Page 5 of The Academy
Fran wipes under her eyes. “She hates me.”
Audre isn’t sure how to respond. She’s tempted to normalize it by saying,It’s the ageorShe’s pushing you away to mask her ambivalence about separating from you.But Audre doesn’t have time to delve into the teenage psyche, so she simply smiles as kindly as she can. “Safe trip home,” she says.
Audre hurries around the back of the chapel with a quick peek through the lower-level windows into God’s Basement (surely no one is hooking up down there yet, though now would be the perfect time, while everyone else is occupied), past the Schoolhouse—the cupolaed Georgian brick building where all academic classes are held—and into the Manse, which is home to the admissions office, the administrative offices, and Audre’s residence. Her phone is positively ablaze, but she won’t check it until she’s upstairs in herbeautifully appointed suite of rooms. The original house, once the home of Edward “Teddy” Tiffin, who raised thoroughbreds for the races in Saratoga on these acres, has been (thanks to Big East) completely restored to its original grandeur: crown moldings, ceiling rosettes, chandeliers. A sweeping grand staircase in the front entry leads up to Audre’s personal rooms, including a library where sensitive conversations can take place. Audre goes into the library now, cranks the air-conditioning, and settles on the Victorian fainting couch. Edward Tiffin’s grandfather clock ticks away the seconds in a manner that Audre has always found comforting. The bay window in this room affords the best view of Jewel Pond, a deep, clear kettle pond that reflects the sky like a mirror. The pond has a crescent of golden sand beach, trucked in from Cape Cod. Audre had bemoaned the installation of a sandy beach as a prime example of Big East’s impractical showboating, though she has to admit, the beach at Jewel Pond is now the most popular stop on the campus tour, and it’s a vast improvement over the muddy grass bank that used to serve as the “beach.”
Audre takes a deep breath. She loves this school and adores her job. This is frightening for her to admit since she might be only moments away from being fired.
There’s no doubt in her mind that the rankings are out.
With great trepidation, she touches the screen of her phone. If they’ve fallen out of the top twenty-five—or, god forbid, the top fifty (this isn’t possible, is it?)—Audre will devote all her time and energy to rebuilding, just like a sports franchise that finds itself in last place in its division. As long as Big East gives her the chance.
There are three missed calls from him.Oof,she thinks. A call is bad.Three calls,unheard-of.
There are three texts from Big East as well.
Call me.
CALL ME PLEASE.
I’m standing by, Audre.
Audre should go check the rankings on the computer in her office, but she’s too anxious to move. Her hands are shaking, her gut is twisting.
She types “America Today” in the search bar. There’s no need to navigate the site because a banner announces:New Rankings—Best Boarding Schools.
Here goes,Audre thinks, and she clicks the link.
For a second, she doesn’t understand what she’s seeing. What…isthis? She scrolls to the bottom of the screen, scrolls back up. All the other schools are more or less where they’re supposed to be.
Just not Tiffin.
Audre’s phone rings. Big East.
“Hello?” she says. “Jesse?”
“Audre,” he says.
A little before noon, Audre stands at the altar of the chapel, her favorite building on campus. The chapel was built in 1911 when Edward Tiffin’s daughter, Mary Tiffin Sinclair, inherited the horse farm and decided to found a coed Episcopalian boarding school. The chapel is Perpendicular Gothic Revival, most notable from the outside for its soaring tower. Inside, it’s one long barrel vault with a slightly raised altar and magnificent stained glass windows. The student pews are carved from dark walnut and face each other over the tiled center aisle. The kneelers were needlepointed by a crew of devoted student mothers. Most feature equestrian subjects—horses, jockeys, saddles, riding rings—rather than religious ones. A visiting minister once famously quipped, “Why not just add a racetrack, an odds board, and a bookie office while you’re at it?” But their chaplain, Laura Rae Splaine, is the kind of pastor who believes god is everywhere and with everyone, even the bookies.
All-School Meeting is one of many time-honored traditions at Tiffin. It’s part ceremonial (Laura Rae begins with a prayer and ends with a blessing), part administrative. It’s the green flag at the start of the race, the gun at a track meet, the official start to the school year.
Audre’s hands have stilled, though her insides are queasy. She hasn’t eaten; she spent the time after her phone call with Big East rewriting her speech.
She watches as the students file in, taking seats according to class. The sixth-formers all look smug and a little bored, and Audre can’t blame them. The only thing the sixth-form students care about is getting into college; once they’re admitted to SMU or Trinity, they party their asses off. Annabelle Tuckerman wears a T-shirt that saysNOSLEEPTILPRINCETON, which is in violation of Chapel dress code, but Audre is too distracted to send her back to South to change. Lisa Kim is Head Prefect this year, and she’ll address the students as well—but Audre’s attention remains on the fifth-form students. She sees Dub enter with his teammates, then Davi in a cloud of Madisons and Olivias.
Audre worries that no one has told Charley Hicks about All-School Meeting. Did Simone Bergeron mention it? Did she shepherd all the girls out of Classic South? By the time Audre finally spies the green polo and khaki skirt, the fifth-form class pews have filled up, so Charley has to sit in the back, where folding chairs are lined up in rows facing the altar. This seating is very undesirable: It’s overflow, for latecomers—and Charley is all alone.
Oh no,Audre thinks.This won’t do.Audre searches for Cordelia Spooner—she’s seasoned enough to step in and remedy this—but then Audre sees Andrew Eastman lope in. Shockingly, he’s removed his baseball jersey and put on a collared shirt. Is he turning over a new leaf, then? Will he be following the rules this year? He scans the fifth-form pews and, despite a bunch of people waving him over, insisting they’ll squeeze him in, he takes the seat next to Charley.
Audre watches him introduce himself. The two shake hands, and East whispers something in Charley’s ear that makes her smile.
Audre can’t believe it, but in that moment, she’s grateful Andrew Eastman exists.
Laura Rae rises to deliver the opening prayer—Audre barely hears it, though she does automatically say “Amen”—and then it’s her turn to take the podium.
“Welcome to a new school year, Tiffin students,” she says. She pauses just long enough to watch everyone’s eyes glaze over. Whispering begins; a few phones appear (forbidden at Chapel: Appendix A ofThe Bridle), and Cordelia Spooner requisitions one. The kids don’t care what Audre has to say; they’re waiting her out.
Audre’s eyes land on Charley Hicks, the only student who seems to be listening attentively.
