𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐄 𝐃𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐑𝐄, c.d.

𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER SIXTEEN | EXERCISING THE RIGHT
The students were all standing in a line while Cameron, Pitts, and Knox walked in a circle, Mr. Keating watched as they go.

    "No grades at stake, gentlemen. Just take a stroll." After a few moments, the three boys began to march to the same beat. "There it is." The other boys started to clap to the rhythm of their steps. Charlie and Cove stood behind everyone, up against one of the walls of the courtyard, Cove right under Charlie's arm. "I don't know, but I've been told." The boys began to repeat their teacher as he continued, the two friends in the back in their own conversation. "Doing poetry is old. Left, left, left-right-left. Left, left, left-right-left. Left, halt!" The boys quickly come to a halt, looking up at the older man.

    "Can I come over tonight for help with Trig? I don't get it and I can't flunk another class. My mom would kill me." Cove looked up at her best friend, nodding her head as their teacher spoke. "Just don't tell anyone I'm coming for extra help please. I know we do a study group but if the boys know I still don't get it, they'll rip me to shreds."

    "Since when do you care what anyone thinks of you?" Charlie rolled his eyes, shrugging his shoulders before looking down at Cove.

    "I just don't want them to think I'm dumber or something." The brunette girl sighed, shaking her head before giving her friend a soft smiles.

    "I'd never tell anyone our secrets, Dalton."

    "Mr. Pitts, taking his time. He knew he'll get there one day. Mr. Cameron, you could see him thinking, is this right? It might be right. It might be right. I know that. Maybe not. I don't know." Mr. Keating began to walk with his front pushed forward, making Cove cringe. "Mr. Overstreet, driven by deeper force. Yes. We know that. All right. Now, I didn't bring them up here to ridicule them. I brought them up here to illustrate the point of conformity: the difficulty in maintaining your own beliefs in the face of others. Now, those of you -- I see the look in your eyes like, I would've walked differently. Well, ask yourselves why you were clapping. Now, we all have a great need for acceptance. But you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go, that's bad. Robert Frost said, two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Now, I want you to find your own walk right now. Your own way of striding, pacing. Any direction. Anything you want. Whether it's proud, whether it's silly, anything. Gentlemen, the courtyard is yours."

    "Come on, Cove!" The girl left Charlie's side, the boy suddenly missing the warmth his best friend created as she went to walk with Meeks. Her arm was looped through his as they skipped like idiots, laughing with each other. The students began to walk about, some walking casually, other making up silly walks. Mr. Keating noticed that Charlie was still leaning up against one of the pillars.

    "You don't have to perform. Just make it for yourself. Mr. Dalton? You be joining us?" Charlie placed his hands in his pockets, shaking his head.

    "Exercising the right not to walk."

    "Thank you, Mr. Dalton. You just illustrated the point. Swim against the stream."

..........

All the boys, but Knox and Charlie, and Cove gathered in the cave, beginning the meeting without the two boys.

    "To live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life" The tall boy quickly stopped when he heard the sound of laughter from outside the cave.

    "Is this it?" Cove lifted her head up from Neil's shoulder, the two looking at each other.

    "Yeah, this is it. Go ahead, go on in. It's my cave. Watch your step." The Overstreet girl's eyes widened when she saw Charlie walk in with two blondes, her shoulders dropping.

    "We're not gonna slip, are we?" One of the girls hopped into the cave wearing a bright red shirt. The light from the boys' flashlights played conspicously over her exposed cleavage, making Cove cringe as another girl entered behind her. Neil looked down at Cove, his hand resting on hers because he knew how she felt. Neil Perry was the only one in the world who knew that Cove was in love with Charlie.

    "Hi." Meeks quickly stood up, slamming his head into the low ceiling, greeting her. "Hello."

    "Hi, you guys. Meet, uh, Gloria and..." Charlie looked at the unnamed girl, clearly not remembering her name which probably made her mad. "Tina. This is the pledge class of the Dead Poets Society." Neil's brows furrowed in confusion as the other boys kept their eyes on them, not knowing what to do. "Guys, move. Move. Come on, folks. It's Friday night. Let's get on with the meeting." Cove looked up, seeing Charlie already looking at her. She just shook her head, looking back down to her hands as the boys let the girls sit down. "Guys, I have an announcement to make. In keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From now on, call me Nuwanda."

AUTHORS NOTE
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY !!!
even though you guys wont see
this until some time in april lmao