The Academie by Amy Joy

fuzzy about the whole thing.
    The rest of the day went on without
incident, and in the evening I met Stevie and Shara back in the
dorm.
    “ We’re going to meditate
here?” I asked.
    “ What did you
expect?”
    “ I don’t know…a dark
room…candles… incense…relaxing music?
    “ This isn’t a massage
treatment,” Shara answered. “It’s meditation,”
    Stevie looked at me and
shrugged.
    “ Yeah, but how are we
supposed to relax with all these distractions?” I asked, looking at
the dozens of girls bustling around the room.
    “ This place is perfect. If
you can learn to shut out all this, you’ll be on your way to
enlightenment in no time.”
    I shook my head. “Okay…What do we
do?”
    “ Fold your blanket into a
square and lay it on the floor. She demonstrated with her own and
Stevie and I followed her lead. “Then we sit
cross-legged.”
    “ Aren’t we supposed to sit
all yoga style?” Stevie asked, trying to pull her feet up on top of
her knees.
    “ Don’t hurt yourself,”
Shara said, shaking her head but smiling. “Cross-legged is
fine.”
    Stevie laughed as her yoga efforts
failed and she fell over. She giggled and sat up again. “Okay. I’m
ready. What do we do next?”
    “ Find your center,” Shara
said. Stevie and I looked at one another. “Center yourselves.” We
glanced at each other again. “Focus here,” Shara said, pointing at
her stomach. “Then close your eyes and lay your hands palms up, on
your knees.”
    “ Now focus on clearing
your mind.” Shara’s voice was soft and gentle. “Each time a thought
enters your mind, imagine it washing away down a peaceful
stream.”
    No sooner had we begun and
a river was coursing through my brain. I tried to drive the
thoughts away, but they just kept coming. First I thought about my
immediate surroundings—the other girls of the dorm—their voices,
footsteps, the strange looks they were probably giving us, and the
bustling sounds near the bathroom. Then I thought about the
day—people, places, faces, Algebra, the men I heard in my
dream. What did they say? And then, at last, my thoughts settled on
Bryan.
    It was Anna—Bryan’s mom—who had
finally gotten us together. After the Academie Expansion Act was
signed into law, Bryan had asked that I send her a message. What
resulted was an ongoing stream of emails between us, until finally,
I got the message I’d been hoping for.
    Allie,
    We’re getting Bryan home
for a night in August! Now I just need your mom or dad’s phone
number—if you don’t mind—to make sure it’s okay with your
parents.
    We’re looking forward to
meeting you.
    Anna
    I immediately replied with my phone
number and apologized for any trouble she might get from my
parents. How she was going to convince them, I had absolutely no
idea. I worried every day from that point on and judged each of my
parent’s responses to determine whether or not Anna had phoned them
yet. Sure enough, the next day mom interrogated me.
    “ So, I talked with a Mrs.
Allen today,” she said.
    “ Oh, she called
you?”
    “ Yes, she mentioned that
you and her son were close, and she wanted you to come and visit to
celebrate his birthday before school starts.”
    I was surprised to hear her mention
Bryan’s birthday, but I tried not to let my surprise show. “So,
what did you tell her?”
    “ I said it was
fine.”
    I tried not to look excited so she
wouldn’t ask too many questions.
    “ Oh good. Thanks mom. I
know it will mean a lot to them.” Not to
mention me.
    “ It seemed very important
to her.”
    “ Yes, they’ve missed him a
lot since he’s been away at…school,” I said, hedging, “At least
that’s what Bryan’s said.”
    “ So are you guys….should I
be worried?”
    “ No mom. We’re just
friends.” I felt confident in my response. It wasn’t a lie. We hadn’t even met yet.
    “ So, did she happen to
mention when they
want me to visit?”
    “ August
15 th —it’s a Saturday.”
    I sighed