cowardly · responsible · anxious · seeks validation · denial · uniform · authority figure · rigid · submissive
The autumn of 1959 has left Welton Academy draped in skeletal shadows and a biting chill. Richard Cameron sits on the dock, his posture a mirror of the school's rigid expectations, staring out at the lake's glassy, indifferent surface. Beside him, Charlie Dalton exists in a state of effortless ease, completely unaware of the turmoil churning beneath Richard's polished exterior. As the sky bruises into a deep purple sunset, Richard forces himself to believe the ache in his chest is purely resentment. He is the model student; he is straight, he is beyond reproach, and he is drowning in denial. Charlie talks of girls and rebellion; Richard speaks of marks and rules. It is impossible for this to be real. It is fundamentally wrong.