The Midnight Peak

By Jaelen Oh

Alec and Ollie, grappling with the recent death of their father, are sent to a desolate year-round boarding school atop the icy peak of Mount Easton. There, Alec hopes to have a fresh start where both he and his younger brother can find temporary solace in isolation, but the howling winds of Mount Easton blow a dark twist on the brothers. As Ollie retreats further into his own world, Alec becomes tangled in a web of enigmatic friendships with the charming Lilly and the perplexing Paxton, causing each to test their character and values. As Alec plunges into despondency, he must find a way to break out of his shell before letting himself sink under the shadows of the mountain.

A dark coming-of-age story steeped in emotion, The Midnight Peak tells a jarring tale of mystery, forgiveness, and human resilience in the face of relentless adversity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaelen Oh
• Release date: Sep 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223260448

Book preview

I: Autumn Day

It was only September , yet blankets of snow were falling through the darkened night, shimmering as the moon glistened upon their twirling crystal shapes. I leaned my head against the bus window, thoughtlessly looking out at the frozen scenery around me. The bus was violently rattling as if it was about to fall apart at any moment, and it made my head bounce in an agitating fashion as I tried to get some sleep. It couldn’t have been past four in the morning. The sky was still an inky black, and the moon, though distant, still glowed gently on us. Our surroundings were completely dark, and only moonlight combined with the bus’s dim headlights helped illuminate the path of the road as we chugged tirelessly up the snowy mountain peak. I couldn’t help but notice the brilliant shine of the stars piercing the darkness and snowfall, and it left me with a mesmerizing sense of awe as I drifted into a numbing limbo between sleep and wake.

I had always loved the night sky as a child, and the fascination I’ve had with it never diminished with age. I can still remember the first time I went camping with Dad. I must’ve only been six or seven years old. It was during a particularly hot summer when he took me and my little brother, Ollie, to the forests of Washington to camp for a week. While I can't remember much else from that outing, I still vividly remember that for every night that week, Dad would lay out a blanket on the ground for all of us to lie down and watch the stars. We would point out the different faces and shapes that we could see in the sky and laugh at what we could come up with. The world used to be so much different back then, and I remember being happy.

Dad passed away last year. Ever since then, the stars have seemed just a little bit dimmer when I look at them, and the night sky seems to not have the same majestic beasts or silly faces that used to appear when Dad was still here. I still make sure to look at the night sky whenever I have the chance though, even if it is missing the magical qualities it once had.

THE REST OF MY CLASSMATES were quietly sleeping, leaving the engine spattering and punctual lulling snores as the only sounds to listen to on the ride. Ollie was sitting next to me sleeping. His head was resting on my shoulder, and I could feel the rising and falling of his breaths as he slept. I broke my gaze away from the stars and the snow outside and I looked at my brother’s sleeping face. His long brown hair that curled in front of his eyes and his round cheeks gave him a baby-face appearance that made him look a lot younger than he was.

I’ll tell you, he’s a really sweet kid. He didn’t take Dad’s passing too well though. The night after he passed, I walked in on Ollie punching out the windows of his room until there was blood spattered everywhere, glass shards in his fists and all. I’ve always made sure to take care of my little brother since then. It’s hard to take on the world alone, after all.

I guess that was also around the time that Uncle Charlie began taking care of me and Ollie. It was obvious that he wasn’t good with kids. He didn’t have a wife or family or anything, and when we moved in, it was a disastrous attempt at living together. It only took a month or two of that situation until Uncle Charlie announced to us that we would be attending Nancy Prep, an all-year boarding school up on the top of Mount Easton, Washington. I guess it's pretty well known in Washington as the best boarding school in the state, but I hadn’t heard about it until he told me and Ollie about it. It's a three-hour drive from the closest city, and it’s on top of a snowy, lonely mountain crest with nothing else in sight. Anyway, I don’t blame him for signing us up there. I’m not sure what I would do either if I was suddenly gifted two high-school boys.

ANOTHER TWO HOURS PASSED before we finally reached the school. The snow was falling even harder now, and the evergreen trees that usually boasted an emerald hue were now completely white. I watched the frozen landscape around me as the bus suddenly turned a bend around a rocky headwall, and I was abruptly greeted by the sight of a grand crop of buildings that stood in the center of an intimidating ring of stone walls.

Truthfully, it looked more like a medieval castle than any sort of school I’ve seen. As the sky began to brighten and the sun started to rise above the horizon, more and more kids on the bus began to wake up. Chatter began to spring up as kids began pointing out the buildings and excitedly began talking about the spectacle of a school ground. Ollie had woken up too, and he rubbed his eyes groggily as he also took in the sight.

Is that Nancy Prep right there? I whispered to him, pointing at the buildings in the distance. Ollie squinted and took a few moments to adjust his eyes to the brightness outside before nodding.

Yeah, Ollie replied weakly, his voice tinted with feelings of sadness. His response, though brief, carried an invisible burden weighing down on it.

I put my hand on his shoulder and turned him towards me. Hey, it's gonna be alright here. Remember that.

He didn’t respond to me. His shoulders stayed slumped, and his head was hanging down in a defeated manner.

Just talk to me if anything’s bothering you, Ollie. Can you do that for me? I asked.

He did a slight motion with his head, and I took it as a nod. A wave of helplessness washed over me at that moment. Ollie used to be the brightest and bounciest kid in the world. You really couldn’t get him to stop smiling and running all over the place. It pained me to see him so shut off and withdrawn. It was like I hadn’t spoken to Ollie, the real Ollie, for months. Frustration mixed with feelings of worry as I just stared at him, a knot tightening in my stomach. I grabbed his open hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. I hoped that it would speak to him, telling him that things were going to be okay.

THE BUS RUMBLED CLOSER to the school as we passed through a black gate, the only entrance through the formidable stone walls of the school. The excitement among the students in the bus grew to an infectious peak as the bus stumbled into the school grounds, zig-zagging through and around buildings of different sizes and grandeur before hissing to a stop right in front of a twin set of five-story buildings that towered over the rest of the campus, nobly standing side by side. A hushed awe suddenly came over the chatter as we gazed upon the two structures.

It's beautiful isn’t it, I said to Ollie with a hushed breath. He slowly lifted his head as his eyes became fixed upon the beautiful architecture.

Yeah, he replied softly, his voice tinged with hints of excitement and wonder. For a brief moment, I thought I even saw the corners of his lips curve into a smile as if the grief that had gripped my brother slowly dissipated for that one instant. The smile was gone as soon as it appeared though, and Ollie returned to his downcast state, staring down at an orange stain on his shoe.

THE BUILDINGS WERE made entirely of stone, and on all four sides of the buildings were beautiful engravings of biblical-like scenes that seemed to boast the school’s rich history and tradition. The snow seemed to fall harder as it coated the surrounding trees, buildings, and mountains in a mystical white shroud. Around a dozen other buses had pulled up around the buildings, and some of them had already unloaded a swarm of kids upon the school’s campus. Our bus driver, an old man with not a single hair on his head, stood up from his seat and addressed us for the first time since he had picked us up.

Students, welcome to Nancy Prep’s dormitories, he said firmly. The old man’s face was emotionless as he opened the door of the bus and allowed the students to file off with suitcases in hand. Ollie and I reached for our suitcases that we stored under our seats as we began to put on our puffy winter coats. Uncle Charlie had gifted them to me and Ollie. He said that he bought them for a very extravagant price when he was on his trip to Norway. I wasn’t sure about that though. Dad used to say Uncle Charlie always lied.

As I took my first step off the bus, the wet crunch of snow beneath my foot was muted by the sounds of bustling kids gathering into a large crowd around the dormitories. I held on to Ollie’s hand tightly as we were swept by the crowd and into chaos. Hundreds of blurred faces zoomed past my vision as I tried to push my way through the sea of people and toward the beautiful twin buildings. As I gazed upwards at the solemn carved walls of our new home, the colossal oak doors of both buildings suddenly flung open with a large bang that left the crowd of students in a silent stupor. Embarrassingly, I also felt myself jump a little at the sharp clang.

What’s happening? Ollie asked, turning to me. I shrugged at him and gripped his hand tighter. I was staring alongside all the other students at the open doors of the buildings in anticipation, and it seemed as if we were all frozen in a held breath. We waited. Then we waited some more. Despite my cozy Norwegian coat, I began to feel the biting of the frigid air slowly creeping to my core. Ollie and I were standing side by side, and I could feel his body starting to shiver. I put an arm around him and brought him close to me.

Just then, a grand-looking man came out of one of the dormitories while a woman came out of the other. They both carried with them an air of authority and gravity as they stood in front of their respective buildings. The man wore a sleek brown trench coat and had peppery gray hair. The woman wore a formal suit and had a gentle yet commanding expression on her face that was further defined by smile creases and wrinkles next to her