-eng- Ariel Academy--39-s — Secret School Festival -r...

For eleven months out of the year, Ariel Academy functions as one of the most prestigious—and notoriously strict—preparatory schools on the eastern seaboard. Polished brass railings, hushed libraries, and a uniform code that dictates the angle of one’s blazer buttons. Yet, according to a whisper network of alumni and a recently leaked student diary, there is one night when the gothic gates swing open to chaos, creativity, and the color red.

But those in the know —a self-selecting group of upperclassmen chosen by the outgoing senior class—know the truth. The retreat is a decoy. -ENG- Ariel Academy--39-s Secret School Festival -R...

You might hear the sound of children laughing like adults, and adults dancing like children. For eleven months out of the year, Ariel

The school administration, for its part, maintains a willful blindness. Leaked emails suggest that the “Faculty Retreat” is actually held in the school’s own basement, where teachers drink cheap wine and listen to the thumping bass above them. They simply choose not to look. This year, a rumor has surfaced that the festival will not remain secret. An anonymous manifesto pinned to the school’s online forum reads: But those in the know —a self-selecting group

By J. Corvine