SING ME TO SLEEP -- neil perry

chapter seven: who's next

Neil lay in his bed with his eyes wide open and facing the ceiling. His back was against his wrinkled sheets and he could feel the folds against his bare skin. Even though it was the middle of October, it was extremely warm in the dorms, and the school, with all of their extensive entrance fees, couldn't seem to afford fans, much less air conditioning. As Neil lay there, trying desperately to fall asleep, he heard a voice from next to him.

"Are you still awake?" Todd whispered

"It's just really hot in here," Neil explained.

"Do none of the dorms have air conditioners?"

"No, but you'd think that after seven years of dealing with this, I'd have gotten used to it. They crank the heating up all the way in the middle of October and think we'll be comfortable."

"Well, at least we have plenty to think about." Todd remarked.

Neil sat up and crossed his legs on his bed with his back to the wall so that he was facing Todd, "What, you mean Mr. Keating's class today?" he asked.

"Of course I do. I assume you've never had a teacher tell you to rip the pages out of a book before. I sure haven't" Todd laughed.

"At this school we rip pages out of our textbooks all the time. In fact, all the teachers endorse it," Neil joked. He saw Todds eyes widen in surprise and realized he hadn't caught the joke. "Oh, I'm only joking. I think any precious teacher I've had would've pulled his own eyes out of his head before ripping a page out of a textbook."

Todd nodded. "Sorry, I'm not very good at understanding when people are sarcastic. I tend to take everything completely seriously."

"That's fine. I don't mind explaining. And if one of my friends says something you don't understand, you can always ask me. Hopefully, I'll have some idea what they're talking about, although half the time I couldn't tell you for the life of me." Neil said kindly. Todd nodded in appreciation. He was now sitting up to face Neil as well and they both looked down at their hands.

After a moment's pause in the conversation, Todd spoke up. "Do you like listening to music?"

"Absolutely, it's one of the few things I enjoy doing but its so hard to find a good way to listen at this school. They confiscated my Walkman when I brought it, and I kind of doubt they're ever going to give it back."

Todd began to smirk. "What, what is it?" Neil said excitedly. "Did you manage to sneak in something?" Todd grinned.

"You bet I did, now turn around while I get it out. I can't divulge it's secret hiding place to anyone else."

"Not even me?" Neil said, fake pouting.

"No, now stop looking," Todd said sternly and Neil turned around so that his back was to Todd. He heard Todd shuffling around and the sounds of some bumping as he pulled out a heavy object. "Ok, you can look now." Neil turned around and his eyes widened.

"You managed to sneak a whole record player in here! How in the world did they not catch you?"

"I have my tricks," Todd said. Neil continued to beg, but Todd refused to divulge any more information. Neil stood up and climbed over onto Todd's bed.

"What albums do you have?"

Todd reached down into his drawer and began to pull out albums one by one. Van Halen. Guns N' Roses. U2. The Who. REM. The Beastie Boys. "You listen to the Beastie Boys?" Neil remarked in surprise upon seeing the album.

"Yeah of course, they're absolutely amazing." Todd explained.

"I know, I just didn't think they were the kind of band any other kid at this school would listen to. My parents have told me consistently that they are trashy and only meant for, and I quote 'thugs'"