Laurie hated studying with Mr. Brooke. Truthfully, he hated studying, period. He could think of several more enjoyable things he'd prefer to do, such as spending time with the March family. With Jo March.
Brooke often scolded his young student because he paid little to no attention at all during the lessons, but Laurie didn't do that on purpose, he estranged himself without realizing it… if only Jo could study with him, maybe…
"Mr. Laurence!" Brooke's annoying voice made him look up. "Will you read the text out loud, please?"
"What text?"
Brooke stared at him with a look that resembled much to a glare. "The one in front of you. That is one of John Keats' most famous ballads, written in 1819, a very prolific year for the author, who-"
Laurie ignored the rest of what he was saying, until his teacher encouraged him to start reading. He took a deep breath and began. "La belle dame sans merci." He paused. "The beautiful lady without mercy." He quickly translated.
"Yes. Go on, please."
Laurie read the ballad and found himself entranced by the story. It reminded him so much of his situation: he was captivated by a girl, Jo, who didn't seem to care or notice and she would probably be the death of him if she didn't realize it soon. He found himself able to sympathize with the knight's deadly fate and sighed. "I like this poem." He said with a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"You do?" Brooke looked extremely surprised. "Very well, we'll read more of Keats' works then. I'm glad you're starting to appreciate fine poetry and the language of the supreme writers that…"
Once again, Laurie stopped listening to his educator's lecture.
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"Jo! Hey, Jo!"
The tall girl put down the book she was reading and got up, smiling at her friend. "Hi, Teddy! You look excited…"
"Of course I am! I'm finally out of the house. I've been studying so much in the past few days, you should be proud of me."
"I'm glad you're here, trying to get along with Amy when all she does is complain about ribbons and homework is not easy. Meg seems to be avoiding me, I am not sure why, and Beth doesn't speak much… I've missed the company of my boy!"
Laurie smiled, Jo's words satisfied him. They sat on the grass and Jo started asking questions. "What have you studied lately?"
"English poetry. Especially Keats', and there's one of his ballads that reminds me of…"
"Of?"
Jo was looking at him with those deep grey eyes of hers and her attention was completely focused on him, as if they were the only two people in the world and nothing else was important. That was enough for Laurie and he didn't want to spoil the moment. "Oh, nothing. Do you want to go for a walk?"
Jo apparently cared more about leaving the house for a while than knowing what the boy was referring to: she nodded, Laurie offered her his arm and they left, starting a conversation about Harvard and how much Laurie wasn't looking forward to going.
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"Today we're going to learn about Romantic poetry. Can you tell me who the most significant Romantic poets were?" Mr. Blake, Harvard's best English professor, asked as soon as all the boys –young men- had taken a seat. Some of them raised their hands and replied.
"William Wordsworth."
"Samuel Taylor Coleridge."
"John Keats."
Laurie was trying to suppress a yawn until he heard that last name followed by Mr. Blake's order to turn to page 259 and quietly read the ballad by the latter poet. He smiled and elbowed his friend Jack. "This is me. I'm the knight."
His smile grew wider as Jack stared at him, perplexed. Laurie lowered his gaze to the text book and suddenly realized his life wouldn't end like the knight's, destroyed by his love for the lady. No, he'd do the best he could to prevent that from happen.