Diving In (Secret Sisters Book 1)

By M Bleekis

Ariel’s therapist thinks an all-girls boarding school will help the high school freshman banish her crippling anxiety. She immediately befriends suitemates Jess, Jan and Mandy, but the school and its stylishly intimidating headmistress are harboring secrets. On her very first day, Ariel stumbles across one. What no-one at the Lily Academy appreciates is that this secret has links to organized crime and international espionage that will, within a very few days, put Ariel and her suite-mates in mortal danger. In the mean time, her secret sorority initiation ends in disaster, she develops a hopeless crush on Chad, a darkly handsome member of the school’s security staff, and another new friend unwittingly forces Ariel to confront her own personal demons. Will she be overwhelmed? Or, will she rise to these challenges? And what role will Dr. Vivian and her mysterious sisterhood play?

• Language: English
• Publisher: M Bleekis
• Release date: Mar 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370503476

Book preview

Diving In

Sister Sisters Volume 1

By M. Bleekis

Copyright 2017 M. Bleekis

All Rights Reserved

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CONTENTS

Title

Day 1, Saturday

Day 2, Sunday

Day 6, Thursday

Day 8, Saturday AM

Day 8, Saturday PM

Day 9, Sunday

Day 12, Wednesday

Day 15, Saturday

Day 16, Sunday

Day 19, Wednesday

Day 22, Saturday AM

Day 22, Saturday PM

Day 23, Sunday

Epilog, Day 24, Monday

Cast of Characters

ARC Team

About M. Bleekis

Copyright

Day 1, Saturday

Ariel

Beyond her window, the dense, seemingly endless forest rolled by beneath a gray overcast. Somewhere ahead, her new school was set into these very woods. At first, Ariel had amused herself by imagining all the interesting creatures that might also call it home. But as each conjured image came to mind, so did her Mom’s admonitions to be wary; squirrels and raccoons can be rabid, wolves and cougars hunt silently and pounce without warning, bears will maul anything that threatens their young, poisonous snakes blend in with their surroundings and if you step on one, it’ll bite you, don’t go near a deer because someone might be shooting at it. Each mental picture brought with it a slight quickening of her heartbeat. Eventually, with her heart racing and breath ragged, she had squeezed her eyelids closed and forced the game from her mind. Then, after calming down, she allowed them to open enough to cast a brief, sad glance at her Mom in the seat beside her before returning her now unfocused gaze to the passing scenery. Her Mom’s eyes looked sad too.

The school van had met them at the airport. The driver, who introduced himself as Mr. Keenan, superintendent of maintenance and security, quickly loaded her luggage. And even though he’d said they were on a tight schedule, he had made a point of taking her hand, smiling into her eyes and welcoming her to the Lily Academy before bundling her and her parents into the van. Uncharacteristically, Ariel had smiled back, and when she did, he returned a wink. For just a moment as they found their seats, she felt the warmth of a blush on her cheeks.

Mr. Keenan had made a cell phone call as they left the airport and settled into their road trip. Her Dad, sitting in the other front seat, also seemed to like Mr. Keenan, and had struck up a conversation. She half-listened as they talked about the school and his background. He’d spent time in the Navy, he said, and had worked with seals. For some reason, that seemed to reassure her Dad, and it sounded like fun to Ariel. She’d always loved watching the seals at the zoo. She wanted to ask him about that, but she’d been warned about talking to strangers since the age of 3 and couldn’t bring herself to speak up.

It had already been a long, stressful day, the end of a stressful week, and Ariel knew it wasn’t nearly over. That may explain why she dozed for a time, dreaming of home, and her dog Shadow, until she awakened to Mr. Keenan’s words.

Well, we’re almost there folks.

The van slowed and then turned onto a narrow, paved road spanned at the tree-line by a pair of tall iron gates set into stone gatehouses on either side. They stopped before the gate as he pressed a button behind the steering wheel.

We’ll be on our way as soon as I get the gate open. After that it’s only about fifteen more minutes to the school.

Beyond the gate, the road disappeared into the overhanging woods. As they passed through, Alex couldn’t help glancing toward the well hidden video cameras that covered the gate from several angles. The Angeline family didn’t seem to notice. Of course, they weren’t supposed to.

The access road twisted and turned, working its way gradually up the sloping face of a ridge that paralleled the highway they’d just left. After several minutes, when they’d reached its crest, they slowed, and their driver lifted his right hand, pointing forward and to the left, across the valley.

There’s the Lily Academy, Ariel. This is the first place where you can see it from the road.

Involuntarily, Ariel’s eyes widened as she thought, Wow. I’ll be going to school in a castle!

Vivian

The headmistress rose from her desk chair and dropped the student data file she had been reading on the top of her ornate, carved walnut desk. Printed neatly on the file-tab was

ANGELINE, Ariel Louise

She walked pensively to her expansive office window. It overlooked what had once been the manor house courtyard, but was now the visitors’ parking lot. Alex had called her from the van when they left the airport, so they would be rolling through the courtyard gate in about 25 minutes. She smiled to herself. Alex’s driving was as precise and predictable as everything else he did.

Strictly speaking, Ariel was not yet a regular student. Dr. Vivian Edwards still thought of her as an applicant even though the only remaining admission box left to check was today’s family interview. In most cases the interview was a formality, but one on which Vivian insisted because just occasionally, it would expose an issue with the potential to threaten the carefully conceived and controlled environment of the Lily Academy. Such things were always more easily dealt with by avoiding them altogether. However, this did not require the Academy’s incoming students to be perfect little feminine robots. In fact, Vivian reserved a few places in each class for girls with moderate emotional or behavioral issues.

In almost all cases, the girls who filled those spots were referred to Vivian by former colleagues or professional acquaintances. For fifteen years prior to starting the Academy just six years previously, Vivian had been a practicing psychiatrist. And so it was that the bulk of what occupied Ariel’s file was a psychological evaluation written by her therapist, Dr. Victoria Leone. Years ago, Vicki and Vivian had gone through their psychiatric residencies together at Duke University hospital. Though Vicki was one year ahead, they had become friends and even roommates for a time. More importantly, they had developed a mutual trust in each other’s professional judgment and had successfully worked through several thorny cases together.

Ariel’s story, related in the dry prose of Vicki’s professional evaluation, was nonetheless a compelling one. She was an only child, and for the first eleven years of her life, everything appeared normal. Seemingly happy and well-adjusted according to her parents, she had always enjoyed and done well in school, actually better than well. Her standardized aptitude test scores in 3rd, 5th and 7th grade placed her in the 97th percentile, and based on her third grade teacher’s recommendation, she had skipped the fourth grade altogether. Ariel never coasted on her intelligence, she worked hard on her lessons. Her teachers’ evaluations were glowing, and while she didn’t really make close friends, she seemed to get along with her classmates well enough.

She had a healthy interest outside of school as well. From an early age she had enjoyed swimming and had competed with some success in age-group events. But at age nine, she had discovered diving, and it quickly became her athletic passion. Within two years, she was winning age-group diving competitions with regularity and her parents had sought out more professional coaching. In January of her seventh grade year, she began training with Stan Niles, a college junior and a member of the local university’s diving team. Stan, who viewed Ariel as the little sister he’d never had, recognized potential when he saw it. Under his guidance, Ariel began strength and flexibility training in the gym as a complement to work in the pool, where she quickly graduated from the one-meter to the three-meter springboard. In addition, Stan’s girlfriend Nina, a dance major, began including Ariel in her ballet workouts. That summer, Ariel steam-rolled her competition, winning every event she entered by large margins. As a rising eighth grader, she was already regarded by knowledgeable observers as very competitive at the high school level.

But then, in August of last year, she turned twelve and entered the eighth grade. Almost immediately, her Mom noticed that something was wrong. Within weeks, she became listless and withdrawn at home, and at school, her performance deteriorated. Near the end of the summer diving season, Stan had reluctantly told the family he was transferring to a new school and wouldn’t be able to continue coaching Ariel. She hadn’t seemed to mind, saying she needed a break from training after an intense summer. But as the fall wore on, Ariel didn’t resume diving and expressed no interest in finding a new coach. She spent more and more time in her bedroom with the door closed, and on more than one occasion, her Mom had found her curled up into a fetal position on her bed, inexplicably crying. The semester ended with a report card full of B-minuses and Cs, and after a pleasant but subdued holiday, her Mom had seen enough.

Her daughter needed professional help, and in February, after an intense search, she’d brought Ariel to Vicki. For four months they had seen each other weekly, and though there had been some improvement, Ariel’s grades did improve somewhat that second semester, Vicki had been unable to expose the root cause of Ariel’s problem. One night late in June, Vicki had called to ask Vivian for advice. There was an open spot in the incoming first year class, and after a long discussion, Vicki decided to recommend it to the Angelines. Vivian had expedited the admission process, which normally began a year in advance. And now, she thought, as a soft buzzing tone prompted her glance through the window that caught the van pulling into the courtyard, she has arrived. Vivian stepped briefly into the powder room adjoining her office to tidy up any minor appearance flaws before heading downstairs to meet the family.

Ariel

Mr. Keenan had dropped them off beneath the main entrance portico. Ariel’s eyes were immediately drawn to the carved crest adorning the peak of the stone casing into which the arched, nine-foot-tall double doors were set. The ruler, bowl and mirror depicted in the crest seemed an odd collection of symbols to Ariel, but there had been little time to ponder them. A tall, slim woman with loose, dark hair met them at the door with a welcoming smile. Dr. Edwards wore a dark blue skirt-suit made from wool that looked so soft that Ariel was tempted to reach out and touch it. While she was older than Ariel’s Mom, the headmistress had clearly once been just as pretty, and now made up the difference with understated elegance. Like Mr. Keenan, she had gone out of her way to personally welcome Ariel and her parents in a way that seemed sincerely warm and friendly. Yet there was something about her dark, alert eyes…eyes that seemed capable of reading thoughts as readily as faces.

From the reception area, the headmistress had led them up an open, ornately carved wooden staircase that looped back on itself while overlooking an enormous high ceilinged space she identified as the ballroom. At the far end, Ariel noticed four rows of round tables covered in white linen. From the top of the stairs, they moved through a large open room filled with rows of free-standing bookcases to an enclosed central staircase which they used to ascend one more level. They then crossed a wide hallway to the staff conference room where there were more introductions to be made.

As they entered, two women rose from their chairs and smiled. The attractive blond, whose pale blue silk suit complemented her subtly gray-streaked hair and green eyes, was introduced as Dr. Edwards’ younger, but taller sister, Wendy. Her slender companion, on the other hand, was much closer to Ariel’s age and height. Her name was Jessica Gwynne, and she was a third year Academy student. Jessica’s dark auburn hair was softly curled under at the top of her collar in back, and tapered upward on both sides, framing an infectious grin topped with sparkling brown eyes.

After greeting her parents, Wendy had offered Ariel her perfectly manicured hand. It was warm to the touch, and as their eyes locked, she couldn’t help feeling an immediate, if fleeting, connection that was somehow comforting. After they had found places at the conference table, Dr. Edwards, who had remained standing, began.

As you know, this family interview is the last step in our admission process. We’ll, she glanced momentarily at Wendy and then at Jessica, tell you a bit about how the Lily Academy works, and then you’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. As you’ll come to understand, we do things a bit differently here, so our school is not for everyone. We want you, Mr. and Mrs. Angeline, and Ariel as well, to be confident that this is the right place for her. When we’re finished here, assuming that we all share that confidence, there’ll be time for a tour.

A few years ago, I founded the Lily Academy to provide exceptional young women with the kind of rigorous high-school education that will unlock any life-door they subsequently care to push through. Sadly, that kind of experience has become all too rare in today’s public education system and the society it serves. And, unlike public high schools, we live here with our students, so we have to look after their physical and social development as well. In a few moments, Wendy, who is our mathematics and physics instructor, will review our academic curriculum. But before we get into that, I want to touch on a few elements that make the Lily Academy unique.

"First, and perhaps most obvious, is that our student body is all female. There is quite a bit of evidence that a coeducational environment, well, inhibits some girls’ academic progress, particularly in mathematics and physical sciences. This isn’t a problem for our students, though of course, we do recognize the importance of appropriate social contact with their male peers. Smiling, Dr. Edwards shifted her eyes to Jessica, Isn’t that right, Jessica?"

Jessica’s smile broadened into a grin as she briefly glanced at Ariel, Oh, yes Dr. Vivian!

Dr. Edwards turned her smile toward Ariel and her parents, When Wendy is finished, Jessica will tell you about student life from the student’s point of view. But since we have Jessica’s attention, I’ll let her show you another unique aspect of our environment. Jessica, please stand up and model your uniform for us.

Yes, of course, Ma’am. As Jessica pushed back her chair, stood and pirouetted slowly, Ariel studied her more closely. She wore a crisp white long sleeved blouse tucked into a comfy-looking crimson and black plaid A-line skirt whose hem nestled two inches above her knees. White knee socks and red patent, round-toe pumps with chunky 1-inch heels complemented the outfit. Jessica’s only accessory was a rolled scarf of crimson silk tucked beneath her collar and pinned together at her neck. As Jessica turned, Ariel noticed that the corner of her scarf hung below the back of her collar, displaying three narrow, white embroidered stripes at its hem. As Jessica returned to her seat, the headmistress continued, It’s not uncommon for girls of high school age to, uhm, compete in the area of personal appearance and dress. To some extent, this is natural, but we prefer that our students not waste too much valuable time doing it. They’re quite busy enough as it is, which brings me to another point.

As you’re aware, Mr. and Mrs. Angeline, the Lily Academy is not inexpensive, but we do try to minimize costs where we can. Almost everyone on our staff has two jobs. I myself, in addition to my administrative duties, teach biology and chemistry. Wendy’s second job is to act as our school’s attorney, and she has a third, unofficial job as well, surrogate Mom to the student body. Ariel noticed her Mom and Ms. Edwards exchange glances and smiles as the headmistress continued, In that spirit, we require the students to spend a few hours each week doing work we’d otherwise have to pay additional staff to do. This generally involves helping our kitchen, maintenance or medical staffs, and it often turns out that our students find their assignments to be both interesting and educational. They also infuse a sense of responsibility to their peers and the rest of the Lily community.

Accepting responsibility is an important part of the educational environment we work to create here. This is particularly true with respect to our third and fourth year students, which leads me to my last point, our roommate policy. We expect our upper class students to mentor their younger peers. To encourage this, each first year student is paired with a third year roommate, Ariel couldn’t help glancing at Jessica, while each second year student rooms with a fourth year. So yes, she turned her smile toward Ariel, in case you’re wondering, Ariel, if you and your parents decide our school is the place for you, Jessica here, Jessica turned her head slightly, nodded and beamed a grin back at Ariel, will be your roommate. Well, that about does it for my introduction. Let me hand the ball off now to Wendy, who will cover academics.

Then it was the younger Ms. Edwards’ turn to stand and smile at everyone. Thanks Viv. The Lily Academy curriculum has been designed to thoroughly prepare our students for the academic opportunities and challenges to which they will be exposed at the next level. I’m proud to say that our students’ performance on the SAT, ACT and advanced placement exams, data which was provided in Ariel’s pre-registration packet, speaks for itself. I’ll just spend a few minutes reviewing the syllabus before turning the show over to Jessica for a discussion that I’m sure Ariel will find a lot more interesting.

Our school day has five forty-five minute academic periods, and every course is taught every day. Our first and second year students all take the same courses. There are no electives. In the first year, Ariel, you’ll have two semesters each of geometry, American history, biology, English and language arts. Ms. Feria’s language arts course is essentially Latin, but with emphasis on the linguistic roots of modern romance languages. In their second year, our students take two semesters each of algebra, world history, chemistry, English and a continuation of the first year language arts courses. In their two semesters of algebra, we cover all the essential topics normally taught in two years of common high school algebra.

The first two years provide the basis for the third and fourth year curricula, which include both core and elective courses. The third year core courses include two semesters each of physics, English and economics, while in the fourth year, the only required courses are two semesters of English. Eight electives are required during the last two years. Our mathematics electives include semester courses in trigonometry and analytic geometry, which are prerequisites for the two semesters of calculus. In science we offer two-semester advanced placement courses in chemistry and biology. Other academic electives include a semester course entitled government and politics, and two-semester courses in Italian and French. However, you might find it interesting that, while it doesn’t count toward the academic elective requirement, our most popular elective is Ms. Flannigan’s martial arts course. I can tell you that after a couple of semesters with Ms. Flannigan, a girl can definitely take care of herself. Of course, she also teaches fitness and weight training. So that’s our curriculum. Unless you have some questions, I’ll hand this show over to Jessica.

Ariel barely concealed an amused smile when her Mom actually raised her hand before speaking up, Vivian, you all are pretty isolated out here. A couple of questions come to mind. First, how do you handle medical care if someone gets sick or injured?

The headmistress smiled knowingly before answering, An excellent question, Annette, and one I often get from one of our prospective Moms. I’d anticipated covering it during the tour, but let me address it now so you’ll know what to look for. We have a fulltime certified nurse practitioner, Ms. Girard, who staffs our onsite infirmary. She’s quite experienced, including time as the charge nurse in a busy emergency room. I mentioned that pretty much everyone around here has more than one job. Ms. Girard is also our dietician. She works with our kitchen staff to plan our menus. I’m her primary medical backup, and while my professional specialty is psychiatry, I’m still a board certified MD. I can prescribe medication and I haven’t forgotten my basic medical school training. Finally, Ms. Flannigan has training in several homeopathic and alternative medical specialties. The three of us consult on anything out of the ordinary. The infirmary has a small pharmacy stocked with the basics but we’ll make a special run into town if we need something we don’t have. And, if something comes up that we can’t handle, there’s a hospital with an emergency room and an urgent care clinic about 40 miles away. If that something is really urgent, we can have a medivac helicopter here in less than 30 minutes. That number is not speculation, by the way. Mr. Keenan has set up the visitor’s parking lot as an emergency helipad, and we’ve actually practiced bringing the helicopter in and evacuating litter patients. I hope my explanation allays your concerns, Annette, but you said you had two questions?

Thank you, I do feel a lot better about the medical care issue. My other question is a lot more pedestrian. What if one of the girls runs out of, I don’t know, toothpaste or some other toiletry item?

Vivian smiled again, Another common question. Well, the answer has two parts. If a student needs something right away, we do have a small school store that stocks a limited selection of toiletry and hygiene items that can be charged to her student account. However, when a student sees that she is running low on something, she can put that item or items on the school network shopping list. Once or twice a week, our kitchen staff makes a run to town to purchase fresh produce and other groceries. While there, they pick up items that have been put on the shopping list, which are billed to the student’s account when they return. The student is then notified by e-mail to pick up her items at the school store.

Before Annette could acknowledge the headmistress’ answer, Ariel’s father broached his own concern, I have a question as well, Vivian. I gather that your staff is mostly women, very capable women to be sure, no offense intended. But still, how would you protect yourselves and your students against, you know, intruders?

Though Dr. Edwards remained smiling, Ariel noticed her pursed lips and that her eyes got a lot more serious. "Thanks, John, for a very good question that doesn’t get asked a lot. When we conceived our school, Wendy and I recognized that the isolation we wanted for our students came with certain security risks. Alex was our first permanent employee, and when we renovated the building, he designed the security infrastructure from the ground up. I’ll tell you a couple things about Alex. First, he calls himself a special operations sailor. That means the Navy trained him to penetrate all kinds of high security facilities, which he actually did on more than one occasion to do things he won’t talk about. Then after he left the navy, he spent some time with the secret service. He doesn’t talk at all about that assignment."

But the bottom line is, he knows how to put together security systems that work, and we didn’t skimp on his budget. Down in the basement, we have a state-of-the-art security alarm center. He’d tell you that it would be very difficult for an intruder to approach the school from any direction without being detected. And if we do detect one, local law enforcement is poised to respond. Alex has an excellent relationship with the county Sherriff’s office. They practice emergency response on a regular basis. However if necessary, Alex and his two hand-picked assistants, who are always recently retired from Alex’s part of the Navy, can and will respond with deadly force. Alex maintains a small armory and shooting range down in the basement. Don’t worry, it’s very well secured, but Alex and his staff use it regularly to, as they say, maintain proficiency. By the way, Alex also teaches the occasional firearms safety course to those students who are interested and have parental permission.

In addition, our history teacher, Mr. Parrez got his history degree at West Point and spent his Army career in the rangers. If necessary, he can provide additional skilled support to Alex and his men. And of course, finally, there’s our secret weapon. Alex will also tell you that the last thing an intruder would want is to meet Ms. Flannigan in the dark. Ariel couldn’t believe that the headmistress almost giggled. Because it would probably be the last thing he would ever do. But her joking mood passed in an instant. Believe me, John. We’ve thought very carefully about security. As Ariel’s Dad nodded in agreement, Dr. Edwards glanced up at the wall clock. Well I see we’ve let time get away from us just a bit. Let me suggest a modification to our agenda. Why don’t we start the Angelines’ tour now, Wendy. You and Jessica are very capable guides, and Jessica can give her talk on student life along the way. When you finish, bring them by our apartment and we can talk about their decision.

Jessica

Jessica popped to her feet and grinned at Ariel. I think that’s a great idea, Dr. Vivian! Ariel was only slightly startled when Jessica grabbed her hand and led her toward the conference room door. As they disappeared through the door, Jessica whispered, You can call me Jess, by the way. Do you mind if I call you Ari? Before Ariel could answer, she went on, "Good. Now, our first tour stop is our room!" Jess’ mood was infectious. Ariel couldn’t help giggling.

There had been a lot of giggling as Jessica had urged and almost dragged Ariel down the second floor corridor towards her suite. The second-floor common room had registered only a fleeting impression as they rushed through. C’mon Ari, I’ve been waiting all day for this! Jess was in such a hurry that they were through the front door before Ariel could really see how she unlocked it, though she knew Jess hadn’t used a key. "That’s your desk straight ahead, Ari, and this is mine over here in the corner, but if you really, really want mine, I’ll trade. Now you have to see our room! I spent all morning tidying up!"

Jess’s excited monologue didn’t miss a beat as she pulled Ariel into the right-hand bedroom. Flanking the door were two vanities complete with sinks and lighted mirrors. Gesturing to her left toward the window, she continued, That’s your bed by the window so you get this vanity. I made your bed up for you this morning. My vanity and bed are on the other end of the room. Now come see our bathroom. Ariel followed Jess past Ariel’s bed, and through the bathroom door at the end of a short hallway. The spotless, white tiled bathroom included two facing toilet booths to their left and two facing shower enclosures centered about a window to their right. Directly across the bathroom was the door to the other suite bedroom. We share the toilets and showers with Janice and Mandy, who live in the other bedroom, Ari. They’re both nice girls…I can’t wait to introduce you. Now come see our closets! Two floor-to-ceiling armoires were built in against their bedroom wall opposite the bathroom door. Each unit included both full length hanging space and half height hanging space above dresser drawers. Jess skipped over to the armoire next to her bed and opened the doors, exposing the crowded closet space. This is where my hanging things go, Ari, and everything else goes in the drawers. Now this, she said, walking to the other armoire and opening the closet doors, is your closet, and looky what we have here! Hanging in the half-height closet were six white long sleeved blouses and six red and black plaid skirts. Who could these belong to?

Annette

Wendy, chuckling at the girls’ abrupt departure, stood and smiled at the Angelines, Well, we’d better catch up with them, or you’ll miss Jessica’s monologue. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure I know where they’re going.

Wendy led John and Annette out through the same door and turned left past the central staircase, where they stopped in an L-shaped open space furnished with a game table, a large flat panel television, and comfortable-looking couches and chairs.

When we passed the staircase, we entered the dormitory wing. This is the common area for the second floor residence hall. Beyond the common area are ten suites which each accommodate four students. The first floor has an identical layout, so altogether we can house 80 students. Jessica’s suite is on this floor, and I suspect that’s where we’ll find them.

Wendy led the Angelines down the corridor to the fourth door on the left, which was labeled by a simple brass plate etched with the number 204. Mounted on the wall next to the door was a metal plate with a glowing red LED and a black plastic window about one inch square. Wendy fished her school ID from her purse and held it out for John and Annette to inspect. About the same size as a credit card, it bore Wendy’s picture and the School Logo, a stylized lily. Everyone in the school community gets one of these. The ID card is a critical element of our security system. Alex calls it 2-factor authentication. I’ll show you how it works.

Wendy touched the card to the metal plate and the LED changed from red to green for about 10 seconds and then changed back to red. See. The card by itself won’t unlock the door. But if I also let the system read my fingerprint, she touched the card to the plate again, and when the LED turned green, Wendy pressed her right index finger to the glass window. Immediately the door latch released. Only the Suite 204 residents and a very few administrative personnel, I, my sister and Ms. Girard, are authorized for access. They pushed through into a windowless room with doors on either side wall. It was plainly furnished with four desks and their matching chairs, two back-to-back and centered against the far wall and two tucked into the front corners on either side. Each desk was topped by a bookcase with a built-in computer monitor. Wendy explained, This is the suite study room. Each student has a desk equipped with a thin-client work station connected to the school network.

At that moment, Ariel’s voice emerged from behind the slightly open door to their right. Mom! Dad! Come in here, you have to see this! Pushing the door open so Ariel’s parents could enter, Wendy added, This is Jessica’s bedroom and its mirror image is on the opposite side of the suite. Each bedroom is shared by two students. Their first sight as they entered was a grinning Ariel holding up a Lily uniform skirt and blouse to herself. Isn’t it cute Mom? And it’s exactly the right size. Can I try it on? Please?

As a hopeful smile curled her lips, Ariel’s Mom hesitated before answering, "Sweetheart, I suppose that depends. Have you made up your mind? You know our agreement. We don’t want you to stay here, despite Dr. Leone’s advice, unless you think it’s the right place."

Ariel

It happened just that fast. While she continued to clutch the school uniform to herself, Ariel’s thoughts immediately shifted away from the clothes to something she had been mentally avoiding all day…the decision. It was totally true. It was her decision. Or at least, she had veto power. Her Mom had been reassuringly clear. if you don’t like it, Ariel, you don’t have to go there. We just want you to be happy, honey, like before. She knew they wanted that. She also knew she would never be, could never be, like before. Still, Dr. Leone had helped her understand that something needed to change. Despite her parents’ assurances, she knew the past year had been a disappointment. She didn’t like that. But what she really didn’t like was feeling powerless to change. And the worst thing was not being able to explain to the people who obviously cared about her, why she felt that way. She couldn’t explain it because she didn’t understand it herself, even after four months of weekly sessions with Dr. Leone.

Though apprehensive at first, she had actually grown to like those sessions. Each Saturday morning after breakfast, her Mom had dropped her off at Dr. Leone’s home where what had once been a sun-room had been converted into her office. From the beginning, her office always seemed cozily filled with the dappled sunlight that filtered through the overhanging trees and gave life to the numerous potted plants that decorated the space. And the aroma, a subtle blend of plant essence, books and the exotic fragrance of her perfume, was somehow comforting, as was the cushy couch where she sometimes sat and sometimes reclined during their talks.

Over time they had gotten acquainted and Ariel had been able to describe the symptoms; the sweating, the trembling, the racing heartbeat, the queasy stomach, and the fear. Unfocused and paralyzing, the fear robbed Ariel of her capacity for purposeful activity. The only way she had found to make it subside was to squeeze it out by replacing it with…nothing. She’d learned to make her mind blank before falling asleep, and when she awoke, she’d feel better. Of course, whatever she had been trying to do at the time, hadn’t gotten done.

Her Mom had seen it before and recognized the signs immediately. Ariel’s eyes dropped and unconsciously, she began to gnaw her lower lip.

On second thought Ariel, maybe wearing the uniform would help you decide. Go ahead and try it on, dear. Maybe Jessica has some socks you can borrow.

Jess grinned, Oh, yes Ma’am, I do! Pulling a pair of white socks from her top dresser drawer and a shoebox from her closet, she pushed Ariel into the bathroom. More giggling ensued before, minutes later, Ariel emerged, grinning and in uniform. Right behind Ariel, Jess characteristically broke the silence, gushing, Doesn’t she look cute, Ms. Wendy? And look. My shoes fit her just perfectly!

Extending her right foot toward her parents, Ariel added, See, Mom, first and second year girls wear these lacy ankle socks. Jess just graduated to knee socks.

Smiling, Wendy put things back on track. "She does look lovely, Jess. But, now that Ariel is properly attired, we need to resume our tour if we’re to finish before supper."

Ariel

Retracing their steps, Wendy led the group out of the second floor residence hall, past the main staircase and back through the wide corridor flanking the conference room on their right. They passed the headmistress’ office just beyond the conference room and entered a sizeable open space liberally decorated with posters and displays describing the lives and accomplishments of prominent women from the arts, sports, business and politics.

This is our humanities gallery, Ariel. It’s one of the ways we remind our students that women can and do make significant contributions to society. Our job is to give our students some of the tools they need to do just that.

Ariel recognized a few of the names; Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Billie Jean King, and was surprised to see a poster, the very same one that hung from her bedroom wall at home, of one of her heroes, Laura Wilkinson. Others she had never heard of, like Georgia O’Keefe and Carly Fiorina, but she found herself wishing she had time to stay and read about them.

Wendy gestured to the corners of the Gallery. These are our humanities classrooms. Each classroom opens to the gallery and has an attached office where the instructors do their lesson planning and meet individually with students. Donna Feria’s language arts suite and Lara Parrez’ English suite are on the backside of the gallery while James Parrez’ history suite is on the frontside. Jessica, what should Ariel know about our humanities faculty?

Surprised by the question, Jess paused momentarily before answering. "Well, Ms. Donna is very strict, but I’m really looking forward to her French class this year. And of course, everyone just loves Ms. Lara. She has a way of teaching writing that’s really a lot of fun. Now Mr. James, well, he’s very friendly and a really good teacher, but some of us, Jess’ cheeks suddenly flushed deeply as Wendy completed her thought, have difficulty concentrating in his classes, Jessica? Wendy smirked and continued as Jess studied her shoes, Rumor has it, Annette, that half the school has a major crush on James. Too bad he’s already spoken for. Lara and James were married almost three years ago. Let’s continue our tour. Why don’t you take us back to the chapel, Jessica."

Yes Ma’am. The chapel, Ari, is the place some of us go to unwind if we’re feeling stressed. I think it’s the most beautiful room in the school. Jess led the group back through the main corridor to a door opposite the conference room. As they entered, Wendy smiled in response to the Angelines’ whispers of appreciation. The early overcast had dissipated, and south-facing floor to ceiling windows bathed the room in soft afternoon sunlight. At the same time, the paneled, stained glass arches that capped the windows painted the opposite wall with undulating color. A gleaming wooden lectern and double rows of matching pews, separated by a central aisle, furnished the front half of the room, while the bookcases lining the rear wall were complemented by two round library tables with comfortable looking chairs. Thick carpeting seemed to soak up even the smallest sound.

Wendy broke the silence. We don’t hold formal religious services, but we encourage the students to stay in touch with their faith, and we keep a small library of religious texts here. Many of our former students have made donations to our collection. A couple of our former students have even used the chapel for their weddings.

It’s so peaceful here. Ariel murmured as she moved to the windows, which offered a panoramic view of