The Academie (2 page)

Reluctantly, I followed the mass of
people heading for the gymnasium. Ruby walked alongside me. We
moved along slowly, as others quickly bustled by.

As I expected, the gymnasium was
packed. How The Academie planned to join my class of about five
hundred as well as the two classes above mine with the current
enrollment of high school students was beyond me. They claimed they
had it under control.

Groups scattered here and
there throughout the bleachers. People seemed to have found each
other and reformed their old cliques. It should have felt like a
reunion, but all I could think was:
I
thought this part of my life was over.

“
I’m thinking about a seat
up there,” I told Ruby as I pointed to the top left side of the
bleachers.

She nodded. “I’ll follow
you.”

We climbed to the top and sat down. A
man of medium stature, dimpled skin, and graying hair cleared his
throat at the podium, and I reluctantly turned to
listen.

“
Welcome, new
students.”
Not him
again
. I recognized the guy from my
brother, Matt’s orientation. He’d frustrated me then by not giving
out any useful information. “As you may already know, I am Major
Robert Gray of Academie facility #214.” He paused and looked
around. “Life here will probably be very different for you than how
you have come to know it so far
…
”

I can’t listen to this. How
am I going to survive the next three years? How will I keep from
going insane?

I glanced around the room. A few
familiar faces caught my eye. There were a surprising number I
didn’t recognize. Then again, there were a surprising number I
didn’t recognize at my graduation.

I glanced to the doors. The ones of
the far side—which used to lead outside—had been closed off. I
turned to look back at where we’d come in. Armed guards lined the
gym entry.

No escape.

After what seemed an eternity, Major
Dimpled stopped babbling and we were dismissed.

“
So, that was
enlightening,” Ruby said, looking to me. Her eyes were still
swollen and her face blotchy from crying, but the tears seemed to
have subsided for now.

“
I zoned out. Anything
interesting?”

“
Not really. Did you hear
the part about the student survey?”

“
No. What?”

“
Supposedly, 98% of
students claim to love The Academie and think it’s one of the best
things that’s happened to them.” She rolled her eyes.

“
You’re kidding?” I shook
my head. “That can’t be true.” I thought they must be lying, but
then I thought about my friends back at college. Several actually
looked forward to joining The Academie. And the one time I’d
visited my brother, Matt, his loyalties were too obvious.
Traitor.

“
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll
be among that 98%,” Ruby said as she stood. “It looks like the
crowd is clearing. I guess we better head to Medical.”

“
Oh no! Is that next?” I
pulled out my itinerary again.

10:00 a.m. Health Evaluation—Medical
Bay

I had forgotten all about it. I’d seen
it on the schedule when it arrived in the mail and lashed out at my
parents about it.

“
I don’t understand why we
have to go through this when I just had an exam and a bunch of
shots a year ago to start college. Why can’t The Academie just look
over those records?”

“
Tell me about it,” Ruby
said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to the doctor in
the last nine months. Tell me those records aren’t current.” She
shook her head.

“
How are they going to get
all of us through there now anyway?” I asked. “There must be
fifteen hundred people here.”

As if on cue, Major Dimpled was back
at the podium. “There are a lot of you to get through the medical
bay and a long line has already formed as a result. I encourage you
to take a seat here, and we will let you know when the line has
shortened.”

Ruby and I looked at each other,
annoyed, and sat back down.

“
So, how long ago did you
graduate?” I asked.

“
Two years
ago.”

“
You?”

“
A year ago.”

“
College?”

“
Yeah. Westfield, down by
Dayton,” I said.

“
Oh, right. Yeah, a friend
of mine thought about going there. I went to Brandon University.
That’s where I met my daughter’s father. I was planning to go back
to school after the baby was born. My mom said she’d watch
Charlotte. But then, well, you know, we found out about the new
Academie age guidelines.”

I wanted to ask if her daughter’s
father was here too, but judging by the fact that she was sitting
alone when I met her, I’m guessing that’d be a ‘no.’

“
I was going to transfer
to Brandon, actually,” I said. “I had my acceptance and everything.
Then I found out that I had to come here instead.”

“
Sounds like you were
almost as thrilled as I was.” Her eyebrows rose with a half
smile.

“
Oh yeah,
thrilled
. I
thought
I
had it
bad though; I’m so sorry for you.”

“
She was a surprise; you
know, Charlotte. At first I panicked. Here I was, with over half my
college education still ahead of me and a baby on the way. It
wasn’t the way I’d planned things.

“
Oh, and the father
freaked when I told him. That was it. It was over. He didn’t want
to have anything to do with me—let alone her. I couldn’t believe
it.

“
At first I was so upset;
I felt so alone. And then, as she continued to grow and the due
date got closer, I felt different. And I knew somehow that it all
was going to be okay, that I’d figure something out—a way to raise
her and finish college to create a future for both of
us.”

I smiled. I’d always thought that I
was a strong person. But listening to her, I wondered if I really
was. She seemed to exude a strength I could only hope that others
saw in me.

“
Of course, it helped that
my parents were really supportive. My dad was pretty quiet about it
at first, and I thought maybe he was really disappointed in me. But
my mom, she was concerned, but she was so happy to know that she
had a grandchild on the way. It may have helped that Derek—the
father—was such a jerk. I think mom felt bad for me and that made
her want to help me even more. She said she’d be there to help with
whatever I needed. And she was. And now, she’s out there, taking
care of my little girl.” Her eyes refilled, and I knew that soon
the silent tears would be drifting down her cheeks
again.

I didn’t know what to say except, “I
hate this place.”

She managed a small smile that seemed
to say, ‘thank you.’

“
So how do
they
all seem to be okay
with it?” I asked, looking at the droves of people waiting to be
herded off to the medical bay.

“
I really don’t know,” she
answered, looking around. She pulled out another tissue and wiped a
stray tear. “So, why do
you
hate it so much?”

It was a valid question. Her reason
was obvious, but mine couldn’t be. “Well, what’s not to hate?
Having my rights taken away, being sent back to this hell-hole I
never thought I’d have to step foot in again, being stuck here
until I’m twenty-two? I thought graduating meant I was done with
high school.” I sighed before adding, “Oh yeah, and they
brainwashed my younger brother.”

It was the first time I’d said or even
thought it, but as I did, I knew it was how I really felt. The
Academie took my wonderful, perfect brother and messed with his
head so he didn’t care about anything he used to anymore. He
certainly didn’t seem to care about me.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
I came to visit
him—months ago already, but it wasn’t that long after he’d been
here, and he was a totally different person.” Disgust filled me as
I realized the truth: “He was a jerk.”

“
Wow. So I guess you’re
not excited to see him now then, huh?”

“
No. Well—I don’t know. I
miss him, but I don’t want to see him like that again.” I was
surprised at my own words—not just the revelation they brought me
but because I was opening up so much with someone I’d just met. But
I felt comfortable with Ruby. Somehow, I felt safe telling her
things.

I thought about telling her about
Bryan, but it was too complicated to explain, and something I
certainly didn’t want to share with all of these people around. If
anyone found out, he and his parents could be serious
trouble.

Major Dimpled interrupted over the
loud speaker again. “The line seems to have died down, so you are
welcome to proceed to the medical bay at this time.”

3.
streptencoholitis

As expected, the line for the medical
bay was still long. “So what were you studying in college?” I asked
Ruby as we joined the herd.

“
Biology.”

“
Really? Oh man, I could
have used your help a few months ago.”

She smiled. “What about
you?

“
Oh, I have no idea. I
keep trying things out, but nothing seems right. Maybe I’m too
picky. I’d just like to find something I enjoy.”

“
No, I agree. If we’re
going to be doing it for the rest of our lives, we better like it,
right?”

“
Exactly!” It was like she
was reading my mind. If making friends were always this easy, I’d
have a million of them by now.

The line stepped forward, and we moved
along with it. I suddenly felt this eerie reminder of my last
conversation with my grandma and a show I’d seen once on the
History Channel. There were old black and white films showing lines
of prisoners moving forward to their death in the gas chambers of
concentration camps…

The thought entered my mind, and I
quickly brushed it aside. Certainly what I was experiencing was
nothing like that. I silently apologized to the deceased and their
families.

“
So do you have any idea
where we are supposed to be going next?” I asked, shifting my mind
back to present things.

“
Lunch, I
think.”

“
Great, I’m starving.” I
couldn’t believe it given the amount of food I’d eaten at my “last
meal” breakfast with my parents and little brother, Andy, but my
stomach was now feeling raw and empty.

“
You’re not the only one.
I thought my appetite would die down after Charlotte was born, but
if that’s true, it hasn’t yet. I guess when you are breastfeeding
the appetite continues, but I was only able to breastfeed for the
first three days. They wanted to get her used to the formula right
away, but since I’ve heard that the baby gets most of their
immunities through breast milk, I wanted to help Charlotte out as
much as I could...” She trailed off, but her eyes didn’t tear up as
much this time. I was impressed.

“
So, will your parents
bring her here to visit you soon?”

“
Yeah, my mom said that
she’ll get over here with her as soon as she can get them to
schedule a visit. Visits aren’t easy to get, as I’m sure you found
out with your brother.”

“
Oh yeah, they made it as
hard on me as possible.”

“
Step forward please!” a
nurse ordered. I hadn’t been paying attention and suddenly, we were
next in line.

There were several stations open with
different doctors and nurses. The nurse ushered Ruby and I in
different directions.

“
Good luck,” I said,
stepping forward to meet the nurse frantically waving me
in.

“
You too. How ‘bout we
meet at lunch?”

“
Sounds good.” I took a
deep breath and followed the nurse into an examining
room.

“
Here’s your next victim,”
the nurse said to a bearded man and a woman with bleach blond
hair—both dressed in white coats—as she dropped me off. The
drop-off nurse smiled in a not-so-friendly kind of way as she
left.
Victim. Very funny.

The bearded man and bleach blond both
stood, tapping on tablet PCs they held on their arms like doctor’s
charts. The room was small, supplied with the usual cabinets,
countertop, and sink found in most examining rooms, but unlike
most, it had a door on the wall opposite where I came
in.

“
Where does that go?” I
asked as I entered.

“
That’s none of your
concern,” the bearded man replied without looking up.

“
Well, it’s a little
creepy when you are about to examine me. Is anyone going to come in
through there?”

“
No, you have nothing to
worry about.” He answered automatically, still looking at his
computer rather than at me.

“
Your name, Miss,” The
woman asked, and I understood then that she was the
assistant.
Figures,
I thought.