"And Katherine helped you move in like I asked her to?" Jack asked. He was on a video call with Crutchie.

"Of course. Jack, it's boarding school, not college. I could've moved in on my own. It's not like I had a ton of stuff with me anyways." Crutchie rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know. But with me off at college, I just wanted to make sure you're doing alright." the older boy replied. Crutchie nodded with a slight smile.

"But, uh, they don't pick on sophomores as much as they pick on freshman, right? It'll be better than last year, right?" he asked. There was a moment of hesitation before Jack nodded.

"Of course, Crutch."

"Good, 'cause I dunno what I'm gonna do without ya to keep 'em from shovin' me in a locker again." He said, then sighed a little. "This year is gonna be terrible. I only have one class I like…"

"Advanced Photography, right?"

"Yeah… But I'm still taking CP English. I've tried so hard to get to Honors level, but they won't let me, just because of…"

"Crutchie." Jack said, cutting him off. "You'll be fine. Who's your roommate this year anyways?"

"Just Elmer."

"Well, hey! That isn't so bad. He's a good guy, he'll watch out for you."

"Are you kidding? Elmer's a wimp! He's all talk. We all know that if it was a real fight, he'd never be able to protect me." Crutchie complained.

"Quit complaining, you'll be fine." Jack reassured him. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

"It's open!" Crutchie called. The door opened and Elmer walked in, wearing his trademark blue and white striped t-shirt that he wore at least once a week.

"Crutchie, I'm showing a new guy around campus, you mind if we hang out in here for a minute?" The older boy asked.

"Well sure, but i don't wanna be rude to Jack…" Crutchie gestured to the laptop.

"Oh. Hi, Jack!" Elmer grinned, waving to Jack.

"Hey, Elm! Who's this new guy you're talking about?" Jack asked.

"Some guy in my history class. Davey Jacobs?"

"Never heard of him, but bring him in."

Elmer opened the door a little more and a tall, pale, dark-haired boy walked in. "Guys, this is Davey. Dave, this is Crutchie and Jack." Elmer said, introducing them. Davey gave a small nod to both of them.

"Um, hi, I hope I'm not intruding. Hi, Jack. Hi, Crutchie." He said, but addressed Crutchie as Jack and Jack as Crutchie, confusing the two of them.

"Oh, I'm Crutchie, he's Jack." Crutchie corrected Davey, holding up the crutch that had been next to him on the bed. Davey's eyes widened and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry, I should have noticed that. I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, don't worry." Crutchie smiled at him.

"T-thank you." The tall boy nodded.

"So, what grade are you in?" Elmer cut in, noticing the slight awkwardness.

"I'm a junior. But since I'm new here, they put me in sophomore English, CP level." Davey sighed.

"CP? That's my class." Crutchie told him.

"Really? Cool, at least I'll have a friend in that class."

"We're friends?" Crutchie said, a little hopefully.

"Sure we are. You seem like a nice guy." Davey smiled a little.

That evening, the day before classes started, Crutchie's mind was occupied by something other than school. He kept thinking about the new guy. He seemed like a nice enough guy, even if he was awkward. And, it was nice to know he had a friend in his class. Finally, there was someone in that class who wouldn't make fun of him. Well, not yet anyways. He hated to think of what might happen if Davey found out why Crutchie was in CP English.