The Cave

    Another day, another opportunity. An opportunity to nap during Philosophy 101, that is. Emery sighed and drummed her fingers on the bare tabletop as the teacher, Mr. Glaucon, droned on and on.

    "In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, people are chained facing a wall. A fire is across the cave, casting shadows which are all the people can see. They would think the shadows are all that exist."

She couldn't remember why she had possibly signed up for Philosophy, of all things. It seemed like a fantastical daydream involving ideas which had no importance. What did it matter if people did exist, or didn't exist, or if anything did or didn't exist, so long as to her it was indeed real? Searching for possible other meanings was a waste of time and energy which could be used to solve real problems.

"Suppose someone escaped these chains," continued the teacher.

    A wiry freshman sat down next to her. "Hey," he said tentatively.

Suddenly Emery could recall why she had signed up for this class. "Hey Riley," she replied warmly, flashing him a rare genuine smile. "You had better not show up late next time, since you are required to enjoy this class enough to make up for my misery."

Riley shrank back, embarrassed. "If you don't want to then you can change courses. You don't have to stay just for me." He contradicted himself by looking worriedly at the rest of the class, as though already imagining being forced to talk to them.

Emery pulled out her things, aligning the bottom of her notebook to be perfectly parallel to the edge of the table. "Don't be ridiculous Riley. You know, and I know that you know, that if I leave this class then you're going to isolate yourself and that's not good for anyone. Besides," she continued, trying and failing to sound comforting, "you should know me well enough to tell when I'm joking." Riley looked skeptically at her and she sighed, admitting, "This class is definitely not on my priority list though, so if my Engineering project starts slipping then Philosophy will be the first thing I cut."

Riley, not reassured at all, retrieved a slightly worn notebook from his bag and started furiously writing notes. Emery, not particularly caring about Mr. Glaucon's lecture, watched her best friend. Not for the first time, she felt sorry for her bluntness but that was the truth of how things were. Eventually, getting tired of feeling sorry for something that was simply a part of her but not wanting to listen to the lecture, Emery leaned back in her seat and drifted off.

-

    "Hey, I'm home for the weekend." Emery set her bookbag on the floor next to the kitchen island. Mr. Woodsworth looked up from his laptop.

    "There you are Emmy!" Emery winced at the childish pet name. "I was wondering where you were!" He beamed at her, and she could see that he didn't realise she had been gone for days. The table was covered with ramen wrappers, unwashed bowls, and several coffee-stained cups.

    Emery signed and started to clean up. "You need to keep better track of the time," she admonished. "Take better care of yourself. Honestly, you act more like a teenager than I do."

    Her father only gazed at her in nostalgia. "You are so much like your mother," he responded absentmindedly, eyes floating over to the picture of the former Mrs. Woodsworth. "She was so practical and levelheaded." His eyes saddened. "At least, she was until she found her true love and left. I'm happy for her though. I got to be part of her story, even though I'm only a side character."

    When Mr. Woodsworth turned back to his writing with a sad smile, Emery shook her head as she prepared dinner. It was common gossip around the town that Sophie Martha Woodsworth had left town with a fabulously wealthy businessman. Her father was only trying to escape reality, imagining that she finally had her "happily ever after," even if he wasn't in it. Emery knew that even if her mother was happier, her father should still move on and make his former wife a side character in his own story as well.