They said Welton was no place for rumors. “Tradition, Honor, Discipline, Excellence,” Nolan barked often enough to make it gospel, but boys will talk, especially when something new cracks the iron mask of routine. Word slipped through the halls like contraband smoke: a transfer. In the middle of the school year. A boy from Westerburg.

The name itself carried a sour taste. Westerburg wasn’t a school, it was a cautionary tale, everyone had heard whispers of the “incident.” Accidents. Bullying. Sex. Scandals. A bombing that wasn’t quite a bombing. Students who vanished, lives ruined, the sort of scandal parents who doesn't dig abit deeper buried in closed-door conversations. Nobody knew the truth, but everyone thought they did.

So when the new kid arrived, quiet, carrying the kind of silence that felt heavier than noise, the gossip sharpened. Some said he’d been expelled for violence. Others said he’d barely escaped with his life. A few swore he’d watched everything unfold with a smirk on his face. But some also says he was the victim. Bullied till he has to seek refuge in the boarding school.

But there's someone whom the rumours have yet to reach. Neil Perry who skipped around the halls, adrenaline coursing as he returned Midsummer Night's Dream rehearsal. He rounded the corner into his room, ready to terrorise his roommate, Todd Anderson, with Puck's monologue, when Cameron intercepted him in the doorway. His voice carried that nasally edge that made every word sound like a lecture.

“Did you hear?” Cameron leaned in like he was about to reveal a test answer. “There's another new guy. A Westerburg boy."

Neil blinked. “Westerburg? Where’s that?” Todd shrugged as Neil turned to him.

Cameron puffed up, relishing the attention. “You know, the school where all those kids supposedly, well, are delinquents. Suicide. It was in the papers too, kids murdered. Bombing. Drugs, too, I heard. It’s infamous. Seems like one is those boys are here.” He leaned closer, whispering like Nolan might appear from the shadows. "Let's hope he's the bullied ones right?"

Neil and Todd shared a confused look, both blinked at Cameron like they hadn’t quite heard him right. "That’s... not funny, Cameron.” Neil started.

"Yea, Cameron. Plus it's 7:15, isn't it time for your chemistry study now?" Charlie Dalton leaned against the other side of the door. Knox Overstreet and Steven Meeks flunked next to him.

"Oh- right.." Cameron scoot away.

"You memorised his schedule?" Knox asked Charlie. "Can't help it when your roommates with the guy and the dorm is only this small. You know he prints out his schedule?" Charlie sauntered in Neil and Todd's room, falling on Neil's bed as if his own. Meeks closed the door since he was the last one in. Knox sat at Todd's desk, Todd on his own bed, Meeks at Neil's desk. Neil took the window.

Charlie turned to Neil and Todd. “Alright. Now that the village idiot has been dealt with…” His grin faded into something more serious. “…here’s what we heard. Transfer kid. Came from Westerburg.”

Todd shifted in his seat slightly; Neil’s expression tightened.

Meeks stepped closer, lowering his voice to a near-whisper. “Westerburg’s… troubled. Hard to know what’s true, but there were incidents—suicides, fights, disciplinary problems. People are saying to treat it as a cautionary tale.”

Knox added, “And, the administration saw fit to put him next to you two. Right next door. Couldn’t make it more… convenient.”

"Opposite me and Cameron." Charlie lit and shared a smoke with Neil.

"Anyone seen him yet?" Neil asked.

"Heard he came while we were all in classes, haven't left his room since.." Meeks admitted.

Todd’s voice was soft, almost hesitant. “A transfer… in the middle of the school year?”

Charlie’s eyes flicked up, sharp. “You catch on quick, Anderson.” He gave a small smirk, like he’d just confirmed something he already suspected.

Knox nodded slowly, a faint grin tugging at his lips. “Middle of the year usually means trouble. Not the kind you solve with extra tutoring..."