~ Four Corners Academy ~

Hidden deep inside the Berkshire hills, Four Corners Academy is infamous for being the place where children are sent when they do not fit in anywhere else. Those who are sent there know that this is the last school they will be boarded at, that there are no more alternatives--not even military school will take an expelled student from 4C. For many, it heralds the beginning of a bleak life, for others, just another signpost within a life already damned, and for the rest, the last stop on the road altogether.

The new principal, a young woman not too long out of Columbia, has the daunting task of trying to bring the school around, to bring hope and promise back to the children now in her care. The school's trustees, Guy Royal and Stuart James, want her to fail; many of the teachers do not like her getting in the way of their own plans at the school; and then there are the students who just do not see the point to trying to stave off the inevitable and who, frankly, just don't trust her.

Then she meets seven very different but very similar boys….

Part One: Welcome to Four Corners Academy

Part Two: The Red Files

Part Three: Seeking Solidarity

Part Four: Splitting Apart at the Seams

Part Five: Fighting the Future

Part Six: The Black Woods

Part Seven: Callings

Part Eight: The Legend Continues

(dedicated to Anna)

Notes: This was an answer to a challenge originally, by the wonderful Setcheti, to write a story with a stuffed animal in it. It got a little bit out of control.

Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: I don't own the characters, though the AU setting and story are mine. Still, no claims of ownership of the M7 and no money made. The AU, if you're interested, is open--I never claim ownership of anything except maybe the style, such as it is.

I just want to acknowledge that this story was heavily influenced by all the amazing LB fic out there and the L'il Ezra fics and just about every story where the boys are kids or students. In particular, the "In the Good Old Summertime" series and the "Things We Learned" series at Blackraptor, written by a bunch of really talented and wonderful writers, got me thinking about trying this story, and then the so many wonderful other kid AU stories out there just inspired the rest. So, thank you to everyone who has ever written a school age AU!

Also, as some of you know, Yosemite and Catfish are both real people, extras from the original show. I hope they don't mind. The Greenes I made up and Violet's name came from…Sue D? Man, memory like swiss cheese, though I guess this version of her is sort of mine. Anyway, they're free for anyone's use, always have been.

Finally, thanks to Heather for reading the first bit before I posted it and helping me make it so much better. She and NT are also to blame for the tigers. That, and Blake. My mother knows what my favorite poem is.

The 2003 and 2004 winters here in Massachusetts, with the bitter subzero temperatures and occasional heavy snow, is completely and utterly to blame for the location. The photos I borrowed off the internet, with prayers that their owners don't sue me.

I hope you enjoy the story. Please let me know if you did!

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