The Academy

Chapter Four

"What did she mean by round two at breakfast?" I asked Lindsay.

         Currently, we were in our last class of the day: Gym. Even in gym class, we had uniforms, but fortunately, they were provided. They were cream-colored t-shirts with the Beaumont Academy crest displayed largely on the back, maroon running shorts, and customized maroon and cream tennis shoes. So that was why I had to state my shoe size on the enrollment paperwork.

         All of my classes had gone by pretty well. I guess I had wowed Mrs. Peterson with my academic values, because I wasn't given detention. Which made this day slightly better.

         The gym instructor, Coach Hill, wanted to test how healthy and in shape we were initially, before athletic training for the rest of the year. Meaning, we had to run two miles the first day of gym class. That had to be some sort of cruel and unusual punishment, although I wasn't sure what I had done wrong. I wanted to know if it was possible to plead the eighth.

         Lindsay and I decided to be smart and pace ourselves. This was the only class we had together. Carlisle was also in this class, as was Celia Howell, the host of last night's crazy house party. Carlisle and Celia took off running the moment Coach Hill told us to go, and now they were lagging behind us, out of breath and annoyed at their lack of stamina.

         "Who?"

         "Ivy. She said something about Tatum confronting Warren and how she thought it would be round two."

         Lindsay stayed silent for a moment, focusing on her breathing while running. Lindsay was in pretty good shape; she was a dancer. I, on the other hand, hadn't done any physical sports since I was a kid and played softball in the fifth grade. I quit soon after.

         "I don't really know how to explain it," she began. Her voice shook while she ran. "Tatum's got a history and we all know about it."

         I waited for her to explain herself. When she didn't, I said, "Well, everyone's got a history."

         "True," she replied, "but Tatum's is extra-historical."

         "How so?"

         Lindsay slowed down a bit. "Tatum's a really good guy. If I tell you, I don't want your view of him to be altered."  

         Wow. Whatever it was, it must be pretty bad. Of course, that only made me more curious. "Just tell me. I'll learn about it sooner or later."

         "Tatum spent two months in juvenile detention."

         I stopped dead in my tracks, almost getting run over by many jogging students. "What? He went to jail?"

         Lindsay motioned for me to join her. She was already at least three yards in front of me.

         I sprinted to catch up with her and when I did, I slowed back down to her pace. "Explain."

         "He beat the crap out of two people. Warren van Gerald and Jenine Darmouth."

         Warren van Gerald? His name had already come up so many times in the day or so that I'd been here. The kid didn't seem like he could keep himself out of drama. "Why?"

         "Honestly, no one knows. The only other person who knows what happened is Lysander, Carlisle's brother. It's rumored that he witnessed the entire thing, but he has never mentioned anything about it. It happened right on the coast of the large pond behind Beaumont Academy. Apparently, there was blood everywhere."