A/N: Here we go. That story, "Typing to the Tune of Whitman". Heh. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or situations in "Dead Poets Society". They all belong to Weir. The only characters I own are the O'Donnell siblings, random faculty and passersby, and the girls at Welton.

This is very different from my first story "Sonnets and Dreams" . It's not even a rewrite of it.

Typing to the Tune of Whitman

Chapter 1 (Neil): A Break In Tradition

1959

"It has been the board's decision to extend the excellence of the education here at Welton Academy not just to the finest and deserving young men, but also to young women. For the first time, we have opened our doors to fifteen young ladies. This marks a turning point in the history of this school."

The very words of this announcement lingered in Neil Perry's mind after the morning's opening ceremony had ended and nearly everyone had greeted Headmaster Nolan. "For one thing, he did not seem happy to be saying that," he noted to himself as he lugged his two suitcases into the dormitory building. The entire front hall all the way up to the stairway was filled with students, some of them with their parents, turning the premises into a sort of orderly chaos.

"Same thing happens every year, Perry," one of his classmates, Hopkins, said tiredly by way of greeting from where he was dragging his bags up the staircase.

"You're right. So how was your summer?" Neil asked the burlier boy cordially.

Hopkins shrugged. "Home was driving me crazy. Couldn't wait to get away. I think Dalton and Overstreet are upstairs already, looking for you. Have you seen any of the girls that Nolan was talking about?"

"Not since the opening ceremony," Neil replied as he hauled his belongings up a few steps. For some reason, he hadn't gotten a good look at the faces of the newcomers who were causing a stir at the school. Not like it would matter, at least for the next few minutes while he settled in.

"Maybe Charlie's already chatted one of them up by this time," he thought as he sidestepped to clear a path for two young boys who were rushing down the staircase. Neil smiled wryly as he watched them, thinking that once, he had been that hapless on the day he had first arrived at Welton. Now here he was, three years later, already a senior with much being expected of him. He shook his head to clear away these thoughts before continuing on upstairs.

It took some time for him to make his way through the crowded hallway towards his dormitory room. Just as he was about to enter his cramped quarters, he caught sight of Knox Overstreet leaving one of the nearby rooms.

"Neil! How's it going?" Knox greeted first.

"Hey Knox. I'm doing well, how about you?" Neil replied as he opened the door to his own room and pulled his bags inside.

"Same as ever," Knox replied, leaning on the doorjamb and flopping his dark blond hair out of his eyes. "I heard that one of the girls here is a senior. That makes two new faces in our classes."

"Really?" Neil said curiously. "How did you find that out?"

Before Knox could answer, another person appeared in the doorway. "Neil, study group tonight?" Richard Cameron asked.

Neil smiled cordially even as Knox stepped aside. "Yeah sure," he said. He knew it would only be a matter of time till the frenetic redhead sought him out for academic purposes. That was one thing he could count on at the beginning of every term.

Cameron nodded with relief as he peered into the room. "I heard you got the new boy. Looks like a stiff!" he laughed. However he paled and muttered a hurried "Oops!" just as another boy made awkwardly his way into the room.

Neil fought to keep a straight face as he watched Cameron flee. He nodded reassuringly at the newcomer, Todd Anderson. "Listen, don't mind Cameron. He was born with his foot in his mouth, if you know what I mean," he said before pulling some papers out of his blazer and giving his roommate a friendly whack on the back.

Todd looked at Neil with a mildly quizzical expression before beginning to unpack. Outside the room, Knox motioned to someone in the hallway. A few moments later, Charles Dalton appeared in the doorway with a smug expression on his face.

"Rumor has it, you did summer school," Charlie smirked as he pointed at Neil.

It was all that Neil could do to keep from rolling his eyes at the memories of the past few months. "Yep. My father wanted me to get ahead in Chemistry," he replied. "So how was your summer, Slick?"

"Keen," Charlie said before glancing up and down the hallway. "I talked to some of the girls in the third year. Pretty cute, actually. Too bad they won't be in our classes."

Knox looked around after a few moments. "Where are Meeks and Pitts?"

"They'll probably be here later," Charlie said as he and Knox entered and closed the door behind them.

"By the way, this is Todd Anderson," Neil said, gesturing from his roommate to his friends.

"Nice to meet you," Knox said as he shook Todd's hand. "I'm Knox Overstreet."

"Charlie Dalton here," Charlie said from where he was sitting comfortable on Neil's bed.

"He's the brother of Jeffery Anderson by the way," Neil added casually. He opened one of his suitcases and carefully lifted out his typewriter, which he deposited on the desk nearest his bed.

"Oh sure. Valedictorian, National Merit Scholar," Charlie said to Todd. "So what took you so long to get to Hell-ton?"

"Nothing. Long story," Todd answered embarrassedly as he pulled some clothes out of his own bag.

"Gosh, he really is very different from his brother," Neil observed as he went to the window. Although he had been a freshman the year that Jeffrey Anderson had been a senior, he still knew enough about the older Anderson's achievements and reputation. Though Todd was just as tall and cut his blond hair in the same style that Jeffrey had at school, the Anderson brothers were definitely polar opposites of one another. For one thing, Todd was remaining awfully quiet whereas Jeffrey would have been charming the crowd and making friends by now.

Charlie fished a cigarette out of his pocket. "Of course, I bet that Jeffrey never told you about the real 4 pillars," he said to Todd.

"Yeah. Travesty, horror, decadence, excrement," Knox replied.

"So Cameron asked about the study group," Neil said. "Anyone mind including him?" he asked.

Knox groaned while Charlie blew smoke into the air. "What's his specialty, boot-licking?" Charlie retorted after a few moments. "Or tripping all over himself like I saw him do earlier?"

"He's your roommate," Neil pointed out.

"Not my doing," Charlie said nonchalantly. "We had better include Meeks if we want to pass Latin this year."

"No problem with that," Knox said more brightly.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door. Charlie quickly stamped out his cigarette. "It's open," Neil called as he waved the smoke away. His eyes widened when the door opened, revealing his father.

"Father, I thought you'd gone—" he began as his friends got to their feet.

"Keep your seats, gentlemen," Mr. Thomas Perry said from the doorway. "Neil, I've just spoken to Mr. Nolan, and I think you're taking too many extracurricular activities this year. So I've decided you should drop the school annual."

On hearing this, Neil's jaw dropped with shock. "But I'm the assistant editor this year," he protested.

"Well I'm sorry Neil," Mr. Perry said dispassionately.

"But Father, that wouldn't be fair. I'm the assistant editor this year!"

Almost as soon as these words left his mouth, Neil saw his father's eyes harden. "Fellas, would you excuse us a moment," Mr. Perry said to the other boys. He motioned for Neil to step out of the room.

"I can't believe he is doing this to me," Neil thought with horror as he got up from his seat and followed his father out of the room. While he knew there was no way he was going to be able to get back on the school annual, not now when his father had talked to Mr. Nolan, he still wished he hadn't been called out so unceremoniously. He heard the door close resoundingly before his father grabbed his arm.

"Don't you ever dispute me in public. Do you understand?" Mr. Perry berated him harshly.

Still, Neil felt the need to defend himself. "Father, I wasn't disputing-" he began before he was cut off by another harsh cuff to his arm.

"After you've finished medical school, you can do as damn well as you please. But until then, you do as I tell you. Is that clear?" Mr. Perry continued as if he hadn't heard Neil at all.

"There's only one thing to say," Neil reminded himself. There was no other way he could ever get out of this sort of dispute. He took a deep breath before nodding. "Yes sir. I'm sorry," he said.

Satisfied, Mr. Perry's expression softened slightly. "You know how much this means to your mother, don't you?"

"Yes Sir. You know me. Always taking on too much," Neil said wryly.

"Hey Neil! There you are!" a familiar voice called from the end of the hallway. Neil turned in time to see two more friends, Stephen Meeks and Gerard Pitts, hurrying towards him, with another student in tow. It took Neil a moment to realize that the third student approaching him was a girl. She was dressed in a white shirt with a red and black bow at the collar, and a pleated gray skirt that fell to below her knees. She also carried a rather worn out book in one hand.

"Good day gentlemen…and lady," Mr. Perry greeted the newcomers stiffly.

"Um, good afternoon Mr. Perry," Meeks said quickly before adjusting his spectacles. "Neil, have you seen Charlie and Knox?"

"They're in there," Neil said, pointing towards his room.

Meeks nodded. "By the way, this is Vanessa O'Donnell. She's in our senior class," he said, glancing at the raven-haired girl who was with him. "Vanessa, this is one of the friends I told you about. His name's Neil. This is his father Mr. Perry."

"Pleased to meet you both," Vanessa said calmly, extending her free hand. Her smile was warm, lending a little softness to her rather severe features.

Neil shook her hand awkwardly, aware of his father's disapproving stare. "Welcome to Welton, Miss O'Donnell," he said.

Mr. Perry merely nodded by way of acknowledgment. "Well, if you need anything Neil, just let me know," he said gruffly before slapping his son on his shoulder and walking away towards the staircase.

"It could always be worse," Neil reminded himself silently as he leaned on the doorjamb. Still, he found it difficult to look at his friends and at Vanessa. "Sorry about that, guys," he said a little embarrassedly just as the door to his room opened.

Knox and Charlie emerged, looking quite shocked and disappointed at what they had heard. "Why doesn't he let you do what you want?" Charlie asked.

"Tell him off, Neil. It couldn't get any worse," Knox pointed out.

The irony of these words was not lost on Neil. "Oh that's rich. Like you guys ever tell your parents off, Mr. Future Lawyer and Mr. Future Banker?" he shot back bitterly.

"Okay, so I don't like it anymore than you do," Charlie replied.

"Yeah, but don't tell me how to talk to my father," Neil said. "It's not as if I can do anything if he's talked to Nolan about it," he added.

Charlie glanced from Meeks and Pitts to Vanessa. "Wow, I didn't think you two would get to talk to the girls before I would," he said with mock disappointment.

"Actually we just helped her get her stuff up the stairs and we were on our way to see you guys," Pitts explained.

Neil sighed before standing up straight. "Guys, meet Vanessa O'Donnell. Vanessa, this is Charles Dalton and Knox Overstreet," he said. It was then that he realized that his roommate was still inside the room. "Todd? There's someone here you might want to meet," he called.

"I think we've—"Todd began by way of reply from where he was putting his alarm clock atop his own desk.

"You mean Todd Anderson? We've already met, back when Nolan was singing the school's praises to my parents before the ceremony," Vanessa said. She made a face when saying the headmaster's name, as if it was something odious.

"Charmed to meet you, Vanessa," Charlie said smoothly as he shook Vanessa's hand. "So what brings you here instead of to Henley Hall?"

"My brother John. He's a first year student here," Vanessa replied. "That, and my stepfather is a graduate from here."

"Maybe my father might remember an O'Donnell," Knox began.

"Actually my stepfather is a Huntington," Vanessa said, crossing her arms. For a moment, it seemed to Neil that Vanessa's blue eyes had darkened momentarily as she spoke. "It's a sort of a long story," she added more mildly, hugging her copy of The Second Sex closer to her.

"I know that Neil said welcome to Welton, but it's more like welcome to Hell-ton," Charlie said with a rakish grin. "It's every bit as difficult as they say, unless you're a genius like Meeks."

"I've heard the horror stories," Vanessa said lightly, brushing away a stray strand of hair that had worked its way loose from her braid.

"If you ever need help keeping up, you can look for anyone of us here," Charlie said, gesturing proudly to himself and to his friends. "We've been here long enough to know how to get by in this place."

"Thanks. I'll make sure to ask for help if I need it," Vanessa said, placing emphasis on the word 'if'.

It was all that Neil could do to keep a straight face on seeing Charlie's rather crestfallen expression. "Seems as if she's not buying it, Charlie," he joked.

"I haven't quite started yet," Charlie said in an undertone.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I was going to the library to check out some books for Chemistry class. Thanks for the introductions, Meeks. I'll see you guys around," she said before pushing past the boys and going to the stairway.

After a few moments, Charlie sighed deeply and shook his head. "Great. The one girl we have in our class, and she's one of those hard to get ones," he said. "Nice going there, Meeks."

"Well how was I to know?" the bespectacled redhead argued.

"Come on, she doesn't seem so bad," Neil said, clapping Charlie's shoulder reassuringly. "You'll get to talk to her later or tomorrow anyway."

"And maybe I'll have a chance then," Charlie said more pluckily. "So Meeks, we were talking about having a study group. If you could be so kind again this year…"

"Latin again? Yes sir," Meeks said. "You in, Pitts?"

"May as well," Pitts said.

"I'll ask Todd if he wants to come too," Neil said. For a moment, his gaze strayed to the stairway where Vanessa had gone. He decided though against going in that direction for some time, at least until he could deal with other pressing matters.