What if I told you that there was a camp, that once attended, would guarantee you a complete scholarship to the college of your dreams? What if I told you that you could attend it for eleven months out of the year and never have to take high school classes again? That means none of the high school nightmare: any of the calculus, fighting over scholarships, or stupid teachers that don’t even know their own subject. Survive eleven months at a camp in Tuscarora, New York and suddenly everything becomes possible. I’m talking Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Princeton, the world at your feet. Eleven months without your parents to set curfews, fuss about your outfits, or make you go places you hate. Welcome to what will soon be my world, welcome to Effugere.
It sounds amazing doesn’t it? It gets even better. I’m not about to tell you that it costs two million dollars to go, or that you have to be a straight-A student with tons of extracurricular activities. My brother went last year. My druggie, drop-out, delinquent brother, Max went to Effugere and returned a changed man, or so it seemed. In truth; parents praise the place, and it’s easy to see why, but Effugere is every sane teenager’s deepest fear. It’s an etiquette camp, designed to brainwash and remake teenagers, designed to squelch out our individuality and creativity. The troublemaking children return docile and polite, every parent’s dream, every teen’s nightmare.
Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. However, when Max returned from his stay at Effugere he acted… different. You can’t exactly return from an etiquette camp and still manage to drop the f-bomb in every other sentence. He didn’t, actually; around my mother, he was a perfect gentleman. The extent that those people had affected his thinking was almost creepy. He was bowing now, speaking in grammatically correct sentences, and dressing well every single day. I thought that I had lost my rough-and-tumble older brother to the evil that is prim and proper. I sulked when he was around, not trusting this new version of my brother one bit. He looked so empty, but my mother ate it up. All she talked about how wonderful he was; I kept silent. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite have the ability to sink into my chair so deep that she couldn’t see me.
“Darling?” my mother said, trying to get my attention. “Your dinner is getting cold, you should eat it. We wouldn’t want all of Max’s new culinary skill to go to waste now would we?”
I scowled at her, then at my plate, and back to her again. She had called me Darling. I hated being called Darling, as I had told her again and again. Then again, she never listened. I couldn’t even remember the last time she had called me by my proper name. I was sick of it.
I violently shoved my plate away from me and glared at my mother, completely losing my cool.
“Oh yea, because it would be such a tragedy for me to do a thing to waste Max’s amazing set of skills from that overly polite hole he crawled out of. Don’t make me laugh; he’s like a teenage butler. ‘Come here Max! I seem to need reheating for the exquisite dinner you have prepared for your unworthy family!’”
I was rolling with laughter now, smiling for the first time in a while as my teenage defiance slipped out of my mouth. It was hilarious how much my bitterness at this new robot of a brother could make my mother, who was bad enough on her own, even more irritating.
“Enough.” My mother’s tone was cold, but that only made me laugh harder. Part of me was aware that I sounded slightly crazy now, but there was no stopping me.
“That’s a good one Mother.” I gasped out in between bouts of laughter. “Stick up for your gentle son. It’s rude to defend yourself against your snarky sibling, don’t you know? That would be impolite of him. It would defy his programming.”
I fell from the chair and onto the floor, my ribs felt like they were going to split. My mother leapt to her feet, in danger of me toppling her from her own seat. She looked a bit like a thundercloud, her blue eyes narrowed in anger, her chest heaving as her control threatened to collapse. I stopped for a moment, staring at the expression that threatened murder. I knew I shouldn’t push her, but I did anyway.
I beamed at her winningly. “Smile Mother! It’s a beautiful day outside!”
She cracked then. “I said enough! You will appreciate everything that your brother brings to this family! You seriously need an attitude check young lady! Go pack your things; I cannot stand you in this house any longer! You will be going with your elder brother to Effugere this year! No complaints, no whining, and no running off Young Lady. It has been decided. As his sibling you are assured admission. I will call the director in the morning. This is the last time you throw things in my face. When I next see you standing in my kitchen, you will be in a dress.”
I stared at her, in horror. The woman had lost her mind. I finally shut up and quit laughing. My bright blonde hair was messed up and in my face, but I could see her expression anyway. She didn’t seem to be kidding.
“I… I… That won’t be necessary Mother. Would you like me to do the dishes?”
She smiled coldly and nodded. “That would be very nice of you Darling. It’s nice to see you accepting your new role so well. You will find a home at Effugere.”
I glared at her, and she smiled back, tossing her dark auburn hair in my direction as she stalked away. And she said I was the one who needed an attitude adjustment. I sighed and turned to the mountain of dishes, they seemed to be one of the only chores that Max hadn’t found a new delight in completing. As a result, nothing had been washed in three days. With Max cooking full, three course meals…. Maybe I would rather just attend the etiquette camp.
By the time I finally finished, my mother and brother were both in bed. I turned the lights out and slipped upstairs in the dark. My feet made no sound on the carpet. I felt restless, ready to prowl the night, but there were no parties tonight for me to sneak out to. I’d have to find at least one good one before I left. I smiled to myself, thinking of the flock of boys who would miss me when I left. I felt like dancing tonight. I looked around my room, but couldn’t find my IPod. I swore to myself softly, remembering that I had left it in Max’s room.
I left my room once more and crept down the hall to Max’s room. The door was shut, something that he had never done before he came back from camp. I hesitated, my hand on the doorknob. Max had never left his door shut overnight before. But I needed that music. I opened the door and looked around, giving my eyes a few moments to adjust to the total darkness within the room. I scanned it quickly, IPod, IPod, IPod… there. It was lying across the room, on the dresser. I could see the metallic orange glinting in what little light entered the room from the hall. I crossed the room quickly, grabbing the precious musical device and turning for the door. I took two steps back and found myself not moving anymore. I let out a squeak of panic, realizing that I was pinned to the door with a knife to my throat. Max had snuck up on me and pinned me before I even realized that he had woken up after opening the door.
I was afraid to breath, afraid to move. Max’s blue eyes glinted at me, not recognizing who it was at first. I plucked up enough courage to rasp out, “Max! Can’t breathe!”
He dropped me abruptly, turning away as if this sort of thing occurred every day. I stared at him, shocked by his actions and the calmness and precision with which he had performed them. I had felt the blade press into my throat, yet he had not drawn blood.
“Never startle me again ok? You may not be as lucky next time. And when you come to Effugere? Just stay away from me….Darling.”
Normally I would have made some witty remark at that, but I was still too dazed to comprehend much past the blade that had been at my throat. Max bowed me out of the room, his actions clearly mocking. I obliged, and walked out the door, clutching tight to my IPod. The door slammed shut as soon as I cleared it and I was left in the hallway. I turned and stared at the closed door, finally getting over my shock. I smiled slightly, despite the adrenaline that was now coursing through my veins from fear.
Max had not been brainwashed, if anything he was even more aggressive than ever before. So when I went to Effugere, I was going to stick to him as if my life depended on it. In truth my sanity probably would. I wanted in to whatever he had done to remain himself.
I found my headphones in my room and climbed up on the roof. The music blasted in my ears and I closed my eyes and danced. I felt on top of the world, forgetting the trials of the day and my etiquette sentence as I rolled with the beat. My steps were light, my balance perfect, leaving me able to jump around on the roof without detection. I smiled and crossed over the peak of the roof. The shingles below were my stage, the stars above my spotlights. Nothing in the world was better than that feeling.
My IPod died after three hours and I glowered at it, climbing back down the house and in through my window. I shut it exactly as it had been, and collapsed into bed fully clothed. I was exhausted, though that had never crossed my mind on the roof.
Sun streaming through my window onto my face and my mother’s loud voice were what finally roused me from my sleep.
“Darling? Darling! I know you’re mad at me but I need you to pack and come downstairs to eat. Max has made us omelets and yours is getting cold. Its past eleven Darling, quit pouting and come downstairs!”
I groaned and rolled over, covering my head with my pillow. I half expected to have a throbbing headache, but surprisingly I was fine. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to get up. Then I would have to remember to pack for the horror camp that made Max attack me.
That thought lingered in my mind, and against my will, my curiosity was aroused. I had never seen Max use a knife before last night, but he was obviously comfortable with such things now. I wanted to know the truth, and to learn what I would need to know before camp. I reluctantly sprang out of bed and dressed quickly, running downstairs and into the dining room. I stopped there, seeing that my food was sitting on the dining room table instead of in the kitchen. My mother smiled at me from the other room, and I remembered her outburst from last night. I was no longer permitted in the kitchen. I returned her smile, realizing what this meant.
“Mother? I regretfully inform you that I may no longer do the dishes for you. I cannot enter the kitchen. But smile dearest Mother, for you will not have to drag me away to Effugere in handcuffs. I will go willingly, provided that you at least tell me where the place is.”
She opened her mouth to speak but Max cut her off.
“It’s in Tuscarora, New York; a little town, near the Pennsylvania border. Good luck finding a party there, Darling.”
I drew my lips back in a snarl at the dreadful name, but remembered the composure that I promised myself I would have before it could spread across my countenance. I nodded instead, then turned to my cold food and bolted it down so I could make my escape to my room.
My stuff was haphazardly thrown into my monstrosity of a suitcase. Almost every fathomable piece of my clothing was stuffed into the case, dresses and jeans and hoodies and shoes. Not a single piece of clothing was pink. I took pride in that, refusing to be overly feministic or frilly in any way. I didn’t touch lace and preferred reds and blues to pink. I smiled as I jumped on the suitcase, forcing the lid close enough that I could zip it shut. A second bag was for the electronics I could not live without and my make-up, accessories, etc. I was about to fasten that as well, when I remembered Max’s knife. I wanted one for myself. I slipped downstairs, only to see my mother at the foot of the stairs, with an excellent view of the path I wanted to take to the kitchen. I turned around and headed back to my room. I opened the window and fell from the ledge, holding onto the windowsill with my hands. It was still a sizeable drop, but the chimney was within reach to someone who had years of practice at sneaking out. The chimney was old, pitted and gouged with time. It was simple for me to shimmy down it and slip in through the kitchen door. I smiled as I pulled a knife from the butcher block, hoping that Mother would not miss it before my departure in two days.
I went back the way I came and sat down, all thoughts of parties cast aside for the time being. With something between anticipation and excitement, I fell to getting prepared for the horrors that would await me at Effugere.