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It's cold.
Alex pulled his jacket tighter around him as the rain soaked his only decent clothes. Normally, on nights like this, he would usually find a 24 hour bar and stay inside till the rain stopped. Then go and find something to eat. He wouldn't beg like the other homeless people did. He spent most days in the public library and would read until closing times, or go to his job.
Many of the locals thought he was quite strange. A homeless kid spending his time in the library? Oh, what horror. But it paid off eventually. While they were out begging for scraps, he was would be attending a prestigious boarding school called King's. You had to be either really rich, or really clever to be there. For Alex, it was the latter.
He checked his phone, a cheap Nokia he'd ordered on eBay at the Library, and realized he was almost an hour late. An hour. What was he thinking? He should've asked for directions, but Alex had a lot of an unfortunate thing called pride. Sighing to himself, and shuddering as the thunder rumbled, he pulled his small suitcase behind him and fought against the winds of New York, the rain hitting him like bullets.
You're going to be fine. Fine. Just fine.
He had to be.
The storm bough back unpleasant memories that he'd tried to bury when he was leaving the Caribbean, but, although two years had passed since the hurricane that tore his original town apart, he would still find himself terrified of the slight sight of rain.
Alex felt like leaping with joy when the bus stop came in sight. The headmaster of the school had been very clear. The bus stop near the Central Park. The instructions had been so simple. Alex felt like kicking himself. Being late made such a bad impression. They were probably going to revoke his scholarship. God, he'd have to go back to living on the streets. All that reading was for nothing. The locals would never shut-
"Alexander Hamilton?" A deep voice rumbled from behind him. Alex whipped round, staring at the stranger. A tall, bald man stood in his spot, holding a briefcase and an umbrella. Alex blinked and bit his lip.
"That’s me." He squeaked, and mentally slapped himself. Why couldn’t he talk like a normal person?
"George Washington," he stepped forward, reaching out his hand. "You’re the new student to King's, right?"
He swallowed a lump in his throat and straightened himself up, shaking the man’s hand and offering a small smile.
"Yes, sorry for the delay, sir," he coughed into his hand. "I had a small struggle in getting here."
Washington nodded. "It's alright, Alexander." He looked down at his wrist, checking the time. "I would offer to take you somewhere to eat, but it's getting late, and I have a meeting in an hour."
Alex shook his head.
"It’s fine, I ate already." That was a lie. He hadn’t eaten in days. Washington didn’t look like he believed him, judging from his poorly hid expression of disbelief on his face. He shoved his free hand in his pocket, his skin prickling and the man scanned his appearance.
Washington coughed after a moment. "There is a taxi waiting for us.This way," he said slowly, and turned towards the car park. Alex followed him and tried to control his breathing and act like a normal person so he didn't fuck everything up.
It was a relief when they finally reached the car. His legs were aching despite the fact he rarely used these methods of transportation. The last time he’d been on something that moved was when he took the ship to New York, which had almost killed him, it had been a few years since incident occurred, but it didn’t stop him from walking most of the time.
When Washington opened the side door for him, he hesitated a second before entering slowly. It was clean and smelled like ... leather? It seemed nice enough.
Alex felt a stab of panic when Washington shut the door and got into the passenger seat. Shit. Keep calm Alexander. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Don't mess this up. He closed his eyes slowly, trying to block the noise of the rain tapping on the glass.
"Are you alright , Alexander?" Washington's voice was thick. Was he from the south?
He glanced up and scanned Washington's face before smiling politely.
"Just fine, sir." He replied, voice stiff from fake politeness . Washington nodded before going back to small talk with the driver.
The rest of the drive was quiet with little talk, which suited Alex just fine. Washington would occasionally ask basic questions, but gave up eventually when Alex gave simple answers that made it clear he didn’t want to talk.
"Alexander." Alex woke up with a start. When did he fall asleep? God, did he doze off in the library again? He yawned and stretched his hand, freezing when it connected to someone's face. A man was in front of him. He sat up abruptly.
"I'm so sorry, sir!” he said in panic. The last few hours replayed back at him, and he bit the inside of his cheek hard.
"Are you alright?" Alex blinked, before giving a reassuring smile.
"Yes, I’m fine." he murmured.. Washington looked at him sympathetically. He turned away. He didn’t need his pity.
He saw Washington pay the driver, then looked behind him. A large, red block building stood there, not much surrounding it except a grocery store and a small pub, which didn't make any sense. But, fuck, the building was huge. He felt a rush of excitement building up in him. Washington came and stood by his side, a small smile on his lips when he saw the glint in Alex's eyes.
"Are you ready?" He asked the young man.
He nodded in response, and followed Washington up the stairs in front of the building. He looked around in awe.
The reception was full of medals and trophies won by the college. Photos of sports teams and enrichments were hung on the wall. He could see a TV on the other side of the room that had announcements on.
"Alexander," Washington said, bringing him back to reality. "Take a seat." He motioned to a line of chairs against a wall. "I'll be right back."
As Washington began to walk away, he took a deep breath and sat down, pulling at his nails unconsciously, a habit of his he’d tried to stop, along with biting his nails, but with poor effect. The clock ticked in the corner of the room and Alex felt as if the time was dragging on for too long.
It was quiet. The only noise was the low chattering in the halls, and the rustling of the receptionist’s, who had barely glanced at him as he had walked in, folders.
The quiet becoming a bit too deafening, he tried counting in his head to calm him down.
un, deux, trois-
He remembered his mother whispering the numbers in his ears as a child, when his brother had pushed him. She had held him comfortingly and had stroked his hair, telling him not to worry, wiping the tears off his face.
quatre, cinq, six-
She had murmured the numbers to herself as well has him when James had found out about her past failed marriage, when he’d slammed the door on them with no word of goodbye. His brother went out with his friends, a few teenagers who’d encouraged him to smoke with them around the corner, but he didn’t have friends. No one wanted to befriend the strange 10 year old who talked too much. She had rubbed his back soothingly when he realized that his father was in fact
not coming back.
Sept, huit, neuf-
When they were laying in bed, their breathing uneven and their heads aching, she’d counted with him, and had sat with him and wiped the blood running down his mouth and put wet towels on his forehead. She made his favourite foods everyday, even though it was difficult to afford it. Warm soups and mashed potatoes and beef and ice cream. She’d neglected her own heath and taken as many jobs as she could so she could bring medicine for him. Then- then he got better, and she-
Dix
She had died. And it was his fault.
Alex noticed he was shivering and his eyes were wet. He furiously wiped his eyes, refusing to cry. He pulled the rubber band on his arm back, wincing as it snapped back hard, a red mark leaving his place. At least this made him feel something, and his view was no longer blurred. The receptionist seemed to not have noticed him, which was a relief.
He was only just starting to feel better when he heard someone walk in.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Alright Hamilton. Pull yourself together.
Alexander stood up straight as Washington walked with him, accompanied by a boy with a serious face.
“Hamilton,” Washington said. “This is Aaron Burr: head of student council and your new roommate. He’ll be showing you around.” He looked at his watch. “Normally I’m the one to oversee these procedures, but I do have a meeting I must urgently attend.” He smiled at them. “Have a good day. I’ll check in on you later.”
And with that, Washington walked away, leaving him alone with Aaron Burr.
He turned to him nervously. “Are you a first year?”
Burr shook his head. “This is my second year. I’m studying Law and Sociology. How about you?”
“Also Law,” he said eagerly. “And I’m doing English Language as well.”
“My friend is doing English as well,” Aaron smiled. “Her name is Theo. I’ll introduce her to you at Lunch.”
“Cool. Thanks,” Alex beamed.
“I’ll show you to our room, so you can put your-“ he glanced at Alex’s small bag. “-things there. Then I’ll give you a tour of the school.”
Alex nodded. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Burr led Alex out of the reception area and into a corridor. He looked at the pictures hung up on the wall: the MUN team, debating team, football team, lacrosse team-
who even played lacrosse? -
basketball team, cooking team. There were a lot more teams, but Alex was overwhelmed by just that number.
“We have a lot of extra curriculars,” Aaron explained, looking amused. “Those are good on your CV.”
“How do I sign up?” Alex asked.
“There’s an online form you have to fill in,” he said. “I’ll show you it later.”
There were a lot more awards and photos that Alex passed by as they walked down the hallway. Aaron pushed a button to an elevator at the end of the corridor.
“Dorms are on the fourth and fifth floor,” Burr explained. “Ours is on the fourth. It’s number 206B.”
“That’s a lot of rooms,” he said under his breath as they entered the lift. Aaron clicked on the fourth floor.
“So, where were you before you came here, Alexander?” Burr asked him.
“Brooklyn,” Alex answered quickly.
“I meant where you studied.”
“Right,” he hesitated. “Uh-“
Definitely not on the streets.
“Compass International.”
“Ah, I don’t know anyone who used to go there.”
That’s because it’s a preschool.
Alex just smiled. “I’m one of a kind.”
Aaron scanned his face before he smiled as well. “I guess you are. Do you have any siblings?”
He felt his heart pang but he shook his head. “Nope. Only child here. You?”
Burr nodded. “I have an older sister- Sally. She lives in the UK.”
“Cool,” Alex said. “Does she work?”
“Yep. She’s a fashion designer. All she wanted to be since she was a little girl.”
“Wow,” Alex whistled. “That’s so cool.”
Aaron hummed in acknowledgment. “What do your parents work as?”
“Well,” Alex began. “My mum is-“
was.
“- a nurse. My dad was an accountant.”
He didn’t even know what his dad worked as.
“I bet they’re proud you got in here, huh?” Aaron asked.
“Totally,” Alex muttered. “So proud.”
“There’s a lot of completion here,” Burr went on to say. “It’s pretty hard to get in. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” The lift door opened and they both stepped out.
The dorm’s corridor was nothing like the one downstairs. There was a red carpeted floor instead of a blue, smooth one. The wall had some sort of soft material covering it, also red. Golden numbers were etched on the brown, wooden doors.
He followed Burr down the hallway, eventually stopping near the end of it. He took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the room.
It was much bigger inside than he expected.
There were two single beds on opposite sides. The wall was a light, cool blue and the carpet was darker colour. A dark brown wardrobe stood next to the bathroom door; there was a desk and a mini fridge.
Wow.
“That’s your bed,” Aaron said, pointing at the one that had a laptop, a timetable and a few books. “You can put your things next to it.”
Alex pur his small suitcase and looked at his timetable. He had one free period on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Five lessons every other day.
He smiled. He was finally going to have a normal life.
A phone rang and Burr looked at him apologetically. “Sorry, I just need to get this.”
A few moments later, he came back, his face flushed. “I’m sorry, something came up. I have to go.”
Alex blinked. “Oh, alright. Is everything alright?”
“Yep, just need to check something out. Knock on the opposite dorm if you need anything.” He lifted his hand and half waved before disappearing quickly out of the door.
Ok. That was weird.
Alex changed his clothes and debated in his mind whether he should say hi to the other dorm. On one hand, he really didn’t want to have anymore human interaction than necessary. On the other, he needed as much friends as possible in this new school.
He went for the second option.
Alex took a deep breath before knocking.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
While Alex waited for the door to be opened, he rehearsed his lines in his head.
Hi, I just moved into the dorm opposite you and wanted to say hi.
Too desperate.
Hey, I’m Alexander. I’m new here.
Too casual.
Hey, I’m Alex, and my roommate just ditched me and I don’t know what to do.
Too honest.
God, why couldn’t he just calm down?
His thoughts were interrupted by the door unlocking, and he froze as it opened.
“Yes?”
The guy who opened the door looked slightly older than him (but didn’t everyone?) and had a strong British accent. He had platinum blonde hair, swept over to one side, milky-white skin and grey eyes that were staring at him expectantly.
Well.
“Uh, I’m Alex,” he said slowly. “I just moved into the dorm opposite you and wanted to say hi.”
Definitely too desperate.
“Oh, well, hi,” the boy answered, eyeing him up and down. Alex shifted on his feet. “I’m King. George King.”
“Alexander.”
“You said that already,” George said, but he grinned. “You roommates with Burr?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, but he had to leave, and I don’t really know my way around...” he trailed off.
“No worries,” he smiled. “I can show you around if you want.”
Alex sighed in relief. “Thank you. That would be great.”
“Hey, Lee!” King called into the room. “I’m leaving. Don’t touch the sushi in the fridge.”
There was a grunt from inside, and George took that as a cue to leave, closing the door behind him. He jingled a key in his hand then put it in his pocket.
“Lifts are ahead,” King said, starting to walk down the corridor. Alex caught up with him quickly. “Alexander. Nice name. Do you have another one?”
“Oh, uh, Hamilton,” he answered, trying to adjust his walk to keep up with George. Damn, the guy walked quickly.
“I meant a surname,” George answered. “Do you go by Alex? Alexander? Ex? Xander?”
“Um, Alex is fine.”
“Cool,” He said, pushing the buttons on the lift. “Where did you study?”
“Compass International,” Alex answered automatically.
“Isn’t that a nursery?”
“Oh, uh,”
oh no.
“It’s got older years as well. Um, joint school.”
“Alright,” King shrugged, and they both got into the lift. He noticed King was wearing a V-neck grey sweater and a white-blue faux fur coat and skinny jeans. He had a silver ring with something engraved on it, and a single chain silver necklace around his neck. The guy obviously knew how to dress it up.
“What are your interests?” He asked, and Alex shrugged.
“Well, I’m into writing, and I guess poe-“
“I like painting and singing,” George said, cutting him off.
Rude.
“And ice skating. Have you been ice skating before, ‘lex?”
Alex shook his head. “Nope.”
“Shame,” King replied. “I’ll have to take you one day. It’s amazing.”
“I bet it is.”
“What are you studying?”
“Law and English Language. You?”
“Art, history,” George said. “And music.”
“Interesting,” Alex said slowly. “What do you want to be?”
King shrugged. “Not sure. Don’t really care, either. I have the money. I want a job I love. Maybe an artist or something.”
Wow. It must be great to be that rich.
“What do your parents do?” Alex asked, mimicking Burr’s questions from earlier.
“My mum’s dead,” King said casually, and Alex stared at him in shock.
“I’m sorry-“
King waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s fine. She was really old when she had me. Died soon after. I barely knew her. And my father works as a director in an art gallery, but I barely ever see him. When I visit England, I mostly stay at my cousin Harry’s old house. My Aunt, Ellie, looked after me mostly when I was a kid.”
“Oh well,” Alex stuttered. “That’s nice of her.”
When did he even ask for his life story?
“It is,” King agreed. “What do your parents do?”
The elevator door opened at that exact moment, and Alex sighed in relief, glad to have dodged the question. King pointed at various doors as they walked down the corridor.
Auditorium. Sociology 1A. Business 2. Economics 1. Staffroom. Girls Toilets.
“And that is the door that leads to the Atrium,” King explained, pointing towards the double doors they were approaching. “Which is basically the centre point of everything.”
They walked through. The atrium was huge; it had to be more than one hundred feet long (Alex wasn’t even sure how much that was). He pulled the elastic band on his wrist back slightly, as if to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, wincing when it hit him back.
The floor was a cool turquoise; the daylight from the large, stained glass windows shined in different colours on the ground. Alex looked up and saw floor after floor after floor, students walking around in each one, talking loudly.
He followed George, who strode forward confidently. A group of girls standing nearby stopped talking when he walked past them
and started giggling and twirling their hair around their fingers. One of them almost fell over when King smiled at them.
“You’re taking Law, right?”
Alex nodded.
“Law is upstairs. Aaron can probably show you where that is. I’m guessing you’ll be in the same classes,” King said. “And the English department is the small building next to this one.” He grabbed Alex’s arm. “Let me show you the cafeteria.”
King pulled him across the Atrium towards the left corner. The smell of food hit him before they even walked through the doors.
“The head chef is Italian,” King told him. “So the food is amazing.”
There were about fourty tables with students bustling around it, and King told him it was just one of the ‘eating areas’. There was a buffet at the end of the place, which also had students queuing around. Alex’s stomach growled as he stared longingly at the food.
King put his arm around Alex. “Are you hungry?”
Yes.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well, I’m starving,” George announced. “Let’s eat.”
——
Ten minutes later they were both sitting at the table in the corner. Despite being “starving”, King only got a carrot cake and orange juice. Alex stared down at his tray filled with food and felt embarrassed; he got a bowl of warm lentil soup, with slices of tender roast beef, a small amount of spaghetti with parmesan cheese, tomatoes and lettuce with cheese and breadsticks, all with a large glass of fresh strawberry juice. For someone who rarely got to eat it, Alex sure did love food.
“I had a big breakfast,” King said when he caught Alex staring at his plate, and took a small spoonful of the cake. “The soup is nice. Good choice.”
Alex opened his mouth to answer, but a girl with light brown hair and soft eyes came bouncing towards them.
“Hey, George,” She greeted as she arrived at their end of the table. Alex thought she looked like the girls in the atrium from earlier.
“Hi Charlotte,” King replied. “How are you?”
“Good, Good,” she answered softly. “Have you started the history assignment?”
King shook his head. “Not yet. Have you?” She nodded eagerly.
“I can send it over to you if you want ideas,” she offered, but King shook his head.
“It’s okay, I’m sure I can do it,” he said. Charlotte’s face fell, but she kept a smile on her face.
“Alright then,” she said. “I wanted to know if I could come over by your dorm later today. I’m a bit confused on the notes, could you help me?”
He shrugged. “Sure. I’ll let you know when I’m free.” And he turned back to Alex. Charlotte lingered around a bit, still looking hopeful that they’ll carry on the conversation, but sighed eventually and left, looking disappointed.
“Who’s that?” Alex asked casually, taking a sip from his juice.
“Charlotte Strelitz,” King answered. “She’s German. Nice enough, but..” he tailed off, then his face lit up.
“Hey, Sam!” He called. A boy with brown hair stumbled as King called him. He looked up nervously.
“Uh, Yeah?” He said quietly.
“Have you started your assignment yet?” George asked, leaning forward, staring at him attentively.
Sam nodded. “Yeah. Have you?”
King shook his head. “Not yet. I’m a little stuck. Do you think you could come by later and help me out a bit?”
Sam shrugged. “Sure. Tell me when you’re free.”
“Will do,” he stared as Sam walked away, a hazy look in his eyes. Alex coughed and King snapped back into reality, as if he’d only just remembered that Alex was there.
“So, Charlotte?”
King hummed. “What was I saying? Oh yeah. Nice girl. Lots of nice girls around here. A lot of pretty girls as well. I’m sure you’ll find your type. I can put in a good word for you.”
“Thanks, George.” Alex murmured.
“No problem,” he answered. “How’d you like the food?”
“Delicious,” Alex said, and it really was. He didn’t think he’d enjoyed a proper meal since his mum passed away, and he’d started living on the streets. It wasn’t just that this was the first real food he’d eaten in days: it was actually amazing.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Are you british?” Alex asked him. King smiled.
“Yep,” he grinned. “Born and raised.”
“How come you decided to come here?”
“Needed a break from all the high life,” King shrugged. “It’s a nice change.” He paused and looked at something behind Alex.
“Hello, King,” someone said behind him, and Alex turned around. A girl, with curly dark hair and bronze coloured skin, stood with her arms crossed. King merely gave her a laid back smile.
“Angelica, darling,” he drawled. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m not here for you,” she said, then finally looked at him. “Hamilton, I’m guessing? Aaron told me to find you.”
“Hey, Hey,” King cut in. “We’re in the middle of something.”
“What, are you giving him the tour?” She asked in disbelief.
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“And I’m guessing you properly showed him around before coming here?”
“I’m getting to it.”
“Sure,” She said, shaking her head. “I’m taking over from here.”
“What gives you the right to do that?”
“I’m deputy head of student council,” she told him slowly. “I have every right.”
King rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “Whatever, ok. I’ll see you around, Alexander.”
“Bye,” Alex said quickly as Angelica beckoned for him to follow her. He gave one last longing glance at his unfinished food, before getting up and following her.
“Sorry you had to get stuck with him,” Angelica said as he caught up.
“He’s nice,” Alex said.
“Oh, sure. I mean, he’s gorgeous-“
Alex glanced back at where King was sitting and confirmed her statement in his mind.
“-but his head’s bigger than Draco Malfoy’s. Think he’s
all that
because his aunt in the queen.”
Alex stopped. “His aunt is
Queen Elizabeth
? As in, the queen of
England
?”
Angelica laughed. “That’s most people’s reactions. Yeah, that queen.”
“Woah.”
“I know,” she agreed. “But most of us are used to it by now.”
“Still.
Wow.
”
“I don’t think I properly introduced myself yet,” she said, and put her hand forward. Alex shook it quickly. “I’m Angelica Schuyler. Second year.”
“Alexander Hamilton.”
“Welcome to King’s College, Alexander.”