It's only the beginning now
...a pathway yet unknown
At times the sound of other steps
...sometimes we walk alone.
-Gertrude B. McClain, New Beginnings
Arthur Kirkland wanted to be anywhere else but here. Here being in the church of Welton Academy where the school year's opening ceremony was being conducted.
A few minutes of silence passed through the hall, and Arthur took this as a chance to observe one of the places he would be stuck in for the next two years. The small church, which was only one building among the many more that stood proudly in the school's campus, was pretty old. Arthur could guess that it was probably built in the mid-1800s with what little he knew about architecture. The walls were made of concrete bricks and the ceilings were highly domed, forming arches right above the pews where all parents, students, and teachers sat.
The Brit snapped out of his reverie when everyone's attention turned to the stairs connected to the church's entrance. The procession that his parents mentioned to him was starting. Arthur decided to take note of the people in the line as the bagpipe began playing the school's anthem. The first person to enter was probably a 4th grade student judging by his height, the second a Moldovan who appeared to be within the range of grades 7 to 8. After the Moldovan came the boy playing the bagpipe, which Arthur assumed was a Freshman due to the youth in his features. Opposing the Freshman's youth was the teacher carrying a candle behind him, an old man who looked as if he was ready to pass out should he find a place to sit.
His attention then shifted to the boys carrying the banners which, according to his parents, each represented the four pillars of the school. They all appeared to be his age. The first one, "tradition", was carried by a tall Russian with light brown hair and childlike, purple eyes that seemed to have no hint of warmth in them. The boy kept a smile as he walked down the aisle, but that smile sent warning signals off in the Brit's head.
The second one, "honor", was carried by a short Chinese. He also sent off negative vibes, but not as bad as the Russian's vibes. He was probably as upset as Arthur was about being stuck in this institution.
The third one, "discipline", was carried by a German (or was it Prussian?) albino with piercing red eyes and a proud grin. Not much to note aside from the weird silver hair that the boy had.
But he caught his breath at the fourth boy, who carried a banner with the word "excellence". (In a way, it was if the teachers chose the right banner for him to carry…) A few inches shorter than the Russian, the American boy had striking blonde hair that was neatly combed down aside from a cowlick sticking up. His sky blue eyes shown behind his silver-rimmed glasses, and among all the other boys who had come before, his smile was the most heartwarming one and made everyone else pale in comparison to him.
Arthur kept his eyes on the boy until he stopped at the foot of the altar. The procession then turned to face the crowd as the bagpipe ceased its tune and the Italian headmaster, Mr. Aurelius Diocletian, proudly took center stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys," he said and motioned to the sleepy teacher with the candle. "The Light of Knowledge."
The old brass organ began to play as the teacher walked over to the first pew. The first boy, holding a candle like the rest of his classmates, smiled at the old man as the candle was lit. He in turn lit the candle of the boy next to him. An applause sounded throughout the church, and the members of the procession went back to their seats as the light was being passed on.
The headmaster took his place at the podium when the organ finished its melody. "One hundred years ago, in 1859, 41 boys sat in this room and were asked the same question that greets you at the start of each semester. Gentlemen, what are the Four Pillars?"
All of the boys who were in uniform stood up. Arthur's dad nudged him to do the same, even though Arthur wasn't even in uniform yet. ("Stand up, Arthur. You're a student of Welton now." "Hell no." "Arthur!" "Fine!")
"Tradition, honor, discipline, and excellence," they (minus Arthur) replied in unison and sat down after.
The headmaster smiled. "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." The words were greeted with a strong applause from the audience. "This, this kind of accomplishment is the result of fervent dedication to the principles taught here. This is why you parents have been sending us your sons. This is why we are the best preparatory school in the United States!" Another applause. Arthur's parents were clapping too and smiling at their son, but Arthur could still find no reason to clap along with them.
The headmaster smiled once more at the crowd. "As you know," he continued when the applause ceased, "our beloved Mr. Adnan of the Literature department retired last term. You will have the opportunity later to meet his replacement, Mr. Romulus Vargas, himself a graduate of this school, and who, for the past several years, has been teaching at the highly regarded Chester School in London. Please stand up to be recognized, Mr. Vargas."
An Italian man to the right of the stage stood up, scratching the back of his head and smiling at the audience. He appeared to be in his early forties, with deeply tanned skin. Both his eyes and hair were dark brown. His hair was quite neat aside from two weird curls sticking out, one on the upper right side of his head and the other on the lower left side. The teacher also had some stubble on his chin. He sat down after the applause ended and the ceremony continued for around an hour.
The outside of the church was chaos after the ceremony, but that was to be expected in Arthur's opinion. The parents had fallen in line with their sons to meet the headmaster, who stood at the church's entrance greeting all the parents. After getting caught up in the terrible sea of humanity, the Kirklands were now in front of the headmaster.
"Thrilling ceremony as usual, Aurelius!" Mr. Kirkland exclaimed, shaking the headmaster's hand enthusiastically.
"You've been away too long, James," Mr. Diocletian replied. "We've been looking forward to seeing your family in these halls again."
"Hello, Aurelius," Mrs. Kirkland smiled and shook his hand as well.
"Victoria!" he smiled in reply. "It's really good to have the both of you back."
"Oh! Have you two met, by the way?" Mrs. Kirkland took Arthur by the arm and made him stand before the headmaster. "Aurelius, this is our youngest son, Arthur."
"Ah, Arthur," Mr. Diocletian smiled. "Your brothers have told me a lot about you, young man. You'll have some very big shoes to fill, considering Alistair was valedictorian of his batch and your other brothers also being honor students."
"Thank you, Mr. Diocletian. I won't disappoint you," Arthur lied. He'd already acknowledged how much of a failure he actually was, and although the headmaster wore a smile as he spoke, Arthur was pretty sure his brothers brought up his "punk phase" to the headmaster.
The Kirklands left the headmaster to go to the parking lot and take out the things that Arthur would need—his clothes, his school supplies, and a bunch of books to keep him entertained. Mr. Kirkland smiled at Arthur. "Look at you now, Artie. On your way to a new chapter of your life! It seems as if it was only yesterday that your mother was still nursing you in her arms…"
Mrs. Kirkland suddenly sniffed. "You be a good boy now, Arthur. Enough of that punk phase."
"Yes, yes." Arthur shook that statement off and hugged his parents. "I'm going to miss you." A lie.
"Oh Arthur, we're going to miss you too!" Another lie. "See you again during the Christmas break!"
"Mm-hm. See you," Arthur said. His parents climbed into the car (a black mini cooper) and drove away, leaving him alone as the afternoon bell rang out.
Ever since he could remember, he had lived in the shadows of his three older brothers. Every single day of his life was spent in their shadows, wishing that for once his parents would recognize how hard he was trying to reach their expectations. But even with all of that, they only saw him as the extra, the child who wasn't supposed to happen. The only time they actually noticed him was when he'd gone through his "punk phase" as they called it during junior high. Then again, they only noticed him for his flaws. That's all they ever saw in him when they transferred him to Welton Academy. It was always "It's not enough" or "Try harder". So he tried harder to get them to notice him. Since all they ever saw we his flaws, might as well give actual flaws for them to see. They never noticed him anyway, might as well give them something to notice.
Arthur's thoughts wandered off to his brothers, the only ones who caught his parents' eyes. Alistair, the oldest, excelled in everything he did. He was the popular one, loved by everybody, and always recognized for everything good that he did with his life. No one ever knew that behind those charming smiles and polite words lay a darkness that could only be seen once the adults' backs were turned. Alistair looked down on Arthur, calling him "weak", "useless", and saying things like "you don't deserve to live".
Colin, the second, was almost the same as Alistair. Calling him names. Cursing his existence. Colin didn't bother hiding his personality the same way Alistair did with his smiles, but even with that he was always recognized as one of the smartest students of Welton.
Dylan, the third, was the only one who ever cared for Arthur. Dylan would always encourage him on those days when he could no longer take the insults, on those days when the world seemed too much to bear. Dylan always smiled and told him everything would be okay. But even when Dylan remained the only light in his life, Arthur stayed in his shadow.
At least he wasn't in his brothers' shadows so much in his old school. He was accepted for who he was, even if he wasn't the most perfect person in the world. Even if he had that "punk phase", at least people were able to look past the cigarette smoke and glaring eyes to see the potential he had. So really, what difference would it make if he'd gotten honors here? It will never be enough for his parents anyway. It won't be enough to get out of the shadows anyway.
Arthur sat down in the courtyard where the new students were supposed to wait for their roommates. He stared up to the trees' leaves, watching as the orange leaves struggled to keep their place in its branches, only to be blown away by the wind.
Maybe I'm just like that, he thought. Struggling to be noticed, only to be ignored…
"Um, Arthur…?" said a voice. "Arthur Kirkland?"
Arthur shifted his gaze to the voice's source. "Yes?"
The boy sighed in relief. "Looks like I found the right person." He stretched out his hand and smiled. Arthur recognized him as the boy who carried the "excellence" banner. Now that he thought about it, he looked a lot more excellent up close… Crap. Did he just think that? He allowed himself a mental slap.
"Are you my roommate?" Arthur asked out of curiosity, his voice shaking slightly.
The American nodded, eyes sparkling. "Alfred Foster Jones, at your service! I will be your heroic roommate this school year. Let's do our best together this year, Artie!"
Arthur scowled. "Don't call me that wretched nickname."
"Okay, Artie." Alfred ignored Arthur's words as the Brit picked up his things from the ground. "Do you need any help with that?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you."
"Suit yourself." Alfred looked at the papers in his hands. "So, you came from Balincrest? Why'd you transfer here then?"
"My brothers studied here," he replied.
"Oh, so you're that Kirkland, huh?"
Arthur nodded. That's always how people will see me.
A/N: Good day and welcome to the first chapter of "Seize the Day", which is inspired by the awesome movie "Dead Poets Society". I know that not much really goes on in this chapter since it's primarily setting the stage/scene painting for this tale, but I'm really looking forward to this project. Since it's summer where I'm at, hopefully I'll be able to update often.
Thank you for reading this chapter! Please leave a review in the box on your way out so that I can improve on this the next update. Have a nice day! :)