Chapter Text
In a small town near the infamous London, a young boy stood before a great tower. The pillars were strong yet darkened with age, its turrets tall and sharply pointing towards the sky. He imagined it as a body's decayed withered bones, the turrets being the eroding phalanges.
The boy hesitated before the drawbridge, his new polished shoes not stepping forward. His parents gesture behind him encouragingly. In an effort to not worry them, the boy tightened his grip on his suitcase and finally moved forward.
His parents cheer.
A prestigious boarding school in the south-east of the United Kingdom, Glasshall Prep was renowned for its exceptional student credit: many going on to become rewarded doctors and decorated soldiers. All of them reported in interviews the advantages Glasshall Prep had granted them to further their education and their real world capabilities. A prestigious, reputable school like that was above and beyond what Ralph had expected. When the letter of admission came, his parents were overjoyed for their son's hopeful future. They'd travelled with him on the express trains, bought souvenirs, packed his suitcase to the brim, as if they were more grateful than their son could be. Which he was.
Ralph didn't want to disappoint his parents, despite his unenthusiasm, so he acted humble and content. His parents didn't assume a thing - for Ralph had always tried to play the part of a good son, a model student. He didn't excel in any particular subject which was why the whole family had been surprised at the admissions letter.
A tall young man dressed in his immaculate uniform, a pressed white collared button-up decorated with small achievement badges and trouser braces, escorted him around; he had long legs and a prominent Adam's apple. Ralph noticed this as he followed the man nervously. He forgot what the man had even introduced himself as. So as not to offend him, Ralph nodded along to his every word, his grip on his suitcase still tight.
The young man led Ralph upstairs to what he called the "sleeping quarters". It was full of beds aligned neatly. The young man walked Ralph to his assigned bed, with a single bedside drawer and nothing else.
It felt both bare and claustrophobic.
Ralph once again nodded his head and placed his suitcase on his pressed sheets. "Thank you."
The young man shook his head. "No worries. I'm sure the deputy headmaster will come by to give you your timetables. In the meantime, settle down." He stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets and walked out.
Ralph now realised just how empty the sleeping quarters were. Beyond a tall window, he could hear other boys laughing and playing. He meekly started to unpack his belongings. Where would he put his clothes? That was when Ralph's helpful peripheral vision spotted an oak cupboard on the other side of the room. He moved towards it, the sound of his flatshoes echoing in the grand room painfully evident.
Ralph twisted one of the knobs - the cupboard door swung open unexpectedly and a boy fell out of it, making Ralph draw back with an audible gasp.
The boy clumsily stood up, dusting his trousers down. He looked up at Ralph. The boy was a little shorter, and a little on the chubbier side too. He had big rosy cheeks and blue eyes. The boy squinted at him. "Who are you?"
Ralph learned to speak again. "M.. My name is Ralph - I was just transferred to this school."
The boy looked confused. "Transferred? Huh."
Ralph awkwardly took a step back and allowed the shorter boy to get his bearings. The boy leaned down and picked up a pair of glasses from the floor. That must've been why he was squinting.
"How on earth did you get in there?" Ralph asked, unable to internalise his curiosity.
The boy fiddled his glasses with his chubby fingers as he put them back on, then responded. "T'was Merridew and Maurice."
Ralph tilted his head. "Who's Merridew?"
The boy bit his lip then muttered somewhat bitterly, "It's a good thing you haven't met him yet. The bloke's impossible to get along with."
"Are you being bullied?"
The shorter boy raised his eyebrows and gestured towards the closet. '"No duh."
"What do I call you?"
"..I don't mind what you call me. As long as you don't call me what everyone else does."
"And what do they call you?"
"I won't tell you - you'll laugh." The boy took a step back, clearly hesitant.
"I promise I won't." Ralph was sure he had an idea but he didn't want to say it yet.
"..Piggy."
Ralph stifled his laugh as best as he could, his lips unhelpfully twitching upwards. "..Piggy? They actually call you that."
The boy named Piggy furrowed his brows. "You promised you wouldn't laugh."
Ralph nodded. "Yes, I said so and so I won't."
Piggy took off his glasses and wiped them with his shirt. "You look like it's really that funny."
Ralph snorted. "It's not! They shouldn't call you something like that. ..Piggy."
Piggy's head snapped up, seemingly betrayed. "What did I just tell you?"
"Okay, then what do I call you by? What's your real name?"
Piggy sighed and said faintly, "It's Nicholas - Nicky for short."
"Huh. Nicholas." Ralph nodded his head. "That suits you."
Piggy blinked for a moment, positively surprised. "..and what was your name again?"
"Oh, I'm Ralph." Ralph extended a hand to shake.
"Hello, Ralph." Piggy shook his hand with his smaller, meatier hand. They shook once before letting go. The casual air faded into an awkward atmosphere.
Ralph glanced around briefly, looking for something to pick up the conversation. Instead, he resorted to the small talk he heard his parents use. "It's quite hot outside, isn't it?"
Piggy picked up on the attempt to help and did his best to support it. He fiddled with his shirt buttons, his palms sweaty. "Uh.. yeah, it is. That's why I came inside - although it's not much cooler here."
"And how did that lead to you being put into a closet?" Ralph insisted on furthering this topic, and Piggy reluctantly indulged him. He hoped Ralph wouldn't hold his pathetic story against him; with a quiet inhale, Piggy shook his head in reflective disappointment of his actions before finally speaking.
"Well.. it was very hot outside so I came inside. I walked up the stairs and got tired, 'cause of my asthma. So I went to my bedside table, it has my inhaler in it - that's when Merridew and Maurice approached me. They don't like me, even if I haven't done anything to either of them. So Merridew suggested putting me in the closet which I refused. I really did my best to be polite." Piggy visibly became more nervous, twirling a curl on his head with his finger.
"The two of them proceeded to grab me and put me in the closet. They locked it and so I couldn't get out. After a while, I got tired of trying to get out and the air was quite thick in the closet. When I fell asleep, they must've undone the lock. That's how you opened it."
Ralph furrowed his thick brown eyebrows, evidently concerned. "Well they shouldn't be doing anything like that. This is a British school so we should uphold the British honour as our fathers are. My father's a commander in the Royal Navy. He wouldn't stand for this sort of injustice."
Piggy shook his head worriedly, blubbering to get his words out - "You shouldn't say things like that around Merridew. He insists his father is a man of great importance, its better if you don't cross him."
"But that's not right. I came to this school with the intention of doing my best. Letting this go would go against all of my morals. You shouldn't stand for this either, Piggy."
Piggy scrunched up his face, his nose amusingly similar to a piglet's snout. "I told you to call me Nicholas."
"Right, right, sorry, Nicholas." Ralph corrected. He was unsure how he'd managed to slip up. He hoped he hadn't made a bad first impression.
"And for your point, it's not like I choose to let them. They would never listen to me. Getting a teacher involved would only make a mess of things. I don't want to concern my aunt."
Ralph contemplated on how he could possibly get Piggy out of this situation, at least temporarily. "Well.. what do your parents do? Are you sure you have no leverage against him?" Ralph leaned back on his right leg as he'd been standing for a while, balancing the weight on his feet.
Piggy just stared at Ralph blankly before he admitted simply, "My parents are dead."
The other boy's eyes flickered with a hint of guilt for not being more acknowledgeable earlier. "Oh.. I'm sorry for your loss."
Piggy smiled for the first time since Ralph had met him and he waved a hand dismissively. "Don't apologise, its fine."
Ralph nodded, not wanting to press him any further. He instead asked, "Well.. if you don't need your inhaler.. should we go outside perhaps?"
Piggy nodded after a moment and said, "Yes, that'd be nice." The pair walked down the stairs in another heavy silence. This time, Ralph didn't disturb it despite the obvious tension. Piggy made no effort himself, though it seemed his mind was preoccupied with other concerns. Once they made it outside, Piggy stiffened just slightly.
Ralph wondered what had made Piggy uncomfortable other than the fact they weren't communicating. He figured it must be the bullies he'd mentioned earlier - well, Ralph though decisively, he'd stand up for his fellow student.
To his left, Ralph just heard a low laugh and then into view came a taller boy with pale blond hair and fair skin. He had small, deep green eyes and a smirk lifting his features. Dressed in a similar uniform to the escort was another boy with shorter chestnut coloured hair. "How'd you make it out of the closet, Piggy? You didn't break it, did you?" The blonde drawled, staring down at Piggy.
Piggy did his best not to falter in his speech. "Of course I didn't," he had to take a pause to develop his sentence, "break the closet, I mean. Ralph opened the door." The introduction was meant to help Piggy take the attention off himself and the blond picked up on it. He turned to face Ralph, looking him up and down as if formulating a way to mock him.
"..and this is Ralph?" He asked rhetorically, his tone of voice already definite. Ralph nodded his head; he had to stay strong now. But before Ralph could get a word out, the blond outstretched his hand. "I'm Jack. Jack Merridew." Ralph swallowed, his throat hoarse. ..he'd been so determined earlier. Ralph shook his hand politely.
"..hello, Jack."
Jack raised a thin eyebrow and glanced between Ralph and Piggy. "Yknow, Ralph, you shouldn't hang around wirh Piggy's sort. Not a good reputation, I'll say, especially since you've just joined." It was obvious to Ralph that Jack was attempting to turn him against Piggy - in reality, he must be the wrong sort.
Ralph built up his courage and responded steadily. "..Actually, I don't see any reason for you to be shoving anyone into a closet. I'm sure aggression isn't necessary."
The blond boy scoffed, unfazed by Ralph's argument. "And I don't see any reason for you to be standing in. Let Piggy fight his own battles, instead of trying to be noble. Or do you plan to be a lawyer? You play the part, judging others as soon as you arrive."
Ralph was frustrated. How could he convince this boy to be more mature without being directly rude? "I'll have you know, I haven't judged your character yet in the slightest. Or anyone's, for that matter. Its only with time that I can-"
"Liar." Jack cut him off. The boy with chestnut hair stood a little behind Jack, not butting into the disagreement. "You immediately assume that I'm the bad person - I'm sure little Piggy told you all about it."
"Firstly, Piggy said- I mean-" Ralph stopped himself from misnaming Piggy. "Firstly, you shouldn't call other students such derogetory names. We should be mature and clear with each other - this is a British school after all."
Jack rolled his eyes then took a step closer. "If Piggy doesn't like the name, he should've said so rather than brand me as a criminal."
Ralph sighed: for the sake of the debate, he had to ask Piggy questions as well. "..Piggy, did you ever tell Jack you disliked the name? I mean, Nicholas?"
Piggy was mad now. "Who would appreciate such a nickname? It's disrespectful and degrading." Ralph turned back to Jack.
"You should've recognised that it isn't a good nickname."
"'You should', 'you shouldn't', who are you to scold me, Ralph? I'm sure Piggy deserved the name. I've had enough of this conversation honestly. Watch yourself, Piggy." Jack muttered that last part to Piggy, making a shiver crawl down his spine. Then Jack turned to Ralph. "And you - be clear who you stand by. It's not too late to change your mind." Ralph felt the blood burn in his veins. This was infuriating.
Jack swiftly turned around and walked away as if the debate hadn't set his soul on fire due to the injustice as Ralph's was. He snapped his head to the side and saw Piggy looking so dejected.
"..what's the matter? I'm sorry I wasn't of much help with Jack-"
"It's not that. ..it's just, no matter what, everyone calls me 'Piggy' even if they don't mean to - like you, Ralph. I don't look like one that much, do I?"
Ralph's figure loosened, returning to his defaulted hunchback. "Of course you don't, Nicholas," he remembered this time. "Frankly, Nicholas suits you much better than Piggy. I say it by accident - if you hadn't told me the name, I would have never imagined. I'm sorry for insisting you tell me if the name disturbs you this much."
Piggy softens. "..thank you, Ralph."
"No worries." Ralph smiled reassuringly. Yet his blood was still boiling over his first interaction with Jack Merridew. He got under his skin and it irritated him. He'd deal with it the next time they came across each other - then he'd be ready. Ralph was once again filled with determination.
After a few minutes of walking around peacefully in the grass, the other students still lightly jabbing at Piggy, a short, stout man, presumably the headmaster, walked out and rung a bell in his hands. This bell was to summon the children to their lessons; Ralph glanced at Piggy, ensuring he was still beside him before confidently walking inside, blending in amidst the other boys.