Page 84 of The Academy
Davi stares at Charley in the mirror. She wants to tell her to go to hell. Charley doesn’t need to save Davi. It’s the other way around—Davi’s saving Charley from being the single weirdest person ever to attend Tiffin.
But the thing is, Daviwantsto stop purging. The licorice came back up in lurid red clumps, nearly choking her. Her teeth feel perpetually furry and she’s pretty sure she’s destroying the lining of her esophagus. Maybe the resentment she’s feeling toward Charley right now is just her denial of the obvious: She has to stop.
“Okay,” she says. “I will.”
“You can’t just tell me that and…”
“Charley,” she says. “I promise.”
When Davi and Charley walk into Classic South, everyone is giving Taylor and Olivia H-T their flowers, literally and figuratively. Olivia H-T is still in her stage makeup and her costume.
Charley squeezes Davi’s hand, then retires to her room. Davinavigates the mayhem, grateful that in all the celebration, no one noticed she and Charley were missing.
Miss Bergeron enters with a box of cheeseburgers and fried chicken sandwiches, courtesy of Chef Haz. “Feast in the common room!” she says.
Davi slips into her room and closes the door. She gazes at her pink neon wall sign that readsTHISISWHERETHEMAGICHAPPENSand thinks,I’m such a phony.
She opens her laptop and composes an email to Dr. Pringle, the school psychologist. He and Davi had a series of conversations after Cinnamon died. The last time they spoke, Dr. Pringle patted Davi on the shoulder and said, “You’re a well-wrapped young lady, Davi Banerjee.”
This is one of the best compliments Davi has ever received.Well-wrapped:It spoke to her curated appearance but also acknowledged that her insides were in order, her priorities straight, her vision unclouded.
In the subject line, Davi types:Unwrapped.
Dear Dr. Pringle—
I’d like to schedule an appointment to chat on Monday if possible.
Davi stares at the blinking cursor. Dr. Pringle obviously knows about Cinnamon and also about Davi’s dreadful PSAT score, but he knows nothing about the situation with her parents. Davi shudders as she imagines telling him.
What Davi wants is a referral to someone else, a stranger.
Since the start of the school year, I’ve had trouble keeping food down. I wouldn’t say I have a full-blown eating disorder,but I should probably talk to someone before it gets any worse. I’m hoping you can refer me to a specialist? My free period is D or I can make myself available after school.
Thank you.
Davi Banerjee
Just as Davi hits send, the door to her room flies open and Olivia H-T steps in. Davi blinks: Normally, girls on the floor knock before they come into Davi’s room in case she’s filming a TikTok. Being the star of the musical has given Olivia H-T somemoxie(“force of character, nerve”). Her eyes are flashing, her cheeks blaze bright pink—or maybe that’s just her makeup.
“Hey,” Davi says. She quickly checks the screen: message sent. Then she pauses. Did Charley tell Olivia H-T?
“You left the show,” Olivia H-T says. “Right in the middle of my song.”
So much for leaving undetected,Davi thinks. “I know, sorry. I had to go to the bathroom, then it was so close to the end, I didn’t think it was worth disrupting to come back in.”
Olivia H-T glares at her. “You’ll come back tomorrow night?”
Again?Davi thinks. Saturday night the musical opens to the public; all the olds from Haydensboro and Capulet Falls come.
“My cousin Roddick will be there,” Olivia H-T says.
Roddick: the cute singer from last year’s Tiffinpalooza. It’s tempting, sort of.
“Thanks,” Davi says. “But I have to study.”
“Don’t you want to see the end of the show?” Olivia asks.
Davi gives Olivia the most patient of smiles. “I know how it ends. Thanks, Olivia.”
