The teachers hurried down the steps, led by a very obviously agitated Mr. Nolan. Several of them carried newspapers in their hands and the group - the Dead Poets - who were feeling the "Dead" part of their society name to the fullest extent looked around at each other discretely.
The students rose as Mr. Nolan and the teachers entered, Maria's knees gave out when she almost immediately met Nolan's eye. He narrowed his gaze on her, nose twitching once, twice.
Oh, God. Maria could practically see the steam spewing from his ears.
She flicked her gaze over to where her uncle stood among the teachers and he gave her a slow, contemplative look. His expression not giving away much.
"Oh God," Maria breathed as the teachers took their places and Mr. Nolan got to the front of the hall, his hands gripping the podium.
"It's okay," Todd mumbled beside her, blinding squeezing her fingers. They were cold and shaking.
"I don't think it's going to be okay, Todd," Maria whispered back, gulping.
"Sit," Nolan roared.
The students hurried to sit.
Nolan took a deep breath, his chest visibly raising up and down under his tailored suit. "In this week of Welton's Honor there appeared a profane and unauthorized article," he surveyed the crowd, his eyes once again falling onto Maria for a moment too long. "Rather than spend my valuable time ferreting out the guilty person - and let me assure you I will find them - I'm asking any and all students who know anything about this article to make themselves known here and now. Whoever the guilty persons are, this is your only chance to avoid expulsion from this school."
Maria's heart pounded in her chest as Nolan's words hung in the air.
Her mind raced.
She could take the blame, and speak up before anyone else took the fall and Nolan actually sniffed out the entire Dead Poets Society. She wasn't technically a Welton student and so he couldn't really expel her - could he?
She shifted to stand, but froze when the sound of a phone ringing sounded around the hall. Murmurs erupted and the teachers looked about for the source of the noise.
Sitting in the row in front of her, Charlie stood, holding up a ringing telephone. He picked up the receiver. "Welton Academy," he answered. "Hello. Yes, he is. Just a moment."
Charlie held out the phone to Nolan. "Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton."
Maria's heart sank as she realized that Charlie had inadvertently taken the blame. She paled, shaking in her seat as laughter erupted around her from the other students, but her friends looked between one another, shaking their heads in disbelief.
••●••
"Wipe that smirk off your face," Nolan seethed after he walked into his office. He glared at Charlie who slowly, but surely, swallowed his pleased expression as the reality of what was about to happen sunk in.
Nolan circled him, stopping when he stood directly in front of Charlie.
Charlie straightened, his arms crossed behind his back and tried his best to appear unconcerned and undeterred but internally he was anything but calm. His friends had been right last night - he had put them all at risk with his publication - and now he was seeing just how legitimate their concerns were.
"If you think, Mr. Dalton, that you're the first to try to get thrown out of this school, think again. Others have had similar notions and have failed just as surely as you will fail," Nolan lectured and then he reached for the flat wooden paddle lying on his solid oak desk and jutted his chin at Charlie. "Assume the position."
Charlie sighed and bent over, resting his hands on the smooth surface of the desk. His hands were slick with sweat and he found it hard to find his grip, but then he heard Nolan rustle behind him and Charlie tried his best to stay strong.
"Count aloud, Mr. Dalton," Nolan demanded, and the first strike landed.
"One," Charlie grunted, his voice strained.
The next few strikes were just as painful, if not more, and Charlie bit back a cry after counting off each one. "Two. Three. Four. Five."
He squeezed his eyes tight, fingers gripping the desk as the pain radiated, and he held in a sigh of relief as Nolan paused temporarily.
"What is this Dead Poets Society? I want names."
Charlie gritted his teeth but remained silent. He wasn't going to rat out his friends, no matter what.
Nolan looked over Charlie's shaking frame, noting his white knuckles against the oak desk, but his otherwise stubborn resolve. Flippant teenagers. "You're a fool, Mr. Dalton," he said finally. "But I know you're not the only one. There are others involved in this, and I will find them."
Charlie said nothing again, his chest aching with guilt. He was in physical pain, but on one hand, he kind of deserved the swats, didn't he? The memory of Maria's tears surfaced in his mind and suddenly, it wasn't his body that was hurting anymore, but his heart.
God, he had hurt her so much.
His focus bounced between the pain in his behind and the pain in his chest and he realized with defeaning certainty that he had to make things right again - especially with Maria - he wasn't sure how he'd do it, but he had to.
Nolan tapped him with the paddle and Charlie hissed, inwardly groaning. "Why don't we finish up these swats and you can decide if you want to continue being a fool or not, Mr. Dalton."
••●••
The whispers died down as Charlie walked stiffly down the hall, heading back to his room.
"You kicked out?" Neil asked as he approached.
"No," Charlie said with a sniff.
"So what happened?" Neil asked and the group quickly gathered around Charlie as he paused, bracing his hand against his doorframe.
"I'm to turn everybody in, apologize to the school and all will be forgiven," Charlie cast them all a sardonic smile.
The boys around him paled.
"So, what are you gonna do?" Neil pressed.
Charlie said nothing.
"Charlie!"
"Damn it, Neil. The name is Nuwanda," Charlie said and then smiled softly.
Neil let out a breath of relief and matched Charlie's soft smile as the others around them visibly relaxed.
Charlie looked around and frowned when he realized one of the group was missing. "Where's Maria?"
The boys stiffened almost instantly, looking between themselves nervously.
"Where is she?" Charlie said again, louder this time. "Neil. Knox. Where?"
"She's-She's with Nolan," Knox finally said and grimaced when Charlie's eyes flashed dangerously.
"What? Why?" He straightened quickly and instantly regretted it as pain radiated in his behind. He winced, eyes squeezing for just a moment before he looked at the boys. "Why is she with Nolan?"
Charlie internally panicked. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to take the blame for the publication, say that he made up the Dead Poets Society, and then all would be over. They'd all go back to how they were before. He and Maria would go back to how they were before.
"You don't think Nolan would really let her go?" Cameron scoffed. "The article is about girls at Welton. She's the only girl here."
"But I already - I took the blame," Charlie almost whined.
Neil put a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "It's not about the blame anymore, Charlie. Nolan's determined that she has something to do with the article already."
Charlie's heart sank. Nolan with Maria? In his office? He didn't trust that man with her one bit, not with his precious Maria, not while Charlie was in so much pain. What if Nolan hurt Maria too? What if -
"I have to go," Charlie said, panic lacing his voice. He turned to run towards Nolan's office but winced and cried out in pain as the paddling caught up with him.
Knox quickly pushed him back into his room. "You need to rest," Knox said firmly as the others nodded. "I'll go and get Maria."
"Please," Charlie said, his voice barely above a whisper.
••●••
"Miss Keating," Nolan nodded at her as he sat in his chair and Maria stood in front of his desk with her hands intertwined in front of her. "I'm sure you know why I asked to see you."
"Yes, Sir," she said softly, nodding her head.
Nolan leaned back in his chair and studied her. "When I first met you, Miss Keating, I thought you were the image of a perfect young girl. Soft-spoken, well-mannered, everything a young lady should be," he paused, looking at her with a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "It's a shame you ended up associating with the wrong sort."
Maria's eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't believe my friends to be the wrong sort, Sir."
Nolan raised an eyebrow at her. "Does that mean you condone Mr. Dalton's actions?"
"That's not what I said," Maria shook her head and quickly added, "Sir."
Nolan paused, a little taken back by her political-like answers. "You're quite articulate, Miss Keating," he commended softly. "But perhaps you should focus more on your lot in life instead."
Maria looked up from her hands at that. Her lot in life?
"You're here at Welton as a privilege, a privilege many young girls do not have. You are here among many future successful men," Nolan nearly smiled at that. "Focus on befriending them and perhaps finding a good, suitable boy to settle down with after you're done with school. This is an opportunity not many have. You have your pick of a great, successful bunch, Miss Keating."
Maria's expression hardened and she almost huffed in disbelief. She tried to maintain her composure but was sickened - absolutely sickened - by Nolan's sexist ideals and implications.
She didn't hold back any longer. "Should I truly be content with such a future, Sir?" She asked. "Stuck at home, when my abilities show that I could succeed much more than that?"
Nolan chuckled mockingly. "Humility and humbleness are more becoming on a girl, Miss Keating. You seem to be lacking in that department right now."
Maria shook her head firmly. "I disagree, Sir. I'm just as smart as the boys here at Welton. If anything, my grades are beyond theirs. If I'm able to do that, then why not be given opportunities like going to Welton, or attending Ivy League schools?"
Nolan leaned forward, looking very much like the cat who had swallowed the canary. "Are you admitting that you had something to do with the publication of that paper, Miss Keating?"
Maria hesitated for a moment, weighing her options. She could deny it, but she knew that Nolan was too smart for that. If anything, he had already tunnel-visioned and come to truly believe that there were others involved in the publication and Maria didn't want anyone else to be punished for it. She didn't want Nolan moving forward with his threat and investigating the Dead Poets Society either and potentially landing all of them into trouble. So, she took a deep breath and decided to take it.
"Yes, Sir," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "I was the one who had the idea and I asked Charlie to publish it for me. We came up with the name Dead Poets Society as a pseudonym. No one else was involved in the matter."
Nolan raised his eyebrows, surprised in part by her solid and calm admission. He had expected her to deny it, to try and weasel her way out of it, perhaps even pull out a few crocodile tears to waver his heart as many young girls would. But she had come clean and her story matched that of Mr. Dalton, and so he could punish her without any qualms.
"Very well," he said, standing up. He slid the drawer of his desk open and took out a heavy wooden ruler. "Since you are a sort of honorary student at Welton, you are subject to our disciplinary code as well. However, I do not agree with paddling young girls."
Maria paled, eyes flicking between Nolan's face and the ruler in his hands.
"Are you left or right-handed, Miss Keating?" Nolan asked and rounded the desk.
"Right-handed, Sir," Maria answered stiffly, turning as he came to her side.
Nolan nodded. "Then raise your left hand, Miss Keating," he said. "You will receive six swats with the ruler as punishment for your participation in the matter."
Maria's heart sank as she raised her left hand, palm facing upwards. She could feel the blood draining from her face as Nolan lifted the ruler and then smacked it against her palm, once, twice, three times.
She bit down hard on her lower lip to stifle a cry of pain.
After the sixth hit, Nolan put down the ruler and looked at her sternly. "I hope this teaches you a lesson, Miss Keating. It's best that you learn your place at Welton and act accordingly in the future. With your eloquence and beauty, you have a bright future ahead of you, don't let foolish ideas distract you."
Maria nodded, too afraid to say anything else.
"You are dismissed."
"Thank you, Sir," she managed to get out softly and Nolan nodded, satisfied with the idea that he had successfully put a young girl back in her place - back in her lot in life - but as Maria turned to leave the office, she sniffed, wiping her tears away.
She smiled softly to herself despite the hot pain on her palm, Nolan couldn't be more wrong.
Satisfied with her lot in life?
Never.
••●••
Knox pushed off the wall quickly when he heard the door to Nolan's office open and close. "Maria," he called out, watching carefully as Maria jumped at the sound of his voice.
"Knox?" She sniffed and Knox hurried over to her quickly. "What are you doing here?"
Knox studied her face, taking in her red-rimmed eyes. God, she had cried.
His gut twisted. "What did he do to you in there?" Knox asked, his voice laced with concern.
Maria lifted her left hand sheepishly and Knox noticed the red marks on her palm, anger bubbling up inside him. "That bastard," he muttered, glaring at Nolan's door.
Maria let out a small laugh, but her brows soon furrowed in concern when she noticed the cut on Knox's upper lip. She lifted her hand - her right hand - to touch his cheek gingerly. "What happened to you? Was this at the party you went to?" She asked, worry etched on her face.
Knox's heart tugged. God, what was it with his friends? They were in pain, but they were worried about someone else. He lifted his hand to envelope hers and pulled it off his face. "It's a long story," he brushed off. "I'll tell you all about it later."
He tried to entice a smile from Maria, but she only looked at him. He swallowed. "Charlie's asking for you," he said finally.
Maria stiffened. "Why?"
Knox shrugged. "I think that's for him to say," he said. "I think you two should talk. Maria, he feels real bad for everything, I know it. Just -"
"Can you take me to my room?" Maria interrupted quickly. "Please?"
Knox deflated but nodded quickly. "Sure, of course."
When they got to Maria's room, Keating greeted them at the door. His gaze immediately fell on Maria's red eyes and her punished hand that she cradled delicately in her right hand. "What happened?" He asked concern etched on his face as he reached for his niece and pulled her towards him.
Maria explained what had happened in Nolan's office and Keating's expression hardened in a way Knox had never seen before.
Keating shook his head. "That man will never learn," he muttered under his breath. He looked up to see Knox staring at Maria with great concern. "Thank you, Mr. Overstreet, for bringing my dear Maria back."
Knox nodded. "Of course, Captain."
Keating pressed a kiss to the side of Maria's head and whispered for her to head in and go down for a nap. He turned back, noticing that Knox hadn't moved and still stood at the door, trying to look around Keating.
Keating smiled softly. "I'll have her returned to you all after dinner," he said and held in a snort as Knox looked sheepish. "Go take a rest, Mr. Overstreet. I'm sure it's been a long day for you as well."
"Yes, Captain."