❛ I'd sacrifice anything, come what might. For the sake of having your near. ❜
DEAD POETS SOCIETY
chapter eleven
"A MAN IS not tired. He is exhausted and don't use very sad, use," Keating was saying during his lecture, clapping his hands together before pointing to Knox. "Come on, Mr. Overstreet, you twerp!"
⠀⠀⠀"Morose?" Knox asked unsurely.
⠀⠀⠀"Exactly! Morose. Now, language was developed for one endeavor, and that is? Mr. Anderson?"
⠀⠀⠀Todd sat in his seat, staring up at Keating with a blank and silent expression of horror. Keating knew that this was hard for him, being put on the spot, but he wanted to see the poor boy break out of the shell his parents had forced him into.
⠀⠀⠀"Come on! Are you a man or amoeba?" he continued to push but received nothing, so he moved on. "Mr. Perry?"
⠀⠀⠀Neil perked up, "Uh, to communicate?"
⠀⠀⠀"No! To woo women!" Keating exclaimed, turning dramatically towards Eliza at the front, his hand extended out towards her.
⠀⠀⠀After sneaking out of Welton the night before and having something spark between her and Charlie, she couldn't stop thinking. It continued to play repeatedly in her head. Even when she tried to force it out and sleep. Soon, her Uncle was knocking at her door to warn her it was almost time to go. Now, she laid with her head face down in her textbook, and the boys closer to the front could even hear her snoring slightly.
⠀⠀⠀"Well," Keating mused with a small smile. "More so when they're awake."
⠀⠀⠀In her half-asleep daze, Eliza could hear her Uncle's impressions of Shakespeare between Brando and all the others. The boys cackled in response to his renderings.
⠀⠀⠀"Darling," Keating called soon after, shaking her shoulder and raising her awake with a sharp snap. The boys laughed between textbooks and hands, but it didn't matter as she hardly noticed she was in the classroom. "Sorry," he whispered, holding his hand to ask if Eliza would move. She nodded slowly, standing beside his desk with one of her arms across her chest as she rested her head in her hands. Her eyes blinked slowly as she tried to keep herself awake while her Uncle jumped on top of the desk.
⠀⠀⠀"Why do I stand up here? Anybody?" Keating asked his class, looking down and across the boys' faces.
⠀⠀⠀"To feel taller!" Charlie called, although the smirk on his face seemed to melt away as soon as it came up.
⠀⠀⠀"No!" Keating exclaimed, dinging the bell on the edge of his desk. "Thank you for playing, Mr. Dalton, but we're all a perfect height," he stated. "I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way," he explained, spinning around in a circle to emphasize his point. "You see, the world looks very different from up here. You don't believe me?" Come see for yourself," he called, edging them over. "Come on, come on!" he encouraged the boys as a few made their way over.
⠀⠀⠀Charlie caught Eliza's lazy eyes, worried for her but at the same time trembling in embarrassment from the night before as it felt like a stone laid at the bottom of his stomach. She tried to smile at him, and he did the same, making his way to the table and practically pushed Keating off the desk just to avoid the tension.
⠀⠀⠀"Boys! You must strive to find your own voice because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said most men lead lives of quiet desperation. Don't be resigned to that. Break that!"
⠀⠀⠀The boys had taken a quick glance around the room and quickly jump off, catching Keating's attention.
⠀⠀⠀"Don't just walk off the edge like lemmings! Look around you!" Keating chided one of the boys standing a moment longer and looked around at his new perspective. "There! There you go, Mr. Priske! Thank you! Yes! Dare to strike out and find new ground!"
⠀⠀⠀The bell had rung, signaling lunch. Keating already had his things prepared and was leaving the room quickly.
⠀⠀⠀"Now, in addition to your essays, I would like you to compose a poem of your own, an original work."
⠀⠀⠀The students groaned together as they did at the mention of Shakespeare. Keating spun on his heel at their reaction, flickering the lights dramatically and bellowing in response.
⠀⠀⠀"That's right!" Keating jested. "You have to deliver it. Aloud! In front of the class on Monday. Bonne chance, gentlemen," he called, finished with the class.
⠀⠀⠀"Liza?" Knox called, moving towards the brunette who had fallen asleep standing up. "Are you alright?"
⠀⠀⠀"I told you not to stay up too late," Meeks chided the poor girl, sighing loudly as he patted Knox's shoulder as he went to leave the class. "We'll meet you guys in the dining hall?"
⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, Meeks, see you there," Knox nodded, watching the boys leave.
⠀⠀⠀Charlie seemed to linger for a moment, his brown eyes sad and like he knew something, but he quickly skirted out of the room with a bright red blush filling his cheeks.
⠀⠀⠀"Hey!" Knox shouted, shaking Eliza's shoulder when she continued to stand stock-still.
⠀⠀⠀"What? What?!" she shouted, smacking Knox's hand away from her.
⠀⠀⠀"What's gotten into you?" Knox asked her worriedly.
⠀⠀⠀"Nothing," she assured him, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "I, uh, I couldn't sleep when we got back."
⠀⠀⠀Knox gave her a knowing look, like he knew something had happened. Just from how defensive she had grown and the weird strain she had with Charlie. "What is it?"
⠀⠀⠀"Nothing! I just want a nap, alright?" she asked, annoyed. She pushed her way past Knox, hitting her shoulder against his as she tried to leave the room.
⠀⠀⠀Before she could step out of the room, Knox halted her.
⠀⠀⠀He asked, "Does this have to do with a certain boy who's been moping around all morning?"
⠀⠀⠀Eliza tried to keep herself upright, but the tiredness she felt sinking into her bones betrayed her as she physically deflated. Her hands went to her face, as she could feel the tears come to her eyes.
⠀⠀⠀Knox rushed across the room, pulling her into his arms as she rested into his chest.
⠀⠀⠀"I... I don't know what do, Knox," she sighed cried.
⠀⠀⠀All night she had kept herself from acting on her feelings, trying to close her eyes and fall asleep. She would not get up from her bed and go to the boy's dorm just to tell Charlie that she did feel like kissing him under the stairs. She couldn't force herself to sleep. So, she turned to read the worst book, in her opinion, Moby Dick. When the words seeped into her brain and turned it to mush, she was stuck thinking of Charlie's stupid hair, and eyes, and skin. The way he made her feel and the way she wanted to kiss his stupid pink lips, and how every time he winked at her, she felt like she had just fallen all over again.
⠀⠀⠀Now, she felt like all the weight she tried to hold back had fallen onto her shoulders and pushed her closer and closer to the floor as she slumped into Knox's arms.
⠀⠀⠀"Why don't I walk you to your room, you take a nap, and then we can talk about what happened tonight? Study group?" he asked, still holding her tight.
⠀⠀⠀"But he'll be there, Knox," Eliza whispered, her hands twisted in his nice shirt.
⠀⠀⠀"You'll have to see him at some point," Knox stated, pulling one of his hands to smooth down her dark hair and try to calm her down. "And the boys will start to notice the distance and ask questions. I know that won't go over well if they're all bugging you. But for now, you sleep."
⠀⠀⠀Eliza nodded her head, allowing Knox to lead her to the stairwell where her bedroom was. He even walked her down, chancing one of the teachers catching him. Knox jumped out of his skin when the door opened only to reveal Keating. Knox let out a small breath when it was only him, knowing he would understand.
⠀⠀⠀"Mr. Overstreet," Keating greeted with a kind smile. "I was just on my way to lunch. Everything alright?"
⠀⠀⠀Keating's eyes flickered between him and his niece, although his eyes nor tone showed that he felt Knox was up to anything wrong.
⠀⠀⠀"Eliza's exhausted. She had a... hard night," he explained, his expression hinting to what Keating had believed to be the case was, in fact, different from what he thought.
⠀⠀⠀"It's alright, thank you, Knox," Eliza assured him, patting his chest and opening the door to her room. "I'm going to bed and probably won't wake until tomorrow, but by the off chance that I do, I'll think about coming to the study group."
⠀⠀⠀Knox nodded, and Keating watched on worriedly as she stepped into her room.
⠀⠀⠀Eliza sighed, catching her Uncle's eye, "I'm fine, don't worry, please."
⠀⠀⠀"I just worry," Keating told her with a sad smile.
⠀⠀⠀"I know," Eliza whispered back, trying to smile. "I'll see you tonight," she said to Knox.
⠀⠀⠀She closed her door slowly, leaving the two in the hall.
⠀⠀⠀"Let me walk you to the dining hall, Mr. Overstreet," Keating said to Knox, patting him on the back. "No need getting you in trouble for a good deed."
AUTHOR'S NOTE —
SONG: I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra
Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.