Phillip Margolin: Sleeping Beauty

“I just finished talking to Mr. Paggett. He’s going to let you finish your junior year without going back to school. You won’t even have to take any exams. He’ll give you the grades you’ve gotten to date. They’re pretty high so that’s okay.”

A look of relief spread across Ashley’s face, but Terri showed no reaction. Ashley had always confronted her fears; she was strong, a born leader. That she wanted to hide in her house saddened Terri.

“There’s something else. Last week, I received a letter from the Oregon Academy. I didn’t want to discuss it with you until I’d talked to Mr. Paggett and the people at the Academy. I met with both of them today.”

Ashley sat up. The Oregon Academy was a perennial powerhouse in girls’ high school soccer. The private school had repeated as state champion this year and was ranked nationally. Eisenhower had lost to them in the state quarterfinals, but Ashley had scored two goals.

“The Academy wants you to go to their school for your senior year,” Terri said, keeping her tone neutral so that Ashley would not see how desperate she was for Ashley to take this opportunity. “They’re offering a full scholarship. We…we don’t have much money. I told them I couldn’t afford to send you if I had to pay. But they really want you. You impressed them at States. And playing for the Academy would increase your chances of getting into a top college. The school is A-one academically, and there would be a lot more athletic scholarship offers if you played for a nationally ranked team.”

For the first time since the tragedy, Ashley looked interested in something. Terri pressed on.

“And it would be a new start, a change of scenery. You could even board at the school, if you want to. You’d be out of the house, on your own. It would be a little like college.”

Terri stopped and held her breath. She knew that she would be terribly lonely if Ashley roomed at the Academy, but she was willing to make any sacrifice to help Ashley heal.

“When…when would I start?” Ashley asked.

“The school year begins in September but they have a soccer camp there in the summer. Some of the girls help out. The person I talked to said that you might be able to do that. I think some members of the Olympic team are going to be there.”

Ashley shifted in her seat. Terri could see that she was thinking hard.

“You don’t have to make up your mind right away. We could visit. You could see if you like the place, maybe meet some of the girls on the team. It’s only thirty minutes away,” Terri said, desperate to keep the conversation going. “What do you say? We could take a drive out there tomorrow. The weather is going to stay nice. The school is in the country. It would be fun.”

“Okay,” Ashley said in a voice so small that Terri wasn’t certain she heard her correctly.

“Good. I’ll call right now and see when they want us.”

“That’s fine.”

Terri nodded, when she really wanted to cry from relief. Ashley was going to shower, dress, and leave the house. After everything that had happened, this was more than she’d hoped for.

The Van Meters had built Glen Oaks, their country estate, in the late 1800s by clearing several acres of oak, maple, and Douglas fir that ran up to the banks of the Willamette River. A stone wall guarded the perimeter of the estate. On the other side of the wall the road ran through a further buffer of forest that soon gave way to well-tended lawns and flower gardens bordered by pruned hedges. Then the road forked. To the left was an elegant stone mansion. A wide lawn separated the house from the road.

“That’s Henry Van Meter’s home,” Terri said as she took the right tine of the fork. “He founded the Academy. We’re meeting with his daughter, Casey. She runs the school.”

A boy and a girl on bicycles rode by, and Ashley saw a group of girls sitting on the grass, laughing. The Academy was pastoral and idyllic, the way she imagined one of those English universities like Oxford or Cambridge might be.

They passed some boys and girls playing tennis. Beyond the courts was a large outdoor pool, and beyond the pool was a modern steel-and glass gymnasium. Behind that was the soccer field. The team was practicing. Ashley stared with longing at the running, shouting girls.

On either side of a grassy quadrangle that was shaded by well-spaced elm trees were three-story brick buildings with white columns and peaked roofs that housed the classrooms of the Academy. Students were talking on the quadrangle and walking back and forth between the buildings. Everybody seemed happy and engaged.

The administrative offices were in another brick building at the far end of the quadrangle. Terri parked next to it in a small lot. The admissions office was on the first floor, and the dean’s office was above it. Upstairs, Terri gave the receptionist her name while Ashley looked at pictures of the school that hung on the waiting-room wall. One of them was a black-and-white photograph of a straight-backed, stern-looking man in a business suit standing in the middle of a construction site.

“That’s my father, Henry Van Meter.”

Ashley turned. A tall, thin woman with clear blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a wide forehead was standing in the doorway of the dean’s office. She was dressed in a white silk shirt, a blue pinstripe jacket, and matching skirt. Her straight blond hair fell to her shoulders, and a pearl necklace graced her slender neck.

“He started the Oregon Academy in this building.” She pointed at the picture Ashley had been looking at. “That’s what everything looked like during the first week of construction.”

The woman held out her hand. “I’m Casey Van Meter. You must be Ashley Spencer.”

Ashley hesitated, then shook Casey’s hand.

Casey smiled. “Actually, I didn’t have to guess who you were. I saw you score those goals against us in the quarterfinals of the state championships. I go to all the girls’ games. You’re very good-but you know that.”

Ashley flushed and looked down, embarrassed. Casey laughed. “And modest, too. That’s a trait I admire. We don’t encourage prima donnas at the Academy.”

Casey turned her attention to Ashley’s mother. “Hi again, Terri. I’m glad you two decided to look over the campus.”

“It was Ashley’s decision.”

Casey nodded. Then she fixed Ashley with a sharp gaze that was impossible to avoid.

“What do you see yourself doing five years from now, after you’ve graduated from college?” the dean asked.

“I like science. I was thinking of medical school, but I’m not sure.”

Terri was thrilled to hear her daughter talk about the future and she admired the way Casey Van Meter had shifted Ashley’s attention there so easily.

“Well, we’ve got a top-flight science facility. It’s the first building you passed when you drove down the quad. We designed it to look like the older buildings but, inside, the labs are state-of-the-art. Would you like to take a look at it?”

“Okay.”

“Good. I’m tired of sitting inside on a day like this. We can look around the grounds and end up at the gym. If you’d like, I can introduce you to some of the girls on the soccer team.”

“That would be okay,” Ashley answered nonchalantly, though her body language revealed her excitement at the possibility of meeting the girls on the Academy team.

Casey held open the door. “Shall we stroll?”

The dean walked beside Ashley as they descended the stairs and left the building. Terri followed, listening to Casey’s exposition on the history of the Academy and the school’s goals. The dean cut across the quadrangle, stopping her monologue occasionally to say hello to some of the students they passed. They were almost to the street that separated the quad from the academic buildings when a man in a tweed sports jacket and gray slacks hailed the dean.