Every once and a while Cloisterham Academy received visitors from the outside world. These visitors were often adoring parents who wished to see their children if only for a second. However, Alexander Greggs was not a parent in the typical sense.

No, Mr. Greggs simply played the role of Rosa Burgos's guardian. As a longtime friend of the Burgos family, he ended up taking the young orphan under his wing. However, he tended to be so busy that he barely got to see Rosa. However, he still had a responsibility as her guardian, and he still wished to visit her from time to time.

Rosa normally did not seem too emotional about these visits. They were neither welcome nor unwelcome. They were simply a part of living at Cloisterham Academy that she had grown used to. Mr. Greggs would ask her how she was doing and she would usually have some generic reply to respond.

But on this particular visit, Rosa seemed thrilled to see her guardian with his endless knuckle cracking and awkward pauses in conversation had appeared. Upon setting eyes upon him, she began to grin. She looked as if she had been waiting ages for him to appear at Cloisterham once again, as if there was something of vital importance that she must say.

"I am quite pleased to know you are here - I was recently hoping that you might appear as there are matters which I would like to converse with you about - and I feel I must converse in person, for what I must say is not something which can truly be understood over any form of technological communication."

"Oh, wonderful," Mr. Greggs exclaimed. "Well, Rosa, what is it that you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, it is a complicated matter. And it may involve some aspects of law."

"I can most certainly help with that," Mr. Greggs continued, cracking his knuckles.

"How fortunate I am to have a guardian who is so well-versed in law!" Rosa exclaimed. "And not just in law, but also in my personal affairs. I suppose it only makes sense, but I cannot help but count my blessings."

Mr. Greggs cleared his throat, wondering if Rosa had somehow already said what she wanted to talk about and he had just missed it for whatever reason. He decided to just let the girl continue (after all, Rosa would continue speaking whether he prompted her to or not - it was simply how she functioned).

"My future has been ever present within my thoughts as of late. I supposed that Elly and I would combine our inheritance and use it together in order to travel the world, each of us supporting the other..." Rosa began. "We both have large sums of money within our inheritances but it would be best if we combined it and went along together...but do we have to?"

"What do you mean?"

"I do not know if I wish to trail at Elly's heels as they travel throughout the world. I suppose I would rather forge my own path along, but...but the thought I could afford such a thing never entered my head until recently. I want to know...I want to know if I can do that."

"I'm sure you can, it's just that..."

Rosa's eyes widened as she looked over toward Mr. Greggs as he looked down and cracked his knuckles. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, I don't think it'll be the most lavish way to live, but if you can pick up a job and find something to sustain yourself I don't see why you couldn't go off on your own..."

"Oh. But of course," Rosa exclaimed, nodding several times. "I could get a job. I have always planned to get a job."

"But I don't know if you'll be able to have an adventure around the world supporting only yourself, and I don't know what job you would pick up..."

"Suppose I wasn't a world traveler, then," Rosa said. "Suppose I desired only to travel off on the occasional vacation, however lavish it may be, but otherwise I would stay where I needed to be."

"Then I can't see anything particularly wrong with that, no. You are going to go to college, right?"

"Well, of course!" Rosa exclaimed. "But I expected to spend many of those years abroad along with Elly. Now I am starting to realize that perhaps I do not need to spend any time abroad if I do not wish to..."

"No, no, of course not."

"And I have enough money to sustain myself throughout college and somewhat beyond?"

"Yes."

"And that doesn't concern anything which Elly has? Or anything which may be within any wills from our parents?"

"I would have to check about the wills, but for now...well, just for now I'm going to say yes. I just want to know what caused this shift in your mind."

Rosa allowed herself a moment to think through how she desired to respond to this. She needed the correct words to free this part of her mind to Mr. Greggs.

"I just do not wish to hang around Cloisterham like a fly around decay," Rosa said. "I shall not do such a thing. I shall...I shall leave Cloisterham Academy when I have graduated, and I shall forge my own path in life. I have spent my entire life with the same people and the same places and the same experiences...and I wish to free myself."

"Have you been thinking about this for a long time, Rosa?"

"Well, I suppose so. Oh, it's...it's a rather complex matter, I'm sure you'll see...but never mind that, you have made me pleased beyond what words can express!"

- - - - -

"I like Cloisterham," Helena said, her voice light. "I know it's no heaven, but compared to what we're used to I can't help but feel that so much has improved. We're already making friends here."

"And everyone who we aren't making friends with are quickly becoming our enemies."

"I wouldn't say that..."

"No one trusts me here," Neville replied. "I step in and suddenly everyone thinks they know exactly who I am just because I'm from states away and I'm not white and rich like ninety percent of the school. You can't deny that."

"No, I can't," Helena sighed. "I can't defend the way any of these people are acting. But it's not our faults that it's happening."

Neville crossed his arms and said, "Was it ever our fault that anything happened to us?"

"Of course not, but you know what I mean. You know that we haven't done anything in particular to cause these rumors except being here. But, aside from the rumors, you have to admit that Cloisterham isn't that bad."

"Yeah, yeah, of course it isn't," Neville sighed.

"Seems to me like you might be happier with Cloisterham Academy if Elliot Drew wasn't hanging around."

"Not exactly," Neville replied. "I would be happier if Elliot Drew wasn't hanging around Rosa all the time and treating her so badly. If the two weren't dating, then Cloisterham would be a better place already."

"Rosa makes her own choices - if she didn't want to be around Elliot, then I'm sure she wouldn't be."

"I'm not so sure about that. Seems like she's been obligated to be right beside them for the rest of their lives."

With this, the conversation momentarily faded into absolute silence. It was true - Rosa had always been near to Elliot throughout her life, as long as she could remember. It almost seemed like she was forced to be so. But Helena didn't want to believe something so vile. Besides, she had something of importance to tell Neville now that the matter of Rosa and Elliot had taken a break.

Helena took a breath before continuing to speak.

"I don't know how the story got out, but the rumor is spreading around that our stepfather used to beat us and that the only reason we're here is because he's dead and people took pity on us."

"Of course," Neville sighed. "Of course someone would find out about why we're here. At least it's mostly true, but that doesn't excuse the fact that people think we're just...we're just outsiders here. We're students here, the same as everyone else."

"We're new students, Neville. There haven't been any new students for ages, and so it only makes sense that people are going to focus on us."

"Yes, yes, it only makes sense. But I don't understand why being new means that we have to be treated so badly. I swear, it's like everyone in Cloisterham is doing their best to bring us down. What have we ever done to them?"

"Nothing, Neville. That's the point," Helena said, shaking her head. "They want to know what we're going to be like. They want to figure us out, whether it be through being civilized and actually talking to us or by spreading rumors and stories about our past. It's what is bound to happen, of course."

"Can't we do anything about it?" Neville said. "Find someone who has enough influence to, I don't know, stop all of this from happening? Dispel the rumors?"

"Maybe we can, maybe we can't. People love to spread rumors about us because we're not only new, but we're also different. But who cares who is spreading rumors as long as we are with people who don't care about those rumors?"

"Do you think Rosa believes those rumors?" Neville asked, answering her question with another question. "Do you think she knows better than to believe all of the crap that people are spreading around?"

"I think she does. You've spoken to her. You know she's an intelligent girl."

"But she still hangs around with Elliot."

"That doesn't make her stupid, Neville. It just means she knows Elliot better than us."

"It isn't making things any better for me."

"It will get better, Neville. Everything was terrible and now it's beginning to get better. And that means it's going to keep getting better as time goes on. I know it seems like a mess now - and it is - but never mind that. It's at least a safe mess."

"A safe mess," Neville said, letting out a short laugh. "A safe mess. That's all Cloisterham seems to be."

"It's got to be a home for us, whether we like it or not."

"Just because we live somewhere doesn't make it our home. We both know that, after all that we've been through," Neville said.

"Still," Helena said, deciding to push forwards. "It's going to be our home, I'm sure of it. We'll make friends, even if there aren't many of them, and..."

"Helena...I need to tell you...and I'm sure you've already figured it out, but I don't...I don't want to be just friends with Rosa. I want to see her treated well, and I know that I could...I could do that for her."

As he said these words, however, Mr. Criss happened to waltz into the room and overhear it all.

"Oh, my god, Neville," Mr. Criss exclaimed. "What are you...what are you doing with those kinds of thoughts? What are you thinking?"

"I didn't want to have feelings for someone," Neville sighed, deciding that getting flustered and trying to cover up his tracks would just worsen the situation. "When would you ever want to do such a thing to yourself?"

"Rosa, really? She's already dating Elliot," continued Mr. Criss. "I think they've been dating for three-"

"-four years," Helena corrected. "She has been talking to me about it."

"I know about all of that already," Neville said. "I just think that she deserves better than Elliot. Have you seen how horrible they are to her?"

"She doesn't mind it that much, Neville," Helena said, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder. "She doesn't enjoy it, but she knows that they mean well in the end. And I think she has plans to make it better."

But despite Helena's persistent positivity over the matter, Mr. Criss would have none of it, at least not for the current moment.

"No one else can know about this, Neville," Mr. Criss said, shaking his head. "I probably shouldn't know about it myself. It's not right for me to get involved in the relationships of my students."

"You don't have to get involved in it," Neville reminded him.

Mr. Criss looked at him for a moment, trying to gauge how he was supposed to react to this.

"Fine, then," Mr. Criss replied. "I guess I've done enough meddling for the day. But don't forget what I told you, Neville. Don't forget that these feeling of yours, however innocent they might be now, could end up having some real damage."

Helena stared at Mr. Criss as he left the room while Neville felt too sheepish to even look up. He refused to speak until the sound of Mr. Criss's footsteps entirely faded away.

"God, Helena," exclaimed Neville. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"You could talk to Rosa about it. It could help you get it off your mind by just saying it outright."

"But...but that won't work," Neville said. "I can't do that, because I know that Rosa will look at me and just laugh."

"You have feelings for her, and yet you still think that she would do such a thing?"

"Well, if she's been dating Elliot for four years now..." Neville began in protest. "I don't have a chance with her."

"Maybe you don't have a big chance right now, but in time you will. I think that you need to talk to Rosa more, even if it's not about how you feel about her," Helena advised. "She loves attention, even though she likes to be alone all too often. And you can provide attention for her. Get to know her better."

"That doesn't mean I'll manage to get her to fall for me or anything like that. No matter what ends up happening, she's still dating Elliot. If they've been dating for four years, she isn't going to break up with them out of nowhere."

"Have you watched the two of them together?" Helena asked.

"What? What do you mean?" Neville said in response.

"I mean, have you watched them together? Seen Elliot and Rosa talk to one another?"

"I know that Elliot always treats her terribly."

"And Rosa treats them with love and adoration back?"

"Well, no..."

"Rosa doesn't feel that way about Elliot, Neville. Rosa cares about them as a friend, and that's why she never left them behind. She's decided to be faithful to them no matter what, even if it means sacrificing something of herself."

"Then I have a shot."

"She's faithful to Elliot," Helena said, more firmly this time. "Perhaps some time in the future, but nothing immediate. It will take a very distinct change to make Rosa split off from Elliot entirely, if it were to happen soon."

Neville didn't seemed too fazed by this, as he realized that the situation was not as hopeless as he'd initially thought.

"Put in a good word for me, will you?"

"I'm your sister, not your wingman," Helena said, releasing a laugh.

"That's exactly why I'm trying to specifically tell you to say something nice about me. Otherwise, who knows what you would tell her!"

"Ah, I think she'd be willing to listen to anything and she'd still want to be your friend."

"Really?"

"I think that Rosa is probably one of the loneliest people I've ever met."

"What?" Neville replied. "Lonely? How on earth could she be lonely? She's got tons of friends."

"And that's why. Friends who flock around her in the hallways but aren't there when she's alone. And she spends an awful lot of time alone. She feels as if no one knows her."

"That seems like a lot of teenagers, Helena."

"No, I mean this," Helena replied, rolling her eyes. "I mean that Rosa is drifting throughout her life adored by so many and refusing to turn around and adore anyone back. She can't do it, it seems. Now she's dug herself into a ditch where she wants nothing more than that attention and at the same time can't stand it. That makes her so lonely, Neville."

"Then she needs someone to make her less lonely."

"Neville, don't you dare use her sadness to your advantage!"

"If I'm helping to get rid of the sadness, then why does it matter if it's too my advantage or not?" Neville asked in retaliation.

"Neville," Helena warned. She could do such a thing without saying anything more than his name.

"Fine, fine," Neville said. "I just want her to like me. It's good to know that she's not a socialite, I guess."

"It's good to know that we've found a friend here at Cloisterham."

"Yeah, one friend. We're making major progress here."

"I'm just glad we're at Cloisterham," Helena said. "Never mind whatever is happening with everyone else, we've finally found somewhere safe."

"Well, I-"

"No, Neville, we're safe. Even if Cloisterham isn't made of unbreakable walls and filled with people who have been through intense background checks, we are safe. Safer than we've been in years."

- - - - -

Mr. Greggs found himself amazed by just how positive Rosa seemed about all of her matters, especially concerning her future. Usually she seemed to be in a sour mood whenever he came along - no fault of his own, he knew, just something that was a part of her.

But now that he'd gotten to see her seemingly endless grin, he found that it was necessary to go speak to another of the students at Cloisterham - Elliot Drew was next on his list, as he had many matters to discuss with them. He managed to set up a small spot for them to meet in the cafeteria area, facing one another in opposing seats.

"So...Elliot...what can you tell me about Rosa?" Mr. Greggs began, cracking his knuckles.

"P-Rosa," Elliot began, catching themselves before they ended up saying Rosa's nickname.

"Prosa?" Mr. Greggs echoed. "What do you mean, Prosa? Does that have some sort of meaning, or...?"

"No, it's just..." began Elliot. A flush began to spread across their face as they hoped they could find a way to push themself out of the current topic. "It's just...well, I call her...I call Rosa Peaches. Peaches. I didn't want to say that, not at the moment."

"Oh, so you don't call her Prosa," Mr. Greggs said. "Thank you for letting me know. But now, I'm curious to find out why you call her Peaches..."

"It's...it's not important," Elliot said. Their face, oddly enough, had turned a pink color somewhat similar to a peach, just as what they were speaking of. "It's something left over from when we were children, you know what I mean?"

"You still are children," Mr. Greggs said. "She's sixteen - no, wait. That's not right. She's seventeen. Rosa is seventeen years old now, correct?"

"Yes, correct. Don't say sixteen in front of her or she might snap your neck. She hates when people call her anything younger than how old she is. But you understand, Peaches is just a childhood thing. It's nothing important. Nothing for you to worry about. Just move on from it. It's not important."

"Prosa," Mr. Greggs mumbled under his breath. "Interesting. Anyways, I have come to talk to you about Rosa to begin with - never mind what you think about her."

"Oh, okay," Elliot said, the flush from earlier still lingering. "What do you need to tell me about her?"

"She's been in the middle of a...what's the word? The middle of a crossroads. That's what it is. She's been in the middle of a crossroads, and the crossroads involve you from what I am aware of."

"Oh?"

"Well, I think she has been planning to have the two of you stay together for a long time, but I've recently told her that she can go on her own path and it won't be a problem for her, money wise. And it shouldn't be for you, either."

"Er...what do you mean?"

"Well, you were planning to go around the world with her by your side, right?" Mr. Greggs asked. After Elliot gave a nod, he continued. "You two would've combined the money you have from your parents to do such a thing. But she wanted to know if she could support herself without that, and I'm sure you could support yourself without her..."

"So basically she's saying she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with me."

"Well, I don't know about that. Just...well, she just kept saying she wanted to forge her own path. And she will, I'm sure."

"Well, then..." Elliot said, trying to let this information sink in. "Thanks for telling me. Looks like I'm going to have to go speak to Pea...to Rosa myself now."

"Sounds wonderful," Mr. Greggs replied, taking this as a cue that he could leave. (As a matter of fact, Elliot had wanted to drill Mr. Greggs more on what exactly Rosa had said, but it was too late for that.) "I will see you soon again, I'm sure. Thank you for speaking to me, Elliot. Goodbye."

Before Elliot could even speak a proper goodbye, Mr. Greggs had already gotten up and walked off. Mr. Greggs started to realize that it might've been better if he'd stayed, but as he was already far enough that turning back would be embarassing and awkward he decided he would be better off walking. As he was walking across the lawn, however, he heard someone calling out for him.

"Mr. Greggs?"

"Ah, Mr. Jasper," Mr. Greggs said, spotting the choir teacher walking across the lawn. He should've expected seeing Elliot's uncle around - perhaps he should speak to Mr. Jasper about Rosa's intentions as they concerned Elliot and, of course, Elliot's guardian was Mr. Jasper.

"What are you doing around here?"

"I came to visit Rosa, and she had a few things of interest to tell me."

"She always has something of interest to say, that much is for certain," Mr. Jasper said. "She's said quite a few interesting things in my class, I must say..."

"Well, you'll have to 'must say' it later, because at the moment I must talk to you about what she talked to me about. It concerns Elliot, in a way...or, rather a lack of Elliot. You see, she's growing up and she's decided she wants to forge her own path. Without Elliot. Or Elliot's monetary support."

"Forge her own path? What does she mean by that?" Mr. Jasper said. He meant it more to himself though he said it aloud, but Mr. Greggs immediately picked it up as a legitimate question.

"She'll be an adult soon. She's seventeen now, and that means in a year she'll be eighteen and then she'll be heading off to college. And she can start making her own decisions now."

"Well, she could always make her own decisions..." Mr. Jasper said, his voice trailing off. However, he soon realized how much Rosa's voice in her matters had been stifled. How much of her life had been taken over by what people expected of her rather than what she truly wanted?

"She doesn't need us any more," Mr. Greggs said, releasing a sigh.

"You mean she doesn't need me," Mr. Jasper breathed out, only for his own sake. However, his words ended up getting picked up by Mr. Greggs regardless.

"Well, no, I mean us!" he said, somewhat confused over the matter. "Rosa will be off in college in just a matter of months, just over a year...she'll be an adult then. Seems strange to think she's grown up so much. She doesn't need her guardian or her choir teacher - but I'm sure she won't desert us full out. How could she?"

"And she'll just leave us all behind. That's what this is all about, I'm sure."

"Oh, don't say that. I happen to know for a fact that Rosa isn't happy with her relationship with Elliot. She doesn't want to continue it quite the way they both planned to."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Jasper asked.

"I mean that she might not want to give the rest of her life to Elliot," Mr. Greggs said. "Her feelings...well, I wouldn't say they've changed, but...never mind that. Things are changing rapidly in Rosa's life and one of the things that is going to end up affected is what she has with Elliot. She's moving on to something else, something better for her."

"Like what?"

"She's seventeen years old now, which means she's almost eighteen - she's not going to be around much longer. She decided to make her own decisions now, and I think that is what she needs to do."

But this was not what Mr. Jasper worried about. "You really think she and Elliot are going to break up?"

"I can't say understand much of anything that happens in Rosa's world," Mr. Greggs replied. "But I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. She...she has plans for herself, I think. I can only hope that she goes ahead and shares those plans with me."

"They're going to break up, after four years," Mr. Jasper muttered to himself. "It's been four years. I don't...I don't believe it. I can't."

But if he could believe it, Mr. Jasper would be happy enough to sing and let his voice resonate through the halls of Cloisterham Academy. What else could make him happier?