.

  “Two-thirty with Sergeant Roke?”

  “That’s the one.” He smiled.

  “So we have a paper due Monday?”

  “Right, don’t fret it. It’s only a five pager.”

  “Five pages!” I hadn’t read that far into the assignment sheet. “There’s goes my weekend.”

  “If you need help, you know where to ask,” Robert said.

  “Thanks.” His friendliness made me a bit uncomfortable, but he seemed harmless. Besides, I might actually need his help.

  “So, when exactly do these weekend mixers begin?” Stevie asked.

  “Yeah, why haven’t we heard anything about them yet?” Shara added. She’d also been joining us regularly for meals, but she often appeared in a quiet, Zen state, taking in the conversation rather than actively participating.

  “Well, ladies, a teacher told me that they are keeping the information close to the hip until the weekend comes, so students don’t lose their heads over it. They’d like us to focus on our studies during the week. I expect they will make the announcement in our living quarters tomorrow morning.”