A recent fifth-grade graduate from P.S. 166, Charlotte Anne had looked forward to enrolling at I.S. 44 middle school with then—best friend Rachel Richmond (who would run away from home before the end of eighth grade anyway after a particularly brutal belt-beating from her stepfather), but on a tour of the school with her mother, new stepfather, and other visiting parents, rumors of stabbings and children flying out of windows went around and it was decided that Charlotte Anne would attend private school. Initially, in spite of the rumored stabbings, after five years in public school, Charlotte Anne has strong reservations about private school that focus largely on uniforms. In fact, the only dress code at Davis Academy is no clogs or sneakers, which doesn’t sit well with her either but is a more tolerable concession than a short plaid skirt (she had given up skirts and dresses entirely as of the end of third grade and at the urging of Rachel Richmond made a foray into hot pants that lasted exactly one day).
