The Academie (25 page)

“
So what was that all
about?” Tina asked at dinner.

“
What?”

“
Your name being called in
fourth period.”

“
You heard that?” She
wasn’t in my biology class.

“
Yeah,” she answered
matter-of-factly.

“
You guys?” I asked the
rest of the group.

“
Yup,” Robert
answered.

The others nodded.

I shook my head.

“
What is it?” Ruby
asked.

“
I don’t know. It started
yesterday. I started hearing his voice.”

“
Who?” Stevie
asked.

“
Bryan.”

Cayden shifted
uncomfortably.

They all knew about him. Robert had
guessed it early on, and little by little, I told each of them the
story—well, most of it anyway. Some knew more than others. Cayden
didn’t want to know much.

“
Allie, that’s not
possible,” Ruby said.

“
I know.” I shook my head.
“I know….”

Nothing more was said about it, and
that evening I searched the Acadenet for information on group
delusions and mass hallucinations. After all, everyone The Academie
had been separated from reality for a prolonged period of time. Who
knew what could happen under these conditions?

I didn’t find much, but since the
Acadenet was a limited system, I wasn’t surprised. I closed the
program and saved my work for later.

Before I could shut it down, strange
things began to happen to my computer. First, my curser began to
move on its own. As hard as I tried to manipulate it, who—or
what—ever was out there messing with it, had control.

I watched as it moved
across my screen.
What is it
doing?

It opened my word
processor.
Would it go through my files?
Is this how the Academie keeps tabs on what we are up
to?

Then it began to type.

Allie? Is it you?

What the hell?

Who is this?
I wrote back.

Allie?

What do you want?

Allie. It’s me.

My heart began to
race.
Could it be?

Bryan?

Yes

How do I know it’s really
him?
What’s my screen name?

Truth

Why did I choose it?

Alathea means truth

Oh thank god. Bryan, how
are you? Where
are you?

Canada.

Emotion began to overwhelm
me.
He was free
.

Allie, I miss you so much.

I miss you too….I can’t tell you how
much.

There’s so little time and so much I
need to tell you. I have been trying for so long. I tried to get to
you directly, so many times, to tell you, but I couldn’t get a
response. Then I tried to show you.

Bryan, slow down. You aren’t making
any sense.

They kept shutting me down and I’d
have to find other paths. It wasn’t easy, but I had to tell you.
You have to know the truth.

What do you mean you tried to get to
me directly? Is that how we heard you?

You heard me? Wait—who’s
we?

Everyone

Damn! no wonder

How long have you been in
Canada?

Allie, I’m sorry, but there’s no time
for that. They’re going to shut me down again, I’m sure of it. But
you need to know the truth first. I figured it out.

what? what did you figure
out?

none of it’s

Pheeeuuw!
The computer screamed as the monitor flashed and
went black.

“
What was that?” Tina
asked, hurrying over.

I stood up and started to
scramble about the computer, looking for any type of connection
that could indicate that I had internet access. “I don’t
know….
How in the hell?”
I started mumbling to myself.
“There’s nothing here…”

I gave up and sat back
down.
Did that just happen?

I sat in silence as Tina looked
on.

Finally, I pulled my hands
to my head and looked to the ceiling. “This place is starting to
mess with me. I
really
think I’m losing it.”

Tina didn’t disagree.

That night I dreamt of
Bryan. I couldn’t see him. Everything was fuzzy. What was clear was
his voice, calling to me again and again.
Allie…I need to talk to you! I figured it out…

“
What’s wrong with you?”
Robert asked as I sat down at breakfast.

“
Hey, give her a break,”
Cayden defended. “She’s obviously having a rough day.”

“
Are you okay?” Ruby
asked.

“
I don’t know.” I stared
blankly and shook my head.

“
What happened?” Stevie
asked.

I sat there, uncertain how—or if— I
should say anything.

Robert set down his fork. “Come on.
Out with it.”

“
I talked to
Bryan.”

“
You what?”
It was a unison response, but Cayden was by far
the loudest.

“
I talked to
Bryan.”

Robert responded just as I expected.
“Girl, now you really have lost it.”

“
I know. I mean, I
couldn’t have, right?”

A long silence followed. No one seemed
to know what to say.

“
But I did,” I
repeated.

Ruby was the first to speak.
“How?”

“
Last night. On the
computer.”

“
Oh, that’s what was going
on before it blew up,” Tina said.

“
Your computer blew up?”
Ruby asked.

“
Well, the monitor went
out suddenly. But I tried it this morning, and it was
fine.”

“
What did Bryan say?”
Stevie asked.

“
He said he’s in Canada.
And that he’s been trying to contact me directly, which might
explain how everyone heard him.”

“
So he’s squelched your
concern for him and made you feel as though you are not insane
after all?” Robert asked.
“Sounds like
delusions or a type of psychosis to me,”
I
heard him whisper to Cayden as he leaned over to speak in his
ear.
“Could be schizophrenia.”

“
I know what you’re
thinking and saying Robert. And I agree with you. But what if I’m
not crazy? Don’t forget:
everyone
heard him.”

“
What makes you think it
was him?” Robert asked. “I just heard some guy. He didn’t say it
was Bryan. As far as I know, it was someone in the main office
trying to get a hold of you.”

The group was quiet again.

“
You’re right,” I said,
getting up.

“
Where are you going?”
Ruby asked as I picked up my tray.

“
I need some time alone to
clear my head.” I picked up my tray and looked over at Cayden.
“Please don’t follow me.”

He looked hurt, as I knew he
would.

But I knew where I was headed, and I
couldn’t risk being followed.

36.
the fine line of sanity

I found the gap in the fence again
easily. I turned my head, slipped through, and headed for the
coffee shop. It wasn’t much, but it was a place to
think.

“
Welcome to Common
Grounds. Can I help you?” The chipper lady with the bright red
lipstick was back behind the counter again.

“
Just water,
please.”

“
Sure.” She grabbed a cup
and headed for the faucet.

“
Thanks,” I said as she
handed me the cup.

“
No problem. Let me know
if you need anything else.”

I headed for the window where I'd sat
before.

Then I noticed them: the same old
woman and caregiver that were here the last time.

“
The pills help your
confusion,” the caregiver was saying.

“
No! They steal my
memories! ...Today I feel alive again…”

Do they go through this
every day?

I tuned them out as the
old woman continued. I needed to focus on my own situation. I
turned and looked out the window.
Maybe
I’m losing my mind…

“
Do you know where they
found him, Nancy? The candy store!”

The old woman’s story
broke through my thoughts. I looked over at them.
That caregiver is sweet to act like she never
heard this before.

“
I don’t want
it!”

The sound of a child screaming on the
other side of me caught my attention.

“
Johnny, you
have
to eat it!
This
is what we have.
We’re not made of money….
We can’t even pay
the rent
.”

It was the same family
from before.
Do all these people come here
and replay the same thing every day?

The dad went to the counter for a
box.

“
We’ll take it home. Come
on, drink your juice.”

The child’s crying slowed as he picked
up the cup and slid the straw into his mouth. Silent tears ran down
his face. He looked at me and then back at his father.

In the back, someone dropped a tray of
dishes.

I grabbed my cup of water, chucked it
into the trashcan, and hurried out the door.

The sun and humidity struck me as I
stepped outside. It was an oppressive kind of heat that drew up
memories of running through sprinklers.

I don’t remember it being
this warm when I went in there.

Something’s going on.
Could I really be losing my mind?
I
considered the possibility as I headed back to the
school.

Halfway back, I realized that nothing
looked familiar.

I’d been through the neighborhood
three times now and thought I knew the way, but everything looked
different somehow.

I could feel little
droplets of sweat forming on my face.
Where am I?
The area looked
familiar—but not right.

I continued
walking.
The sooner I find my way out of
this, the better
.

Then something caught my eye that sent
chills running through me. I stopped and stared. In front of me
stood a white Cape Cod I had definitely seen before. The gold
numbers by door read “1423.”

Could it be?

My eyes flicked to the mailbox and
found the placard hanging down: “The Allens”.

Bryan’s
house
.

But it wasn’t possible. I knew it
wasn’t.

I panicked and took off running. If I
ran fast enough, perhaps I run could outrun the madness that seemed
to be overtaking me.

As I ran, the world around
me became an abstract blur. The plants withered in the oppressive
heat, reminding me of something I knew I had seen before but now
needed to push from my mind.
Bryan’s
painting. It’s not. None of it is real.

I looked up to see a sturdy brick and
metal structure: The Academie.

I shoved myself through the fence and
collapsed to ground.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I
rocked back and forth as the tears poured out from what felt like
an endless pit of hurt and rage.

My head hurt so bad, I thought I might
explode. I cried harder, hoping to cry out the pain. The world was
blurry, and I sat there, sobbing, choking, gasping for
breath.

Then I heard him.

“
Allie?”

The voice was different this
time.

“
Allie?”

I knew this voice too.

I didn’t want to look up.

I tried to ignore him.

“
Allie, are you
alright?”

“
What are you doing here,
Matt?”

“
I knew you’d be here.
They told me to keep an eye on you, remember? They told me where
you might be.”

I wiped the tears from my face and
tried to muster some semblance of dignity. My eyes still wanted to
cry. “So you’re spying on me?”

“
Allie, look, I’m
sorry.”

“
Yeah.”

“
No, I
really
am.”

“
This is another tactic,
right? Befriend her in order to engage her trust—”