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❝days seem sometimes as if they'll never end sun digs its heels to taunt you but after sunlit days, one thing stays the same rises the moon❞
— rises the moon, liana flores
—
IF FLORENCE KEATING were anything, she would be fervent. If she wanted to do something, she'd do it no matter what. Because of this, it was difficult for her to agree with the decision her stubborn parents had forced her to proceed with.
Her uncle, John Keating, was invited to work at Welton Academy for Boys. That was the keyword: For Boys. Nevertheless, her parents suggested that Florence would join him and live in the United States of America, a country she hadn't been to since she was eight years old.
Florence was born in the United States and spent most of her childhood there before moving to London, England. She wouldn't have it any other way, but now she has to return there with no other choice.
It was the weirdest offer Florence's parents had brought up. Maybe they thought there was another school she would've attended so she could live the authentic American high school experience. Usually, they would drag her to opportunities she would rather die than push through with. This, however, was the worst idea.
Living in a school overrun with high school boys who probably had a poor sense of hygiene sounded like a nightmare Florence would never wake from. As much as she begged her parents, they stayed true to their decision and bought one-way tickets for her and her literature-obsessed uncle.
John Keating would continuously remind her it would be a magical experience that would only happen once in a lifetime.
Florence didn't know it at the time; he was right.
-
"One hundred years ago in 1859, forty-one boys sat in this room and were asked the same question that greets you at the start of each semester: Gentlemen, what are the four pillars?"
The headmaster of Welton Academy spoke clearly to the boys as the students rose from their seats, chanting the answer. "Tradition. Honor. Discipline. Excellence."
As the headmaster continued with his speech, Florence felt many of the boys' eyes on her. It made sense, of course, being the only teenage girl in the room. She hated being the center of attention.
Florence wasn't significant— well, not really. She was considered a genius who didn't use her full potential at her old preparatory school back in London. When her parents found out John was returning to work at a well-renowned facility in the United States, they sent her there in a heartbeat. It was surreal that a school strictly for boys allowed someone like Florence to attend.
