It was a very early morning at Welton Academy in Vermont. A silent, melancholy air surrounded the academy.

This was especially the case as Charlie Dalton—accompanied by three of the other Dead Poets Society pledges, Richard Cameron, Stephen Meeks, and Gerard Pitts, who all stayed by the door of the room—walked into the dorm of Todd Anderson and the late Neil Perry. He had come to solemnly deliver news to Todd.

"Todd," murmured Charlie, shaking said boy slightly to pull him out of sleep. "Todd, wake up. Todd."