Valley Forge Boarding School

Chapter 1 - The First Day

My name is John Laurens, I'm 14 years old and a 3rd year student at Valley Forge Boarding School. While I'm originally from South Carolina, my father sent me up north so that I could calm myself and focus on studying in a 'clean slate environment'. What he didn't know was just how wrong he was in the outcome of his idea, and just how much trouble I'd get into. It's all just a month behind us, so it's fresh in my memory, and- oh, let's just start with the first day.

"Get your ass out of bed!", I heard one of my roommates, Lafayette, yell, and seconds later I was hit by the force of a well thrown pillow. "Ouch- Laf, can you please communicate like a normal person? 'Wake up' would've been enough, you know!"

He laughed, and I reduced my revenge to mumbling a few curses as I sat up and reached for my shirt. "What time is it, anyway?", I asked. "Seven in the morning", my other roommate, Alex, answered, sipping his coffee. I pulled on some pants and gave him a confused look. "Where the hell did you find coffee already?"

"Ts ts ts, you curse like a sailor, Laurens", he scolded as he hopped off of his bed and walked over to me, passing me the cup. "Don't ask questions and I'm happy to share. You look like you need it."

Once everyone was properly woken up, more or less gently, and we were all dressed and presentable, we walked to breakfast. There weren't many kids there yet, we were a small private school anyway, but it was ten minutes until breakfast officially started, and so only Professor Washington and James Madison were sitting at the large breakfast table.

Madison was what you could call a teacher's pet; he was mature and focused on his studies, not causing much trouble and being overall a quiet and likable person.

The only reason he had enemies was his unlikely friend, Thomas Jefferson, who was Alex's rival and debate competition. I have to admit, I didn't like him either. Thomas was known for his gaslighting and slimy personality. He held back in front of Washington, but if you talked to him privately then you'd know that he was petty, and a hypocrite too. But enough of that.

We greeted the two and sat down. One by one, the rest of the students entered. Hercules Mulligan, Lafayettes best friend and quite honestly the only calm one in our friendgroup, looked as if he had just crawled out of bed, groggy and rubbing his eyes.

"What's wrong, did you miss your alarm or something?", Lafayette asked, and Hercules just shrugged, clearly not ready for any kind of conversation yet.

Just then, Professor Washington stood up, and the conversations scattered in the room died out instantly when a stranger entered the room. He had short black hair, combed to the side to hide a bald spot, and was wearing a dark blue suit.

The man stood next to our professor, who gestured to him. "This", he said, loudly enough for all students to hear, "is Mr. Pete Lawson. He was sent to us by the state for a mandatory evaluation, and he will be alongside you in your schoolday for the week. I expect you boys to treat our guest with respect, is that understod?"

A collective nod went through the room, and the professor sat back down with a satisfied expression. The stranger sat down next to him, and with most eyes on him started a casual conversation.

I soon lost interest in the sensation, visitors weren't really new to me, and I was glad not to be acknowledged and pulled into view in any way.

The day went by without many happenings. Pete Lawson sat by most of our classes, but he never spoke a word, and instead just scribbled in his notebook. We quickly judged that he was the kind of person to be left alone if possible, wether it be he had a boring personality or just an unpleasant one.

I wasn't very eager to find out which one it was, and I made it through the lessons by watching Alex try to catch a glimpse of the man's clipboard.

"Face it, Alexander, you're not gonna see the contents of that page", I whispered to him. He just shook his head, barely sitting in his chair anymore as he leaned further and further backwards.

I had to hold him back from tipping over, and he went red in the face with embarrassment. "Sorry, I'll stop..." That made me giggle, and Professor Washington gave me a warning glare.

When we went to bed that night, Alexander was talking on and on, rambling about the government and corruption, and while I first tried to talk with him, I was tired enough, and I soon fell into a silent admiration as I watched his wild gestures.

His face was red and it seemed that he wouldn't care to take a breath if he could avoid it. I found it to be quite endearing, he had always been the type to have everything he does be attractive.

"Alex, mon ami, I love you, but I'm trying to sleep", Lafayette groaned, making Alex go silent for a split second before huffing and finally lying down in bed. "Merci." "Yeah yeah, sleep well. You too, Jack."

I pulled the blanket over my head and turned to face the wall, it was the only position I could easlily fall asleep in. "Goodnight you two", I muttered, earning a groan from Lafayette. "Just shut up!"

The room fell silent, and I lied still as I tried to fall asleep. The moon was bright and full, so much so that not even the thick curtains could hold off the light. My breathing seemed awfully loud, even though I knew that it just felt like that to me.

There wasn't another sound to be heard from my roommates, and so I assumed they were both asleep. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and sat up in bed.