Archive of Our Own

            Friday, October 19, 2012

            At six in the morning, the alarm beeps, starting out at a low decibel and slowly rising in volume. Never one to slack, despite the hour, All-Star Tutor Francesca Maysworth turned in bed and shut off the annoying piece of machinery. Classes didn’t start for another two and a half hours, but Francesca already had a lot on her plate; such was the life of an All-Star Tutor.

            Francesca rolled out of bed and cracked her neck and fingers. It was a terrible habit, but it wasn’t one she would be breaking anytime soon. She flicked on her desk lamp, illuminating her dorm room. The dorm accommodations at Success Summit were modest enough, but after living here for three years, Francesca’s had become stylized in her own way. More importantly, as a senior, she got a room on the ground floor, and avoiding stairs is always a plus.

            Standing up and stretching out her back, Francesca gathered her things for the day. First she slipped out of her pajamas and into her gym clothes. She grabbed her backpack and the clothes she’d change into after her workout. Before snagging her glasses, Francesca put her hair up in a messy bun—only the early risers would see her like this, and they would be in the same state. Glancing once more about her room, Francesca was satisfied that she had what she needed, and so she left her room for the day.

            The dorm halls were dimly lit as Francesca made her way to the school workout room. Exercising her body was just as important as exercising her mind, and the professors were certainly adept at making her brain run mental laps. Working out wasn’t the first thing Francesca wanted to do in the morning—especially at this hour—but there was literally no other time in the day for her to train her body. Her parents had asked her if she were overcommitted before she came to Success Summit for the fall semester, and she had just laughed at them. Their response was to have her tone down her raucous laughter, to which she humbly obliged.

            Today she was the last of the regulars to make it to the workout room. Derek was pumping deadweights with Joe and John, while Rico and Luc were using the treadmills. Francesca would have liked to join Hunter and Jordan to help concentrate the estrogen in the highly testosterone-fueled room, but she had already promised Cody that she would work legs with him. Because of her evening plans, Francesca was wary of starting her day with an intense leg workout, but sometimes these things just couldn’t be avoided.

            The Waterskier was in the middle of a lunge when Francesca came up to him. How he had this much energy this early in the morning was beyond Francesca. “Good morning, Cody,” said Francesca.

            The Waterskier looked up from his position. “Yo, Francesca, wazzup? I was almost afraid you weren’t gonna make it.”

            “Oh, please, I’m not that late.”

            “Heh, if you say so. Now, you ready to get gnarly with those calves and thighs?”

            “I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

            “Righteous!” Cody began to lead the way to the path of toned leg muscles. They performed lunges, executed squats, thrust kicks, and threw in a few leg curls as well. Francesca was definitely “feeling the burn” at this point, but Cody was just warming up. After a solid forty-five minute workout, Francesca began her cool down. The Waterskier would have kept going, but his stomach told him it was nearly time for breakfast.

            Cody and Francesca found an open bench to sit on while they rehydrated. “It’s normal if I can’t feel my legs, right?” asked Francesca sardonically.

            “Pshaw, totally,” replied Cody. “I haven’t felt my legs in years.”

            “Well, I certainly hope you haven’t suffered any sort of nerve damage from being dragged on a lake by a speedboat.”

            “Nah, I’m just kidding, my legs are still pretty groovy.”

            “Oh, I was only teasing as well.”

            “There’s that Francesca humor I’ve come to know.”

            “Is it really that obvious?”

            “I mean, this is only our fourth year of living together, so I think I’d start to know who you were by now.”

            “Touché, Cameron.”

            “Right back at ya, Maysworth. Hey, you’re going to Ed’s party tonight, right?”

            “But of course. I wouldn’t miss another Phoebe DuBois party for the world. Honestly, I think she’s just using Ed’s birthday as an excuse to throw another one of her parties.”

            “I still don’t get how she can get use of the gym after hours.”

            “I hear she can be very persuasive.”

            “Huh. I guess the newbies are still full of surprises.”

            “Please, it’s the middle of October; we have an entire year left.”

            “Don’t remind me…”

            “Cody, come now, don’t be like that. It’ll be hard enough keeping Lily under control come May, so I don’t need you playing the mopey card either.”

            “I just…it blows my mind that this is our last year here. We’re actually gonna graduate from this crazy place. I know it’s a while off, but after we graduate, what if I never see you guys again? Everyone here’s a second family to me.”

            “Cody, sweetie, I forget how thoughtful you are. But it’s ridiculous to think we’ll never see each other again. Do you honestly believe Melissa would let something like that happen?”

            “Good point.”

            “Exactly. So we might as well enjoy our time here even more while we’ve got it—and while finals are still very far away.”

            “I feel that, I feel that.”

            “Now, if my legs will cooperate, I need to go take a shower before breakfast.”

            “Yeah, I guess I should rinse off, too. I’ll catch ya later at the party then.”

            “Yes, see you then.”

            With a nod and a stiff rise, Cody and Francesca left their bench and headed off to their respective locker rooms. Jordan and Hunter had already finished their workout, so Francesca had the entire locker room to herself. That didn’t mean she would forsake her modesty, though. The Tutor gathered her change of clothes (towel included) and waited until she was behind the shower stall curtain to change.

            Of the many Success Summit things Francesca was grateful for, hot water was solidly on the list. With sixty-four students in the dorms alone, it was a miracle that no one ever had to wait for hot water, and Francesca would bet that people like Taylor, Brittany, and Thad used a lot of hot water. She was also thankful that she got her own private bathroom in her dorm room, though she seldom showered there since the locker room became more convenient to her schedule.

            Another of her bad habits that she wasn’t willing to break anytime soon would be singing in the shower. Francesca was clearly no Aloradonna in the vocals department, but Rina had once told everyone that singing was beneficial to an individual’s health as a stress reliever and whatnot. Since she was alone in the locker room, there was nothing stopping the Tutor from belting out a few notes. She had to watch the time, though; if she got carried away, she would be late to breakfast, and she absolutely could not let that happen.

            Stopping after only three of the top-forty hits, Francesca applied shampoo and body wash to her hair and body. She rinsed off, dried off, and then headed off with her things to the cafeteria for breakfast. More of her classmates were starting to peek out from their rooms as she walked through the halls. Breakfast wasn’t mandatory, but there wasn’t any more food until lunch, and that alone was enough to draw a few stragglers from their warm, comfy beds.

            The cafeteria was a little over half full when Francesca arrived. So long as Ed and Austin were at this school, there would never be one-hundred percent breakfast attendance. Not unless the administration made breakfast time mandatory for the students. There was a great deal of benefits from eating breakfast in the morning, and so Francesca had been working with Melissa to petition the administration for mandatory breakfasts. Francesca’s main argument was that the administration was there to foster the All-Stars talents, and so they should do everything in their power to achieve that goal, including complementing the diets of their students. The process was in motion, and it would take time for anything to happen, so the Tutor would just have to wait for now.

            Francesca intended to drop off her things at her usual dining table before procuring her food, but there was a plate already set up for her. “I hope you don’t mind, but I went to the liberty of preparing breakfast for you,” said All-Star OCD Tina Wolfgarth.

            Francesca looked at her spread. Whole-wheat toast, strawberries, sausage patties, hash browns, and cranberry juice; it looked marvelous. “Of course I don’t mind,” replied Francesca, sitting down. The Tutor noticed that there was no sign of their third usual compatriot. “Is Annette here yet?”

            “I haven’t seen her, no.”

            “It isn’t like her to be late.”

            “I’m sure she’ll be with us shortly.”

            “I suppose. Now tell me, how did your alliance proposal go yesterday?” Tina and Francesca had become quick friends once Tina had moved in, and their friendship had only grown stronger since. Unfortunately, their hectic schedules didn’t allow them to see much of each other during the day, and so they had breakfast together every morning to compensate. No matter how rigorous her workout, Francesca always had breakfast and Tina’s company to look forward to in the morning.

            “The administration was very receptive to it. We may be liberally minded in terms of education, but it’s important we broaden our social mindsets as well. At least, that’s what I told the administration. Besides, having an LGBT+ group is important to me. Rina even approached me about it.”

            “She did? I was fairly certain she was a heterosexual. Or is she an ally?”

            “Because the ‘A’ stands for…?”

            “‘Asexual,’ not ‘ally.’”

            “Yes. I wouldn’t want to be excluded from my own group. But no, she came to me from a scientific perspective. Considering how small our sample size is, it’s rather interesting how many of us identify. I mean, there’s Austin, Evan, and myself to name a few. Rina wonders if there might be a correlation between sexual preference and being an All-Star.”

            “That seems dehumanizing to me, like people like you are test subjects rather than living, breathing, feeling people.”

            “At least it opens up a conversation.”

            “But is it the right conversation?”

            “In my opinion, something is better than nothing.”

            “Alright, if you’re sure…well, as long as you’re in charge of it, I’m sure you’ll steer it in the right direction.”

            “Thank you, Francesca, that means a lot.”

            “Don’t think anything of it, Tina. Now you did say the administration was keen to the idea?”

            “The administration is supportive, but they’d like to see some more support from the student body.”

            “Isn’t the idea behind the group to raise support for it?”

            “Let me see, how did they put it…they don’t want to support putting a mongoose in a den of cobras. Or was it the other way around? Either way, you get the idea.”

            “Well you can count me as a supporter, and I’m sure you could count Annette as well. Are there really people that against it?”

            “Unfortunately, yes.”

            “Who?”

            “I’ll give you one guess.”

            “Brittany?”

            “Brittany.”

            Francesca rolled her eyes. “I swear, that girl…I keep thinking that girl will come around, but she’s put a full year in already, and I don’t think she’s changed any one bit.”

            “It’s so frustrating. And she gets ‘Calligrapher,’ while I’m stuck over here with ‘OCD!’ It’s not fair!”

            “Come now, settle down. It’s nothing worth getting upset over.”

            “But honestly, it’s not fair. She gets to go around being, well, herself, and I’m the one who has to go through all those extra tests because of my ‘talent.’”

            “Would you rather be called an All-Star Panicker? How about All-Star Stressor?”

            “That’s not funny.”

            “No, I’m being completely serious. Tina, you have an absolutely astounding talent. I would kill to be as special as you.”

            “You would really kill for…for this?”

            “It’s a figure of speech. I doubt any of us in this school would be capable of murder.”

            “I bet Brittany could…”

            “Oh, hush. Put her out of your mind. She’s one person, and you’re ten times as strong as her, so you have nothing to worry about.”

            “I know, I know, everything’s going to be fine. It’s just my job to worry; it’s what I’m good at.”

            The girls had a quick laugh as they continued to eat. No matter what was vexing them, they could usually iron out all their problems in the thirty minutes before heading to home room. Their breakfasts helped to set a positive tone for the day, and they really helped to ease the stress of Success Summit. As breakfast began to draw to a close, there was still no sign of Annette. Tina wanted to throw away the leftover food, but Francesca insisted they leave some in case Annette had just gotten held up.

            Before breakfast was officially over, Francesca remembered to ask something she had been meaning to bring up all morning. “Am I going to see you at Ed’s birthday party tonight?”

            Tina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “About that…”

            “It’s okay if you’re not.”

            “Oh thank goodness. Loud music and dancing and…social anxiety, you know?”

            “I completely understand. Maybe we can do something Saturday or Sunday?”

            Tina smiled softly. “I would like that…if you’re able to function this weekend, that is.”

            Francesca raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

            The OCD elicited a small giggle. “I presume you’re going to, well, you know, tonight, and depending on how hard you go…”

            “I assure you, my liver is one of the best-functioning organs in my body. Besides, I’ll have Taylor and Delilah looking out for me.”

            Now Tina raised an eyebrow. “And who’ll be looking after them?”

            Before the Tutor could offer another clever retort, Annette Schwade finally arrived at the breakfast table. Her clothes were rumpled and her hair was a general mess. She was panting slightly as she stood behind the chair next to Francesca. “Sorry I’m late,” Annette managed to say.

            “And good morning to you, too,” replied Francesca.

            Annette took a deep breath and cast her head back in exasperation. “That Markus, I swear…he’s got it in his head that he wants to do The Metamorphoses. The Metamorphoses! I am not managing a play that takes place underwater. The problem is that Lavender is incredibly interested in the construction aspect of building a waterproof set, and once one person supports him, he’s unstoppable.”

            “Sounds like you’ve already got your hands full,” commented Tina.

            Annette narrowed her eyes in the direction of the OCD. “It wouldn’t be such an issue if he didn’t want to have production meetings at such an ungodly hour.”

            “The early bird catches the worm,” mused Francesca.

            “And the stage managing bird likes to sleep in. Anyway, just needed to rant. What’ve you two been talking about?”

            “We were discussing Ed’s party ton—” Francesca was cut off by the home room warning bell; students needed to be in class within the next five minutes.

            Annette’s eyes sank. “You’ve got to be kidding me; I haven’t gotten a chance to eat yet.”

            Tina pushed a plate closer to the All-Star Stage Manager. “Francesca made sure we save some breakfast for you just in case.”

            “You girls are too sweet. I’ll catch you at the party later.” Annette stuffed a few strawberries into her pocket and held a piece of toast between her teeth as she ran off to class.

            Tina looked at Francesca. “I’ll clean up; your first class is farther away than mine. Have fun tonight.”

            “Thank you, Tina. And I’ll get back to you about this weekend.” Francesca got up as Tina began to gather all the trash together. The Tutor slung her backpack over her shoulders and strode out of the cafeteria. She made a mental note to return to the locker room later to pick up her gym clothes. It may have been excessive to have a wardrobe of gym-worthy attire, but she couldn’t rightly have dirty laundry stinking up her room before she laundered it. She should probably also do laundry this weekend. Just another mental note.

            As an All-Star Tutor, Francesca had one of the most well-rounded schedules of all the students in Success Summit. Since the cafeteria practically bridged the dorms and the school portion of the institution, Francesca didn’t have too terribly far to travel for her first class. Her first class also served as her home room, so she made her way to the second floor of the school for Honors American English.

            On this particular Friday, she was the last to arrive. Because of the nature of the school, class sizes were always small. From her own year, Rufus, Markus, and Melissa were taking the class, while Shu, Claude, and Alexander came from the younger classes. At eight-thirty, their professor took attendance—that didn’t take long—and then they read off that morning’s announcements—there were none.

            For the next seventy minutes, the seven students held a conversation on topics of race in Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson. The crux of the conversation held that whiteness was just a social construct; the novel featured twins, except one was treated as a privileged white man, while the other lived as a black slave, despite having the same skin color.

            At this point, Shu asked the class if he was white. His skin wasn’t as dark as Claude’s, but it wasn’t as pale as Melissa’s, either. In terms of social constructs, he didn’t receive the same flak as the Poet for being non-white, but he also couldn’t fully share the benefits of being white. The class agreed that these views around race were outmoded and uncivil, but it was there, and they needed to be aware of it if they had any real intentions of stopping it.

            The conversation then shifted to the proposed bowdlerization of the work. Markus got vehement at the thought of someone changing an author’s words. For rebuttal, Claude argued that a writer’s work belonged more to the public than him or herself. In his opinion, once a work is presented to the public, the intentions of the author no longer matter; if the author wrote it only for his or her own personal benefit, then there would be no need for publication. The art of writing, therefore, is for the writer to craft their work as clearly as possible to keep the interpretation and intention as closely linked as possible. Markus maintained that changing the author’s intent was a serious affront.

            It could be intimidating to start the academic day out with such intense discussions, but this was the exact kind of school that Francesca wanted to attend. At nine-forty, Francesca packed up her things and headed down the hall for seventy minutes of Trigonometry. She wasn’t particularly fond of mathematics, but it would behoove her to have experience in all areas of study. Her classmates this time were Jordan, Billy, Eugene, Lavender, and Mark. It was interesting being a senior in a class with juniors and sophomores, but the students here took classes that fit their level of intelligence.

            The lecture was dull, as most math lectures tended to be. At least they were still using numbers in their calculations. A few days ago, Francesca had been talking with Cody about the Independent Study he was taking with Maxwell and Sparky. Despite the help of the professor, Maxwell was essentially leading the study in an exploration of number theory; the Mathematician was on a spurt of studying the distribution of prime numbers again. They were exploring interesting theorems, but there were far more letters involved in their homework than Francesca cared for. Never a dull day in academia; it was a miracle anyone ever found the time to do homework and study.

            After Trigonometry, Francesca went up to the third floor to study Imperial Russian History from eleven to twelve-fifteen. She enjoyed augmenting her humanities/social science classes with her natural science courses; a schedule consisting entirely of either extreme seemed like misery to the Tutor. The class itself was a lower level history course, so Elizabeth, Jenny, Reggie, and Francesca herself were the only upperclassmen. With Bruno, Gloria, Jamie, Evan, Luc, Charles, Kevin, and Juliet, the underclassmen held the clear majority. And at twelve students, this was easily the largest class Francesca was in.

            Roughly a month and a half into the course, Francesca had a new understanding of the Russian people. As Elizabeth would often reiterate, a civilization’s culture grew out of its environment, and early Russia was no different. Poor soil required many individuals to remain as farmers instead of becoming artisans and experts, and so Russia remained an agrarian civilization while Europe went through its renowned cultural revolutions. Nevertheless, the elite were not oblivious to the new technologies and trends of the West, and so an internal dispute between assimilation and heritage prevailed throughout the area.

            If she had any frustration with the class, it was the difference in diligence between the upperclassmen and underclassmen. Francesca was used to intense discussion courses, but many of the freshmen were not. They were exceptional students, no doubt, but Success Summit differed greatly from the schooling they had grown accustomed to. Large portions of the class would diverge into one-on-one conversations between Elizabeth and the professor; they were interesting conversations, but rather exclusive ones at that.

            At the end of her third class, it was finally time for lunch. Success Summit graciously allowed its students an hour to eat lunch. This was another time for the students to socialize—not that they didn’t see each other everyday—but for Francesca, it was another time for business. For the past few weeks, she had been receiving private tutoring lessons from Rufus. She didn’t have time to fit a language course into her schedule, and the Latinist was the best foreign language expert in the student body. After grabbing her food, Francesca sat down with the Latinist.

            With a sigh, Rufus engaged the Tutor. “Salve, Francesca.”

            “Salve, Rufe,” replied Francesca.

            “Quid agis?”

            “Valeo. Et tu?”

            “Quoque valeo, gratias tibi ago. Quid est hodie?”

            “Hodie est dies Veneris.”

            “Come now, you know better than that. What did I teach you?”

            “Fine. Hodie est ante diem tredecimum Kalendas Novembres.”

            “Close. You’re one off. Count inclusively.”

            “Hodie est ante diem…quartum decimum Kalendas Novembres.”

            “Bene. Now let’s see…” Rufus then proceeded to grill Francesca with various questions which she had to respond to Latine. His questions were mundane, but comprehensive. Francesca was nowhere close to Rufus’s level of translation ability, but she was getting a fairly solid grasp of basic Latin grammar, as well as “conversational” Latin. It’s not how the Romans would have spoken, but if she met another Latin student, she would be able to say “I like ice cream” in a way that they could understand.

            Towards the end of the session, the two had finished eating, but it was time for a necessary digression. “Will I see you at Ed’s party tonight?” asked Francesca.

            Rufus scoffed. “I wouldn’t be caught dead at one of those abysmal excuses for parties.”

            “They are fun, you know.”

            “Nescioquid. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go. Our date night has been set in stone for some time now.”

            “Ahh, what are you two doing?”

            “I’m taking Rina out to see a movie. There’s a new documentary about Albert Bandura she’s been dying to see.”

            “Well, I hope you two have fun.” Francesca smiled at Rufus, and he smirked back. The Tutor then lowered her eyes. There was another question on her mind since the day before. “So…how did your testing go yesterday?”

            Now Rufus lowered his eyes. Since the two of them were in the bottom quarter of their class alphabetically, they always underwent their testing on Thursdays. After the routine tests, the researchers had asked Rufus to stay behind for additional testing. This did not happen often, and it concerned Francesca. “It was fine,” replied Rufus tersely.

            Francesca wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? What did—”

            “Don’t worry about it.”

            “But—”

            Rufus leaned forward and placed one hand on top of Francesca’s. He spoke in a low voice, but not quite a whisper. “They want me to stay.”

            Francesca’s eyes widened. “Are you positive?” Rufus nodded. “And you’re considering it?”

            Rufus was quiet for a moment. “Ita, I am.” Francesca gave the Latinist a concerned look. “Think about it, Francesca. I’m a Latinist. What jobs are available for me out there? They can give me safety and security here. And Rina will be here after she graduates as well.”

            “She will? I would think she would go on to a major university.”

            “But think of Melody. Just like Lily and Austin, she’ll never leave; she’s too valuable. And if she’s here, then Rina’s here. I know we might not even still be together then, but it’s something.”

            “Truth be told, I’m considering asking to stay afterward myself.”

            Rufus looked Francesca directly in the eye while pressing down on her hand more. “No. I won’t allow you. You’re too smart for this place, Francesca. You have to get out of here.”

            “But I’ve seen so much here…it would be natural for me to go into the education field, but it’s so messed up in this country, I fear I would just get frustrated with the futility of it.”

            “Bullshit. You have more initiative than half the students in this school, and that’s saying something. You’ll achieve whatever you put your mind to. I won’t allow you to waste your life away at Success Summit after graduation.”

            “Rufus, thank you.”

            “Latine.”

            “Gratias tibi ago, Rufe.”

            “Licet.” Francesca still looked worried. “Just leave it. It’s only an idea right now. Graduation is still far off, and I won’t have to make a definite decision any time soon. And you can bet that I will be filling out applications left and right until that time comes.”

            “That puts me a little more at ease. If you ever need to talk to anyone about it, you can always come to me.”

            Rufus smiled with the corner of his mouth. “Don’t flatter yourself; you’re too altruistic for your own good.” Rufus took his hand off and leaned back in his chair. Francesca smiled back; a compliment from Rufus Price was a treasured royalty.

            The bell finally rang for the end of the lunch hour, and Rufus and Francesca were forced to go their separate ways; there just weren’t enough hours in the day. At one-fifteen, Francesca found herself in Developmental Psychology, where she would remain until two-twenty-five. This class was the most relevant to Francesca’s career goals, and so it rivaled English for her favorite class of the semester. It was another low-level class, but the material was very interesting.

            Her fellow classmates here were Lily, Jenny, Ed, Billy, Jamie, Inez, Brittany, and Mari and Rocket. It was a nice change of pace to have a room clearly filled with more estrogen than testosterone. In addition to all this, Rina was acting as the teaching assistant for the class. It was great experience for the Psychologist, and Francesca had started speaking with the professor on her own time. The professor was helping her to establish a connection with the local middle school, and it was likely that she would be able to take a student-teacher-esque position there in the spring.

            While studying the theories of Piaget and Erickson, the class spent a great deal of discussion around the importance of curiosity in a developing child. The class looked at several case studies of successful individuals and how curiosity played an important role in their success. The students could see the clear connections between these ideologies and the educational structure of Success Summit; curiosity initially compelled them to specialize in their fields, and now the school was empowering that innate drive and potential.

            At two-thirty, Francesca headed off to her last class of the day: International Cooking. The class alternated between learning about international cultures—with a deep focus on the foods of those cultures—and making the foods themselves. Francesca had already learned how to prepare crepes, takoyaki, gazpacho, and baklava; Francesca herself was looking forward especially to the chapter on American alcohols, wherein they would go over the beer grafting process. The students were told that a portion of their final would involve them baking soufflés. The nitty-gritty details of it could be stressful at times, but the class was an overall delight.

            This class had another strange assortment of students. Francesca wasn’t surprised to see Lily, Alexander, and Phoebe there, but she never expected Cody and Mark to take it. Helga stood out as the star pupil in the course, but that was to be expected from the All-Star Confectioner. Everyone came into the class with a pleasant disposition, though, and so it was a rather stress-less way to end the academic day.

            When the final bell of the day rang at three-forty-five, Francesca and Lily made their way down to the school’s front entrance to meet up with Inez. Since there was no testing after classes on Fridays, the three girls ran an after-school program at the local YMCA. Francesca had gone out into the community her sophomore year to invest in community service, and thus the program was born. Lily joined in their junior year, and now Inez was in on the action this year.

            It was a ten-minute walk down to the building, and so they were able to start the program promptly at four. The girls took turns in leading the activities, and today was Lily’s turn to be in charge. As always, the kids were happy to see the girls. They had a room all for themselves, and so Lily had the twelve kids form into a circle. Based on the size of the town, Francesca wished there were more kids in the program, but too many parents were still wary of Success Summit. The school was secretive in and of itself, and there was a clear dissonance between the school and the community of the town. It was a challenge Francesca would have liked to tackle, but she didn’t have the time now as a senior. She wanted Inez to take over the issue, but the All-Star Bible Quizzer wasn’t fully persuaded yet.

            Lily led the children through a series of warm-up games so that the kids were all limbered up for her activities. It was time for improvisational dancing. As usual, the Kawaii’s high energy was infectious, and soon all the kids were dancing and laughing, just having a good time. Having worked on her legs earlier in the day, Francesca was very much feeling the burn of Lily’s second workout. After a few games, Francesca had to excuse herself until she could get feeling back in her legs. Inez saw that she was taking a breather and came over to sit with her.

            “You feeling okay?” asked Inez.

            Francesca smiled. “Yes, I just need a moment. Lily’s games are a little intense today.”

            Inez chuckled softly. “I know what you mean. I think I’m going to have to sit this one out, too.”

            “At least the kids are having a good time.”

            “They are…are you sure you’re okay?”

            “Hmm? Yes, my legs are just a bit sore from this morning’s workout. It’s nothing.”

            “No, I mean, are you okay inside? You seem a little…down.”

            “Do I? I hadn’t noticed…I suppose it’s possible…”

            “If there’s anything on your mind…”

            “Thank you, Inez.”

            “De nada.”

            “This is a silly question, I’m sure, but what do you think you’ll do after you graduate?”

            “I haven’t thought about it much; it’s still far away. I think I want to work with the Peace Corps for a little bit, and maybe Seminary after that.”

            “Pardon my ignorance, but there aren’t professional Bible quizzers?”

            “Not so much. Occasionally tournaments will let adults compete, but it’s mostly geared toward adolescents. Why do you ask?”

            “Rufus and I were talking about graduation over lunch today, and it got me to thinking.”

            “You two aren’t graduating until the spring.”

            “I suppose it’s just starting to feel real now.”

            “So what do you plan on doing once you graduate?”

            “That’s the big question now, isn’t it? I figured I would go into education, but I’m considering staying at Success Summit.”

            “That’s…possible?”

            “I’m sorry, I misspoke. I don’t know how much you’re aware yet, but as you go through your classes, Success Summit will start to pressure you into becoming an alumni researcher after you graduate. Once you’re a senior, that pressure starts to build up even more.”

            “I’m sorry?”

            “Rufus doesn’t think I should stay.”

            “I’m afraid I still don’t understand. Success Summit is pretty awesome. Why would working for the school be such a bad thing?”

            Francesca thought for a moment. She envied how innocent and naïve Inez was. “Why do you think we have to undergo testing once a week?”

            Inez furrowed her brow. “Because we’re All-Stars.”

            “Yes, but why?”

            “To test our abilities, to make sure we’re the best students we can be.”

            Francesca could see that Inez hadn’t begun to question Success Summit’s practices yet. The Bible Quizzer’s mind was likely to change during the Intersession between semesters when her abilities would be called into action. Inez was smart, and Francesca was sure that she would be able to see through the premise of the Intersession. The sophomore Intersession is a strange experience, and it changes people; Francesca didn’t want to expedite this process. “The kids are really enjoying Lily’s activities today,” said the Tutor, purposefully changing the subject.

            Inez smiled, watching the games. “They are, sí.” Pause. “Do you know what Lily will do once she graduates? I imagine she will become a dance instructor, or perhaps a voice actress.”

            Francesca’s heart sank; Inez was ruining things for herself. “No, she will stay at Success Summit.”

            Inez furrowed her brow again. “That is interesting. I do not mean to sound insulting, but I feel that Lily’s…gifts would be better suited outside of an academic environment.”

            “Unfortunately, she will not have much choice in the matter. You and I belong to the Mental Class of students; Lily is in the Innate Class. You’ll notice that there aren’t many students in that class. The Luckies have options at graduation, but the others…not so much. Lily and Austin will stay at the school, just as Tina and Melody will.”

            “And I gather that Shannon and Dusty will then, too.”

            “And Mari and Anton. I can tell that Anton knows this already, and he’s not too happy about it.”

            “He never seems to be happy; I do wish he would smile more.”

            “Me too.” The two girls watched the Kawaii play with the children.

            “Does she know?” asked Inez.

            Francesca smiled, stifling a laugh. “Oh, you know Lily. She’s too focused on enjoying the present to worry much about the future.”

            “You’re going to be bathed in tears at graduation, then.”

            “Don’t worry, I’ll be doing my fair share of crying, too. But that’s so far off, and it’s all I’ve been thinking about all day. The time for being nostalgic will come later. Tell me, are you coming to Ed’s party tonight?”

            Inez sighed. “More than likely, I will be. I probably won’t stay the entire time, though. Things started to get…loco toward the end at the last one.”

            Francesca smiled wide, working harder to stifle a laugh now. “Ahh, but often times that part’s the most fun.”

            Inez raised an eyebrow at the Tutor. “I’m sure I’ll come to learn that in time.”

            Francesca had had enough of this depressing talk; it was a Friday, after all. “Come on, my legs are feeling much better; let’s rejoin the circle.”

            Inez half smiled at the Tutor. Francesca knew that look; Inez was smart, and not just book-smart. The Bible Quizzer could tell when things were up, but she was careful not to push. Inez reminded Francesca a lot of herself. Intelligent, driven, and caring. This also saddened Francesca; for all the good that Success Summit had done for her, there were just as many evils. She could no longer see the world the way she once did, and it pained her to know that Inez would undergo this transformation soon. When the moon did not rise in the night sky, dreams, filled with the atrocious deeds that she herself had committed in the name of Success Summit, would haunt her sleep. There was no going back after that, there was no going back.

            Francesca and Inez returned to the circle, and the kids welcomed them graciously. They began to dance around with the children, and their recent conversations vanished to the backs of their minds. It was moments like these that reminded Francesca why she was an All-Star Tutor. So long as she could bring light and happiness to those in the dark, then her life had meaning.

            The hour came to an end, and it was time for the girls to return to the school. Dinner would start in another hour, so Francesca took the time between five and six to work on homework. The sooner she got it done, the sooner she could enjoy her weekend. On weekdays, curfew started at ten, but on the weekends it went up until midnight, so she didn’t have to worry about not being able to get into the library.

            Francesca was mostly alone in the library. From her own table, she could hear the turnings of pages farther off in the room, but there wasn’t enough sound for her to figure out who was doing the turning. As she sat, she finally had a chance to reflect upon her day. Working out, five classes, the YMCA, socialization; there was still more to go. With a sigh, Francesca unzipped her backpack and pulled her Trigonometry book out.

            Francesca worked diligently with her sines and cosines for about half an hour. Looking at the clock, dinner would start soon. It would be far too easy to finish working for the day, but she didn’t become an All-Star Tutor by sitting on her butt. They would be looking at the poetry of Emily Dickinson next in her English class, and she could easily get through a few poems in this weird interim period.

            Finally, suppertime came, and Francesca’s stomach was glad. It was a long-standing Success Summit tradition that all the students have dinner together with their own classes. The only exceptions were emergencies or serious illnesses. Melissa loved the idea, and despite grumblings in the beginning, the other students had come to enjoy the time together as well.

            Throughout the dinner hour, Francesca listened to her friends sharing about their lives. At Elizabeth’s prompting, Theo spoke more of his travels with Kevin during fall break a few weeks back, while the Historian herself remarked about the simply gorgeous painting her parents had sent her for her dorm room. Francesca had to hold back a laugh while Markus animatedly talked about his next theatrical venture, and James updated everyone on the editing process of his and Markus’s project from earlier in the semester—they were all naturals for the camera. Austin and Randolph said they had nothing new to report, while Cody and Rico were excited about the upcoming sports festival. Francesca had to restrain herself from growing too excited when Taylor and Delilah started talking about Ed’s party; Lily, Jenny, and Mari were going to have a movie night in Lily’s room tonight if anyone wanted to join them. Rufus discussed the movie he and Rina were going to see, and Jordan was surprisingly able to have a civil conversation with him about it. Melissa was simply happy to see everyone else enjoying their time.

            Directly after dinner, much to the chagrin of those involved, Success Summit had a student council meeting. Francesca was looking forward to the meeting, if only because it was the last major matter of business in her day. After they cleaned up their area, Francesca and Melissa made their way upstairs to the student council room. By the time the clock struck seven, the other six members—two from each class—made their way to the room as well. Melissa, Francesca, Shu, Ruby, Ryan, Alexander, Whitney, and Zack sat around a large table to discuss the goings-ons of the school. It could be awkward having Melissa and Ryan in the same room at the same time, but as the secretary, Francesca didn’t have time to worry about the inter-council interactions.

            Today was as standard a student council meeting as ever. There were complaints about not enough tissue boxes for all the classrooms, flimsy chalk, people not respecting quiet hours after curfew. It was clear that no one wanted to spend a lot of time in the meeting with a party just on the horizon; Francesca knew she was itching to get out of there. Unfortunately, Melissa noticed the absence of energy and charged everyone to participate in an energy-building game. There were groans of protest, but the students had learned not to cross Melissa. When the Politician activated her All-Star powers, she was downright terrifying.

            Afterwards, the students finished up their reports, and they were finally free for the night. Francesca immediately headed back to the dorms, but she didn’t go to her room. Instead, she made her way to Delilah’s room, where Taylor and the Cosmetologist were waiting for her.

            “I’m sorry I’m late,” said Francesca, stepping into the room. “Melissa held us over in the meeting.”

            Taylor crossed her arms. “Well, we’ve been such good friends waiting up for you, so, like, we need to make up for lost time now.”

            “I hear you, sugar,” said Delilah, reaching into her closet. “Frannie, put your things down and relax.”

            Francesca had been carrying her backpack around all day, and it was nice to set it down for a spell. She deposited her bag on the floor by Delilah’s desk and took a seat on her bed next to Taylor. Delilah returned from her closet with three full shot glasses in hand. She handed one to the Tutor and Lucky, and on the count of three, the girls yelled “Cheers!” and “Bottoms up!”

            Francesca couldn’t remember when they had started the tradition, but it was customary for the three girls to pre-game before any party. They took turns supplying the alcohol, and that usually determined how intense they got. Francesca’s drink of choice was a glass of wine, but tonight they would be drinking Delilah’s favorite: rum; Taylor preferred gin and, on a good night, vodka.

            Delilah joined the others on her bed, cups in hand, mixing the girls drinks they sipped from every now and then. Taylor was drinking the most adamantly of them all. “Girls, I have been looking forward to this party for, like, ever,” said the Lucky. “You have no idea how badly I need this right now. Mama needs to dance!”

            “You’re not the only one,” replied Delilah. “These hips have been burning for some rug cutting, and you know what they say about hips and telling the truth.”

            “And what about you, Cesca?” asked Taylor.

            Francesca took a healthy swig from her glass. “Hey, I am excited for this tonight too. This is my chance to cut loose for the week.”

            Taylor slung her arm over Francesca’s shoulder. “Maybe you shouldn’t be such an uptight bitch all the time.”

            Francesca now slung her arm over the Lucky’s shoulder. “And maybe you shouldn’t be such a little slut.”

            Delilah butted in between the two girls. “Hey, if anyone’s gonna be a whorish bitch in here, it’s gonna be me.”

            Taylor’s voice lowered. “Delilaaaaah, you’re not a horrid fish, floorish hitch, fuck.”

            “Whorish bitch,” offered Francesca. It was almost embarrassing how quickly the drink went through the Lucky.

            “Thanks. That. You are a wonderful woman.”

            Delilah pursed her lips and pointed a finger at Taylor. “No, you’re a wonderful woman.”

            “Nuh-uh, you are.”

            “Mm-hmm, honey, you are!”

            Francesca took her turn to interrupt the “cat fight.” “You’re both very pretty ladies.”

            Taylor and Delilah looked at Francesca with love in their eyes. “Ahh, Frannie…”

            “Cesca…”

            The two girls swung their arms around the Tutors. “You’re the prettiest lady!” they said together.

            After hugging for a little longer than necessary, Taylor broke away and lay down on the bed. “Girls, I don’t…I don’t need a party. I just really needed some girl time.”

            Delilah raised her hands to the ceiling. “You’re preaching to the choir, honey. I needed my girls like a night-hen needs straw.”

            “Then let’s have another toast,” said Francesca, “to us!” The other girls agreed heartily, and another round of shots went down the hatch. The girls giggled; it was already shaping up to be a good night.

            Taylor put her drink on Delilah’s nightstand and held her fists on her thighs. “But real talk, ladies. We gotta go into this thing with a plan of attack. Tonight’s the night that Caylor finally becomes a thing.”

            Delilah let out a hearty laugh while Francesca cackled. “Caylor? Is that what y’all are calling yourselves?”

            “What ever happened to Tody? I was quite fond of that one.”

            “Umm, eww, Francesca. That makes us sound like frogs. No, Caylor is gonna be one for the history books.”

            “Yeah, yeah, you been saying that for years,” said Delilah. “How come you’re still so hung up on that boy?”

            “Umm, maybe because he’s, like, the whole package. He’s smart, and funny, and very attractive. I’m a Lucky, after all; I deserve the best of the best.”

            “No offense, sweetie,” started Francesca, “but as smart as our Cody is, he can be a little slow on the uptake.”

            “Yeah, you been after him since day one, but he don’t act none the wiser.”

            “You. Are not. Listening. We are soul mates. We are destined to be together!”

            Francesca chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Did Cassy tell you that?”

            Taylor huffed. “I don’t need some fortune-telling gypsy to explain to me what I already know.”

            Delilah wanted to continue humoring the tipsy girl. “So what’s your plan then, huh?”

            “We’re on the attack tonight, ladies. Cody’s gotta have eyes for me, and for me only. If you see some other girl dancing away and hogging the spotlight, you get her outta there. Capisce?”

            “Heh heh, you’re the boss, hun.”

            “Whatever you say,” insisted Francesca.

            The three girls spent the rest of the hour laughing and finishing up their drinks. By the time nine o’ clock rolled around, it was time to head down to the gymnasium for Ed’s birthday party. Phoebe’s invitations announced that the party began at eight and would run until curfew, but the girls knew better than to arrive when the invitations said to; they just had to be fashionably late.

            When they stepped through the gym doors, the party was already in full swing. As usual, the All-Star Hostess had outdone herself with the decorations. There was an obvious circus theme going on, but with a touch of Phoebe’s decorous flair. The girls had arrived just in time to see Phoebe introduce the Success Summit’s band’s set for the next hour. Francesca estimated that at least three-quarters of the student population were in attendance.

            Once Phoebe handed the microphone over to Aloradonna, she spotted the girls and rushed over to see them. “My dahlings, I’m so glad you could make it!” Phoebe rushed them and gave them each fake kisses on their cheeks. “Mwah, mwah! It’s so good of you to come. This party has been a complete nightmare. I’ve spent half the night keeping Mark and Rosa away from each other, and I’m not even convinced Ed knows that this party is for him. Not to mention I’ve had to keep one eye on Brittany—I don’t trust her at the punch bowl by herself. But now that you’re here, Francesca, I’ll have a hand keeping everything under control.”

            Francesca smiled, shook her head, and placed a hand on the Hostess’s shoulder. “Phoebe, you know I love you, but I’ve had a busy day, and it’s time for me to have some fun.” Francesca then gathered her girls and headed off to the dance floor, leaving Phoebe slightly stunned at the gym entrance.

            Francesca, Taylor, and Delilah took the center of the dance floor, and they were the pièce de résistance at this party. Aloradonna, backed by Reggie, Charles, and Danielle, sang for a good hour, and the three girls danced the entire time. At the end of their set, Taylor found her Cody and spent the rest of the night with him. Francesca could see that, despite Taylor’s not-safe-for-school dance moves, Cody was still as oblivious as ever to her intentions. Delilah and Francesca continued their dancing, occasionally joined by their fellow classmates. It was times like these that made Success Summit such a rewarding school to attend.

            The party was starting to die down around eleven, and Francesca’s feet and legs told her that she needed to take a break. Delilah went to fetch them some drinks while she took up a chair. She wasn’t sitting by herself for long, though; Claude Marley came down to join her.

            “I presume you’re enjoying the party?” said Claude. Francesca’s liver had worked very well throughout the night, but she clung onto the effects of it, and this created a clear disparity of sobriety between the two.

            “I am having a lot of fun, yes.”

            “That’s good to hear.”

            “And yourself?”

            “The same. Phoebe has a firm understanding on how to entertain.”

            “You got that right.”

            “Should I also presume that you girls prepared for the party?”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about, mister.”

            “It’s no wonder that you’ve been enjoying yourself, then.”

            “Hey, don’t knock it till you try it. There’s nothing wrong with a little fun.”

            “No, certainly not.” Pause.

            “Did you just come over here to make fun of me in my drunken stupor?”

            “I wouldn’t necessarily call it a stupor. More like a milieu.”

            “Enough with the fancy semantics. What’s up?”

            “I just thought we might chat while we’re both having a fun night.”

            “And your idea of a friendly chat is to comment upon my state of being?”

            “I don’t mean to offend; I was just trying to make conversation.”

            “Then tell me what’s really on your mind.”

            Claude was silent for a moment. “Have you given any more thought to my proposal?”

            “I have, yes.” Francesca purposefully did not say more; a girl’s got to play hard to get.

            “And?”

            “As you are rightfully aware at the moment, my inhibitions have been compromised, and I am in no position to turn down a date request from the All-Star Poet.”

            Claude shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you. I—”

            Francesca looked the Poet dead in the eyes. “I also thought that way when I was sober earlier.”

            Claude smiled faintly, hiding the intensity of the warmth he felt inside. “I suppose tomorrow night would be too short of notice?”

            Francesca laughed raucously, garnering the attention of some of the other party patrons. “Boy, you have a lot to learn. You’ve got your work cut out for you trying to set up a date with the busiest girl in this school.”

            “I think I’m up for the challenge,” Claude replied coolly.

            “Your tenacity is admirable.”

            “If I’ve learned anything in my two-plus years here, it’s not to give up on my dreams so easily.”

            Francesca thought for a second before responding. “Have any of your poems been about me?”

            Claude hesitated before saying, “I draw inspiration from all sorts of places.”

            “How many?”

            “None that have been published, but a handful that I am proud of.”

            “Can I read them?”

            “They’re still in the editing process. Besides, I don’t know how they end yet.”

            “I’m sure they’ll have beautiful endings.” Francesca looked at Claude endearingly, but then sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m really tired, and my feet are killing me.”

            “I’m sorry. Would you like me to walk you back to your room?”

            “Yes, I would like that. No, wait, I need to get my backpack out of Delilah’s room.” Claude and Francesca turned to search the dance floor for the Cosmetologist. When they finally spied her, she was doing with James what Taylor wished to do with Cody; the Movie Producer must have had some of the drink in him, as well.

            “I wouldn’t think to bother her right now,” said Claude.

            Francesca shook her head. “I’ll just get it from her in the morning.” Against the will of her legs, Francesca forced herself to stand. “Let’s go.”

            Claude offered her his arm, and she took it, holding onto him as they walked back to the dorms. They walked in silence, but it was a comfortable quiet. Francesca felt at peace as they walked, and it was one of the more enjoyable parts of her day. It didn’t take long for them to reach her door, and Francesca was loath to say goodnight.

            “Well, here we are,” said Claude.

            “Very true, sir.”

            “Ahem, uhh, have a good night, then. I will see you tomorrow.” Claude nodded and turned to leave.

            “Hey,” Francesca called after him. He turned around, and as he did so, Francesca moved forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Don’t let me forget about our date.”

            Claude smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

            Francesca smiled back. “Goodnight, Claude.”

            “Night, Francesca.”

            Francesca returned to her door, and went inside as Claude began to walk away. She didn’t waste any time fumbling with the light switch; she kicked her shoes off, shut the door, and collapsed on top of her bed. Her legs were aching, and the rest of her body was utterly exhausted. It had been a long day—a good day—but it was nice to be back in her own room. How many hours had it been? Francesca was glad that she was able to experience a day such as this, and she looked forward to more like it.

            As she drifted to sleep, the clock in her room flashed midnight; another day was just beginning for the All-Star Tutor.