They Thought They Buried Us by NoNieqa Ramos

Author:NoNieqa Ramos [Ramos, NoNieqa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FictionYoung Adult, Fiction, young adult fiction, horror, LGBTQ, mystery, boarding school, contemporary, speculative, magical realism, systemic racism, Latinx, prep school
ISBN: 9798765630099
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Published: 2024-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

22

INTERIOR. DAY. OLOPM MAIN BUILDING. DEAN’S OFFICE.

From behind her desk, DEAN INGRAHAM motioned to me. “Have a seat.” Her strawberry-blonde hair and white tea dress stood out against the aqua walls. The family photos stationed in front of her computer were so perfect, they could’ve come with the frames. She twisted open the cap on a Pellegrino bottle and poured the mineral water into a glass. “What can I do for you?”

As she sipped, I swallowed the mucus draining down my throat and explained my issues with my classes. How I was unenrolled from French, one class away from being booted from Geometry. How I was missing English to have this meeting.

With her cream-colored fingernails, she typed something into her computer. “You’ve definitely had a rough start, haven’t you? You abused alcohol your first night on campus. You’ve already explained your difficulty balancing work and classes. Your House Mother reported a noise complaint and destruction of property—damage to the thermostat—and an incident where you falsely accused some girls of stealing your books after they tried to help you?”

“Excuse me?” I leaned forward in my chair. “None of that is true.”

“You threatened your boss today—”

I resisted the impulse to flip my chair. “I did what?”

“With a knife. Which we assume was just melodramatics or she would’ve called campus security. Still highly concerning behavior.” Dean Ingraham’s candy-apple-red lips pressed together, and I could picture a camera zooming in for an extreme closeup. “Yuiza, let’s talk about how we can support you better. I can refer you to the school counselor.” If the counselor was anything like Dr. Ozymandias, that’d be a hard pass. “We can schedule you for mornings before your first class.” Again, nope. “But that still leaves us with the issue of your class schedule.”

“Uh, let’s deal with that first. Question. Aren’t there excused absences here? Like if you’re sick?”

“If you’re ill, yes, an absence from class or work wouldn’t count against you. However, alcohol abuse would not apply.”

“I did not abuse alcohol! Those . . . girls . . .” Poisoned me. Which would sound insane. Which would get me expedited to that counselor who would then extract more personal business that they could use against me. “Never mind. Could I at least get an excuse note for English since I’m here?”

“If I did that, you would be encouraged to skip class. This appointment should’ve been made on your own time. Just like it works in the real world.”

“What time?” I pounded the desk.

Dean Ingraham blanched and backed up in her chair.

“Sorry. I’m just—a lot is happening at once. Just—how can I get back into French?”

She cleared her throat. “We do have an option for online classes, through the school’s intranet network. French is full, but you could take Spanish—and Geometry, since you’re about to get unenrolled from that too.”

“Sign me up for the online Spanish class.” For which I’d presumably need to buy another laptop. “Math has to be in person, though.”

Her lips tightened like a fitted sheet.

“I can’t do math on my own.

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