The Academy

At the Move-In Day cookout, the students continue to celebrate the news of the rankings. Although many of the students don’t care that much about the rankings, they are glad to have a reason to celebrate and a positive start to the year after Cinnamon’s death.

Several juniors gather in the grass, speculating about Charley, who sits alone reading. When East arrives, they are surprised that he seems sober, which he never is at the picnic. When East joins Charley, the students argue over whether he is trying to use her to do his homework for him. The two jump into the water, then race across Jewel Pond.

On Saturday, Tiffin plays in their first football game against Excelsior School. Although they are considered “rivals,” Tiffin always loses to Excelsior. This time, however, Dub makes a game-ending pass to Hakeem Pryce in the end zone, and Tiffin wins.

As classes begin, the students are on their best behavior with zero infractions. The new ranking has created an “atmosphere [that] now suggests a world of endless possibilities” (29).

Rhode graduated from Tiffin and now feels disappointed in himself. He has written two novels; the first did well, earning him an advance, but the second was considered a “flop.” Then, after a difficult break up, he returned to Tiffin to start fresh.

On Friday, Rhode and Simone go to the Alibi. Rhode praises Charley’s work ethic; she has quickly become one of his favorite students. However, Simone notes that Charley stays in her dorm and refuses to engage with any of the other students.

As they continue to talk, Simone opens another bottle of champagne. Rhode sees a tattooed man watching from the end of the bar, which makes him feel “protective” of Simone.

The narration shifts to the man with the tattoos. It is Chef Haz, though Rhode doesn’t recognize him without his jacket. Haz is counting down the time until he can return to the Dewberry Club. He left after Big East, a board member there as well, discovered him stealing from the club’s funds to pay off his gambling debts. Instead of firing him, Big East relocated him to Tiffin with promises to take him get back to the Dewberry Club.

As Haz watches Rhode and Simone, he realizes that Simone is quite drunk. Rhode struggles to help her out of the bar, so Haz helps.

When Haz introduces himself, Rhode praises Haz’s food. He then asks Haz to keep his and Simone’s presence at Alibi a secret, insisting that they weren’t on a date. Haz reassures him that he will but also wonders if the information could be valuable to him later.

In her room, Charley texts with her friend from home, Beatrix. Beatrix asks about Davi, whose parents are famous for their fashion label. When she asks about boys, Charley considers telling her about East but changes her mind. As Beatrix tells her that everyone misses her, Charley considers how grateful she is to be out of the “shackles of her former existence” (43).

As Davi approaches Room 111, where Cinnamon used to stay and Charley now stays, she remembers the day Cinnamon died. Davi was the one who found her. She pushes the thoughts aside and knocks on Charley’s door.

Davi gives Charley a dress to wear to First Dance. However, Charley insists that she would rather read. Davi considers whether she should try to “transform” Charley into someone popular, noting how it would make a good video for her TikTok. Instead, she leaves the dress and returns to her friends.

Cordelia Spooner, the school’s director of admissions, prepares for First Dance. She thinks of how stressful her day has been, as the number of prospective applicants has increased significantly since the new rankings.

First Dance takes place at the Teddy, the nickname for the student union. On her way there, Cordelia greets Simone and Honey Vandermeid, the counselor. Cordelia thinks Simone should dress more professionally because she is already too close in age to the students.

After Simone leaves, Cordelia mentions to Honey that Simone’s short dress is inappropriate. However, Honey scolds her, noting that Simone is attractive. The comment makes Cordelia jealous, as she and Honey have been in a secret relationship for the last couple of years. When everyone leaves for the summer, she and Honey stay behind alone on campus. However, after Move-In Day, Honey has been acting differently, making Cordelia worry that she is going to end their relationship.

In the bathroom, Simone vomits into the toilet, still hungover from the night before. She thinks this new job may be too much for her. She wanted to be the French teacher, but the school cut French; instead, she was offered the history position.

As Simone goes to leave, she hears several girls come into the bathroom. They gossip about East, who will likely not come to the dance. They also note that he is 19, having been held back a year when he came to Tiffin. Simone thinks that East is not much younger than she is at 24. She admits to herself that she wore the dress partially to get East’s attention. However, she then scolds herself for feeling that way.

As the students enjoy the dance, Dub, Hakeem, and his girlfriend, Taylor Wilson, sit at a table and talk. Taylor tries to convince Dub to begin dating other people, but he is still too heartbroken about Cinnamon’s death. At the same time, Hakeem wonders if Taylor is somehow glad Cinnamon is gone, as he always thought Taylor liked Dub and was jealous of Cinnamon.

When Hakeem and Taylor go to the dance floor, Dub can’t stop thinking about Cinnamon. The morning she died, she sent him an email with an attachment, instructing him not to open it until after graduation. He has considered opening it early a few times but has so far stopped himself.

As Audre watches the dance, she is annoyed at her staff. Honey and Cordelia are fighting, largely ignoring the students. Simone and Rhode are dancing, with Simone looking sick and uncomfortable. When Audre checks the sign-in sheet and sees that Charley is not there, she angrily tells Simone to go to the dorm and check on her.

As Simone walks back to the girls’ dorms in Classic South, she thinks of how uncomfortable Rhode has been making her. He has mentioned his past relationships and asked about hers, so she knows he is interested in her. She hasn’t had the heart yet to tell him she only wants to be friends.

When Simone gets to Classic South, Charley is not in her room. She sends a text message to Rhode asking him to check the Teddy for Charley. She then runs into Mr. James, the groundskeeper, outside. She is annoyed that he seems unconcerned, instead assuring her that Charley will show up.

Simone spots a door ajar, leading to the basement of Classic South. She enters and descends a set of stairs into the dark, calling Charley’s name. She then comes to a door that leads to another set of stairs.

The narrative then shifts back to before the dance. Charley considers going, even trying on the dress that Davi gave her, then decides against it. As she sits in her room alone, she hears a rock hit her window. East calls to her.

East leads Charley into the basement of Classic South. He asks why Charley is at Tiffin, and she tells him about her father’s recent death. Her mother started dating a new guy that Charley doesn’t like. East tells Charley that his dad sent him here to become more disciplined.

Once in the basement, East leads Charley through the next door and down another set of stairs. He explains that his father was largely responsible for the recent renovations to the school. East got to see the blueprints and saw a strange room between the two dorms with a tunnel connecting to both.

East and Charley eventually come to a room that was once a bomb shelter. There is a working sink, stove, and bathroom. East wants to turn to the room in a “speakeasy” where the students can come to drink. He invites Charley to become his “partner” as he wants an “independent thinker” (84). Charley hesitates, then agrees. She realizes that East is not as unintelligent as everyone thinks.

In the distance, Simone calls down the tunnel. East ushers Charley out the other door, which leads to Classic North, the boys’ dorm. He tells her that he will handle Simone.

As Simone continues down the tunnel, East suddenly appears. He puts his hand on her shoulder, then compliments her dress. Although Simone knows she should reprimand him, she doesn’t. When she says his name, East leans in and kisses her. However, when Rhode calls down the tunnel behind them, Simone pushes East away. She turns to Rhode to try to explain herself, but East is already gone.

When Simone goes back to Charley’s room, Charley is there reading. She tells Simone that she walked to get coffee, but the Paddock was closed. Simone wonders if Charley is telling the truth. However, her shame from letting East kiss her keeps her from pushing the issue further.

Over the next couple weeks, things continue as normal at Tiffin. The seniors speak in chapel on Tuesdays, with each one talking about an important moment in their lives. Davi features Chef Haz’s food on her social media constantly while bugging Haz for an interview. Honey and Cordelia rarely get to see each other, though Honey insists that it’s because their schedules have both become so busy with Tiffin’s new fame.

Simone continues to struggle with two of her students. Charley always looks at her with “contempt,” which makes Simone even more self-conscious about her lack of experience teaching history. East refuses to turn in any assignments. When she emails him about it, he makes a comment about meeting her in the tunnel “again,” which causes Simone to panic. She asks Audre to talk to him.

Charley decides to join the school newspaper, the ‘Bred Bulletin. The staff consists of only three students: the editor, Ravenna, and two younger boys named Grady and Levi. When Charley offers to join, Ravenna proposes her idea for a gossip page. She wants to start by investigating the contrast between Davi’s social media portrayal of Tiffin and the school’s reality.

At dinner one night, Hakeem surreptitiously looks at Taylor’s phone, noting that her number one friend on Snapchat is Dub. When Taylor returns, he gets up and leaves, not wanting to cause a scene in the Paddock. Taylor then realizes that she left her phone open. She understands why Hakeem is upset but also insists that Dub is still grieving.

Seven to eight o’clock each night is Intervis. During that time, rules prohibiting gender mixing in the dorms are suspended. However, doors are supposed to remain open during that time.

Typically, Simone sits in the common room. To her surprise, girls often come in and talk with her—usually to learn more about her. They often bring up Rhode, but Simone is adamant they are only friends. She wonders if Rhode saw East kiss her in the tunnel, as he has been distant since then.

To Simone’s surprise, Charley comes into the common room one night to tell her that she is going to North. When Simone asks Rhode who Charley came to see, she is shocked when he tells her that Charley went to East’s room.

As Charley signs in with Rhode, he has the urge to tell her that it is a bad idea but stops himself. He then hears commotion from the hallway. Taylor is pounding on Hakeem’s door, crying and demanding to be let in. Rhode coaxes her out of the building, insisting that she needs to give Hakeem space.

After Intervis ends at eight o’clock, there are two hours of study time, then bed. As Audre looks out over the campus, she marvels at the fastidious learning going on around her.