SWEET TALK ── charlie dalton

i.

❨𝒐𝒏𝒆❩
WELCOME TO HELLTON GIRLS

Term was definitely going to be different this year. Somehow my parents, more so my father, convinced Nolan to let me go to Welton Academy. Not that I wanted to go. From what I knew the school was filled with rich brats, who held some sort of entitlement. It was populated with strict teachers who constantly had their noses upturned in displeasure.

I sat next to my brother in the back of my family's car. Neil had been a long term student at Welton, and had a large group of friends. A group who didn't even know I existed. Nerves bounced through my veins as we neared the school, the traffic steadily increasing.

"Josie, you'll be fine." Neil reassured quietly, glancing at our parents. The pair paid no mind to us, my mother's nose being stuck in the news and my fathers on the road. I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. My fingers ran through my hair, knowing I had to uphear to my family's perfect standard. Our family however, was far from perfect. In fact, I would say we were polar opposites. We had no connections with each other. Only my brother and I spending any sort of time together. My parents often resided together, enrolling Neil and I into all types of classes in order to keep us out of the house and productive. Of course I loved them regardless and I know my brother had a soft spot of our mother.

We pulled up to the campus, fighting our way to a parking spot. It was beautiful, green rolling hills, a glistening lake and old architecture. Parents and students of all ages bustled around us. Some kids cried whilst others stood tall, all of them making their way into the meeting hall. I bid my brother farewell, finding a seat with our parents.

I sat in-between the two since Neil had to hold a banner. I sat straight and upright, as the boys walked by, a bagpipe accompanying them. The first boy had a stern frown painted on his face, his red hair contrasting his pale skin, the second, plain, his hair buzzed shortly to his scalp. The third one had a long face, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, lastly was my brother. I gave him a small smile as he passed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys, the light of the knowledge." Mr Nolan spoke, gesturing to the candle "One hundred years ago, in 1859, forty-one boys sat in this room and were asked the same question that now greets you at the start of each semester. Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?"

"Tradition! Honor! Discipline! Excellence!" The boys surrounding me chanted in unison, standing up as they did. After they concluded they sat back down. They were like robots, moving and speaking at the same time. Conformity being one of Weltons finest trait. Neil had come back to his seat beside my father, his jaw just every so slightly clenched.

"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 your sons. This is why we are the best preparatory school in the United States." He paused for a moment, letting applause fill the air.