The Academie (6 page)

zxbfeie: well, you have an entire
folder labeled “college papers”, so that was a pretty good clue. I
pulled out a couple of papers to find your name and get an idea of
what year you might be, and then I contacted you. Honestly, I
didn’t see much. I was too excited that my site got a hit. I only
posted it a day ago, and you were the first to click on it from
here in the U.S.

truth: really?

zxbfeie: yeah, it took me a long time
to figure out how to hack out of here and find a way that I might
get in touch with others without them finding out.

truth: who?

zxbfeie:
them.

truth: them who?

zxbfeie: I’m not supposed to be
contacting you. I’m not supposed to be online.

truth: where are you?

zxbfeie:
there

How the heck was I supposed to know
what he was talking about? It was like he was speaking in code. The
gibberish on his website and in his screen name seemed to fit
him.

Then it hit me. He said he knew stuff
about The Academie that they don’t tell you.

truth: how old are you?

zxbfeie: 17

Then I knew. There was only one place
a U.S. teen under the age of 18 was allowed to be: living at one of
the countless number of Academie facilities scattered throughout
the country.

8.
dean’s bagel shoppe

“
The math placement
exam—like each of the exams you will take today—is
computer-adaptive. This means that the test will adapt based on
your ability. For every correct answer, you will be given a more
difficult one. For each incorrect, you will be given an easier one.
From this the computer will determine your ideal course match,
which you will see at the end of the test. You have two hours and
fifteen minutes to complete the exam, after which time, the test
will auto-submit. In my experience, you will need the entire test
period.”

I sighed audibly.

“
Begin.”

I clicked into the test.
Numbers in an equation were scattered in a format I’d never
seen.
Bryan would know how to do this. Oh
god, I can’t do this right now…

It was a quick step from Bryan hacking
my computer to us becoming best friends. I looked forward to
talking to him every night and found myself devastated on the ones
where night security was so tight he couldn’t get online. But each
night he could, he snuck out of his dorm and down into one of the
classrooms, and from a teacher’s computer, he’d talk to me until
the wee hours of morning. Sure our schoolwork suffered. But I
couldn’t remember a happier time.

“
You have one hour left!”
the exam monitor called.

Spending my time in sleepy daydreams,
I hadn’t answered a single question. I began randomly selecting
answers. I thought I must be doing well because eventually I
started seeing equations I recognized. The last couple included
simple multiple choice.

Whew!
I thought, watching the screen as the results processed. I
must have done better than I thought.

Your placement is: Basic
Math.

What? There must be some
mistake.

I raised my hand. The test monitor
shook her head and placed a finger across her lips.

When the period ended, I rushed to her
desk. “This can’t be right. It says I’m in Basic Math.”

“
I assure you, it is
correct. The placement software is excellent. It doesn’t make
mistakes. If you’ve been place there, I’m sure it’s for a
reason.”

“
But—”

“—
if you don’t like it,
then prove by your class performance that you are ready for a
higher level, and you will be advanced accordingly.

I sighed and walked away.

I’d no sooner left the room, when I
remembered that my second exam was in the same location. I wandered
back in and plunked myself back into my seat. The tiredness was
really setting in now. As students piled into the room, I stared at
the computer monitor. It was impossible to look at without thinking
of Bryan.

It was about three months after we
started talking online that he’d first suggested it:

zxbfeie: come visit me.

truth: what?

zxbfeie: come meet me

truth: what are you talking
about?

zxbfeie: I’ve been thinking about it.
I think I could find my way out—to get out—at least for a while.
And maybe we could meet?

truth: are you sure? What if you got
caught?

zxbfeie: don’t worry about
it.

truth: when? Where?

zxbfeie: soon. Could you come out this
way? I know it’s about a two hour drive for you—I’d come to you if
I could, but, well, you know.

truth: I would, but I don’t have a
car. And I just can’t take a bus—too creepy.

zxbfeie: right, no, that could be
dangerous, not to mention costly.

Okay, get a grip
Alathea.

truth: yes, I mean, I’ll have to think
about it—the visit, that is. I’m not sure it’s a good
idea.

zxbfeie: because I could be a serial
killer?

truth: no, I mean, I don’t want you to
get in trouble.

Okay, a small part of me was thinking
of all the stories I’d heard about online guys turning out to be
scary guys. It was hard to believe, but there was a chance he
wasn’t who he said he was. After all, I had never seen
him…

zxbfeie: look, I’d just like to see
you. It’d be so nice to be able to talk to you in person, and it’d
be really nice to get away from here for a little while. But it’s
not worth the risk…unless you’re there.

truth: I just don’t know. I want to
meet you, but…

zxbfeie: I was thinking of a public
place. Does that help? There’s a bagel shop just down the street
from here. I could meet you there.

truth: wait, how are you going to do
that?

zxbfeie: That’s the interesting part.
I noticed it recently. I went outside for the first time in—I don’t
know how long, and I walked all the way around the building. And I
couldn’t believe what I found. There weren’t the prison fences I
thought I remembered. There’s a thick hedge and a brick wall, but I
should be able to get over those no problem. I didn’t even see
anyone patrolling the day I was out there, so if everyday’s like
that, I should have no problem.

truth: Are you sure? What about the
guard shack at the entranceway?

zxbfeie: guard shack?

truth: my brother’s facility has
prison fences and a guard shack.

zxbfeie: I didn’t see any of that.
Like I said, it didn’t look difficult to leave. I’m thinking maybe
they are banking on the fact that none of us will go outside. Which
isn’t a bad bet, because most don’t. Until recently, I didn’t
either. In our daily schedule, there’s really no time
to.

zxbfeie: so will you visit
me?

truth: if I can find a way there,
yes

“
The English Placement
Exam is in the same format as your last exam,” the test monitor
announced. “The exam will auto-submit at eleven forty-five. You may
begin.”

I thought this exam would be easier
than the last. I thought wrong. Usually I was good at English—but
that’s when we actually got to write. This was multiple choice,
asking me to identify parts of sentences, comma placements, and
define words I never knew existed.

What is the definition of
malarkey?

I chuckled to myself. It was a word
I’d heard Bryan use before. I’d teased him about it.

zxbfeie: what do you expect? My
parents are professors.

It was true; they certainly weren’t
the typical American family. I remember it was something I’d looked
forward to talking about when we met the first time.

After we’d agreed to meet, it was all
I could think about. When the day came, I got up early and rode the
two hours with Mandy, a girl who lived down the hall from me who
went to Columbus—near Dublin, where Bryan was—often to visit her
mom who wasn’t in good health. We found Dean’s Bagel Shoppe easily
with my phone’s GPS, and I sat there nervously, for hours, waiting,
hoping he’d appear.

He never did.

9.
the room to nowhere

I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw
the exam monitor standing over me. She pointed at the screen.
Apparently, I had been staring at it, blankly, for some time
now.

I clicked “B” for “foolish talk” to
describe malarkey and moved on.

By the time the exam finished, I was
having trouble keeping my eyes open. It was no surprise when I got
my results: Basic English.

I sighed loudly, logged off my
computer, and pulled out the schedule Sergeant Garrett had passed
out this morning.

12:00 Lunch.

Thank goodness.

I stumbled to the cafeteria and found
my way to the food line, searching desperately for
coffee.

“
Can I help you, young
lady?” A woman in a paper hat looked at me strangely.

“
Yeah, can I get some
coffee?” My voice was becoming gravely from the lack of
sleep.

“
Very funny.”

“
What?”

“
There’s no coffee here,
honey.”

“
Are you kidding?” My eyes
felt only half open.

“
Do I look like someone
who kids?” Her face was worn—not just wrinkled, but tired with age.
Her skin sat unnaturally on her skull—puffy under the eyes and much
too baggy around the sides. Little hairs stuck out here and there
from her cheeks and upper lip. I had no idea what her real hair
color may have once been, but I was fairly certain that it was not
the unnatural tone of red that I saw before me. Bright pink
lipstick colored her thin, worn lips, and a shimmery green colored
her eyelids.

“
No,” I answered. “But
you’re telling me I’m not going to have another cup of coffee ‘till
I leave here?”

“
That’s right.”

“
God, this place
is
hell.”

“
Welcome to my world,” she
said, moving me along.

I soon found that it wasn’t just
coffee I’d be missing out on in the years to come. All caffeinated
beverages had been removed.

I hovered around the lunch line, not
knowing what to do. I was too tired to make any decision. The one
thing I had known was that I needed coffee to reboot my brain.
Without it, I had nothing. I have no idea how long I stood there
before I felt a tap on my back.

“
Hey, are you all right?”
It was Ruby.

“
Yeah…I think…I’m
fine.”

“
I wasn’t sure because,
well, you’ve been standing here looking lost for most of the lunch
period now. Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“
They don’t have
coffee.”

“
Oh, I know. Trust me, I
know. I went my whole pregnancy without it only to find out now
that I am out of luck.”

My eyes were starting to roll
unconsciously.

“
Are you sure you’re
okay?”

“
I didn’t sleep last
night.”

“
Oh god, you must be
dying.”

I tried to nod, but my head was too
heavy. I needed sleep. I needed it now.

“
Come on, why don’t you
sit down for a few minutes? You should get some food too; it will
help.”

I floundered, not knowing which
direction to go. Sit or get food?

My confusion must have been evident.
“You sit. I’ll get you stuff.”

I sat at an empty table, and Ruby
joined me a few moments later with a tray loaded with a sandwich,
fruit juice, and an apple.

“
The fruit should help.
The natural sugars aren’t quite as strong as the artificial ones
most of us are used to, but I found during my pregnancy that it did
help to give me a boost when I needed it.”

I sipped the juice and began to
examine the sandwich. I really wish I wasn’t such a picky eater.
She had been so sweet to get me food.

“
It’s turkey. It’s all
they had left. I didn’t know what you’d like on it, so I left it
plain.”

“
Thanks.”
Whew, no mustard.

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.