The New Boys' Study sits under yellow gaslight, all scarred wood, ink smell, and floor wax. C. S. Lewis sits straight-backed at the long table, hands folded in his lap while ten other new boys stare at their own knees.
The door opens again. Older boys lean in the frame, grinning and whispering, then step back as if the room itself belongs to them.
One tall youth enters at last, a prefect with a hard smile and polished boots. He walks the line slowly, letting silence do the threatening.
Tennyson
Well now. Fresh meat. Keep still, gentlemen, and try not to look so frightened.
He stops before C. S. Lewis, studies that fixed young face, and lifts a finger beneath his chin.
Tennyson
Chin up, boy. Let us see whether you can manage a proper look.
The room goes very quiet. Somewhere behind the door, an older boy snickers, and the line of new boys waits to see who is next.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get through the prefect's inspection
“Does the prefect expect me to cower before his authority?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 45)
C. S. Lewis
He is not merely inspecting me. He is waiting for the exact moment my eyes drop, for the flicker of fear that confirms I have accepted my place beneath his boot.
Tennyson
You have a stubborn set to your jaw, Lewis. I wonder how long that will last once you realize that here, your only duty is to be useful to those of us who have already earned our stripes.
“I look down meekly, and I apologise to Tennyson.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Willpower, rolled -1)
Lewis drops his gaze at last, shoulders tightening as if the room has found a seam in him. The apology comes out thin and careful, swallowed almost as soon as he gives it.
Tennyson
Better. You can learn.
Tennyson
Not worth the effort yet. The others are the softer fruit.
His attention slides off Lewis and settles on the cluster of new boys instead, slow and weighing, like a hand choosing from a tray.
Tennyson
You there, with the red hair. Stand up straight. Let us see if any of you know how to present yourselves.
The doorway laughter hushes into expectant silence. Lewis stays very still, now hidden in the rank of the passed over, while another boy is left exposed beneath Tennyson's stare.
Tennyson
One of you will do. The rest can take the lesson from watching.
“Is Tennyson going to leave me alone?”
YES, BUT (Unlikely, rolled 30)
Tennyson turns his back on Lewis entirely, his interest in the boy having evaporated as quickly as it arrived. He focuses his full, heavy attention on the trembling boy with the red hair, leaving Lewis in the periphery of his concern.
“I avoid Tennyson's gaze”
SUCCESS (Poor Agility, rolled +1)
C. S. Lewis lowers his eyes to the table, and the prefect’s attention slides past him as if he were already furniture.
Tennyson’s shadow stretches over the trembling red-haired boy, and the room seems to settle around that new center of fear.
Tennyson
Stand up. Let me see you properly.
The red-haired boy rises too fast, chair legs scraping, while two older boys in the doorway lean in to watch.
Tennyson
There, that is better. You will do.
Lewis keeps still in the dim edge of the gaslight, no longer the object of the room’s scrutiny.
The inspection has turned away from him, but it has not ended, and the prefect’s next choice hangs over the new boys like a waiting sentence.
Quest Complete
Get through the prefect's inspection
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Mediocre→Fair