𝐎 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎 neil perry au.

i. CHAPTER ONE

HUNDREDS OF YOUNG BOYS, ranging from twelve to seventeen, filed into the stone chapel of the illustrious Welton Academy in Vermont alongside their proud-faced parents as they awaited the welcoming ceremonies. Among those young boys stood Romeo Carmichael.

His dull blue eyes examined his worn-out, white Chuck Taylor's as he and his not-so-proud-faced parents followed the others and took a seat in one of the old wooden pews near the back of the chapel. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen his parents with a proud look on their faces, the blonde-haired boy had grown accustomed to the permanent scowl resting upon his father's face and the disappointment he saw every time he looked into his mother's eyes. It had been that way since the Carmichael's found out that their eldest son, Theodore, had died while serving in the Korean War.

Only short seconds later, Romeo's negative thoughts were interrupted by the sound of bagpipes as a short, elderly man dressed in flowing robes lit a candle and lead a procession of students carrying banners, robed teachers, and alumnae down an extended hallway into the chapel.

The four boys known as Neil Perry, Knox Overstreet, Charlie Dalton, and Richard Cameron held their banners high as they followed the others down the aisle, breaking off to either side as they reached the front of the church. There, sat the teachers in their robes behind the headmaster.

Headmaster Gale Nolan, a rather large man in his early sixties who Romeo believed resembled Humpty Dumpty from the nursery rhymes, waited patiently for the bagpipes to cease before he began the ceremony.

"Ladies and gentlemen... boys..." he said dramatically, pointing to the elderly man with the candle. "The light of knowledge."

The audience gave a polite round of applause, Romeo only joining in when he felt the glares from his father burning into his soul.

"One hundred years ago, in 1859, 41 boys sat in this room and were asked the same question that greets you at the start of each semester. Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?"

With that, all the uniformed boys sprung to their feet, joined awkwardly a few seconds later by the newcomers who were still unaware of how the welcoming ceremonies functioned. Romeo looked to his right to see another boy about his age without a uniform looking about as miserable as he felt at that moment.

"Tradition, honour, discipline, excellence." The majority of young boys stated before quickly returning to their seats.

"In her first year, Welton Academy graduated five students. Last year we graduated fifty-one. And more than seventy-five percent of those went on to the Ivy League. This, this kind of accomplishment is the result of fervent dedication to the principles taught here. This is why you parents have been sending us your sons. This is why we are the best preparatory school in the United States."

Once again, the chapel sounded with applause from the audience.

"As you know, our beloved Mr. Portius of the English department retired last term. You will have the opportunity later to meet his replacement, Mr. John Keating, himself a graduate of this school. And who, for the past several years, has been teaching at the highly regarded Chester School in London."

Romeo, as well as the other students, craned their necks to get a good look at the new teacher who stood up at the front. Mr. Keating was younger than the other teachers, possibly in his early thirties, his hair still a shade of dark brown. After Mr. Keating sat back down, Nolan said a few more words before concluding the ceremony.

The parents and students then flooded out of the chapel and onto the chilly campus grounds where students gathered up their luggage and said their final goodbyes to their parents before walking off to their dormitories.