Nick Duval and Jeff Sterling were best friends. Every day they met at the park across the road from their houses and played together for hours. Nick had noticed that Jeff always seemed to be there before him, and always stayed out until it was nearly dark. This confused Nick as he knew from his Mummy that staying out late was dangerous, but whenever he asked Jeff why he was outside all day, Jeff would change the subject or go very quiet for a while. In Nick’s seven year old mind, it was annoying that Jeff never told him, they were best friends after all. It wasn’t until years later that he realised why Jeff was reluctant to go home.
Until one day, Jeff was gone. Nick missed and searched for his friend every day, but didn’t see him again. That is until his first day at Dalton Academy, when he opened the door to his dorm room and came face to face with someone very familiar.