"Boarding school?" the boy had cried.

"You've already been accepted!" his mother replied, a hopeful tone apparent in her voice, "You're a brilliant student! They would be overjoyed to take you in!"

"But-"

"The living conditions are of the highest standards, and you'll be able to come visit on holiday!" she continued. "Your father and I are paying enormous amounts for you to get the most prestigious education possible!"

He didn't have any room to argue. Sure, he would miss the few friends he had. But he would forget about them eventually. He never really fit in with them anyway. He spent too much of his free time curled up in his room with a book or a puzzle. He would find new friends.

---

"So," another teenager said, surveying him from across the room. "you're gonna be my roommate for the next few years, huh?" the other boy sniffed and wiped his nose on his wrist.

It would be impolite to even think about how large his nose is. Yet he still thought exactly that. He stayed silent and nodded, putting down his bags.

"Well, nice to meetcha!" his roommate said with a grin, approaching him. He offered his hand to the newcomer. "Name's Don Pausel."

The other teen tried his best to stifle his laughter. "Layton," he said, shaking Don's hand, returning the smile. "Hershel Layton."

The two chatted for a while as Hershel unpacked his bags, sorting them neatly into a tall dresser. Ironically, Don wasn't a huge fan of brain teasers and puzzles. Ironic, but not surprising. The teen's hobby lied more in building models, mostly airplanes. He seemed to have a gleam of fascination in his eye as he talked about them. Flying had been his dream since he was a child, he had said. Hershel had said that he didn't really have any lifelong dreams plans for the future. He was most likely going to follow in his father's footsteps and become an archeologist; no one could make a career out of puzzles. He kept that certain detail to himself.

A few short hours later, lights-out was called. "Better get some sleep," Don grumbled, climbing into his bed on the opposite side of the room as Hershel's. "Class starts early tomorrow." the teen shut off the lamp next to his bed. "Wake you up tomorrow. Night." and with that, he had already drifted off to sleep.

Hershel obediently turned off the lamp and nestled into the covers, a puzzle book and flashlight in hand. Maybe just a couple more, he thought to himself, covering his head with the blankets and clicking the flashlight on. A few minutes won't hurt, will it? He flipped open to the first blank page he could find. In seconds, he was immersed in the riddle, turning in his mind and jotting notes in the margins. That's simple… 1:11, 2:22, and so on… Hershel tapped his pen on his chin. But three digits in a row… so I suppose 10:00 would also be right…

---

When Hershel finally woke, the sunlight beamed in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, yawned and stretched. Must be early, he thought. Don hasn't woken me up like he said… Lazily, he turned his head, only to see his roommate's bed was empty. Bugger! He jolted up out of bed and glared at his alarm clock. 7:26. Class would be starting in five minutes, and he still had to get dressed and find his classroom.

"Oh, God…" he moaned as he stripped off his pajamas and threw on his uniform. Leaving his tie undone and slung over his neck, Hershel rushed to gather his books and stuff them into his bag, making sure he stashed his key safely inside.

7:32. He had managed to get dressed rather quickly, though finding his classroom was taking more time than he had expected. The science building was the furthest point from the boy's dormitory, and, though the campus wasn't all that large, he still would have liked to be on time for his first day.

Finally, he had made it to the classroom. He slowly turned the handle, and the door opened with a slight creak. He entered sheepishly, and all eyes were on him. "Uhm… I'm sorry I'm late, sir," Hershel muttered, handing a paper to his teacher. What a great first impression this is!

The man nodded. "Tardy on your first day, I see," an annoyed frown was visible under his gray beard. "Very well, Mister…" he squinted at the paper he was handed. "Mr. Layton." The teacher motioned to an empty seat towards the back of the room.

His head hung in shame, Hershel marched to the back of the classroom as the teacher continued to take roll. Great. Just perfect. He sighed as he plopped down into his assigned seat. Just to his left, Don let out a quick snort of laughter.

The teen frowned in disapproval and sighed, putting his chin in his hands.

"Alan Dimitri?"

"Here." A boy sitting near Don responded.

"Claire Evans?"

"Present," a girl sitting on Hershel's opposite side chirped.

Studying her for a while, Hershel found that she was an astonishingly pretty girl. Her wavy, sandy brown hair was pulled back loosely in a ponytail with a few strands falling out, framing her face. Her bright green eyes shone from behind the glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Before he could catch himself staring, she turned to face him. "You're new?" she asked quietly with a smile. "Afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Hershel." he replied bluntly, still upset by his roommate's dishonesty.

Claire giggled. "Welcome to Ledford, then, Hershel."

He nodded, accepting the welcome as he had everyone else's over the past two days.

She sighed, "If it's Dr. Schrader you're worried about, don't bother," the girl assured him. "He's tough, but he's not too bad once you get used to him."

Hershel mumbled in response, "Doubt it."

Claire smiled reassuringly. "You never know! Maybe he'll be a better anthropology teacher than you'd expect!"

At least it's a subject I'm somewhat interested in, he thought. Though how long I'll be able to put up with her as my lab partner will remain a mystery.

---

Yeah, his name's Don Pausel. You can shoot me now. (I swear I didn't notice it sounded like puzzle until my friend pointed it out.) Filled for the LJ Fan Meme. Layton in middle school/high school/college.