The Academie Read Online Free

throughout the
room.
    Well, at least we’ll have
our privacy…
    “ I’m Sergeant Garret,” a
tall woman with a square build announced in a husky voice. Though
the room was large and students were bustling about, Garret didn’t
need a microphone to bring the crowd to attention.
    “ I will be your dorm
sergeant for the duration of your stay here at The Academie. There
will be no reassignments, so I suggest that you decide right now
that you’re not going to cause trouble. Part of your education here
is to learn how to live in community with others.”
    It was the first sensible thing I’d
heard said about the program.
    “ As you are probably
noticing, life inside The Academie is not like what you have been
used to thus far. You’ll find this goes for dorm life as well. You
are NOT permitted in the dorm at any time except in the morning
before breakfast and in the evening, after dinner.”
    She suddenly turned and addressed a
couple of girls who were whispering. “When are you allowed in the
dorm?”
    The girls shrugged. “When we are not
in classes?” one answered.
    “ WRONG! PAY ATTENTION! You
are not permitted in the dorm at any time except before breakfast
and after dinner. Remember this! The consequences for disobedience
will be SEVERE!”
    Way to make us feel at
home…
    “ Each morning, a wake-up
bell will go off twice—first at 6:00 a.m. and again at 6:30. After
that, if you aren’t up, I will get you
up .” She paused to stare us down. “No
members of the opposite sex are ever allowed in here for any
reason, and in fact, no members of the same sex that don’t belong
in this dorm are permitted here either.”
    She looked at the girls who had been
talking earlier. “Got that?”
    “ Yes,” they answered in
unison.
    “ The lights are on a
timer,” she said, looking above us. They will go off at 11 p.m. and
back on at 6 a.m.”
    Less than eight hours of
sleep. Don’t they know how bad that is for your health?
    “ Ear plugs and an eye mask
will be provided to anyone who wishes to sleep before the lights go
out. Any questions?”
    No one moved. “Good, then if you
haven’t already, you need to claim a living station. You’ll find
your personal items lined up on the far wall. If you find anything
missing, it’s been confiscated.”
    Someone gasped.
    “ You should have read the
rules. Anything not on the permissible list now belongs to The
Academie.”
    There goes my cell
phone….
    Apparently, some had already picked
beds and living station partners ahead of time. I have no idea how
they chose who’d be in which dorm, but I hardly recognized anyone.
By the time I’d retrieved my small bag from home, I had trouble
even finding an open living station.
    Too bad Ruby’s not in my
dorm…. Instead, a frizzy, dark-haired girl
with matching skin tones stood by the last remaining bunk. She
looked at me skeptically as I walked toward it.
    “ Hi. I guess this is where
I’ll be,” I said, gesturing to the top bunk.
    “ Guess so,” she said,
seeming as thrilled about it as I was.
    I threw my bag onto my bunk. “Where’d
she say the bedding is?”
    The girl pointed to the wall opposite
where our personal items had been.
    After retrieving my bed roll, I
climbed the ladder built into the end of the bunk and unrolled the
pack. The blanket was a thin, navy blue flannel piece, and I knew
immediately I was going to spend every night freezing. I climbed
back down the ladder and went to find Sergeant Garret. She was
standing by the door, monitoring our progress.
    “ Can I get an extra
blanket? I freeze at night and usually have a lot more than
this.”
    Not surprisingly, she looked annoyed.
“We have limited supplies. Try it out tonight and if it’s a
problem, come back and talk with me.”
    I sighed and walked away. I already
knew I was going to freeze. What was the point?
    Making the bed proved a chore. If I
were taller, I suppose I could have done it from the ground.
Instead, I had to keep getting up