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The way she said this, and with the way other girls nodded, it made me realized that what I’d suspected before might have been right. They were troubled teens. I didn’t know their backgrounds, but I sensed they were eager, hopeful that the Academy was something much better.
“So it isn’t a school?” someone asked.
“It’s not a school like you’re used to,” she said. “But it’s still an education. We train you according to your needs—both educational and so you may support yourself.”
“You get us jobs,” Carla said. “In fields we like.”
“We create opportunities. The Academy has very smart, very connected people who can help you reach your potential. But it comes at a cost.”
“I knew there was a catch,” Lake said. “You’re going to have us give you all our money once we get jobs.”
“No,” I said, even before Mrs. Rose could shake her head—I knew it wasn’t like that though I wasn’t exactly sure how it worked.
Mrs. Rose continued. “This is where the favor and banking system takes place. That’s what I call it. I think their terms have changed over the years but I’m still thinking in old terms. Old bird that I am.”
“Oh yeah, we’re birds, aren’t we?” one of the younger girls asked.
“But what about the dogs?” another girl asked. “The boys?”
As Carla tried to explain that birds mean girls and dogs mean boys and it was just Academy slang, I caught a glimpse of the red streaking through the bushes on one side of the trail.
Someone was following us.
I studied our surroundings. There were trees on either side, mostly uninteresting woods. There was no reason why I someone would follow us here other than to spy on us.
There was no telling who it was, either. I had some suspicious, though. There were times the boys followed me either in school or at other times, and it seemed similar. I wondered if it was practice…or if there was a reason.
Mrs. Rose went on as we continued our hike. “We don’t take any money. You keep what you earn. However, internally, the Academy does have its own cash system. We use these funds collectively to start charities, to which we donate funds that go to our families in need. As our numbers grow and our needs increase, we occasionally hold additional fundraisers.”
I thought about the fundraiser at Thanksgiving. I nodded and said, “So when we donate money to the fundraisers, that’s when we’re adding money to...”
She shook her head. “No,” she signed to me as I spoke aloud for everyone else. “Let me explain.” She paused, clearly trying to think of how to say what was next. “When you join the Academy, you’ll be given an indirect ‘fund.'” She did air quotes. “However, you do not have access to it. It’s money you’re provided with to help your situation and can only be dispensed with Academy approval. Consider it like a credit card. Do you all understand credit cards?”
“You charge money to an account,” Carla said, “but you have to pay it back with interest.”
“We don’t charge interest,” she said. “But we do need you pay it back. When you start out, you’re given a debt in the beginning, usually ten grand.”
Jaws dropped around me. “Ten thousand dollars?” one of the younger girls asked. She lifted her hands up and shook her head. “I don’t have a job yet. How am I supposed to...”
Mrs. Rose shook her head and lifted up a palm.
“Let her finish, please,” I said. The girls looked to me, eager for an explanation. I realized they might be thinking I was some sort of leader because I was Mrs. Rose’s voice.
Mrs. Rose continued. “Your Academy ‘credit’ total per individual right now is thirty thousand. Ten thousand is deducted the moment you get access. The money is used for your education and training. It’s actually a real bargain.” She smiled. “Colleges these days, that won’t get you in the first year.”
The girls chuckled, but there was still confusion on their faces.
“Anyway, you never pay any of this money back in cash,” she said. “You must pay that debt back through the jobs you complete for the Academy. Jobs for your own family, helping your family, don’t count. Helping your family, or your family helping you, that’s always free.
“A job you do for the Academy might earn cash for the Academy. That cash is poured into your ‘credit card’”
“When can we spend the money?” Carla asked.
“You can only spend it when your family needs it beyond what you can afford for yourself,” she said. “Or if you wish to use it to better your family. As an example, say you lost your non-Academy job, and you’re short on funds for bills. The money is used to pay until you’re able to get another job.”
“And then we pay it back?” she asked.
“Not in that sense. With Academy work. This is our way of boosting you up without having a constant debt owed to the Academy. It keeps our accounting simple, too, and under the radar.”
“Because we’re secret,” someone said.
“Why are we secret?” someone else asked.
“While that’s a long explanation, the simple answer is: people would try to exploit and take advantage of our system,” Mrs. Rose said. “We are very selective of who we invite into the Academy and you should be very careful not to talk about it.” She paused and shifted her bag on her shoulders as she looked around at the group. “Would anyone like some trail mix or water? I forgot to ask before we started. We should stay hydrated.” She looked right at me.
I hadn’t realized, but my stomach was growling. Two bites of burrito and a candy weren't going to last me through a three-hour hike.
Mrs. Rose opened her bag to pass out water to anyone who didn’t have any. The girls who’d brought cinch bags offered their own bottles they’d brought along, too, along with bug spray and packets of crackers. Mrs. Rose had trail mix and she handed me a small bag.
When everyone had items in hand, we continued on the walk and Mrs. Rose signed to me that we’d take a break while I was eating.
As we walked, some of the girls talked but I concentrated on eating and the occasional streak of red zipping from tree to tree. I began to think there were two of them, the way my a
ttention was drawn to different spots.
I glanced at the other girls, but they hadn’t seemed to notice as they ate and chatted.
I remembered how Mr. Buble was adamant to the new teens about not being peeping toms, and I sincerely hoped it wasn’t new boys who were spying on girls and would get kicked out. However, it didn’t really make sense, either. Why us? We were just hiking and learning more about the Academy.
Then I remembered new people were probably in groups like this, so it shouldn’t be them. So it had to be older Academy people who would know better, and that made me wonder why anyone would follow us at all.
Once I was finished eating, I let Mrs. Rose know I was ready to continue. She gave me a nod and began signing. “I also mentioned another half to our system. Favors.”
“You earn favors from the Academy,” Carla said. She was still in the lead, looking ahead at the trail, but spoke over her shoulder. “When you do jobs.”
“But you also spend favors,” Mrs. Rose signed. “And like the cash system, you begin with a debt.”
“Don’t tell me it’s ten thousand,” someone said.
“No,” Mrs. Rose signed. “It’s only ten favors out of a total of thirty.”
“That’s easy, then,” someone said. “Thirty favors?”
“Not as easy as you think,” she said. “This isn’t asking someone a favor like babysitting for a night or mowing a lawn. Favors mean you’re taking part in something big that could mean a life change for someone else, even if you might not see the result. Think of it like if you volunteer to build a house for the poor. It took effort and time and for that, you’re rewarded a favor.”
“How do we know it’s a favor?” someone asked.
“When you’re recruited to help,” she said. “And you’ll also know ahead of time when something costs you a favor as well.”
“How do we spend favors?” another girl asked.
“It’s the same principle as with the cash system. It never costs favors to work within your own team. I should also say that asking the Academy to help create a plan of action to help within your own family also never costs anything. We are always available for guidance.”
