Page 98 of The Academy
“Fair enough,” East says, pressing his thigh against hers. “But to your point, yes, I’m relieved. With Zip Zap gone, we can open Priorities.” He steals a crouton from Charley’s Caesar salad. “Next weekend.”
Next weekend,Charley thinks, and she pushes her plate away. She knew East was getting close. He had the granite counters installed over spring break, and the furnishings are apparently sitting in some storage unit in Haydensboro. He hasn’t invited her down since break because he wants her to be surprised. This is fine; Miss Bergeron has been double-checking Charley’s whereabouts in the evenings anyway.
East plans to have his “source” deliver the furnishings while everyone is in Chapel. His source must be Mr. James. Charley has asked but East won’t confirm or deny. The less she knows, the better.
She fears she knows too much as it is. Next weekend, she and East may be the ones packing their bags. But there’s no turning back now.
Later, when Charley is lying on her bed, readingColeman Hill,there’s a knock at her door. Internally, she groans: She wants to keep reading, she has only thirty pages left, and the only person who ever knocks is Miss Bergeron.
But when Charley opens the door, she finds Davi.
“Hey,” Davi says.
Charley would be lying if she said she hasn’t been imagining this moment. In Charley’s fantasies, she shuts the door in Davi’s face.
But in real life, Charley parrots back a “hey.” Then she waits.
“Can we talk?” Davi asks.
Over Davi’s shoulder, Charley sees Olivia H-T loitering in the hallway. Madison J. and Willow Levy have just returned from theirlacrosse game and they’re regaling whoever is sitting in the common room with how badly they suck. They lost to Northmeadow 12–1.
Charley doesn’t speak, but she opens her door wider so Davi can enter, then closes the door behind her, but not before catching Olivia H-T’s eye and flipping her off.
Davi fingers a leaf of the parlor palm. “I’ve missed your plants.”
Charley doesn’t respond.
Davi takes a breath. “I’m sorry I thought you betrayed my confidence,” she says. “You were the only person who knew about me, and I didn’t have another explanation. Now I realize those little turds read my email to Dr. Pringle.”
“I told you that,” Charley says. “But you wouldn’t listen.”
“It’s just… the timing?” Davi exhales. “I think I needed someone to blame.”
“You iced me out for”—Charley pauses as if she doesn’t know the exact amount of time—“nearly a month, Davi.”
“Please forgive me,” Davi says. “I’ve missed you.”
Charley has spent twenty-seven middle-of-the-nights preparing for this. “Friendship isn’t something you turn on and off like a faucet,” she says. “You can’tpauseit like one of your TikTok videos and then expect it to start back up at the press of a button.”
“I know,” Davi says.
“You gave me no credit,” Charley says. “You were judge and jury, you declared me guilty, you turned everyone on the floor against me.” Charley waves a hand. “I don’t give a shit about anyone else. Olivia is a sycophantic twat.”
Davi’s eyebrows knit and Charley reads her mind: She wants to look upsycophanticin case it appears on the SAT.
“I care about you,” Charley says. “Or I did. Because what I learned about you, Davi, is that you are way more than your persona on social media. You haveedges,which you try to hide, but that’s myfavorite part of you. You let me see past the hair mask and lip gloss to your humanity.”
Davi now has tears running down her face; this has also taken place in Charley’s fantasies.
“But after the way you dropped me, then ridiculed me—I know that was your comment on Zip Zap—I reconsidered my opinion of you.” Charley gives a sad laugh. “It was so predictable, what you did, making me the scapegoat. When really, I was the only person at this school who has ever told it to you straight.” Charley pauses. “Well, I can’t speak for Cinnamon.”
Davi wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand; her makeup smudges. Although Charley wants to resist, she hands Davi a tissue.
“I was hurting and I wanted you to hurt too,” Davi says. “I should have known you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“I didn’t tell anyone. Not East. Notanyone.”
“I know,” Davi says. “I’m asking for forgiveness. I want to be friends again. I want to hang out.”
