Just Because (Interracial BWWM)

Chapter 4

"What makes Nick such a good character?"  Mrs.Barnebee asked, walking inside the circle of desks the class had made for their weekly Book Discussion.

They had just finished The Great Gatsby, Braelyn's favorite book, and though she had read it 12 times, she loved Book Discussion.

"Who said that he was a good guy necessarily?"  The class turned to a girl name Blake Kent.  She wore her blonde hair in a high bun, and always smacked on bubblegum.

"Touche." Mrs.Barnebee clapped her hands together. "Alright, show of hands: Who thinks that Nick is good?"

Most of the people in class raised their hands, excluding Braelyn, Blake, and a few others.

Mrs.Barnebee nodded.  "I see.  So, why do you think he isn't good? Anyone?"

No one spoke for a while, then Braelyn decided to speak up. "It's not that he isn't good, necessarily. Compared to the other characters in the book, like Tom or Daisy, he looks like a saint. But, he isn't.  That's the big thing.  I feel like we give Nick too much credit. He's really just a normal character, with flaws, just like the rest of them."

Silence greeted her, like always.  Braelyn really loved this class, English was her favorite subject, but she sometimes wished someone would rebuttal, or speak up other than herself.

"And what was his flaw?"

Braelyn turned her head toward the direction which the masculine voice came from. It surprisingly had come from the boy who always sat in the back of the room, never really saying anything other than "Here" when attendance was being called. Yet, he somehow had an A in Honors English.  His type always annoyed her.  He never had to give his 100%, but his half-assed attempts were better than some others who would never get his grades.

"He's self-righteous." Braelyn spoke. "He thinks he's better than all of them."

"But isn't he?" the boy challenged.

"That's not the point, but no he isn't better than all the other characters.  And even if he was, when did humbling yourself go out of style?  When did being modest become a crime?"

"When did being self-aware?"  He sat up in the desk. "Nick knew the type of people he surrounded himself with, and knew that he was better than them. Had higher standards, better morals. I'm sure there's someone who you think that you're better than. Have higher standards and better morals than."

Immediately and image of Heather popped into  her mind.  She didn't know how the girl looked, so every time she'd think about her, an image of Pamela Anderson came to her. "Of course not."

"You're lying," he combatted with a know-it-all smile, then continued. "And who isn't Nick better than?"

Braelyn gave him a look of confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"You said that Nick wasn't better than the other characters. Who was better than Nick.  Who's the 'Good Guy'?"

"Gatsby." Braelyn answered indignantly.

"So, you condone having an affair with a married woman? Coveting thy neighbor's wife and all that?"

Braelyn paused, "Well, no, but I never said that Gatsby was perfect. Just that he was better than Nick."

"And how, please tell me, is Gatsby better than Nick?" He had a cocky grin on his face, which made Braelyn's blood boil.

"Because, he believed in love. He was hopelessly devoted to love, and thought it was so powerful  that true love could do anything, even repeat the past.  His pure-heartedness makes him better than Nick, better than them all."

There was an awkward silence as Braelyn stared at him, and he stared back.  She couldn't really read his expression.

"Well," he sat back in his desk again, "if you think that Gatsby's unwavering faith in love is his saving glory, and not his biggest character flaw, then you're a bigger fool than he was."

Braelyn opened her mouth as though she were about to say something, then shut it again.  That was that, he'd won.  She was stomped, which never happened.  Especially not in English.

Mrs.Barnebee gave a smug smile as if she thought  the entire display was amusing. Her light brown eyes sparkled against her pale, wrinkled skin. She was so small, fragile.  She looked as though if a wind were to blow by, it would break her 68 year old hip.  Her silver hair was cut almost as short as Braelyn's pixie cut, and she wore an off-the-wall African print shirt and neon pink tights.

One thing no one could ever accuse Mrs.Barnebee of being was conventional. "Alright," She spoke up, pushing her bifocals onto her nose, "let's get into pairs for the Soundtrack Project. Starting with you two." She pointed Braelyn and the guy she had been in verbal combat with. "Pair up. Can you handle Duke, Braelyn?"

Braelyn looked over to Duke Brandon's smug face. She in return offered him a challenging smile. "Of course I can."

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Hey y'all!!! So sorry for the late update! I've decided to update once a week from now on, but they'll probably be longer than the two-day a week uploads, if that makes sense? Anyways, Braelyn is back in this chapter, but nothing really happened much, sorry!! Like I said, I'm just trying to get the stage set for some action.  Sorry this one is a bit shorter than previous chapters! I wanted to get you guys something, but I didn't want to upload two chapters this week, so I just did this one short one. Again, SORRY!! Please give me some feedback. What do you like, and dislike? What do you think will happen next? Keep up the comments, I love them!! I also like the votes, though I'm not really sure what they do? Anyways, stay tuned for next week! OH, before I forget, for those of you who've never read The Great Gatsby, was the chapter confusing? Or did you follow it? Let me know!!! Until next time!!! XOXOXO