“But this is okay?” He held his hand out to wave at the space we were in. “Flying?”
“I…” Could I say I loved it? The thrill of soaring way up here, this feeling of lofty possibilities that being airborne caused? “It’s exciting.”
My attempt of a smile must have convinced him with my statement. He nodded then and reached into his briefcase bag at his side. “There are many things we’ll need to learn about you in order to best guide you in your education at Olde Earth.”
Warning bells pinged in my head and the panic I’d just overcome trickled back in.
Learn about me? No, thank you. Years of trying to open up and explain myself to therapists and doctors solidified one fact in my life. It was better—always—to keep to myself. Less chance to be judged.
“Your preferences, fears, goals.” Mr. Suthering flipped his free hand as he fiddled with the first of two tablets. “Not to mention your habits and needs. Dietary requirements, sizes for uniforms, health background.”
No. I tensed at the summary of this probing into my life. Health? Surely that had to include my mental wellbeing. As much as I could force myself into thinking I could pull off normal, I felt far less confident in describing it. Regret at accepting this invitation to the Academy rushed in. It would have been safer to stay home, be bored and untried in Coltin. Dad was right. This was too…much. Too different.
“Sabine, if you’ll begin with the questionnaires, I’ll take Layla over there to begin her uniform evaluation.”
We both swiveled in our leather seats to follow to where he pointed over our shoulders. Behind us, a white panel, like a photographer’s backdrop, was fixed to a wall. In front of it stood a camera on a tripod and on the black carpet, an X was marked with silver duct tape, likely where we needed to stand.
“Why can’t I do the photoshoot first?” Sabine asked, smoothing out her tank top and then fussing with the part in her golden hair.
Jeez. He’s not asking you to model. My God. He probably needed a pic for a school ID or something.
“The order doesn’t matter.” He stood and held out a tablet to each of us. “We have a few hours before landing.”
“Go ahead.” I took the device and settled back into the cushy seat that didn’t even squeak. For as new and firm as the leather seemed, I thought it’d sound like a squeaky whoopee cushion every time we moved. Such luxury was an anomaly in my life. The furniture in the trailer was too worn to ever make breaking-in noises.
I tuned out Sabine and Mr. Suthering as they headed to the camera area. The screen explained the answering procedure for the questionnaire. Self-explanatory, really. Have to answer every question. Multiple choices, true or false, and short answers. Yeah, yeah.
I made quick work of the first few screens, confirming who I was. At Mr. Suthering’s continued instructions to Sabine, I glanced back.
Instead of standing with her arms to the sides like a scarecrow, as he’d directed her three times now, she stood with one hip jutted out, her hand propped on it like a sassy brat, and a flirty smile on her tilted face.
Good luck, dude. Sabine didn’t know how to stand in front of a camera and not strike a pose or a thousand. The queen of selfies? She spent way too much time looking at herself to lose her default instincts.
What kind of food I liked. Music I enjoyed. My shoe size. The flavor of mouthwash I used. They wanted to know it all. While it sought a variety and wealth of information about me, none of it felt intrusive. More like they were collecting details that would help them cater to me while I lived at the Academy. Which…well, I could appreciate that. I could assume I would at least be comfortable in this new home I’d have.
Health.
I inhaled deeply at the heading of the next section. For the most part, I could skim right on through it and select answers easily and automatically. No, no allergies. Nope, no known chronic illnesses. No, artificially implanted devices. These were the easy ones. I was a healthy kid. No, no, no…
Yet, when I reached the psychological subheading, I saw no reason to stick to honesty. My hallucinations were—until today—in the past. Nothing good would come from telling them that I’d been treated for a garden smorgasbord of mental disorders, terms teams of doctors wouldn’t ever even agree on.
Olde Earth Academy didn’t need to know that I thought I saw odd things in life. They were getting the current me. The me who could hide it all and keep it a secret. They were extending an invitation to a smart kid who wanted to be a vet one day. An animal lover who hated being stuck in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. They were getting the Layla Holden who would study and excel at their fancy institution. I was saving them a headache. Nobody needed to be bothered with my past issues.
Denial, Layla. You’re just in denial.
I lowered the tablet and lost my focus on Mr. Suthering’s empty seat across from me. What was there to gain by telling them the truth? Nothing. I couldn’t see a single reason to be truthful, as much as the idea of lying burned at the back of my throat.
If I told the truth and fully revealed my background, would they discriminate against me, like everyone else always had? Would they stick me in some special wing at their school, a branch of special ed to further distinguish me as a freak? Worse, could they retract their invite? Kick me out before I even started?
With a shake of my head, I resolved to carry on as I had been for years. It was simply easier and better to keep it to myself. Olde Earth didn’t need to know about my hallucinations. No one did.
And I best keep it that way. One more swipe and tap of my finger and I concluded the health section of questions with a final no. No, there were no other details to include. According to the questionnaire, I was just another ordinary almost-fifteen-year-old heading to school.
“Layla?”
I looked up at Mr. Suthering next to my chair, leaving the never-ending questions aside. Sabine had taken her seat, her lips pouty. Aw. Had to be hard for her to simply stand for pictures without any opportunity of showing the world how pretty and awesome she was.
“Ready?” he asked.
Not really. Unlike my twin, I hated the camera. Always had. Something about the pressure of knowing someone was looking at me instantly spiked my anxiety. And anxious me meant red me. No matter who was snapping the picture, and regardless of the reason for the capturing moment, I froze and blushed in front of any lens. I bet my driver’s license picture would be horrendous.
Still, I trooped back to the white wall and placed my feet on the X on the carpet.
“Just a few shots to measure you,” he assured as I stood there.
“Measure?”
He fiddled with something on the camera. “Yes. We upload these to our design software, which will measure your body for uniform fitting.”
Okay? Creepy. Was it…like Superman vision or something? I fought the urge to cross my arms. I hadn’t “blossomed” like Sabine. I didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of some app accessing me for a bra size.
My face flamed, and I cracked my knuckles to keep from crossing my arms.
“Olde Earth has a standard uniform of blouses, vests, and skirts. Slacks, if you wish.” Mr. Suthering continued explaining, still messing with the device instead of looking at me freaking out.
“Personal items and school-approved casual wear will be available at your dormitory store.”
Oh, thank God. No embarrassing app deciding what my cup size was, then.
“Then this is like a cyber tailor?”
He glanced up. “Pretty much. Just makes it easier for us.”
Technology had a way of doing that.
For the next few minutes, he directed me to pose. Arms up. Stand up straight. Then profiles. It seemed like it had taken at least four times as long for Sabine to suffer through the process, but it was over before I knew it. And he hadn’t even remarked on how nervous and red I had to look in his screen.
Whatever. One more painful exercise over.
I took my se
at again and resumed filling out the questionnaire. Sabine must have been going through the same portion I was because she said, “So, these dorms…”
Mr. Suthering had taken his seat again, his face lowered to his own tablet as well. “Yes?”
“Am I stuck with her?” Sabine jerked a thumb toward me. “Since we’re sisters and stuff?”
Thanks, brat. I shouldn’t even have to be stuck with you there at all since they only wanted me to come to begin with.
“Not at all. The answers you provide on the questionnaires will dictate which house you will most likely be assigned to.”
How…Harry Potterish. “I’m a proud Ravenclaw!”
He smiled at me. Sabine stared at me like I’d spoken a foreign language.
I sighed. So much for jokes… “How many dorms are there?” I asked. There was no way Sabine and I would answer these questions identically.
“We have four houses and numerous dorms. Upperclassmen reside on top floors, and the ground floors are where you’ll be. Blue, Green, Gold, and Gray are the houses.”
Do you prefer a top bunk or a bottom bunk?
I glanced up at that question. “How many classmates share a room?”
“Two per room.”
Sabine gasped. “Do we get our own bathrooms?”
“Shared.”
I grimaced at Mr. Suthering since he wasn’t facing us at the moment. “Communal?” Showering in a room with lots of girls? I wasn’t sure about that.
“Shared per two.”
Whew. That was better. In fact, it was no different than what I had at home. Maybe this place would have a bathroom slightly larger than the closet-spaced one we had in our trailer. I had to be optimistic. If Olde Earth could afford a private plane, I was sure they didn’t skimp on bathroom amenities.
And if Sabine was assigned to a different house, I could have a fresh start of cohabiting with a new roomie. I couldn’t wait. Anyone had to be better than her.
Chapter Six
Sabine passed out before I did. Flying at night lulled us to sleep, and no wonder after the exciting evening we’d had. I at least finished the questionnaire before I conked out.
I vaguely recalled Mr. Suthering rousing us to wake up after we landed. He certainly didn’t carry us off the plane. We groggily woke up and trailed to a parked SUV, darkness still shrouding wherever we’d landed. Another runway. Same as the other and nothing exciting to wake me up. Once we were buckled into our seats, we fell back asleep.
When I woke, daylight was just peeking over the horizon. I blinked sleep away and sat up. Blurring past us was a forested landscape. Green trees, mostly coniferous towers of pines and spruces, lined our route. Pretty and isolated. I saw no buildings in the distance, no utility lines parallel to the road we sped along.
I yawned and eyed my companions. Sabine still slept, and Mr. Suthering tapped on his screen.
Was he going over our questionnaires? Learning about us? Watching him concentrate, I wondered how much he’d be with us after our arrival. We’d been told we’d have a female headmistress and female dorm supervisors in our houses—obviously. I mean, Dad was laidback in a sloppy way, but I doubted he’d be so easily trusting of co-ed dorms.
“Good morning.”
I smiled and replied the same. “Where are we?”
“In an eastern portion of British Columbia.”
I blinked wider a couple of times. Canada. Huh. I was out of the country. Another first. Well, I’d wanted a new start, hadn’t I? Imagine that, an actual answer and location. It wasn’t like they could blindfold us the whole way there.
“We’ll arrive at the Academy in about fifteen minutes. In the meantime, help yourself to anything you’d like for a breakfast snack. You’ll be able to lunch in our cafeteria after your first tour of the campus.”
I nodded and rooted through the protein bars, yogurts, and fruit cups in the cooler along the side of the limo space. With the noise I made choosing my food, Sabine woke up. She quickly lost her usual morning scowl when she realized we weren’t at home and that Mr. Suthering was in the car with us.
Munching on a granola bar, I thought about his words. First tour. Was the Academy so huge that we’d need multiple trips throughout the property? And where were the other locations? I hadn’t forgotten that he’d referred to our destination as the head institution. I let my hopes get a little higher at the prospect of not only passing and being able to remain at the Academy, but that I’d also get to travel to other sites as well. There was so much I didn’t know about where we were heading, but I couldn’t ignore the overwhelming opportunities awaiting me.
She’s kinda scared of adventures. Sabine didn’t know what she was talking about. I could have bounced in my seat as the minutes passed. I wasn’t frightened of coming to Olde Earth. Couldn’t wait. I was certain I’d fall in love with the place. The people, probably not, but the school, yes.
The first glimpses of the school came when I neatly folded and tied the wrapper to my granola bar. I set it aside in the empty cup holder next to the one holding my water bottle. Nothing could distract me from eyeing this new place. Leaning toward the window, I was careful not to press my nose against the glass. I didn’t want Mr. Suthering to see my oily impression on this immaculately clean car.
Trees were scattered in sporadic clusters. Gone was the winding length of old evergreens. Spaces of the sky poked in, breaking in with hints of open landscape. Rolling, lush verdant grass spread for as far as I could see. Even the slight elevations and dips of hills and valleys reminded me of pictures I’d seen of Scotland.
Nature. We were cruising through a raw, natural land with…nothing.
“Where’re all the buildings?” Sabine asked to my left.
“We’ll approach the entrance gate in just a minute,” Mr. Suthering offered.
“Yeah, but still.” Sabine wiggled to get closer to the window. “We’re, like, in the middle of nowhere.”
I laughed once. “Sabine, we came from the middle of nowhere.” Endless, clear blue skies surrounded the perfect landscape.
“Well, yeah. But Coltin was civilized.”
Um, what?
“We had internet. And stores. And…”
Sabine clearly wasn’t at peace and instantly in love with this raw scenery of blue and green as I was.
Suthering spoke up. “We do have the internet, Sabine. And shopping facilities on campus.”
“For school stuff.”
“Correct.”
“Nothing else.”
I rolled my eyes. She was so not going to last. “We’re coming here to learn. Not shop and waste time.”
“We can’t just be learning all the time.”
“There are plenty of diversions for your free time, Sabine.” Mr. Suthering tucked away his tablet and papers into his briefcase. “If you look to the north, you’ll see the first corner of the perimeter.”
Sabine turned toward me as I shifted to see out her window. “The other north,” I said. She sneered at me and faced her window again.
Tall black fencing began and lined the grassy meadows. While ornamental scrollwork adorned the top void spaces between the spiked spires, this was no frilly delineation for show. Barbed wire was all that was missing from the pointy protrusions at the tips.
Are they more concerned about keeping trespassers out, or keeping everyone inside?
I smoothed the frown from my face and reminded myself to try optimism again. Of course, they were going to be big on security. By the looks of the NDA and their rigid stance on confidentiality, Olde Earth obviously prioritized safety and privacy.
“So, what’s that building?” Sabine pointed to the first large gray structure. More like a castle. My jaw dropped and I edged closer to the window.
Dad had shown us pictures of the Biltmore in North Carolina once. Olde Earth was like the big brother to that sprawling estate.
Ancient gray stone walled the tall building. Turrets jabbed out at corresponding corners, and wide
-paned windows broke up the expanse of bricks. At least six stories high, it was almost so large it was overwhelming. With other shorter but equally decorative and formidable buildings surrounding it in a symmetrical semi-circle, it simply seemed like the master of the estate. The leader of the campus.
“That is the Academy’s Main Hall, where most of your classrooms and lecture halls will be. Laboratories and studio spaces are located in the rear buildings.”
“Whoa.” I let the whisper slip out and scooted even closer.
“Back off,” Sabine whined. Her elbow shoved at my ribs and I squirreled nearer.
I wanted to see, too. “You’re blocking my view.”
“Look out your own window.”
“It’s the other way.”
Mr. Suthering raised his voice, likely not wanting us to bicker, as he said, “To the left of Main Hall is where you’ll find the cafeteria, libraries, and stores. To the right, you’ll find the gymnasium, medical center, and instructor residences.”
Like witnesses to a volleyball match, we darted our gaze back and forth, taking in the exterior of the enormous buildings that held what the headmaster described. As the structures grew larger and larger as we approached, my awe and excitement anted up to impossibly high hopes. We were simply looking at the outer walls of these towering facilities, but if they were this humongous on the outside, it only hinted at the depths of what could be found inside.
“So, where are the dorms?” Sabine asked.
I followed the wrought-iron frames to the windows, dipping and curling around the spirals and twists of ancient designs. We could have been traveling back in time for as undisturbed and grandiose as the buildings appeared to be. Like young maidens arriving at a lordly estate, a gigantic house with butlers and servants waiting in each room. Spacious rooms, perhaps with mural-painted ceilings.
All right, so I wasn’t expecting the Sistine Chapel or anything, but the wow factor had me speechless.
“Dormitories are behind Main Hall. We’ll enter at the front gatehouse and circle back toward them.” Mr. Suthering clasped his briefcase shut and pulled it to rest across his lap.
Secrecy: Olde Earth Academy: Year One Page 5
