The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy by Diane Stanley Page B

They’re good for us.”
    Cal shook her head. “Come on, Franny, think about it. We’re already taking vitamins. And the food here is incredibly nutritious. So what’s with the brownies?”
    I shrugged.
    â€œWell, hold that thought. We’ll return to it. So,anyway, after a while I got so sick of the nurse bugging me to eat the brownies that I started crumbling them into the potting soil of that poinsettia you guys sent me. When she’d come back to get my tray, she’d be so psyched that I had eaten my brownie like a good girl. Never mind that I hadn’t touched my fish and had only eaten three green beans and, like, a bite of salad.
    â€œDo you remember, back then, that I said I’d been doing a lot of thinking? Well, here’s what I was thinking: I noticed, shortly after I got here last summer, that I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I’d think about my dad, and how I’d hardly ever see him and how he was in so much danger, working where he does. And nothing came. No emotions. Nothing at all.
    â€œI talked to my PD counselor about it, and she said I was just making a wonderful adjustment to a situation that was beyond my control. It was a healthy response. And I thought that made sense. I was glad about it. I had spent too much of my life feeling miserable, you know?
    â€œWhen my mom found out she had cancer, it was already too late. It had spread and she didn’t have much time left. So she made me this video. Every time she thought of something she wanted to tell me, that she thought I’d need to hear some time inthe future, she would set up the camera, sit in front of it, and talk. She must have worked on it for weeks, because she had on, like, twenty different outfits over the course of that video. I think it’s what kept her going, there toward the end, the thought of giving me motherly advice from the grave. For a long time after she died, I would watch that thing compulsively, over and over, crying and just wallowing in grief.
    â€œThen when I finally got over that , and was moving forward and cheering up a little, my dad started drifting out of my life, and it began all over again, the grief and the self-pity. Between one thing and another, I’ve been a total basket case for a good part of my life. So naturally, when I got to Allbright and stopped feeling all that pain, it was, like, this huge relief. I thought, boy I must have been really depressing to be around! How could anybody stand me? And by the way, Prescott, while I’m on the subject, I have an answer to your question now—about why I went up the mountain when my insides hurt: because I couldn’t bear to be Cal-who-is-forever-having-problems anymore. I was determined to be cheerful no matter what. I would just tough it out and smile through the pain.”
    â€œPretty good analysis, Dr. Freud,” Prescott said. “But what you did was still incredibly stupid.”
    â€œGee, thanks,” Cal said.
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    â€œCal, we’re still waiting to hear what this is all about,” I said.
    â€œI know. Sorry. So, anyway, I had this feeling I was really a changed person, like I said. Did any of you notice that I was different?”
    â€œYes,” Brook and I said in unison.
    â€œOkay. There were other things too. Schoolwork was easier for me than it’s ever been before. I felt smarter all of a sudden, and more motivated. Things didn’t distract me so easily; I could concentrate and remember things incredibly well. All of this was totally awesome! But I did have these weird visual sensations, especially the light. It seemed brighter and clearer and—”
    â€œâ€”blue,” Prescott said.
    Jaws dropped all around. “Yes,” I said. “Me too. It wasn’t dramatic or anything, but I noticed.”
    â€œAha!” she said. “This is going to be easier than I thought. Didn’t any of you think