The Academy - First Days (39 page)

Her illness was bad enough as it was. The drugs, however, made her
paranoid. My sister and I spent most of our childhood and early teenage years
at her mercy, keeping us isolated in our rooms. She told us that men would rape
us; monsters would kidnap and kill us. If we disobeyed, if we left the house
and she found out we’d talked to anyone outside the family, she punished us by
getting us to kneel in rice or sit on a stool for hours at a time. If she
didn’t eat, didn’t take her medicine, the punishments got worse.

“Where are you going?” I asked. It was Friday, and not only did I
have school, but I also had something secret to do with the Academy. I’d have
to hope it wouldn’t take all day.

“Mexico,” he said. “I’ll be back soon. Tell your sister.”

Marie, my older sister, was probably still asleep across the hall.
I wondered why he told me and not her. I couldn’t remember the last time he
went on a business trip. I usually didn’t notice until he was already gone. I
hardly saw him anyway, he was always working. It had me wondering why he
mentioned it this time. Maybe he expected to be gone longer.

He marched down the stairs, turned the corner and was gone. A
moment later, the sound of his car starting echoed through the house. His
suitcase must have already been in the car. Telling me he was leaving was like
an afterthought. No goodbyes. No promises to call.

A hollow household with hollow people. We did what we had to do.

The shower that morning was almost too chill for my liking. No
matter how much I twisted the hot water handle, I couldn’t get the heat. It was
perfect timing, since my father had already left. I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
I thought of mention it to the guys later. Kota, North or one of the others
might know.

I got dressed for school in shorts and a blouse. When I was ready,
I went to the kitchen downstairs. I found some crackers in the cabinet and
grabbed a yogurt cup and a spoon, along with a bottle of water. I tiptoed
through the quiet house toward my parents’ bedroom.

My mother was slumped over her pillow, her mouth open and she was
snoring. Her mostly graying hair was pulled back in a ponytail, recently brushed
out and fixed up. If I didn’t know any better, she looked almost normal,
peaceful.

I didn’t want to wake her. I dropped the crackers and everything
onto her bedside table. I hoped it would be enough if she woke up and was
hungry.

Something glinting under the bed caught my eye. I checked my
mother again to make sure she wasn’t going to wake up. I dropped to my knees
next to the bed, ducking my head.

There was an open shoebox on its side under her bed. I recognized
her handwriting on some of the notes that spilled out. The silver metal glint
was a picture frame. The picture was a little faded, and it took a moment for
me to realize it was my mother. She had to have been no more than twenty or so
at the time the picture was taken. Her hair was longer then, and her eyes
clearer, sharper than I’d ever remembered.

It was in that moment that I couldn’t recall ever seeing a picture
of anyone in my family. I didn’t think she owned a camera. Why hadn’t it
occurred to me before? It was a small thing, but something that never crossed
my mind.

This photograph, as far as I knew, was the only one of any of us
in the entire house. She’d kept it hidden.

The sight of this had my heart thundering in my chest. Why was it
under her bed? Did she not like it? She didn’t want anyone knowing she had it.
Did my dad know?

There were other objects in the box as well, needles and old
bottles of prescription medication, some dating back before I was born.

I didn’t want to go through her private things or get caught doing
so. I closed the lid for her, slipping the box back underneath the bed again. I
scrambled to get out of her room.

I would let her keep her secrets. I had my own to deal with.
Adding hers to mine right now was too much. I needed to get to school.

That afternoon, I was flat on my back in a thin, pale green
hospital gown as I waited for the MRI machine to start. The guys had taken me
to this nondescript medical building in downtown Charleston with the promise
that my parents wouldn’t learn about where I was or why. I’d skipped my last
three periods of class to get here, with Mr. Blackbourne covering for me. I
wasn’t sure how late it was. I was worried we were running short on time for me
to get back into my neighborhood, preferably before my mother noticed I was late
from school.

“Just lay still for a second, Miss Sang,” Dr. Green’s voice
filtered through to me in overhead speakers.

It was difficult to be still. The room was cold and the table I
was on rattled with the movement of the MRI machine. I was naked, except for
the thin gown around me. I knew Luke, Gabriel, Victor, Nathan, and Kota were
probably watching from the same room Dr. Green was sitting in.

I shifted my head to the side, trying to glimpse into the glass
window where I knew they were standing, but from my position, and the glare of
the fluorescent lights overhead, I couldn’t see their faces.  

“I said be still, Miss Sang. You can talk if you want, but don’t
move.”

“You might want to listen to him, Miss Sorenson,” said the
disembodied voice of Dr. Philip Roberts. I’d met him briefly before they chased
me into the MRI room. He was from the Academy, I knew, with white hair and
age-spotted cheeks. He was Dr. Green’s mentor and supervisor for Dr. Green’s
internship and residency. I liked him immediately. “If you move, it takes
longer. We might have to start over.”

“It’s cold,” I said, shivering.

Kota’s voice cut through. “Didn’t you wear shorts and that pink
shirt to school today?”

I blinked, and worried if blinking counted as moving. “Yes.”

“Why’d you take those off? They didn’t have any metal. You could
have worn them. It probably would have been a little warmer than the gown.”

My mouth popped open. “Luke!”

There was snickering in the background from both Luke and Gabriel.

“I hate you both right now,” I said.

“Oy, Trouble. You’ve got to have the full hospital experience.”

“Yeah, Sang,” Luke said. “Rite of passage.”

I grumbled. Earlier, it sounded reasonable when they told me I
just
had
to put the gown on. After all, I was in a hospital and about to go into
a very large machine. Medical dramas on television always showed people in the
gowns. I’d never been to the doctor before. How was I supposed to know?

Victor’s sweet baritone voice sounded through the speakers. “Do
you want a blanket?”

“She can’t have one now,” Kota said. “She’s in the middle of the
MRI.”

“We can start it over,” Victor said. “She said she’s cold.”

“She’s tough. She can take it. Can’t you, Sang?”

I sighed. “Maybe.” I knew I could, I just wanted to grumble. It
distracted me from the loud machine and moving parts around me. They were kind
of scary.

“This machine costs an arm and a leg just to push the ‘go’
button,” Dr. Roberts said.

“I’ll pay for it,” Victor said.

“We’re already started,” Kota said. “Let her finish. She’ll be
fine.”

There was a softly spoken protest from Victor but he quieted.

I swallowed back my complaints. I thought of North and Silas, who
were probably getting ready for football practice out in ninety degree weather.
They’d probably love to relax in a cool room right now.

Nathan spoke, “Your ankle doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“No worse than usual,” I said, although his question caused me to
focus on my foot. After Friday Fall and I’d jumped from the second floor to the
first, I’d ended up with what Dr. Green thought at first was a sprained ankle.
It’s been a couple of weeks and I was still limping, despite applying ice packs
and the boys’ berating me to sit down and rest it. I couldn’t hide my pain
walking through school and Dr. Green insisted on bringing me in for an MRI,
since the first X-ray didn’t show a broken bone.

“Give me a few more minutes,” Dr. Roberts said. “We’ll find out
what’s bothering you.”

“It’s probably nothing,” I insisted, like I’d done for weeks. “If
it isn’t broken, there isn’t much else that will fix it besides resting it,
right?”

“Will you let us doctors do the doctoring here, please?” Dr.
Roberts said. “She’s a miss smarty-pants, isn’t she?”

Gabriel chuckled. “If I hadn’t already nicknamed her Trouble, I
probably would have gone with Smart Ass. Or Pretty Ass. I can’t decide.”

“Ugh,” I said, grateful the MRI machine was hiding my blushing.

T
he
A
cademy

Friends vs. Family

Year One

Book Three

Coming soon from

Arcato Publishing

ABOUT C. L. STONE

Certification

• Marvelour of Wonder
  
• Active Participant of Scary Situations
  
• Official Member of F.A.M.E.
  

Experience

Spent
an extraordinary number of years with absolutely no control over the capping of
imagination, fun, and curiosity. Willingly takes part in impossible problems
only to come up with the most ludicrous solution. Due to unfortunate
circumstances, will no longer experience feeling on a small spot on my left
calf.

Skills

Secret Keeper | Occasion Riser |
Barefoot Walker Strange Acceptance | Magic Maker | Restless Reckless |
Gravity Defiant | Fairy Tale Reader | Story Maker-Upper | Amusingly
Baffled | Comprehensive Curiousness | Usually Unbelievable