Have you ever heard the phrase “terrible twos?” It basically means at the age of 2 children figure out how to act out. It's in our nature to want to do things we are not supposed to. If you think about it most of history is just random people doing things they weren't supposed too.
My mother was a very busy person. In the small town we lived in she thought of herself as a queen. Which means she had no time for me. She had a maid take me to school, help me with homework, basically be my mum. Then when I was around 5 I got into a fight at school. Instead of being a good mother she decided she didn't want me to ruin her “reputation,” so she put me on a plane by myself at age five. I had an escort, but they didn't talk to me the entire time. I didn't know where i was going at the time i thought i was going on vacation. As the car pulled up to the brick rusted looking mansion an old woman stood outside waiting for me. She wasn't like one of those happy old ladies that baked cookies. She had a plain outfit on, and held a long ruler. I knew what the ruler was for, because the maid used to hit my hands with it anytime I made a mistake. I was already scared at this point. The escort threw my bags out from the trunk and drove off. I bent down and picked up the clothes that had fallen out, when the elder woman approached me. “On your feet.” She said with a firm voice, I got up quickly and dusted my knees. “Follow me.” She said and walked to the front door. I wondered if I should grab my bags but I was too afraid to ask.
Everyday I waited for my mum to come back and apologise for sending me to hell. But she never did…
It's now 15 years later and I'm still here. It's hard to explain what it's like here, it's kind of like a prison, except you don't get to leave. Most of the girls here have never seen the outside world. I still kind of remember what it's like out in a city. The loud cars, the crowded markets, the smell of the coffee factory etc… I never did get my suitcase, rumour is Madam Marie keeps a room full of our stuff but we haven't found the room. In the Dellbrick Academy there is over 100 rooms and 20 confusing/plain hallways.
Every hallway looks the same, red carpet, old boring wallpaper and an oil lantern on a table. It's old fashioned here, none of us have phones, TVs, and some of the rooms don't even have lights. We all wear the same uniform every day we have a day outfit and a night outfit, and at the end of the day you wash it or you have nothing to wear the next day.
Once a month we get to go to the beach that's an hour away. But of course it's an unknown beach so it's just our academy there, sometimes the boy academy joins us down there but not all the time.
Other than that every day is the same.
The bell rings at 5am we get dressed, meet in the dining hall, eat breakfast then go to school. The school is one giant room in the basement with hundreds of desks and the teacher uses a microphone to teach.
At 1pm we have lunch then chores. I like doing chores because I get to pet the horses and other animals we have in the backyard. At 3pm we were all sent to our rooms to study for the next day. At 5pm we make then eat dinner, then by 7pm lights out. Sounds fun right?
I got lucky because my roommate Andie is the best roommate I could ask for. She's 16 like me but she's only been here for 5 years. She has long brown hair and she's a little bit on the overweight side. But she's really smart and sometimes does my homework for me, she never gets in trouble and she has my back.
“Do you know what Crystal said to me?” She said with an attitude walking into the room, “She said i look like Fammy, the pig from out back! I told her that she can take her opinions and shove it up her behind.” “No you didn't” “Your right i didn't, but i thought it.” She said flopping onto her bed. “How was your day?” “The usual.” I said continuing to draw, “If you keep drawing the outside world Madam Marie is going to suspend you.” She said, looking at what I was doing.
Getting suspended means you have to sit in this tiny room with nothing but brick walls surrounding you until your suspension is over. I've been in the suspension room for a week one time, you really start to go crazy the longer you stay in there. The longest anyones ever been suspended was 19 days. Her name was Ellen and she had problems controlling her anger sometimes. Until one day she threw her bowl across the dining hall attempting to hit Madam Marie. After her suspension was over none of us saw her again, we saw her through a window being forced into a cab, but no one knows what really happened.
We like to create conspiracies here when we have nothing else to do. Like that Madam Marie hides our belongings, some of the girls here think Madam Marie is a ghost.
“Are you excited for tomorrow?” “Tomorrow?” I said confused, “The lake trip.” “Oh, sure.” “What's wrong? normally you would have came up with a way to escape or swim across the lake. Some silly plans.”
“Don't you want to get out of here Andie? Have an actual life?” “But Madam Marie said-” “Who cares what she says? Don't you want to eat in a restaurant, travel the world, fall in love, you know normal things?” “Your not planning on anything stuipid are you?” “Nevermind.”
Sometimes I feel like the girls here are brainwashed. Nobody wants to leave, break the rules or even think of a life after here. Maybe Madame Marie's mind games just dont work on me.
I put on my night uniform and went to bed.
The next morning we put on our bathing suits, which were long shorts and a shirt because we weren't allowed to show skin around the boy academy. We all had to make our own sandwiches and put them in a cooler. At Dellbrick Academy there are probably like 85 girls here so it was chaotic. We had to take 3 buses, and we weren't allowed to talk the entire hour there. Andie and I brought a notebook to talk with sense we weren't allowed to talk out loud.
Our driver stopped the bus when we got there and read us the rules that I could recite word for word because I've heard it so many times.
“No leaving the designated area.
All swimwear should be kept on at all times.
There is no touching, or any other interaction with the boy academy.
Pick up all towels and trash before entering back into the bus.
If you're not in the bus by the time the alarm is rung, you will have 6 days in suspension.”
Blah blah blah… Usually when we get off the bus all the boys and girls mix together and there's nothing they can do to stop it because there's over 200 of us.
We got out of the bus, I put my towel down and sat in the shallow end of the water. “So what's your plan of escape this time?” Aiden said sitting next to me. Aiden has been at his academy almost as long as I have. Every time we meet at the beach we brainstorm different ways of escape.
“I dont have one.” I said playing with the seashells “You don't have one? Don't even tell me Madame Marie has finally brainwashed you.” “She wishes, I just don't have time for fantasies right now.” “Well do you at least have time for a swimming race?” He said standing up reaching his hand at me. “Hell yeah” I said excited. We stood there waiting for people to clear out the way, then we swam to the big rock as fast as we could. I got to the rock first and sat on it waiting for him to catch up. Out of breath he laid on the rock, “Out of shape i see?” I said sarcastically “No im not.” “Mhmm” “Shut up.” He said jokingly.
From what I could tell the boy academy was pretty much the same as the girls, but they had an option for weight lifting, which I thought was sexist.
“What if i came up with an escape plan?” He said as we laid on the giant rock. “In all my 11 years of knowing you, you have never had a single good idea.” I said jokingly. “Yes I have” “Like what?” “That one time when umm, i did the umm-” “Exactly.” “What difference would it make if i at least tried?” He had a good point, “Alright fine.” “Yay!” He said jumping into the water.
For the rest of the hour left we just ate our sandwiches and tried to find a big seashell. The first warning sound went off so everyone rushed to the buses, then we drove back to the academy. I went back to my room and Andie came in after me, “It was so hot out today i might have a sunburn.” She said looking in the bathroom mirror. I put the biggest sea shell we found on the desk. “Your going to get suspended if she finds out you have that.” “You better keep your mouth shut then.” I said putting it under my mattress. “So what's going on with you and Aiden hmm?” She said turning the shower on, “What do you mean?” I said getting my change of clothes out of the dresser, “I don't know you guys seem closer than usual.” “Shut up, go take your shower.” “I'm just stating facts.” She said closing the bathroom door. I rolled my eyes and continued to look for my clothes. “Deven.” A voice said from the hallway, I stood up immediately and turned around. Madame Marie was standing there. I was scared that she had found my drawings of the outside world, or other secret things that i had hidden. “Yes Madame Marie?” I said almost shaking.
“You have forgotten your washing, again, this is the 3rd time this week. Is there more important things you have in mind other than your duties here Ms. Deven.” She said, raising her voice, “No ma'am, i will go get them right away.” “Hands darling.”
She seemed mad so i knew the 3 slaps from the stick she was holding was going to hurt like hell. I put my hands on the end of the bed and she swung at them 3 times. She hated the fact that I wouldn't show pain anytime she hit me with the stick, so she hit me harder than the other girls. It hurt when she hit me, but I didn't want her to know that.
She left after the 3rd slap and I rubbed my hands, I went down to the laundry room and got my laundry out.
When I got back to the room I ignored all of Andies questions and went straight into the shower. Sense everyone was showering today there was only cold water left.
I wished this wasn't real, that maybe this was just a really bad dream. But every time I opened my eyes it was all the same. I used to pretend I still lived with my mum, when she dressed me in fancy dresses and people would flash photos of us. I remember only 2 or 3 memories about the outside world, but the ones I had I held onto tightly. At least I had memories, some of the girls here came here as babies so they know nothing…
The next morning i heard construction happening outside, i looked out my window and some of the older boys from the academy were fixing out horse stables. Girls weren't allowed to fix anything because that isn't “lady like.” While looking out the window I saw a figure that looked like Aiden but i wasn't quite sure. I got dressed and made some excuse so i could go out there. One of the other ladies that watches us handed me a tray of waters to take out. I took them out and looked around for Aiden. I went behind the stables and someone tapped my shoulder it scared me at first. “Don't lose this.” He said passing me an envelope then started to walk away. “What is it?!” I yelled but he just waved. I stuffed it into the pocket of my blazer, i gathered all the glasses and acted normal.
I did my schooling for the day and quickly did my chores. As soon as I was done with chores I ran upstairs and shut the room door behind me. I took out the envelope and opened it, it said;
“Dear Deven,
Yesterday Sir Alexander told me i was to leave the academy and go live with some strangers in Manchester. I don't want to go… I won't go. I don't really have a plan because this is all sudden, meet me by the old tree by 10pm. Pack light. Love Aiden.”
I stared at the letter wondering what to do when the door opened, i quickly shoved the envelope under the blanket. “It's just me.” Andie said closing the door behind her, “what are you hiding now?” I passed her the envelope and waited for her to read it. She looked at me, “You should come.” I said looking at her sad eyes, “I cant survive the outside world, you know that.” “But you could learn, come on pack a bag-” “I can't Deven… I know you have all these hopes of a future beyond Dellbrick Academy, but this is all i got.” I put down the backpack, “You're really not gonna come? Once I leave we probably won't see eachother again.” “I know.” She said with her lip shaking. She hugged me tight, “you be safe out there.”
She helped me pack, and started crying a couple times because she cried over everything. We had to turn the light off when it was 8pm or else we would get into trouble.
She fell asleep before i left so i didn't get to say goodbye one last time…
The room was on the second floor so it was interesting to climb out of the window, but i found a way. I walked down to the old tree that was about a mile down the road. It was dark outside so i brought multiple flashlights. I heard the wolves howling but I couldn't see them. I finally got to the tree and Aiden was there, “hey there stranger” he said jokingly. “You sure you wanna do this?” “Hell yeah.”
We didn't know how long we were walking or even where we were walking too, which was slightly terrifying.
“Why is it so hot out here?” I took my blazer off and the cardigan underneath so then i was just wearing the baggy dress shirt. “You know what's crazy? This is the first time i haven't worn my uniform.” He untied his tie and took the cover jacket off and threw them onto the ground as well. “It's a new life!” He yelled, i smiled as we continued walking.
“So what are we going to do when we do find a city? We don't have any money, and we don't know anyone.” “I don't know, I didn't think that far.” “Don't you think now would be the time to start thinking about that?” I said sarcastically.
We walked in the dark for hours and there was no sign of anything. Eventually the dirt road became a black paved road which gave us hope. We followed the road until we saw lights off in the distance. By this point all we wanted to do was collapse onto the floor and sleep. So that's what we did, we found a Hair Salon that had a wide door frame. So we sat in the doorway and I put my head on his lap as he leaned against the door, and we both fell asleep.
We weren't asleep long before a woman's voice said, “Excuse me? Hello?” She gently shook my foot and i woke up. When i was startled it woke Aiden up. “Hi this is my salon.” She said confused, “Oh sorry.” I said getting up and patting Aiden repeatedly because he wasn't fully awake. “Are you guys alone?” She said looking around, “Umm yeah we didn't really have the time to find a place to stay so we kinda fell asleep here.” I said tired. Aiden was finally awake and stood up.
“Can i call your parents?” “We don't have parents.” he said sarcastically, I slapped his chest to tell him to shut up. “If you guys need to sort things out you could come into the salon. I might have food or something in the back?”
“If it's no trouble.” We moved out her way so she could unlock the door and we followed her inside. It wasn't a fancy salon, it was only for hair. “I'll go see if i have something in the back.” I smiled as she went through the door. “She's trying to help us stop being rude.” “i'm not” “yes you are” “no im-”
She came back in the room with 2 muffins, “This is all i have for now.” “Thank You so much for all your help.” Aiden said, “Where are you from?” she asked, “That's a long story-” “I got an hour before the salon opens.” We both shrugged and began telling her about the academys. By the time we finished she looked horrified. “We should help those kids, that's just, that's horrible.” “Well we can't just mix them into the normal world.”
“Will talk more later. I have to set up.” She said setting up her salon. Throughout the day we helped sweep up and vacuum hair after each client. Life was different out here, all the people were different ages and all looked uniquely different. One person even brought a dog into the salon, before that day Aiden and I have never seen a dog in person. It was also nice to see different types of clothing, my entire life I had only seen sweaters and blazers. Never pink, ruffled, sparkled, or any other type of outfit you could think of. Around 6pm she finally closed the salon. We all sat at a restaurant called Dennys. I tried some new food I had never tried before and so did Aiden.
We decided that we would tell the police and hope that they'll survive in the outside world, because anywhere is better than there.
We went to the police station and they followed the car we were in as we guided them to the Academys. One set of police went to the boys academy and one set went to the girls. I watched from inside the car as they opened the door and went inside. The radio from the car said “There's no one inside.” I figured it must be a mistake so I got out of the car and went up to the door. The police yelled at me to get back to the car but I continued to go anyway. It was dark… There was no one washing dishes, no one vacuuming the rug or taking showers, no one. I went to the basement thinking they might for some reason be in class but no one. I went up to my old bedroom and swung open the door. Not only was Andie gone but all of her stuff too. In fact all evidence that anyone had been here in the past decade was gone. The police were just as confused as I was. I heard them whispering that I was on some sort of drug. I heard a radio from the hallway say “Yeah there's nothing here either.”
It seemed impossible. For almost 200 kids to vanish in a day, and take everything with them. I thought for a second then ran out to the stables. But the horses weren't there, so I looked with a flashlight to see if there were any animal droppings to indicate that they did exist. But again there was nothing. The officer started to get concerned because I was running around trying to find evidence. He told me to sit outside on the porch swing. Aiden ran up to me “They're all gone.” we both said at the same time. “Maybe they're some secret organization-” “This isn't conspiracy time Aiden, this is serious.”
He sat down on the swing and held my hand, “I dont know whats going to happen next, but it'll be okay.” A woman police officer came over and asked for our birth parents names. Aiden couldn't remember his, “Amelia Straps.” “Wait, your mum is the award winning actress Amelia Straps?” She said confused, “I think so?” I said I'm not even sure of what I know anymore. She typed into the computer and there was no record of Amelia having any children except the 2 she has now. They told us to sit in the back of the police car as they took our fingerprints.
They left us in the back of the car alone but we heard everything from the radio in the front.
“Those two teenagers that came into the station earlier… They both went missing years ago.” “I thought she said her mother put her on a plane to the academy?” “I don't know what to tell you, detective, I just took their fingerprints. The names they gave us match the record but the stories don't.”
We both sat there in silence listening to the conversation continue, “Aiden...” “Yeah?” “When they said you were going to live with another family… Does that mean they were going to kill you?” He looked at me, “Holy shit...”

Comment your conspiracies about the Academies.



© Miele Ann