Anna's Twist On Dead Poets Society

The First Day

Rose woke up to the sunlight shining into her dorm. She sighed it was her official day at Welton. Just as she went to get up, there was a knock at the door. Quickly, she got up and answered the door, it was Mr. Nolan. 

"Here is your uniform, I think it shall look rather nice on you," he said in his usual dreadful voice. 

Rose smiled and thanked him. As soon as he was gone she laid the uniform down on her bed. It was a long gray dress that consisted of several petticoats and included a corset. The top layer was made of a stronger material than the rest. It also came with a jacket which had Welton's signature emblem on the side. And if that wasn't enough, instead of a coat she had to wear a cloak. It looked as if it came from the 1800's. Rose was taken back by this, she was expecting the usual private school outfit, this was outrageous. She went to move the heavy dress and underneath was a nightgown.  It was a plain white bottom that came up into a lace bodice. It was beautiful, but once again had an older feel. She laughed slightly at this and decided she should start to put the outfit on, she didn't want to be late on the first day!

She slid into the first layer fine, but the corset was another story! It was extremely hard to clip, but once she got it,  she realized the true issue, she could barely breathe! Deciding to ignore the issue she continued to get dressed. By the time she was done it was 6:50, knowing the ceremony started at 7:00 she made her way towards the auditorium (she skipped breakfast party because she was so nervous and partly because the corset was so tight eating didn't seem like an option). As she walked through the halls, clusters of families and boys in Welton suits filled the school. She longed for her family at this time, someone who would love her unconditionally. But, she had to push this to the back of her mind, the ceremony was starting. 

Mr. Nolan stood up at the podium and said, "Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?"

Every boy stood up and spoke in unison, "Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence."

Rose stood there in awe, what was she getting into? It seemed as if the school was the military, they spoke as if they were robots! She shook it off, as Mr.Nolan began his speech of the importance of high education and the high percentage of students that go on to ivy league schooling. During this part of the ceremony, Rose was in her own little world, not paying much attention to the lecture. She thought of her friends and the life she left behind. She began to try and think positively. I mean she was the first girl at Welton, and that had to account for something right? All of a sudden she was pulled out of thought when Mr. Nolan announced her residency at Welton.

"This year we have a special student with us, our very first young woman to attend Welton Academy, Miss. Rose Buffay. I do hope you all treat her with respect, and do not worry if she becomes too much of a distraction then private lessons can be discussed."

All eyes went to her. She looked down embarrassed that such an announcement was made to the whole school, but then again not surprised. Many of the parents gave her dirty looks like she was going to destroy their son's future just by standing there. The boys looked her up and down with smirks on their faces. This was going to be a long year for Rose. 

Soon after, the boys were dismissed and headed towards their dorms. Rose followed in the same direction to get to her own room when she was grabbed by a larger boy with wicked green eyes. 

"Well look at what we have here? You know you are too pretty to be by yourself" he said in a rough voice. Rose struggled not sure how exactly to respond. 

"Leave her be, Daren, or I'll tell your parents of your little mishap last year!" shouted a handsome boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes to match. 

"Thanks, that was close," said Rose. 

"Your welcome, I'm Neil by the way." 

" I'm Rose" 

"I heard," he smiled and then asked, " Would you like to meet some of my friends, since your new here, and probably don't know many people?"

"I'd love too!" exclaimed Rose. And at that moment there was something there. Though small and brief, they each felt it, something unlike ever before. Something that stirred up from deep down inside of each other, but they could not figure out exactly what it was. 

Now Neil was a kind boy filled with passion and wonder. But, just like Rose, he was troubled. Not in a juvenile delinquent kind of way, more of the kind of trouble that was quiet and certainly painful. You see, his parents never cared about what he wanted or his personality or even his interests. They were obsessed with creating the perfect son, who would go off and become a doctor. They were harsh and obsessive, this put Neil under extreme pressure. The only thing that kept him going was his friends. And now possibly this pretty new girl, which he already adored. 

I just realized that this is not helping the fact that this story is a happy one, but we all know that life isn't always a fairy tale, and that's something that we have to all accept at one point. I mean Cinderella was a maid before she went to the ball, right?