Escape Theory (Keaton School)

“. . . a suspenseful, psychologically complex drama of teenage angst and sexuality.”

What an honor it is to receive a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school. Only problem is that Devon Mackintosh does not want to attend. She realizes she will be out of her element, surrounded by snotty rich kids, but her single mom is so excited by her acceptance and the chance to get into an Ivy League college, how can she refuse?

At age 14 and the beginning of her freshman year, Devon finds solace in her favored Nutter Butter cookies. Though it is close to curfew, Devon needs a drink to go with her treat. After all, who can eat Nutter Butters without milk? With little minutes remaining left, she heads to the dining hall thinking she has enough time to grab her beverage and get back to her dorm. But the machine is locked for the night.

Out of the darkness she hears the voice of classmate, Jason Hutchins, aka Hutch. Not one to be deterred by rules, Hutch persuades Devon to follow him to the kitchen for the milk. Frightened yet excited, Devon follows him only to find they are locked in.

Hutch makes an adventure of their predicament by making pancakes using the Nutter Butters for flavor. Devon meanwhile worries about getting caught, but after spending several hours with Hutch, the two become close, and she really gets to understand the boy whose legacy is in the academy.

We come to junior year, and Devon, still feeling out of place, takes training to be a peer counselor. It will look good on college applications and may help advance her toward a career in psychology.

Then tragedy blasts into her newfound sense of belonging. Hutch is found dead of an apparent suicide. Though Devon and he were not a couple, she valued him deeply and cannot believe he has taken his own life.

Peer counseling allows Devon to discuss private feelings with problem students or those under stress, giving her the opportunity to delve into Hutch’s closest friends’ memories and thoughts regarding to his last day. The ones she sees are hesitant to disclose anything to her until she gains their trust with assurances utmost confidentiality.

Devon understands the real Hutch, so can she find the truth about his demise?

The shift from the present day in Devon’s junior high school year to the backstory of her freshman year and the night she spent locked in the campus kitchen with Hutch, giving sneak previews of exactly what happened with their confinement to her obsession with his untimely passing.

Escape Theory is a suspenseful, psychologically complex drama of teenage angst and sexuality.