Page 74 of The Academy
Simone feels a tap on her shoulder. It’s Rhode. “You owe me a dance,” he says.
Simone blinks. She probably owes himsomethingfor the fiasco at the Wullys’ cottage, but his smug expression and his bow tie printed with snowmen hit exactly the wrong way.
She lowers her voice. “I don’t owe you a thing.” She nearly adds that he’s a terrible dancer, his shameless pursuit of her is off-putting, and if he wants to get laid, he should go on the apps because he’s fifteen years too old for Simone, but even if he was younger, she wouldn’t date him because he’s smarmy and reeks of desperation.
Rhode opens his mouth to speak, but at that moment, Audre appears out of nowhere and takes his arm. “Mr. Rivera, may I pull you for a quick chat?”
Relieved, Simone turns back to Honey, but she’s involved in some kind of quarrel with Cordelia Spooner.
“Could you be more obvious?” Cordelia hisses.
“Oh, Cord, stop it,” Honey says.
By the time Simone checks the dance floor, East and Charley are gone. Simone spins around. They aren’t at the fondue table, they aren’t sitting at a high-top. Where did they go?
Simone slips out the door without her coat; if anyone asks where she’s going, she’ll say she needs air. Because her dress is long, she wore sneakers, so she runs across campus, hugging herself against the cold. She passes the Sink, the Schoolhouse, and the Paddock remembering how she traveled this same path in pursuit of CharleyHicks the night of First Dance. She was new then, clueless and naïve, but not anymore.
When she reaches the dorms, she descends the outdoor steps, pulls open the door, and shines her light into the cellar. Then it’s down the scary steps to the tunnel. Does she hear anything? No. Did East take Charley somewhere else, maybe to God’s Basement? Simone heads through the tunnel until she’s pretty sure she’s gone too far, but then she sees a faint stripe of light underneath… a door? Simone turns the knob and eases the door open just a crack, enough so that she can see a room with a wood floor and a crystal chandelier.
Beneath the chandelier, East and Charley are kissing.
Simone opens her mouth to speak. This isagainst the rules;they could both be written up for leaving a school event without permission and for being in a place they don’t belong. But Simone is struck by how beautiful the two of them look. The kissing is sexy; every second that Simone doesn’t announce herself, she becomes more of a voyeur. When East kissed Simone, it was never romantic like this. It was, she realizes now,strategic.
The strategy worked: If Simone busts East and Charley, she’ll end up in trouble herself.
Gently, nearly tenderly, she closes the door.
Audre doesn’t want to deal with a school matter during the Kringle. What she wants is to devour the white chocolate macadamia petit fours that Chef has handcrafted. But campus will clear out in the morning, so Audre has no choice but to confront Mr. Rivera in the hallway just outside the Egg.
Audre says, “One of the students brought to my attention that you’re teachingThe Crucible.”
Rhode bobs his head. “I meant to get to it around Halloween, but things took longer than I anticipated.”
“I’m not concerned about the timing,” Audre says. “Though I am curious about the context. The play deals with paranoia and scapegoating.” She pauses. “Which could also describe our campus in the past few weeks.”
He tilts his head. “I’m not sure I follow?”
“This student suggested you might be conducting a high-concept thought experiment. Trying to make a profound statement. I’m aware, Mr. Rivera, that you’re a novelist and therefore quite creative…”
“High-concept thought experiment? Profound statement? What are you talking about, Ms. Robinson?”
“Zip Zap,” Audre says. “Some of the students seem to think you’re behind it.”
“Me?”Rhode says. He looks baffled and almost flattered—then he chuckles, which annoys Audre. Initially, she thought Dub’s theory was preposterous, but the more she considered it, the more she hoped Rhode was the culprit. She would have to fire him, yes, but then the matter would be resolved.
“This student said you require them to keep journals,” Audre says. “Which would make you privy to their innermost thoughts…”
“I encourage them to keep journals for their own edification,” Rhode says. “But I only read what the students want to share. I’m not privy to their secrets, nor would I want to be.”
“So you’re not behind Zip Zap?” Audre says.
“I am not.”
Audre isn’t sure she believes him, but there’s nothing more to be done on the topic tonight.
“Very well,” she says. “I hope you have a safe and joyous holiday.”
“And you,” Rhode says.
