A/N: Hello, folks, how are you? Ok, here we are again. A few days have passed since Nellie's and Pitts's fist meeting and the two of them, Meeks and Virginia are really good friends. But our heroes haven't told each other the painful events of their past.

dontchasrthesheep- I'll never get tired to tell you that your reviews are wonderful :) I'm glad there's someone else who loves Pitts as much as I do and thank you for your help as well. Yeah, Virginia is a great girl and of course she'll play a role in the story. Our Nellie needs a girl to help her through everything, don't you think?

Disclaimer: The Dead Poets Society and the statements I write belong to their rightful owners.

"It is the nature of stories to leave our far more than they include"

(Marion Dane Bauer, "The Very Little Princess")

I always liked how a classroom was filled with conversations before the teacher would enter. You were speaking with your friends and at the same time you listened to others. You could catch bits of information and news that weren't connected with each other and yet, in your imagination, you could search for ways to connect them in your mind.

Since I was thirteen, I was wondering if that was the way some authors worked. It couldn't be only their imagination. Surely they were including (or leaving out) parts of their personal life. A protagonist was based to a member of their family or a close friend. They were going out for a walk and listened to people talking. That was what I loved about literature.

But the amphitheatre of Yale's Law School wouldn't be the ideal place for them to sit, listen and have inspiration for their work. It was silent, although the professor hadn't arrived yet and many students were absent as well. You could find more cheer in an abandoned house and I wondered if it was because of the fact that it was a bit cloudy and windy that day. Virginia and I were whispering to each other to not disturb the others.

'Virginia, is it me or are the girls much lesser than last week?' I wanted to know, looking discretely around.

'No, you're right' my friend confirmed my thoughts. 'But it shouldn't be a surprise for you, Nellie' she smiled, but her eyes were sparkling in anger.

'What do you mean?'

'Are you serious?' she shook her head desperately, as if I had done something wrong. 'I thought you would realize. Come on, Nellie, did you seriously think that all girls here actually wanted to become lawyers, like you and me?'

I wanted to nod, but there was something in her words I didn't like. Something sounded very familiar and I could only shrug. Virginia noticed my confusion and her smile became wider and slyer.

'The girls who are missing came here only for the first week' she revealed. 'I'm sure that their fathers only pretended to agree with them, but, being raised as future housewives, they obeyed to their families in the end. Most of them are possibly learning how to cook or something like that right now. And' at that point she rolled her eyes at the ceiling 'it wouldn't surprise me if one or two are already married'

'What?' I yelled and some students threw me angry looks. Ashamed, but frustrated at Virginia's words, I turned towards her again. 'Are you kidding me?'

'Come on, Nellie' she repeated. 'You're a smart girl. Why are you so shocked? If we weren't here, we'd probably be married too and we would be locked inside our house and hate our life'

Before I could answer, a guy interfered in our dialogue, sounding extremely annoyed.

'Will you two finally stop talking?' he asked. 'For God's sake, take a break and leave us in peace'

I stared back at him. Of course, he was annoyed by the fact that girls were studying Law together with him, just like many others I had met in the past. I wanted to respond, but Virginia was faster.

'That's why we have voices, you know' she explained to him, sweetly, but sarcastically. 'So that we can talk'

'Then go outside to talk! You shouldn't be here, anyway. You should be at home, washing the dishes!'

'Hey!' I snapped furiously at him. 'To make things clear, it's OUR life and WE decide what we will do and WHEN we will marry and…'

'IF you will marry, you mean' he interrupted me. 'I, at least, would never want such a sarcastic wife'

'And we would never want such an unprogressive husband!' Virginia made clear and we turned our backs to him.

'I hate guys like him!' I whispered and crossed my arms.

'Well, you're lucky' Virginia laughed. 'I bet your knight in shining armor wouldn't have a problem for you to be a lawyer'

'My knight in shining armor?' I laughed too, because I never truly believed in that. One thing is to want to love and be loved and another is to hope that a man will "save" you. That was only for the hopeless romantic girls and I never was one of them.

'Why not? You've already met yours, after all' Virginia winked.

Now I fully realized what she wanted to say and smacked her arm softly, but this only made her laugh as well.

'Now you're overreacting, Virginia. Alright, we're friends, I really like him, but that doesn't mean…'

The arrival of the professor made me stop, but I still could hear Virginia chuckle.

The lesson was really exhausting today, even for someone who loved Physics, like me. End of class was something welcoming. I lied down on the grass and closed my eyes, ignoring Meeks, who was trying to cheer me up.

'You won't fall asleep now, will you?' he asked amused.

'That's what I want' I groaned and rubbed my temples, that were aching like crazy. 'How can you be so happy?'

'Why shouldn't I? I enjoyed the lesson!'

Of course he enjoyed it. Meeks, honoring the title "Science Genius" we had given him while at school, was learning everything easily and nothing was difficult for him. He was always helping us with anything we wanted and Charlie had found a tutor in his face. There was nothing in this world that was boring for him and he even asked Nellie to lend him a Law book of hers when she wouldn't need it. Neil had even told him to help me, when I was in a dilemma about whether I should join the Dead Poets Society or not.

" 'Pittsie, come on!' Charlie tried to convince me, but I was still confused.

'His grades are hurting, Charlie' Meeks explained and I felt a bit offended, because he was speaking as if I wasn't there. But not even this excuse was enough for Neil.

'You can help him, Meeks' "

At that moment, I heard someone approaching us and, a few seconds later, we were greeted by a happy voice, which I recognized to belong to Virginia Meadows, Nellie's new friend.

'Hello, gentlemen!'

'Hello, ladies' Meeks answered. 'How was class?'

'Pretty good, but some conservative idiot told us we should be at home, not university' Nellie informed us. Her voice sounded very close and I sensed her sitting next to me. Feeling embarrassed, I tried to rise up, but my body just couldn't obey me. Nellie nudged my shoulder lightly.

'Hey, wake up, Sleeping Beauty!' she teased me and started laughing.

'Very funny, Nellie' I replied, while Meeks and Virginia were bursting into hysterical laughter. 'Will you ever stop torturing me? I'm totally exhausted by today's class and we have another one in the afternoon'

'Oh, I'm sorry' she apologized. I opened my eyes and saw her looking guilty towards me.

'That's alright' I reassured her, smiled and rested my back against a tree. 'So, what happened with that "idiot" as you said?'

'What else?' Nellie chuckled. 'Our Virginia here gave him the answer he deserved'

'Oh, stop' Virginia made a movement, as if it wasn't something important. 'Besides, you were the one who gave him the answer he deserved, saying that we decide what to do'

'It wasn't the first time I had to do that' Nellie explained, with a hint of sadness in her voice. 'I'm used to that sort of behavior'

'What do you mean?' Meeks wanted to know and I slapped him mentally. It was the first time I had girls as friends, but even I knew that certain things were too sensitive for them.

'It's…a long story and it doesn't matter, anyway'

I looked carefully at her. Was it me or were her eyes a bit wet? Maybe she had remembered something from her past, something that was painful or unpleasant for her. Well, I couldn't blame her for that and that she didn't want to speak about it. It was the exact same thing with me. I trusted her, I liked her as a friend, but I hadn't said anything about the Dead Poets Society and Neil. And it seemed that Nellie wanted to hide parts of her story as well.

But I had no doubt that she would be able to erase the bad memories and move on. Even if she didn't know it, she was strong, much stronger than I was and much stronger than I could ever be in my life.

A/N: Alright, that was it for now, guys, hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be up soon. Nellie has already faced prejudices against her, but she isn't the only one.