Amy sat in the back of the auditorium of Welton Academy with her chin in her hand waiting for the opening ceremony to start. Really starting to get bored, she began admiring the scenery of the place since it was to be her home for an indefinite amount of time.

She then looked at the people around her. Boys of all ages sat in the seats in their uniforms prepared to start their time at the boarding school. Parents sat next to their children in equal excitement and worry. Some of them looked like they couldn't wait to leave their kids behind.

Amy stuck out like a sore thumb. All of the women in attendance were at least in their 30's or 40's. She was the youngest female in the room at age 17. Some of the parents looked at her either condescendingly or curiously, and all of them wanted to know what she was doing at an all-boys school.

Things wouldn't get much better once the parents left and she was still here.

The sound of bagpipes behind her alerted her that the ceremony was finally starting.

She turned to find three boys leading a line of one boy playing the bagpipes, an older gentleman holding a lit candle, and four other boys carrying banners that said 'Tradition', 'Honor', 'Discipline', and 'Excellence'.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys, the light of the knowledge," the headmaster, Mr. Nolan, addressed.

The older gentleman took his candle and lit one of the boys' candles who then passed the flame down the line.

"One hundred years ago, in 1859, forty-one boys sat in this room and were asked the same question that now greets you at the start of each semester. Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?"

All of the boys stood up and said in unison, "Tradition! Honor! Discipline! Excellence!" Then they all resumed sitting.

"In her first year," Mr. Nolan continued, "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. This kind of accomplishment is the result of fervent dedication to the principles taught here. This is why you parents have been sending your sons. This is why we are the best preparatory school in the United States."

The crowd applauded, and Amy politely joined in.

"As you know, our beloved Mr. Portius of the English Department retired last term. You will have the opportunity later to meet his replacement, Mr. John Keating, himself an honor's graduate of this school and who, for the past several years, has been teaching at the highly regarded Chester School in London."

Amy applauded more brightly as her father stood up to be recognized.

Once the seemingly endless ceremony concluded, Amy quickly met up with her father, ignoring the stares she was getting from all of the older boys around her. It was almost like they had never seen a teenage girl in their lives. For all she knew, that might be true for some of them.

"Amy, we're expected in Mr. Nolan's office," her father said to her once they finally ran into each other. "He has a few things he would like to explain."

"Yes, sir."

The two of them waited by Mr. Nolan's office until he returned from greeting the parents.

"Step inside, Mr. and Miss Keating," the old man said politely.

He went inside and sat at his desk as Amy and her father stood in front of him.

"Now, there are some things I want to address about this whole situation. We have allowed your daughter to accompany you, Mr. Keating, and as such there are some rules she is expected to follow." He looked over at Amy. "You are allowed to stay here with your father at night. But I would like to keep your contact with the boys of this school to a minimum. We can't allow them to be distracted, which is precisely why this is an all-boys school. Their parents pay good money to send their sons here so they can receive a decent education in the best environment possible. You cannot roam the halls freely, and you cannot be on this campus during the daytime. Is all of this understood?"

"Yes, sir," the two of them replied.

"Thank you for allowing me lodging here, Mr. Nolan," Amy said.

"Just don't be of any trouble."

"Yes, sir."

The two of them left the office and started for Mr. Keating's room. While the English teacher's office was small, the room was fairly large and had all of the items one would need to get by.

Amy's room was a few doors down the hallway, and it looked almost the exact same as her father's. There was a small bathroom even further down the hallway she was allowed to use to freshen up.

"Amy," her father called just before she entered her room. "I know you're not too happy about moving here from London, but at least try to make the best of this."

Amy nodded a little. "I will."

She began to unpack her bags and get settled into the room. She put her clothes away in the closet and drawers and got her desk ready for her to do homework on once she started her classes.

This was going to be an interesting next few months.

The next morning, Amy awoke bright and early, ready to attend her first day at her new school. She put on one of her newer dresses and packed up all her books before leaving Welton, trying her best to avoid as many of the students as best she could. Then she briskly walked down the set path over to Ridgeway High School.

Nervously entering the building, she surveyed the various students and classrooms that she would be around for the next few months.

She put her belongings in her previously assigned locker and then went to her first class of the day. She took a seat next to a blonde girl in the front row.

"Hi! My name's Christine," the girl said to her. "But everyone calls me Chris. You must be new here. I've never seen you around before. What's your name?"

"Amy," she said with a shy smile. "And you're right. I just moved here from London."

"That's so far! Why would you move from London to here?"

"My father just got a job teaching at Welton Academy, and I had to come with him. My parents felt I should get some education from my home country before I graduate."

"So you were born here?"

"Yes. We lived in New York for a while, and then we moved to London once Dad got a job teaching at Chester School. Then when he got a job here, he and my mom agreed that I should come with him. So I attend here while he teaches there."

"That's so cool that you've been able to travel. I've been stuck here my whole life. I wish I could travel and go to London and Paris and all over."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance one day."

At that moment, their teacher came into the classroom, forcing the two girls to cease their conversation.

Once lunchtime rolled around, Amy noticed that a lot of the students left the campus in their cars or on bikes. She went to the lunchroom and grabbed her food before looking around for a place to sit.

"Amy!" she heard.

She looked over and found Chris motioning for her to come sit next to her and some other people.

"This is my boyfriend, Chet," Chris said once Amy had sat across from her. "Chet, this is Amy. And that's Isabella, Marie, and Carolyn."

"Hello," Amy said to the four people, feeling a little overwhelmed at meeting so many people at once.

"Amy just moved here from London."

"Why don't you have an accent then?" Isabella asked.

"I grew up in New York before moving to London," Amy explained. "Now I've moved back here to finish up school and graduate."

"That's so cool."

"Uh, I saw some people leaving. Do they just finish classes early?"

"No," Chris answered. "You may find things a bit different from your other schools, but here, our lunchtime is a bit longer. It's almost an hour long, which we all love. So some people leave and go out to eat or hang out or something."

"That's good to know."

After classes were over for the day, Amy headed to the school library since she couldn't go back to Welton just yet. She sat there and did all of her homework she had gotten assigned that day, but she finished it much too soon for her liking.

So for the next few hours, she found some books and began to read them.

Finally, the sun went down and she felt it was late enough for her to return. She gathered all of her belongings and headed out of the library.

The walk back was extremely intimidating in the dark, but she managed to make it back unscathed.

As she entered the building, she once again tried to make it unseen.

"Are they letting girls attend here now?"

Amy looked over to find a boy slowly coming over to her. She politely smiled at him. "No. I go to Ridgeway."

"So what are you doing here?"

"I stay here at night."

"Why?"

"I'm Mr. Keating's daughter."

"I didn't know he had a daughter."

Amy let out a small laugh. "Well, he does. I'm Amy."

"Neil," the boy said as he shook her hand.

"Uh, I should go. Mr. Nolan made it pretty clear that he doesn't want me interacting with any of the students. I could be a distraction."

"Well, it was nice to meet you."

"You too."

She began to walk away when the boy called to her, "Amy!"

Amy turned back around to look at him.

"Is your father always so…different at home?"

Amy smiled broadly. "Oh, yes."

She continued up to her father's room, smiling to herself.

She liked Neil. And it had been rather refreshing to actually converse with someone in the building besides Mr. Nolan and her father. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that that might be the only time she ever saw him if Mr. Nolan got his way.

"Daddy?" she called, knocking on his door.

"Come in," he said on the other side.

Amy opened the door and came into the room to find her father working on a few lesson plans.

"How was your first day?" he asked her.

"It wasn't bad. I made a couple friends. It was just kind of boring to sit inside the library for hours until it was safe to walk back. How was your day?"

"Very good. I have a few classes to teach during the day. I'm teaching some younger boys in the morning, but then I get to see the older ones in the afternoon."

"What did they think of you?"

"Well, it's a bit early for me to tell. But I think we're all going to get along just fine."

Amy walked into her classroom the next morning and Chris brightly smiled at her. "Hey, Amy, I heard that you stayed in the library all day after school yesterday. How come?"

"The headmaster at Welton doesn't really want me on the campus during the day so I don't 'distract' any of the boys. So I just killed time in the library until I could go back."

"That doesn't seem fair. He's basically kicking you out of your home."

"It's not my home. It's just a place I'm staying."

"Well, why don't you come out with us after school today? It'll be a lot better than sitting by yourself in the library."

"I don't know…"

"Come on, it'll be fun."

Amy sighed. She didn't want to be the odd one out in a group full of close friends, but it did sound better than just sitting and reading in the library for hours on end.

"Why not?" she smiled.

After school, Amy followed Chris out of the building where the two of them met up with Chet, Isabella, Marie, and Carolyn. They all piled into Chris's car and she drove them down to the ice cream shop.

"We come here all the time," Chris said to Amy. "It has amazing food and it's a great place to sit and talk, not to mention the prices are affordable for us students."

They all sat down at one of the booths and ordered burgers, fries, and shakes.

Amy mainly stayed out of the most of the conversations that took place. While it was awkward for her, she had to admit that it was a lot better than being by herself. At least now she got to have some food.

By the time everyone decided to leave, Amy knew that it was still too early to return to Welton.

"Amy, why don't you come over to my house for a while?" Chris asked. "We can work on some homework together."

"That would be wonderful."

The group said their good-byes and then Chris and Amy got in the car and traveled back to Chris's house.

"Mom!" Chris called. A friendly woman appeared by the door. "This is Amy. We have a couple classes together and decided to work on some homework."

"It's lovely to meet you, Amy," the woman smiled. "You're always welcome here."

"Thank you, ma'am," Amy replied.

Chris and Amy went to the living room and took out their books and began to work on all the required textbook readings and assignments they had due the next day.

"Chris, I'm curious. How did you start dating Chet?"

"Oh, well our families have been friends since forever, so I guess it was bound to happen one day. He's really sweet, and he knows what he wants in life. Have you ever had any boyfriends?"

"No, I was just never interested in anyone. I'm sure I'll find someone someday, but for now, I'm just focusing on graduating."

The two girls spent the next few hours talking and completing their homework until Amy looked outside and realized how dark it had gotten.

"Oh, I should be getting back. Could you give me a ride?"

"Of course!" Chris smiled.

The two of them once again got into her car and Chris drove down to Welton Academy, making sure to park a couple blocks from the campus. Amy knew it wouldn't go over well with Mr. Nolan if two girls were spotted pulling up to the building.

"Thanks for a good time, Chris," Amy said as she got out of the car.

"No trouble! You can always come out with us after school!"

"I'll keep that in mind. See you tomorrow!"

Amy quickly walked into the building, and when she made it up to her father's room, she found herself a bit disappointed that she hadn't seen Neil again. But of course, it was a big school and the odds of crossing paths with him in the short time she was in the hallways were very slim.

"Hi, Daddy," she greeted as she stepped inside. "Anything interesting happen in any of your classes?"

"You'll love this. They are all required to read out of the Pritchard textbook."

"Uh-oh."

"So after I had one of them read the introduction, I made them all rip the whole thing right out of the books. You should've seen their faces."

"Daddy," Amy said with a light laugh. "You can't just keep telling your students to rip up their books. That's going to come back to bite you."

"Maybe so, but you should've seen the look one of the teachers had when he stepped in the room. He wasn't aware I had been in there and he thought the boys were just going crazy. He was so embarrassed when he realized I had told them to rip out the pages in the first place. I think it was all worth it just for that."

"Your teaching methods really are something else."

"What did you do today?"

"My friend, Chris, decided to take me out after school with some of her friends and then I went over to her house for a while to get some homework done."

"That's good to hear. It's better than being stuck sitting in the library, I'm sure. I'd like to meet her sometime."

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and turn in for the night. Good luck tomorrow."

"Good night, Amy. I love you."

"Love you too."