#co ed

It was still warm when the first day back to school came, but the leaves were starting to change and were plucked from the trees with the promising fall breeze. Summer was officially over. Senior year was beginning.

Neil put his arm around his best friend and roommate, Todd, “Now we get to put our poetry skills to good use.” he nodded to the flock of females on the campus lawn, “Look at all of them!”

Todd, never really knowing what to say in these conversations, smiled softly, joining Neil in the girl gazing.

Being in an all-boys school could feel pretty isolating from the outside world, namely from the opposite sex. Todd had read all about women in fictional books and heard all about romance and passion in Mr. Keating’s class last year. He found all of it wondrously fascinating. But to put it into reality was unimaginable for someone like him. He hadn’t even gained the confidence to read aloud during Dead Poet meetings with his close friends, let alone even speak to a girl.

The rest of the guys caught up to Neil and Todd, each of them oohing and awing at the girls waiting to go inside. The exception was Knox, who only had eyes for his girlfriend, Chris.

“Good morning, ladies.” Neil greeted a group of them as they walked by.

Charlie chimed in as well, asking some of the girls if they were excited to start at Welton.

“I’d never have the courage to do something like that.” Todd thought to himself.

As the bell rang, he happened to look over and notice three girls looking at him specifically, one of them even waved. He smiled right at them for a second, waving politely before he looked away. As he headed in with the herd, he knew he was red in the face.

Todd found his assigned locker, and there was already a girl to the left of it putting things into hers. He made eye contact, and she smiled kindly at him.

He then opened his locker, placing his book bag inside, grabbing a notebook and other things he needed for his first class. He couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty she was. He could smell her too, her scent was of roses and light hints of vanilla.

“Hi, I’m y/n. Is this your first year at Welton too?” a feminine voice chirped next to him.

Todd looked at the girl, brows raised as if to ask, ‘Who, me?’ “Oh, uh-mm, no I was here last year.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I’m new…obviously.” she giggled.

Todd couldn’t help but smile at her. It had only been a little over a year since he’d been back at his old school that was a co-education, but a year at an all-boys school, especially one as elite and serious as Welton, felt like a lifetime.

“So, are you a senior?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I am.” Todd tried his best to keep his trembling at bay.

“Me too! So maybe we’ll have some classes together…”

The long pause and the questioning look on her face was all kind of silly to him before he finally realized that she wanted to know his name. What was it again? “Todd.” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Todd Anderson.”

The girl smiled at him again, “Well, Todd, it’s nice meeting you.” she closed her locker, “Um, can I ask you...which is the history classroom? They showed us during orientation, but I can't remember."

His eyes widened, he couldn’t believe she was still talking to him. She was so lovely, like the type of girl that poetry was made for. “Oh, it’s-a just passed the lockers, second door on the left.”

She smiled appreciatively at him, “Great, thanks. I’ll see you around, Todd.” she sang, turning to catch up with another girl that had called her name. She turned her head slightly to look back at Todd and give him a friendly wave.

“See you.” he said, but she was already too far away to hear him.

Suddenly, he felt a slam of an arm across his shoulders. Charlie.

“There’s no way that Todd Anderson was talking to a girl.”

“He definitely was.” chimed in an enthusiastic Neil Perry, a proud smile splayed over his mouth.

“No, I wasn’t. Not really.” answered Todd, brushing off the interaction.

“No, no, we saw that little wave she gave you. She’d totally sleep with you, Anderson.” Charlie teased as the group walked to class together. The bell rang again, “Aw, second bell. Better get to class before we’re all marked late.” he said sarcastically. “We will talk about this later.” he rubbed the top of Todd’s dark blonde head teasingly.

Todd shrugged off his friend’s typical antics with a laugh.

…….

U.S. History class. Typically, this would be a snooze fest for the poets, but this year, of course, was different. Instead of dozing off or doodling during the lecture, the boys could try to gain the attention of the young ladies in the class.

Charlie Dalton had the best time, passing notes to girls and giving them nods. Neil caught the eyes of a few girls. Steven Meeks mostly just smiled at them awkwardly.

Todd kept to himself as he usually did. He’d hate to say something and end up sounding stupid. Nothing he said ever came out right.

“Now, you’ll have a research paper due at the end of the quarter. But I’ve decided to add a twist. Since it is our first year with females attending, I will let them pick their partners. And yes, you’ll be working on your paper in pairs.”

Murmurs and soft chatter filled the classroom.

“Yes, gentlemen there's a chance you will be paired up with one of the ladies but remember that there’s work to be done. Conduct yourselves with respect and discipline. We don't want to scare these young ladies out of the school when they've only just arrived, do we?"

Some mild laughter sprouted through the class.

"Now, I’ll just begin alphabetically. Go on and pick your partner when your name is called, ladies. Let’s see…” the teacher picked up his clipboard with the class list, “Ah, y/n y/l/n. You may make your choice.”

Todd perked up when he heard her name, he knew where she was sitting as he had spotted her at the beginning of the of class. His eyes found her in an instant.

Y/n took a second to scan the room, but she already knew who she wanted her partner to be. “Todd Anderson.”

He nearly swallowed his tongue.

March 5, 2025

Author’s Note:

I know this is a leap from what I usually publish. No, I’m not anti-Timothée. I’m just a bit burnt out. And it’s not his fault. I just want to write for Ethan Hawke. lol I hope you stick around, but if you want to unfollow, I completely understand. and if you happen to be here from the DPS fandom, HI LETS BE FRIENDS!

DM me if you’d like to be added to the tag list for this story.

XGLAX ALPHAZ!