You Must Remember This

Chapter 24: The Impossible Dream

"This reminds me of one of those movies where we're stranded on a desert island," Juliet remarked. "Just the two of us, nature, and our wits."

"That would be the worst way to die. Imagine how sick you'd get of each other after a bit. It's not like you'd get cell reception—and it's not exactly like you can pop over to your library and check out Ulysses. I mean, we read Lord of the Flies, and it's not like any of us need to actually be stranded to simulate that here. We all know what teenagers do alone with nobody to guide them."

"There's a subtle difference there, Frank: those were all boys. You need some gender balance in there, and that cleans things up."

"OK, sure, you even out the genders a bit. You're still stuck on an island. That's no better."

"Besides, they were simpletons. You're smart; if we were ever stuck on a desert island, you could save us both." Frank looked at Juliet askance, who still lounged in the shade like she was on the beach.

"If we were ever stuck on a desert island together, I think something would have gone wrong long before then. So, uh, it's been ten minutes at this point. Shall we brave the rest of the period here or go somewhere else? This reminds me too much of PE."

"I would think you out of anyone would be more tolerable of a bit of sun. It's not even that bad—can't handle the heat?"

"I'm wearing a suit, you're dressed a bit lighter. Haven't I told you I'm cold-blooded?" Juliet leaned over to squeeze the wool and silk. "I guess this is pretty warm," she admitted.

"I exaggerate a bit—the temperature's really not bad at all. Maybe I'm even a bit chilly. But I'd much rather sit in a chair than squat on concrete."

"But as a good person, don't you know that this builds moral constitution, while also stretching your hamstrings, quadriceps, and gluteus maximus?" Juliet teased—if Frank could wisecrack, two could play at that game.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." They continued bantering for about an hour more until Ms. Huang arrived leisurely and commended them on their patience. It was so sweet how Frank helped Juliet stand, and how Juliet thanked him and opened the door for the three of them; her scheme was working admirably. Now, Mrs. Huang had indeed read How To Be A Good Person, and she kept a copy inside her desk in case she ever needed to share it with anyone. She knew what it said about dating, and she knew from the past few months that Frank staunchly refused to act outside the bounds of decorum, no matter how often Juliet inadvertently tested them, but couldn't a woman dream?

Mrs. Huang would have had better luck if Frank's patience weren't already worn thin by his duties as class officer. Frank had put a great deal of effort into his election campaign, far more than he needed, and so much effort that he indeed forgot he would actually have responsibilities the following year. Or, so he thought: Frank discovered that he and his other class officers captained a crew of about ten underclassmen, all of whom had no responsibilities but to accede to their whims. Someone wanted a book from the library? It went onto one of their cards, and a leadership flunky would pay the price if it were lost. Frank found this all very amusing at first, but realized this came as a double-edged sword: when he wanted to exercise his executive privileges to directly influence the school, Ms. Foster found the notion preposterous:

"You were elected to represent the people, not to crawl around on your hands and knees to serve them."

"Are we not civil servants? All of us here—the regular leadership students certainly act as our servants, but we too are beholden to a higher power."

"Well, don't let that trouble you," Ms. Foster continued with a careless flick of her wrist. "Just pass on the work I assign you to somebody else and trust to luck. We call that delegation and responsibility."