Roman entered the porter’s office.
It was a decent looking office for a porter even though it is smaller and less imposing than the principal’s own.
A soft, warm light glowed from a small brass desk lamp, casting long shadows across the walls and making the atmosphere feel cozy.
The room smell faintly of old paper and polish.
The porter was standing with his back turned over his bookshelf, searching through a pile of books.
“Sit down,” Ralph said simply.
He didn’t turn around, his eyes remaining fixed on the shelves.
Roman sat on the chair opposite the table, the chair sank in softly as he sat on it, it reminded him of his bed in the dormitory.
Ralph finally walked away from the bookshelf.
He cleared his throat loudly as he walked to his desk and sat down across from Roman.
He rubbed his hands together, cleared his throat again and said.
“Roman,” Ralph began carefully, “how have you been finding this school so far?”
Roman shook his head.
He had only been in this school for a few hours, yet he felt like he had accumulated one month’s worth of experience.
“As you can see I am adjusting.”
“Have you made any friends yet?”
Roman thought about Caleb briefly.
The cheerful brunette boy was probably the closest thing to a friendly face he had met all day.
But one shared dinner hardly counted as friendship.
“Noo.” Roman replied bluntly.
A short silence settled between them.
Roman shrugged lightly.
“I have made some enemies rather.”
Ralph sighed quietly like he had expected that answer.
“One boy actually offered me a chair in the hall, we exchanged names, ate together and parted ways later. I am not sure if that is what you will call making a friend.”
When Porter adjusted his posture on the chair, Roman knew he was about to say something serious.
The casual tone vanished from the room.
“When I led you to your dorm room earlier I didn’t have the opportunity to lay down both the official and unofficial rules of this school.”
Roman’s stomach tightened slightly.
Unofficial rules?
“That dinner situation made me realize something,” Ralph continued.
“The earlier you understand how this school works, the better. Otherwise you’ll keep running into trouble.”
Roman said nothing.
But inside his chest, uneasiness slowly began to spread.
From the tone of his voice, it sounds like he is going to say something very unpleasant.
He braced himself, his muscles tensing under the leather chair.
“In Vesperridge Academy,” Ralph said carefully, “there are distinct levels and hierarchies.”
Roman frowned slightly.
“It isn’t officially written anywhere,” Ralph added quickly, “but everyone respects those hierarchies. The students. The teachers. Even the principal himself. They do not cross certain lines.”
Roman did not say anything.
“These hierarchies are important to maintain peace and stability in this school, you should not disregard them, if you do life here will become very difficult for you.”
Roman crossed his arms quietly.
What kind of school was this?
Ralph continued.
“you are a hockey player right?”
“Yes I am.” Roman said wondering what it got to do with this.
“What happened during dinner involved the hockey team.”
Roman’s attention sharpened immediately.
“The boy you almost got into a physical fight with today is Luciano Anderson.” Porter
Ralph paused to let the information sink in.
Roman’s expression shifted slightly.
Captain?
So that rude blonde boy was going to become his team captain?
Ralph leaned back in his chair.
“He is going to be the captain of your hockey team. His father is a big sponsor of this school. Years ago when our ice rink was falling apart, he single handedly renovated and upgraded our ice rink to a world class facility with heated benches and professional grade ice.”
Roman gulped slightly.
“His mother, out of her own pocket transformed the school refectory. New furniture, chandeliers, imported kitchen equipment, better meal plan for students.”
Roman slowly exhaled.
Okay.
Now he finally understood why everyone acted so strangely around Luciano.
Still…That did not change what happened earlier.
Being rich did not give someone the right to bully others.
Porter Ralph looked for signs of remorse on Roman’s face but he did not see any.
Instead it seems that he has doubled down in his stances.
Ralph sighed internally.
“Do you understand everything I am saying to you?”
“Yes sir. But he still bullied me. I didn’t do anything wrong to him, I was on my own, being my captain doesn’t give him any right to bully me, we are all students.”
“First of all those chairs and table you stubbornly sat on today belong to Luciano and his friends alone, no one sits on it.”
Roman frowned immediately.
“What?”
“The four-seater table near the window,” Ralph explained.
“Nobody sits there except Luciano’s group.”
Roman stared at him blankly.
“Even if it’s empty you can’t sit there. Even if they are not in school. You can’t sit there.”
Roman genuinely looked stunned now.
This was becoming ridiculous.
“Even if all other chairs are filled and that is the only chair and table available, you dare not sit on it.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Roman muttered.
“Everyone knows this both students and teachers.”
“I….” Roman interrupted wanting to argue against the sheer stupidity of the rule.
“As a new student you should have asked questions, especially when you see the table empty even while everyone is fought over seats, you should have asked whether you can sit there or not.”
Roman clenched his jaw quietly.
The whole thing felt unfair.
“If you want your stay in this school to be peaceful don’t get into the way of Luciano Anderson, he can make life very difficult for you, if he wants to.”
“I don’t understand is bullying now legal.” Roman said.
“No bullying is not legal in this school, but somethings cannot be fully explained by the law.”
He paused for a moment to let his words sink in before asking.
“Do you have any questions, Roman?”
Roman took a deep breath.
The information he received was swimming around like a fish in his brain and overwhelming him..
“No for now.”
“Alright, you can go back to your dorm room.”
Roman stood up slowly and made to leave.
“Heyyy.” Ralph called him back.
“How are you getting along with Johnny?”
Roman’s forehead creased.
“Who is Johnny?”
“Your roommate.”
So that was his name.
Roman scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“The only thing he told me is that he never wanted a roommate.”
“Ralph gave a tired little smile.
“Well… Johnny can be difficult sometimes.”
“Difficult?” Roman repeated.
“He’s still recovering from what happened with his previous roommate, it’s good you are his roommate it will help him heal.”
Roman’s curiosity immediately sharpened.
“What happened?”
Ralph adjusted himself in his chair awkwardly.
For a brief second, Roman thought the man would give him an answer.
“What incident is that?” He asked again.
“Go to your room Roman and prepare for bed you have class tomorrow.” He waved at him dismissively.
With that he waved him out, stood up and turned back to his cabinet of books again.
When Roman saw that the porter was not going to talk to him again he turned and left the office. he knew better than to push further.
“Goodnight, sir.”
“Goodnight.”
As he walked back to his dorm room, Roman began to reflect on the events of the day.This is just his first day in the school.
He had to deal with a grumpy roommate.
Nearly fought with a handsome but rude boy over a chair.
Now he is being told to avoid the handsome boy and his group and to also steer clear of their table.
As if that is not enough his roommate is a little bit psycho and he is supposed to act as his therapist and help him heal over some past incident that he did not know about.
Roman exhaled.
This is a lot.
Did he make a mistake by coming to this school?
Back in Ashford, life was hard.
But at least it made sense.
Here, everything felt complicated.
Roman noticed that people were no longer gawking at him while whispering side comments.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten the incident that happened that evening.
Or they have forgotten his face.
Either way he is grateful for that.
The last thing he wanted was attention.
When Roman entered his room, everywhere was still and quiet.
He thanked God quietly.
He wanted to be alone at least for some time.
He walked quietly over to his corner of the room, setting his bag down on the floor.
In the darkness, he began stripping off his clothes, eager to jump into his mattress.
Then, a creepy, mocking voice sounded right behind him in the dark.
“Hello, roomie.”
Roman nearly jumped out of his skin.
He spun around so fast his heart slammed violently against his chest.
Johnny sat upright on his bed in complete darkness.
His oversized glasses reflected the faint moonlight coming through the window, making him look almost creepy.
And for the very first time since Roman entered the room…Johnny was smiling.