Title: Episode Guide - The Fall Session
Author: Aussie Chick Fan aka AussieChick
Email: pike03@iprimus.com.au
Rating: PG-13, but it will have a bit of sex in later parts!
Category: Every one, but mostly Jake and Hamilton. Plus Ryder and Morgana.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, except for Mr Fujiwara, Morgana, Yuka Higashi and Ken Sanigi but I wish I did. *Note: That the quotes in this fanfic don't belong to me either, I just thought they were cool.*
Summary: What I would have like to happen in the Fall season of YA, read it and find out what might have happened! Oh, Sean has left the show in my mind. Sean's grandmother had died and left her estate to his parents, so they had decided to leave New Rawley and move to California, where his grandmother had lived. Morgana is Finn's estranged daughter. Yuko and Ken are Japanese exchange students.
Spoilers: The entire first and only season of the best show I've ever seen. The first chapter of The Fall Session.
Thanks: To my muse! And anyone who is obsessed as I am about Young Americans.
Feedback: Yes Please, this is my 1st fanfic and I would love to hear from you. I hope to make this fanfic an ongoing storyline, so if there's something you would like to see happen, or you think should happen just drop me a message via my email.
The Fall Session
*Part Two - Misplaced Memories and Kindred Spirits*
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Monday
Will's voice over:- Memories...we make them everyday, from joking with friends to fighting with parents. Some we'd rather forget and others we cherish. Where does it end? All our lives we try to fill in the spaces of time with fond memories which we will be able to look back on in the future with self-actualisation. Generally we find ourselves not really knowing where we've been or where we're heading next, our logic is based on our fears of some day realising our full potential has already been reached and that we missed it. Time passes us by so slowly, yet in reality we never have enough and as the hour grows near the future fades like sunlight in the rain. We know even as the day's pass and time moves further and further from our grasp that one wrong move can unravel it all.
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FINN
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I waited for everyone to find a seat, it was the first day of classes for the Fall Session and it was my turn. I let my eyes and my mind wander as I looked around the classroom. I had decided to take today's lesson inside, due to the rather scary-looking thunder clouds that were hanging in the sky outside. I sighed and wondered whether the eminent storm was a sign of things to come.
I sat on my desk as I waited for the class to file in and be seated. I looked up just as Morgan walked in the room; I had not seen my Daughter since our brief but full-on reunion yesterday. She looked just like her mother had at sixteen and I felt a rush of feelings that I thought had disappeared a long time ago. I wondered if she would acknowledge me, or if I should acknowledge her?
I was relieved to see that she was dressed a little more...well just, she had more clothes on than she had worn yesterday. I watched as she took a seat in the front row, and I found myself wondering if she had seated herself there because she was eager to learn about literature, or if she just wanted to put me off-balance during class? Maybe she really did just want to be close to me? Did I want that?
It took me a minute to realise that the whole class had arrived and were patiently waiting for me to begin, in reality the roar of a lion could not have been heard over the noise that was coming from the twenty or so students seated in front of me. I cleared my throat, "Welcome back everyone. I trust you all had a satisfying break?' not waiting for a response I continued. 'In this class we will be looking at the works of Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austin, Henry Miller, Joseph Hiller, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and offcourse we will be continuing with my favourite William Shakespeare. I will endeavour to help grant you all a clearer, more profound understanding of English literature. We will also be looking at poems, sonnets and songs, but this weeks topic is quotations."
I stopped and looked around the room taking in the new faces, and when I was satisfied that everyone was paying attention, I continued. "Your assignment this week to be completed by our next class, is based on quotations. I want everyone to prepare two quotes, they can be from anything or anywhere, but they must mean something to you. You must be prepared to discuss them with the class, by explaining why you chose them, what they mean, where they're from etc."
I spent the rest of the class answering questions and explaining the fine art of referencing. When the bell for lunch rang, I had to ask everyone to remain in their seats as I still had one more thing to tell them. "Look I'll try not to keep you too long, okay? I just wanted to share with you a little of my favourite writer, by quoting a few lines from 'Romeo and Juliet'."
I started to reach for my well-used and much-loved copy of 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare', but then I changed my mind. Standing up I walked over to the blackboard at the front of the class room and wrote from memory:
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied;
And vice sometime's by action dignified.
"I will always remember this quote where ever I go. It's meaning to me is something important, therefore I will always remember it. Now I knew it word for word, that is what I want from you, I want you to speak it, to know it, to breath it, to live it!" I said. I smiled the whole class seemed to be deep in thought; I could not wait until the next lesson. I wondered what these young people would have to say, and what they would think was important to hear.
"You can go now.' I told them, 'But anyone who wants to know about this quote,' I said pointing to the board. 'Should probably stay behind." I was surprised when no one moved; it appeared that they all wanted to hear my explanation.
"I first read 'Romeo and Juliet', when I was fourteen.' I explained, 'My English teacher told me that it had a lot of action, and she wasn't wrong, but what I really got from it was my love of Shakespeare. This particular quote sticks in my mind because as much as we try sometimes to do the right things, we often end-up doing the wrong thing. Nothing is ever as it seems, and that is what I get from this quote. However, in the play Friar Lawrence is trying to explain the values of deadly plants as drugs. So, what you get from your quote doesn't have to be what the author intended, we can only guess what a writer has intended to say through his or her work, we never really know. Sometimes the author doesn't have any hidden meaning or lesson in what he or she has written, they just expect you the reader to personalise it and get what you can from it."
I watched as they all stood and collected their belongings. I really wanted to talk to Morgan, but I had to talk to Will and Lena. "Will and Lena,' I asked. 'Could you stay behind please? I really need to speak to the both of you."
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WILL
'Ain't it funny how we pretend we're still a child.
Softly spoken under our blanket skies
and rescue me from me, and all
that I believe.'
Galapogos, The Smashing Pumpkins.
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I waited as everyone else left Finn's classroom in search of sustenance. Jake, Hamilton and Scout offered to wait for me while I talked to Finn, but I told them I would catch up to them later. As I watched them leave the room, I walked over to where Finn was cleaning the blackboard, wanting to talk to him before the girl he called Lena joined us. "I wanted to say thank you for your help with getting me the funding for my scholarship." I said, when he turned around to face me.
Finn brushed the chalk dust from his hands and said, "I didn't really do anything, but your thanks is noted and accepted. What I wanted to talk to you about was the English tute program. You are still interested?" He asked.
"Yes, offcourse. Why? Do you have someone who needs my help?" I prompted.
Finn waited until Lena had joined us, before continuing. After introducing the two of us he said, "The Dean asked me to pick two of my students to help settle in the Japanese exchange students. Since your on the tutor list Will, I thought you might want to be involved, and Lena your old school mentioned in your transcripts, that you used to be involved in their English tutor program and that you speak Japanese.' Finn looked at the pretty girl, named Lena, 'So Lena, I thought you might also be interested. Both of you will take one student each, but you can work together if you wish. Are you interested?" he asked us both.
"Yeah, sure.' I heard us both answer, 'I wondered about the new Japanese course and the exchange students but I haven't had a Japanese lesson yet, so I wasn't really sure what was truth and what was fiction. Will this be an official tute assignment?" I asked.
"Probably, only instead of the student paying you, you will be paid by the Academy. Can you meet them now?" Finn inquired. When we both replied 'yes', he continued. "Will, you will need to meet her in the Common room in about ten minutes time, so you better leave now. Here is all the information you need to know, just work on the assignment for next lesson and give her a tour."
Finn passed me a stack of papers and booklets, "Her?" I questioned. He looked down at the remaining sheet in his hands and replied, "Yeah, a miss Yuko Higashi." I waited for Finn to give his instructions to Lena then I followed her out the door. She was an attractive girl, with scarlet hair and pale skin. She was dressed in some maroon coloured baby-doll dress that just covered her hips. The colour looked striking with her hair and complexion, but I couldn't help but wonder if I would be able to see her underwear if I was to walk behind her. The dress was really short but she had great legs. I watched as we walked into the Common room, almost all of the guys in the room were staring at her legs and I had an urge to blind them all.
I found myself wanting to get to know her better, wanting to be the only one who got to see her fantastic legs. I could almost feel her legs wrapped around my waist, as I kissed her pretty lips. I smiled to myself when I realised who she was, Lena was the girl who had kissed Jake, thinking she was a guy. I wondered what she would say if she ever found out that she had kissed a girl and not a guy last summer. I watched Lena as she crossed the room to the attractive boy with black hair who waited for her to guide him around Rawley Academy and I found myself envying him. As I turned to look for Yuko, I thought about how I should go about getting to know Lena better.
I spotted a Japanese-looking girl standing over the other side of the room and I headed in her direction. As I approached her I thought more about the new feelings and sensations that I was feeling, and I decided not to pursue them. Lena seemed like a nice, intelligent girl and if she was as smart as I thought she was she wouldn't be interested in me. Any thoughts I might have had about getting to know her better faded, I would only be wasting my time and if by some cruel twist of fate she happened to be interested in me too, it would only end in heartache.
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YUKO
'You and me disappear together.
Now our bodies fade into one person.'
(Anata to futari de kono mama kiteshimaoo
Ima anata no karada ni tokete hitotsu ni kasanaroo)
Loversoul, Judy and Mary.
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America the land of the free and the place where dreams come true, I was finally here. I have been heading in this direction for most of my life, just waiting for the correct time to make my move. I had always dreamt of coming here or maybe even Australia, every one is so free and society is so relaxed, not at all like in Japan. It feels strange to finally be here. There are so many things I want to do and see; yet I am here to go to school, to learn. I wonder about what I will learn here.
Will my language improve? Not that my language is so bad, having a best friend who speaks both Japanese and English as if it were their native language helps to ensure a smooth transition and quick learning. But what will I learn about life? About love? That I don't already know?
I had been in love since I was six years old, with the little boy who lived next-door. One day I fell off my bike and broke my leg, he spent the whole summer keeping me company and while he told be about a place called Australia, where his parents were born and kangaroos and koalas kept sick children entertained, I fell in love with him. Now ten years later, I love him still. He is my best friend, my confidant, the one person in the world who knows all of my most private thoughts and secrets, except for the most important one. That I'm in love with him.
When I found out that I had been chosen to come to America on exchange I didn't want to come because I knew that I would have to leave him behind, but then he volunteered to be the second student when the school had trouble finding another student who was willing to go to America for a whole year and whom spoke and understood English. I couldn't believe how ecstatic I was, my dream was coming true and Ken would be there to share it with me but now I wasn't so sure. We had been fighting since we arrived in America and I had no idea what his problem was. I met him this morning to try and reconcile, only to have my head bitten off and now here we were in the same room but as far away from each other as two people can be.
I watched as a pretty girl with red hair walked over to the lounge chair where he was sitting and introduced herself to him. I wondered if she was his English tutor, it was a joke really, he didn't need one but the Academy had insisted on providing us both with a tutor each. I wondered if he thought she was pretty? Prettier than me? He seemed enthusiastic in his conversation with her; I decided then that he would probably fall in love with her. Maybe it was time I looked elsewhere too, after all I was in a whole new country now, which meant a whole country of new guys to fall in love with. I knew it would never happen; I was already too far-gone.
"Yuko?" a cute guy with sandy coloured hair was standing to my left, asked me for my name. I wondered how long he had been standing there trying to gain my attention. I felt myself blush he must have thought that I was completely ignorant. "Yes, I'm sorry. You must be Will, it's very nice to meet you." I replied turning all my attention in the direction of our conversation.
"It's nice to meet you too.' he respond in kind. 'Your English is very good."
It was a statement not a question and I didn't really know how to answer. "I had a good teacher,' I said and left it at that. 'Perhaps you could give me a tour and we could discuss possible quotes for Finn's class." Will nodded his affirmation and took my hand leading me from the Common room. With one last look over my shoulder I noticed that Ken and the girl had already left. I sighed as I hurried after Will, why couldn't I have fallen in love with someone other than my best friend?
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LENA
'I always eat for a headache.'
Barbara Streisand as Katie, in The Way We Were.
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I walked over to where Finn was standing with the guy he called Will and waited for him to address me. I was new to Rawley, so I was unsure why Finn wanted to talk to me. I took the time to check out the guy called Will, I wondered briefly whether or not his name was short for William. If it was it suited him, William meaning 'Desire to protect'. He had that look about him, the strong silent type but he was different, deeper than most. He was cute with light brown hair, and a nice body but what held my attention, what made me want to get to know him better was his intensity. I thought to myself, 'I bet he has many layers to his personality' and I found myself wanting to unwrap each and every one of them. I wished at that moment that I had my sketchpad with me so that I could draw him; my fingers itched to trace the line of his strong jaw and to capture it on paper.
I had seen him before I realised belatedly, he was one of Jake and Hamilton's friends. I concluded that he must be a good guy; otherwise Jake and Hamilton wouldn't be friends with him. When Finn started to talk, I had to force myself to pay attention to what was been said. Funny, but Will had not spoke a word to me, yet he had my complete and undivided attention.
"The Dean asked me to pick two of my students,' Finn said, 'Lena your old school mentioned that you used to be involved in their English tutor program and that you speak Japanese.' Finn looked at me before saying, 'So Lena, I thought you might also be interested. Are you interested?"
Both Will and myself were happy to volunteer. I could use the extra money and besides it could be a lot fun. I stood quietly waiting while Finn explained what our job would entail. "Lena you will need to meet Ken in the Common room too, so you both should probably leave now if you want to be on time. Lena your student's full name is Ken Sanigi. I guess I'll see you both next lesson in the mean time if you have any questions, you're both welcome to come see me in my office." Finn concluded.
Will waited patiently for me to collect my information papers and booklet from Finn; I smiled at him before following him out of the class. I would have to remember to ask Jake about him later. As we walked down the hall to the Common room I could feel his eyes on me as he slowly took in my favourite dress. I wondered if he liked it, when I turned to see his face it looked very much like the thunder clouds in the sky outside. Why he looked like he wanted to kill someone, I had no idea. Unsure what his problem was, I looked at the picture Finn had given me of Ken before mumbling a quick 'goodbye' to Will and going off to search for Ken.
After I was a short distance away from Will, I was able to think clearly again. I wondered what Will thought of me and if he would be interested in going out sometime, but then I stopped that train of thought. He was obviously a complex guy and I always seemed to pick the guy's that were out of my league, or too full-on, and most recently gay. So it made sense to give this guy a miss, oh well maybe we could still be friends. I quickly spotted the guy from Finn's photograph and belatedly realised that the guy I was looking at was not Japanese. I walked over to him, convinced there must be some mistake. "Hi,' I said, 'Are you Ken Sanigi?"
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KEN
'She faded like a cloud which had out-wept it's rain.'
P. B. Shelley.
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"Yep, that's me, only it's Sangini. I know what you're thinking, I'm not Japanese. Actually I am, Japanese-Australian. I'm also third generation Italian, hence the Italian sounding last name, it always gets spelt wrong." I replied, "My parents are Australian-Italians and we live in Japan, but I was born in Japan. So therefore I am Japanese." It was an explanation that I had used many times but for the first time the words felt strange coming out of my mouth.
I wanted to apologise for wasting this poor girls time and then I wanted to go and steal Yuko away from the good-looking guy who had his hand on her arm. Why did he have his hand on her arm? Did he think she needed holding up? I shook my head as if to clear it and forced myself to stop looking in their direction. I looked at my new tutor; she was pretty but totally not my type. My type ran to the amazing Japanese girl that stood across the hall.
I had to get a grip. I should have known by now that if I want to keep being a part of Yuko's life, that I had to play it cool. It wasn't her fault that I felt like I was dying every time I saw her even just talk to another guy. I loved her, my best friend in the whole word. How could I be so stupid, I thought maybe if we came here together she would finally see me, really see me but now we were here, I wasn't so sure. I thought that if we could just get away from our lives for a minute, maybe she would fall for me but now we'd probably just grow further and further a part. The last few months had been torture, it was like she no longer wanted to be friends, like she no longer needed me and the last few days had been hell. Yuko and I had been fighting non-stop since we arrived at Rawley, and the worst part was I didn't even know why.
Oh, well I have to suck it all up. At least while I'm here I can watch out for her, keep an eye on her kind of like a big brother. I smothered a groan before it could escape, a big brother. Who was I trying to kid; I'd have to be dead first. I realised then that the girl, my tutor - I think she said her name was Lena or Tina, or something - had been talking to me all this time. I have no idea what was said but I must have said the right things because she was smiling at me.
She asked me if I liked old movies and then held out her hand, I took it and followed her outside on to one of the many lawns that surrounded the campus. She was nice I decided, friendly and I made an effort to get to know her. We walked for along time and talked about lots of different things but the whole time I found myself wondering what Yuko and that guy were doing. I wanted to lock myself in a room and never come out; it was going to be a really long year.
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Tuesday
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MORGANA
'How dreary to be somebody.'
Life, Emily Dickenson.
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I woke on Tuesday to the sound of laughter coming from outside my door. Wishing whoever it was ill luck, I snuggled down under my blankets and waited for sleep to capture me under it's spell again. When I awoke again about an hour later the laughter could still be heard from the other side of my door only now it was accompanied by a quiet whispering. Curious I found myself tip-toeing over to the door, I pressed my ear to the door but I couldn't make out any real words.
I felt extremely silly and decided to open the door and introduce myself to whomever was standing on the other side. When I opened my door I saw the culprits jump away from each other. I thought they had been kissing but they had moved a part so quickly that I couldn't be sure. It was just the two of them in the hall; I figured everyone else must have still been in bed sleeping. Lucky people.
Both of them were dark haired and dressed in masculine attire. I thought it was a little strange, since one of them was obviously a girl but then I figured 'hey' who was I to judge. It was a cool idea really, I figured that her boyfriend must go here and so instead of being separated by a body of water (the lake), she decides to enrol at Rawley Academy for boys. I couldn't wait to get all the details, it was a cool idea, and I wished that I had thought of it.
I cleared my throat, getting their attention and held out my hand, "Hey, I'm Morgana. I mean Morgan Finn." I said introducing myself to the cute couple. I hoped that we could be friends.
"Finn as in English teacher Finn?" Asked the girl with the short spiky brown hair, she looked surprised to see me dressed in my PJ's talking to her. Not at all surprising since this was the boy's dorm.
"Yeah, he's my dad." I replied.
The girl looked at the guy standing next to her, like she was hoping he would say something but when he kept silent she said, "Well, umm cool. I'm Jake Pratt and this is Hamilton Fleming." Jake pointed to Hamilton. The guy looked like he had just come out of a trance.
"Hi, Bye. Gotta go!' Hamilton said to me before turning to Jake 'I'll see you at Friendly's later?" he asked her. He must have suspected I was about to question his earlier behaviour with Jake.
I watched him turn and practically run down the hall, when he was gone from sight I turned and said to Jake, "So, he's like your boyfriend? The Dean's son, he's cute."
"Ummm...." Jake hedged. She looked kind of shocked by my question; I guess she thought that I thought she was gay. Time to let her know that I knew the truth.
"So, does my Dad realise he has a girl on his beloved crew team? What's Jake short for anyway? Jacqueline? Jacinda?" I motioned for her to come into my room, it was cold in the hall, and I wanted to be comfortable while Jake explained the reason behind her cross-dressing to me.
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JAKE
'The seldom female in a world of males.'
The Kitten's Eclogue IV, Ruth Pitter.
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"It's short for Jacqueline but that's kind of a secret." I said hoping she would keep my secret. As I waited for her to respond to my confession, I noticed how pretty she was. I also noticed how alike to Finn she was. She sat on the bed and waited for me to do the same. I obliged her and I sat down curious to know she was going to do with the information she had just acquired. "So...what's the deal are you like psychic or something?" I asked for lack of anything else to say.
"No, it was obvious to me. Come on, you're a beautiful girl. It was kind of hard not to notice, it's just that guys are dumb. They can never see what is right in front of them; I guess that goes for my Dad too. So, what's the story? Don't worry I'm not a narc or anything!" She said laying back on the bed. She patted the spot next to her indicating that I should join her. Why not I thought? I lay down and thought about what she had just said. After thinking for a minute her words register and I had to try not to laugh, after all Hamilton had said pretty much the same thing to me when I first started at Rawley, only he had been referring to my bike. I wondered if I could trust her to keep her word, she seemed pretty nice a little blunt maybe, but nice. Also it would be so cool having another girl I could hang out with who actually new my true sex.
Besides she knew now anyway so I might as well tell her the whole story. It took me a little over an hour to tell her everything including how Hamilton and I got together and about what had happened with us and everyone last session and during the summer. Morgan didn't say anything for a couple of minute and then she burst out laughing. "What?" I asked her, wondering what had amused he so much about my terrific but traumatic summer.
"You...you,' She stuttered. 'You really do have balls! I mean what guts, what cunning I would have gotten caught ages ago."
A beep sounded out throughout the room, Morgan sat up and swore. She jumped off the bed and walked over to her desk. "What's the problem?" I asked jumping up to follow her. I watched as she flipped open a laptop computer. She sat at the desk and pushed the enter button on the laptop's keyboard several times before swearing again. I continued to watch her as she hung her head and began to shake it slowly from side to side.
"I just got the bloody thing fixed." Morgan said finally answering my question.
"What did you get fixed?" I asked needing a little more information before working out if I could help her or not.
"My computer, the Email keeps getting locked up and when it does I can not retrieve my Emails or send new ones. It happens at least once a month but I only just got it fixed before I came here." Morgan answered as she got up from her desk and stomped around the room.
"That shouldn't happen you know. Maybe I could take a look, I might be able to fix it for good." I hoped I wasn't giving her a false hope but it sounded like an easy problem to fix. Obviously her C drive had a bug in it, all I had to do was go in through the back door so to speak and kill the bug.
"You can do stuff like that? How?" Morgan stopped pacing and sat on the bed. She was smiling now, "Are you like a hacker or something?" She inquired, her whole face shiny with excitement.
"Yeah, I guess." I answered, feeling a bit naked. After all this girl now knew pretty much all of my secrets and I knew almost nothing about her.
It took me about twenty minutes to fix the problem and I couldn't believe that none of the computer people, that Morgan had take a look at her computer hadden't found it. I was getting ready to shut down her computer when Morgan finally spoke again. "While your here, do you think that you could possible hack into the Dean's database? I met someone yesterday and I want to find out who he is, before I see him again." She asked, not at all embarrassed by the fact that she had just asked me to break the law.
"I mean you've done it before right? When you enrolled?" She continued, before coming to stand next to me at the desk.
"Yeah, but I'll have to go and get the access codes from my room. Also we'll have to be quick with our search, it's still early and you know it's a guy you want to find out about but it's still going to take a while to find him. Do you know his name?" I asked, as I walked to her door.
"No, but all the student files have pictures don't they? I'll know him when I see him." She replied, as she followed me to my room.
I burst out laughing when we were safely in my room, as I noticed that Morgan was still wearing her PJ's. Morgan laughed too as she looked down at her fluffy pink slippers and bright green PJ's with frogs on them. I grabbed the disc with the access codes from the Dean's database and we headed back to Morgan's room.
After about four minutes we were looking through the student records for Rawley Academy for Boys. "Look, there's you!" Morgan said as my picture popped up onto the screen. It seemed like forever to me since the day that I first enrolled here at Rawley Academy but in reality it was only a few months. Memories flowed past my eyes of the summer just gone, while pictures of Rawley boys flashed in front of Morgan's.
I was so into my recollection of the past few months that I didn't notice when Morgan stopped flipping through the student files and actually began to read one, until she leaned over to me and said, "I've found him, what now?" Still not looking at the screen, I reached in to my pocket and pulled out a new disc to copy the file onto.
"First, we'll copy the file and then when you've read it, you can delete it." I replied as I put in the disc and typed in the proper command. Then I looked at the screen. I was so shocked that I actually rubbed my eyes convinced that there had to be some sort of mistake.
"But...that's Ryder Forrest." I stammered, trying to get a grip. Morgan seemed happy by the news that I knew who Ryder was.
"You know him, well that's great. Tell me all about him." She begged.
"He's a monster, a complete bastard!" I said, as I got out of the Dean's database. I was eager to convince my new friend of the danger she was facing if she attempted to get to know Ryder better.
"I know, but it's all just an act. I think I glimpsed the real Ryder and that's the guy I want to get to know." Morgan said, looking excited at the prospect of delving into Ryder's world of madness and mayhem.
"But..but why?" I asked unable to understand her urge to get to know the one guy at Rawley, that every one tried to avoid. Was she a masochist?
Morgan smiled at me before switching off her computer. "Why because we're kindred spirit's offcourse." She stated with out any reluctance. I left soon after that, completely dazed and confused, and I wondered briefly if my new friend was completely insane or just blind.
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HAMILTON
'See a penny pick it up and all day you'll have good luck.'
Anon.
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I felt guilty about leaving Jake to handle Morgan alone but I'm still not totally okay with everyone thinking we're gay. Not that I have anything against homosexuals, I think they are really brave. The thing is I'm not a homosexual and sometimes it just feels wrong lying to everyone. Not that I would ever change a thing about last summer or my relationship with Jake, I love her and that's the real problem. I want everyone to know this fantastic girl belongs to me; I want then to know that she loves me as much as I love her. I long to kiss her and hold her hand, without people like Ryder giving us a hard time.
I spent the rest of the day hoping to catch a glimpse of my beautiful girlfriend but unfortunately Tuesday is the one day I have no classes with her, hence the early morning make-out session. After classes I hurried into town and when I reached Friendly's, I was relieved to see her sitting their waiting for me. I stood outside for a minute and watched as Jake leaned over the counter to hit Will playfully on the arm, she was smiling as she did so and the smile appeared to light up her entire face.
As I entered her smile was directed at me, I felt so full of a sensation that I cannot even describe; yet it was so amazing I know that I will never forget it. It will become another of the hundreds of memories that Jake and I have chalked up together so far. "Hey Will,' I said, as I took my place next to Jake at the counter. I turned to look at her, 'Hey beautiful."
"Hey Ham, I was just telling Jake here all about my day and an interesting discovery that I made." Will's voice broke my concentration on Jake's features. I figured he wanted me to ask him about his discovery, so I did. I was content to listen to Will all night long, as long Jake was seated next to me.
"Well, I met a girl. I knew I'd seen her before but it took a little while for it to come to me then I realised that she was Jake's girlfriend from summer session. You know the girl who kissed Jake thinking she was a guy." Will was trying really hard not to laugh as he leaned over to wipe the counter.
"You mean Lena?" I asked, trying to decide if Will's voice had actually changed when he talked about her. "What were you doing talking to her?"
"She wasn't my girlfriend." Said Jake looking a little embarrassed. At least now I knew why she had been hitting Will, when I arrived earlier.
"You know I'm just teasing Jake.' Will said, before turning to me 'Yeah Lena, the redhead. Finn's picked the two of us to be the official tutors for the two Japanese exchange students. She seems really nice, interesting..."
"Who the Japanese student?" asked Jake, with a smile.
"What?...Oh Yeah, she's nice too. Her name is Yuko but I was talking about Lena. What's she like? You both know her right?" Will replied, and then asked some questions of his own.
"Will, Lena's in our English class or haven't you noticed her before?" Jake answered, before I could open my mouth. Jake was looking at Will and she had this look on her face, a secret smile that said 'I know something you don't know'.
"He's noticed her,' I said, on Will' behalf. 'He just hasn't noticed her." I knew that I now wore a smile very similar to Jake's. Will had a thing for Lena, I wonder how long it will take him to realise that he was a goner. We spent the next twenty or so minutes informing Will all about Lena. It didn't take long because we really didn't know that much about her, besides the fact that she was from L.A, and that she was an artist who liked watching old movies.
"I will say on thing though, without Lena, Jake and I probably wouldn't be together today." I said trying to explain how even though Jake and I didn't really known Lena that well, we still valued her friendship.
"What do you mean?" Will asked looking very interested.
"Well, when I still thought Jake was a guy in was Lena who told me to 'Throw caution to the wind, bit the bullet, seize the day', no matter what. It's funny, Lena knew we were in love before we did." I answered, folding Jake's hand into mine as we both remembered the night of the cotillion.
Jake and I left not long after that and as we walked back towards the dorms, Jake wrapped her arms around my waist and said "You do realise he's in love with her don't you? Or at the very least his interested But we're defiantly going to have to help them get together." I watched as the moonlight streaked Jake's short hair with silver and light. I knew at that moment that she would always be beautiful to me, this was a perfect moment, a perfect memory and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, she leaned over and kissed me. A deep drugging kiss, that made blood roar through me ears. I wondered, no I hoped that we would always be like this, together - kindred spirits.
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Wednesday
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RYDER
'Misspent youth - faking up a rampage
To hold off the real slaves
Paid off and Staid
And what you never knew
Can never get to you
So fake it'
Stumbleine, The Smashing Pumpkins.
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Another beautiful sunny day in America, I thought with scorn as walked through the halls of Rawley Academy for Boys. I spotted Jake and Hamilton ahead of me, "Morning Ladies" I said as I passed them. I did a double take, when I saw who they were standing with; it was the babe with the tattoo. What was she doing hanging out with those losers?
I brought myself around, so that I was heading once again in their direction. When I was level with them I spoke my latest thought aloud. "So Beautiful, why are you hanging around with these losers? I'm sure you'd much rather be hanging out with someone like me."
"As tempting as that sounds,' replied the babe, 'I think I'll pass but maybe we could get together later and you can try to impress me with your cruelty to others then!" She turned her attention away from me then and continued her conversation with Jake and the Dean's Daughter Hamilton.
"I think I will come with you to that little Diner after all." She said to Jake, and the three of them turned and left me standing in the hall by myself.
I didn't get it; most of the girls here at this stupid school would have given any thing to have me ask them out. Obviously people had been telling her about my limitless charm. For some reason it bothered me to think that she might have negative thoughts about me and my past behaviour to my fellow peers.
As much as I tried to shake off the feeling of dread that filled me every time I thought about her comment about my behaviour, I couldn't. It made me feel unbelievably insecure, a place I hadn't visited since I was a small boy and it was a place I didn't want to be in ever again. As hot as this chick was, I decided then that it would be a good idea to forget all about her.
My hands started to shake as memories from my childhood began to seep out of the vault in mind, in which I had locked them up in, a long time ago. Some were good but most were bad and I had no desire to relive any of them. When I finally got a hold of myself, I found myself heading in the direction of the library. Oh, well I guess I better do the assignment for Finn's English class, after all for once in my life I found myself without something better to do.
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BELLA
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When I arrived at Friendly's everyone else was already there, including four people that I had never met before. After a few quick introductions I learned that these four people were Lena, a friend of Jake and Hamilton's, Yuko and Ken, the two exchange students from Japan, and Morgan, Finn's daughter.
We spent what was left of the afternoon all becoming better aquatinted with the four new people, who were fast becoming a part of our once small group. I was beginning to feel more and more of an outcast. All of these young people were a part of something that I would never understand, never experience and never be a part of. It was a pretty lonely place to be and I could only hope that once I told Scout the truth about him not being my brother, that things would get a little bit better. I could only hope that things might go back to normal.
I waited until everyone else had gone before I walked over to sit next to Scout, I wanted us to be alone when I told him the truth about us. He looked surprised to see me sitting next to him and something else, something I couldn't identify at the time. I memorised his expression hoping to be able to analyse it more thoroughly in the privacy of my bedroom later on. "Your not my brother!" I just blurted it out. No 'How are you?', just pure honesty.
I waited for what seemed like an eternity, for Scout to say something, for him to show some sign that he had heard what I had just told him. When it came it wasn't what I had expected. "Do you still love me?" Scout asked, his eyes searching mine.
"Yes,' I said, 'I think I will forever and always." I waited for Scout to react, the whole time hopping that I said the right thing. It was a possibility that he didn't feel the same.
His whole face seemed to be swallowed up by the grin that he flashed in my direction. He jumped to his feet and grabbed me in a hug that was destined to squeeze the life out of me if he didn't let go soon. When Scout realised what he was doing he loosened his hold on me and began to swing around in circles with me still firmly clasped in his arms. It felt so good to be in his arms again, it felt like it was only yesterday that we lay on the bank of the lake sharing our most intimate secrets and dreams, our arms wrapped around each other as he bestowed a kiss on my lips.
Memories and the feelings that accompanied them flowed in every direction making this moment more special than any thing I could have hoped for. I looked at my watch and I realised that it was time for me to go. My dance classes started back today. I realised then that out of all my new friends, the only person who knew about my love of Ballet was Scout. The only other person who knew was Will and he only knew because I had been going since I was five and he had known me longer than that.
I didn't want leave Scout so soon but this year was really important for me and if I wanted to get a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, that meant I had to be at every class. Also Madam O'Durand would kill me if I didn't show up and I couldn't let her down not after all the time she had spent helping me to become a better dancer. "I have to go Scout, I'm sorry but I've got Ballet class in an hour and if I want to make it in time I need to leave now." I finally confessed, realising that I didn't have much time left.
"Do you want me to come? I'd love to watch." Scout asked me as we walked to my truck. I smiled at him, he was so cute so totally different to any guy I had ever known and I loved him so much.
"Yes, I'd love that." I gave him my keys and I got into the passenger seat and waited for him to start the truck.
As we drove towards Carson, I thought all about the Summer just gone, and about all the memories we had made. I realised that I couldn't wait to make new ones, with Scout and with the rest of our friends.
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SCOUT
'I'll be back.'
Arnold Schwarzenegger
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I really should have been watching the road but I had to keep looking over at Bella to make sure that every thing I believed to have happened in the last hour had actually occurred. I had spent the last week walking around in a daze hoping for some sign that Bella and I would get back together and know here we were together speeding towards her dance school.
When Bella first told me about the dance school in Carson, I was surprised that such a predigest school should reside in such a small town in the middle of no where but then again one only had to look at the location of Rawley to see that location didn't really have any affect on the popularity or reputation of a school. I knew how important and how private Bella was about her dancing, so I felt very special that she was allowing me to come and watch her.
I realised that even though we both still cared about each other, that it would be a while before things were completely back to normal, if ever. Spending a whole Summer watching each other date other people, while we believed ourselves to be brother and sister put a great strain on our love. A strain that I can only hope will not leave a scar, making it difficult for us to put the past in the past.
When we arrived at Carson School of Ballet, Bella rushed inside leaving me to lock up the truck before following her inside. When I entered the room, where Bella had her classes, I was just in time to grab a seat before the lesson began. Hoping that I wouldn't fall asleep or distract the class, I was surprised to find myself intensely entertained by the sight of Bella dancing across the room on point.
There was so much that we didn't know about each other and I hoped that we could spend the rest of time, finding out what we were both made up of. On the way back to Rawley I felt a contentment that I hadn't felt in a very long time and as I drove, with one arm around a sleeping Bella, I let my thoughts stray.
I had been a mess the last couple of weeks but in the last few days I had noticed that something was wrong with Will. He had been such a good friend to both Bella and myself that I knew it was time for me to be there for him. I would talk to him as soon as I got back to school, well first I would tell him about Bella and myself, getting back together and then I would ask him what was wrong. It was probably just something with his Dad.
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Thursday
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JAKE
'I don't play well with others.'
Jonny Lee Miller as Dade Murphy, in Hackers.
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It was a nice day and the sun was shining, so Finn had once again decided to hold his English class outside on the lawns. I was sitting with Hamilton, Scout, Morgan, Yuko and Will, so when I saw Lena and Ken walking towards us I waved them over. "Sit with us." I said. Finn waited for the rest of the stragglers to sit down before beginning the class. Scout had just finished filling us in on the good news about him and Bella. I already knew because Bella had rung me early this morning before classes had started but I let Scout have his moment.
I really wanted to hold hands with Hamilton but I noticed that Ryder was watching our group closely. Then I realised that it was not so much our group he was watching but Morgan. I then noticed that Morgan too was watching him, in between watching Finn and talking to Hamilton.
"Well I hope you have all completed your assignments. I think we will start with you Mr Pratt." Finn said his eye's directed at me. I had several quotes prepared just like we were asked to gather for the assignment but I was unsure if they would give away my true gender. I told the class my three favourite, the first being by Ruth Pitter. "My favourite of the three quote that I have chosen is, 'The seldom female in a world of males.' I like it because it's so true, we live in a world completely run by males, even in today's society but every now and then there is a female that stands out, like Joan of Arc, or Mother Theresa."
I could see my friends smiling at me, I knew what they were thinking, I was a seldom female in a world full of males. I waited for Finn to make a comment on my choice of quote but he remained quiet only indicating that I should continue. My other two quotes were from a movie called Hackers.
"My last quote is said by Jonny Lee Miller in the movie Hackers. 'Unbelievable, a hacker.' is what is said. I picked this quote because I liked the movie and because in a way I am also a hacker. I hunger for information and the reason that this quote is even mentioned in the movie is because Jonny's character is so surprised by meeting another hacker, it's an unknown occurrence, because hackers are so rare."
Finn said nothing letting the class take over the discussion. It seemed everyone had something to say and everyone wanted to listen for once. After me it was Will's turn. He had three very deep quotes, but my favourite was by Lord Byron. It was, 'Agree to a short armistice with truth.'
Finn went around the classroom until he came to Hamilton. Finn was less than impressed with Hamilton's first two quotes and said so, asking for something a little more profound. Which Hamilton delivered to Finn's surprise, "After we read Robert Browning, during the Summer session I became interested in reading some more of his works. So during the break, while I was in New York I bought a book of his poetry from a second hand book shop and this is what sticks in my mind as being a profound statement, 'Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what is heaven for?'."
The rest of the lesson was extremely enjoyable for it was interesting to see what everyone else, including my friends deemed to be worthy of discussion.
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FINN
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'We are all born mad. Some remain so.'
Samuel Beckett. - Ryder
'Be warned in time, James, and remain,
as I do, incomprehensible; to be great is to be misunderstood.'
Oscar Wilde. - Ken
'Truth is rarely pure, and never simple.'
Oscar Wilde. - Scout
'Come up and see me some time.'
Mae West. - Lena
'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'
William Shakespeare. - Morgana
I was astonished by the level of understanding and interpretation that my class had of their chosen quotes. "Since the majority of you have quoted songs or poems, lets try a little some thing different for our next assignment. I want every one to compose a poem or lyrics to a song about love."
"Do they have to be happy, soppy love songs?" Will asked.
"No, love scorned is fine as well." I replied, I couldn't wait to see what they would come up with.
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Will's voice over:- Memories are there so that we can remember the good times and learn from the bad times. Is it possible that we can learn for other people and their mistakes? Are we destined to follow the same pattern forever, never realising our own mistakes until it is too late? Or do we learn the secret of life moments before it all ends? No one really knows, but one thing is for sure without memories we live our lives with no purpose. We cannot strive for greatness if we do not know what it looks like and unless we have seen it in the past and can recognise it in the future, it stands to reason that all would be lost to us. So, is it through our memories that we learn to value the important things in life, or is it the important memories that make us value life? I guess the most important question is what is important to you? What do you value?
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Author: Aussie Chick Fan aka AussieChick
Email: pike03@iprimus.com.au
Rating: PG-13, but it will have a bit of sex in later parts!
Category: Every one, but mostly Jake and Hamilton. Plus Ryder and Morgana.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, except for Mr Fujiwara, Morgana, Yuka Higashi and Ken Sanigi but I wish I did. *Note: That the quotes in this fanfic don't belong to me either, I just thought they were cool.*
Summary: What I would have like to happen in the Fall season of YA, read it and find out what might have happened! Oh, Sean has left the show in my mind. Sean's grandmother had died and left her estate to his parents, so they had decided to leave New Rawley and move to California, where his grandmother had lived. Morgana is Finn's estranged daughter. Yuko and Ken are Japanese exchange students.
Spoilers: The entire first and only season of the best show I've ever seen. The first chapter of The Fall Session.
Thanks: To my muse! And anyone who is obsessed as I am about Young Americans.
Feedback: Yes Please, this is my 1st fanfic and I would love to hear from you. I hope to make this fanfic an ongoing storyline, so if there's something you would like to see happen, or you think should happen just drop me a message via my email.
The Fall Session
*Part Two - Misplaced Memories and Kindred Spirits*
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Monday
Will's voice over:- Memories...we make them everyday, from joking with friends to fighting with parents. Some we'd rather forget and others we cherish. Where does it end? All our lives we try to fill in the spaces of time with fond memories which we will be able to look back on in the future with self-actualisation. Generally we find ourselves not really knowing where we've been or where we're heading next, our logic is based on our fears of some day realising our full potential has already been reached and that we missed it. Time passes us by so slowly, yet in reality we never have enough and as the hour grows near the future fades like sunlight in the rain. We know even as the day's pass and time moves further and further from our grasp that one wrong move can unravel it all.
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FINN
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I waited for everyone to find a seat, it was the first day of classes for the Fall Session and it was my turn. I let my eyes and my mind wander as I looked around the classroom. I had decided to take today's lesson inside, due to the rather scary-looking thunder clouds that were hanging in the sky outside. I sighed and wondered whether the eminent storm was a sign of things to come.
I sat on my desk as I waited for the class to file in and be seated. I looked up just as Morgan walked in the room; I had not seen my Daughter since our brief but full-on reunion yesterday. She looked just like her mother had at sixteen and I felt a rush of feelings that I thought had disappeared a long time ago. I wondered if she would acknowledge me, or if I should acknowledge her?
I was relieved to see that she was dressed a little more...well just, she had more clothes on than she had worn yesterday. I watched as she took a seat in the front row, and I found myself wondering if she had seated herself there because she was eager to learn about literature, or if she just wanted to put me off-balance during class? Maybe she really did just want to be close to me? Did I want that?
It took me a minute to realise that the whole class had arrived and were patiently waiting for me to begin, in reality the roar of a lion could not have been heard over the noise that was coming from the twenty or so students seated in front of me. I cleared my throat, "Welcome back everyone. I trust you all had a satisfying break?' not waiting for a response I continued. 'In this class we will be looking at the works of Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austin, Henry Miller, Joseph Hiller, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and offcourse we will be continuing with my favourite William Shakespeare. I will endeavour to help grant you all a clearer, more profound understanding of English literature. We will also be looking at poems, sonnets and songs, but this weeks topic is quotations."
I stopped and looked around the room taking in the new faces, and when I was satisfied that everyone was paying attention, I continued. "Your assignment this week to be completed by our next class, is based on quotations. I want everyone to prepare two quotes, they can be from anything or anywhere, but they must mean something to you. You must be prepared to discuss them with the class, by explaining why you chose them, what they mean, where they're from etc."
I spent the rest of the class answering questions and explaining the fine art of referencing. When the bell for lunch rang, I had to ask everyone to remain in their seats as I still had one more thing to tell them. "Look I'll try not to keep you too long, okay? I just wanted to share with you a little of my favourite writer, by quoting a few lines from 'Romeo and Juliet'."
I started to reach for my well-used and much-loved copy of 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare', but then I changed my mind. Standing up I walked over to the blackboard at the front of the class room and wrote from memory:
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied;
And vice sometime's by action dignified.
"I will always remember this quote where ever I go. It's meaning to me is something important, therefore I will always remember it. Now I knew it word for word, that is what I want from you, I want you to speak it, to know it, to breath it, to live it!" I said. I smiled the whole class seemed to be deep in thought; I could not wait until the next lesson. I wondered what these young people would have to say, and what they would think was important to hear.
"You can go now.' I told them, 'But anyone who wants to know about this quote,' I said pointing to the board. 'Should probably stay behind." I was surprised when no one moved; it appeared that they all wanted to hear my explanation.
"I first read 'Romeo and Juliet', when I was fourteen.' I explained, 'My English teacher told me that it had a lot of action, and she wasn't wrong, but what I really got from it was my love of Shakespeare. This particular quote sticks in my mind because as much as we try sometimes to do the right things, we often end-up doing the wrong thing. Nothing is ever as it seems, and that is what I get from this quote. However, in the play Friar Lawrence is trying to explain the values of deadly plants as drugs. So, what you get from your quote doesn't have to be what the author intended, we can only guess what a writer has intended to say through his or her work, we never really know. Sometimes the author doesn't have any hidden meaning or lesson in what he or she has written, they just expect you the reader to personalise it and get what you can from it."
I watched as they all stood and collected their belongings. I really wanted to talk to Morgan, but I had to talk to Will and Lena. "Will and Lena,' I asked. 'Could you stay behind please? I really need to speak to the both of you."
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WILL
'Ain't it funny how we pretend we're still a child.
Softly spoken under our blanket skies
and rescue me from me, and all
that I believe.'
Galapogos, The Smashing Pumpkins.
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I waited as everyone else left Finn's classroom in search of sustenance. Jake, Hamilton and Scout offered to wait for me while I talked to Finn, but I told them I would catch up to them later. As I watched them leave the room, I walked over to where Finn was cleaning the blackboard, wanting to talk to him before the girl he called Lena joined us. "I wanted to say thank you for your help with getting me the funding for my scholarship." I said, when he turned around to face me.
Finn brushed the chalk dust from his hands and said, "I didn't really do anything, but your thanks is noted and accepted. What I wanted to talk to you about was the English tute program. You are still interested?" He asked.
"Yes, offcourse. Why? Do you have someone who needs my help?" I prompted.
Finn waited until Lena had joined us, before continuing. After introducing the two of us he said, "The Dean asked me to pick two of my students to help settle in the Japanese exchange students. Since your on the tutor list Will, I thought you might want to be involved, and Lena your old school mentioned in your transcripts, that you used to be involved in their English tutor program and that you speak Japanese.' Finn looked at the pretty girl, named Lena, 'So Lena, I thought you might also be interested. Both of you will take one student each, but you can work together if you wish. Are you interested?" he asked us both.
"Yeah, sure.' I heard us both answer, 'I wondered about the new Japanese course and the exchange students but I haven't had a Japanese lesson yet, so I wasn't really sure what was truth and what was fiction. Will this be an official tute assignment?" I asked.
"Probably, only instead of the student paying you, you will be paid by the Academy. Can you meet them now?" Finn inquired. When we both replied 'yes', he continued. "Will, you will need to meet her in the Common room in about ten minutes time, so you better leave now. Here is all the information you need to know, just work on the assignment for next lesson and give her a tour."
Finn passed me a stack of papers and booklets, "Her?" I questioned. He looked down at the remaining sheet in his hands and replied, "Yeah, a miss Yuko Higashi." I waited for Finn to give his instructions to Lena then I followed her out the door. She was an attractive girl, with scarlet hair and pale skin. She was dressed in some maroon coloured baby-doll dress that just covered her hips. The colour looked striking with her hair and complexion, but I couldn't help but wonder if I would be able to see her underwear if I was to walk behind her. The dress was really short but she had great legs. I watched as we walked into the Common room, almost all of the guys in the room were staring at her legs and I had an urge to blind them all.
I found myself wanting to get to know her better, wanting to be the only one who got to see her fantastic legs. I could almost feel her legs wrapped around my waist, as I kissed her pretty lips. I smiled to myself when I realised who she was, Lena was the girl who had kissed Jake, thinking she was a guy. I wondered what she would say if she ever found out that she had kissed a girl and not a guy last summer. I watched Lena as she crossed the room to the attractive boy with black hair who waited for her to guide him around Rawley Academy and I found myself envying him. As I turned to look for Yuko, I thought about how I should go about getting to know Lena better.
I spotted a Japanese-looking girl standing over the other side of the room and I headed in her direction. As I approached her I thought more about the new feelings and sensations that I was feeling, and I decided not to pursue them. Lena seemed like a nice, intelligent girl and if she was as smart as I thought she was she wouldn't be interested in me. Any thoughts I might have had about getting to know her better faded, I would only be wasting my time and if by some cruel twist of fate she happened to be interested in me too, it would only end in heartache.
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YUKO
'You and me disappear together.
Now our bodies fade into one person.'
(Anata to futari de kono mama kiteshimaoo
Ima anata no karada ni tokete hitotsu ni kasanaroo)
Loversoul, Judy and Mary.
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America the land of the free and the place where dreams come true, I was finally here. I have been heading in this direction for most of my life, just waiting for the correct time to make my move. I had always dreamt of coming here or maybe even Australia, every one is so free and society is so relaxed, not at all like in Japan. It feels strange to finally be here. There are so many things I want to do and see; yet I am here to go to school, to learn. I wonder about what I will learn here.
Will my language improve? Not that my language is so bad, having a best friend who speaks both Japanese and English as if it were their native language helps to ensure a smooth transition and quick learning. But what will I learn about life? About love? That I don't already know?
I had been in love since I was six years old, with the little boy who lived next-door. One day I fell off my bike and broke my leg, he spent the whole summer keeping me company and while he told be about a place called Australia, where his parents were born and kangaroos and koalas kept sick children entertained, I fell in love with him. Now ten years later, I love him still. He is my best friend, my confidant, the one person in the world who knows all of my most private thoughts and secrets, except for the most important one. That I'm in love with him.
When I found out that I had been chosen to come to America on exchange I didn't want to come because I knew that I would have to leave him behind, but then he volunteered to be the second student when the school had trouble finding another student who was willing to go to America for a whole year and whom spoke and understood English. I couldn't believe how ecstatic I was, my dream was coming true and Ken would be there to share it with me but now I wasn't so sure. We had been fighting since we arrived in America and I had no idea what his problem was. I met him this morning to try and reconcile, only to have my head bitten off and now here we were in the same room but as far away from each other as two people can be.
I watched as a pretty girl with red hair walked over to the lounge chair where he was sitting and introduced herself to him. I wondered if she was his English tutor, it was a joke really, he didn't need one but the Academy had insisted on providing us both with a tutor each. I wondered if he thought she was pretty? Prettier than me? He seemed enthusiastic in his conversation with her; I decided then that he would probably fall in love with her. Maybe it was time I looked elsewhere too, after all I was in a whole new country now, which meant a whole country of new guys to fall in love with. I knew it would never happen; I was already too far-gone.
"Yuko?" a cute guy with sandy coloured hair was standing to my left, asked me for my name. I wondered how long he had been standing there trying to gain my attention. I felt myself blush he must have thought that I was completely ignorant. "Yes, I'm sorry. You must be Will, it's very nice to meet you." I replied turning all my attention in the direction of our conversation.
"It's nice to meet you too.' he respond in kind. 'Your English is very good."
It was a statement not a question and I didn't really know how to answer. "I had a good teacher,' I said and left it at that. 'Perhaps you could give me a tour and we could discuss possible quotes for Finn's class." Will nodded his affirmation and took my hand leading me from the Common room. With one last look over my shoulder I noticed that Ken and the girl had already left. I sighed as I hurried after Will, why couldn't I have fallen in love with someone other than my best friend?
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LENA
'I always eat for a headache.'
Barbara Streisand as Katie, in The Way We Were.
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I walked over to where Finn was standing with the guy he called Will and waited for him to address me. I was new to Rawley, so I was unsure why Finn wanted to talk to me. I took the time to check out the guy called Will, I wondered briefly whether or not his name was short for William. If it was it suited him, William meaning 'Desire to protect'. He had that look about him, the strong silent type but he was different, deeper than most. He was cute with light brown hair, and a nice body but what held my attention, what made me want to get to know him better was his intensity. I thought to myself, 'I bet he has many layers to his personality' and I found myself wanting to unwrap each and every one of them. I wished at that moment that I had my sketchpad with me so that I could draw him; my fingers itched to trace the line of his strong jaw and to capture it on paper.
I had seen him before I realised belatedly, he was one of Jake and Hamilton's friends. I concluded that he must be a good guy; otherwise Jake and Hamilton wouldn't be friends with him. When Finn started to talk, I had to force myself to pay attention to what was been said. Funny, but Will had not spoke a word to me, yet he had my complete and undivided attention.
"The Dean asked me to pick two of my students,' Finn said, 'Lena your old school mentioned that you used to be involved in their English tutor program and that you speak Japanese.' Finn looked at me before saying, 'So Lena, I thought you might also be interested. Are you interested?"
Both Will and myself were happy to volunteer. I could use the extra money and besides it could be a lot fun. I stood quietly waiting while Finn explained what our job would entail. "Lena you will need to meet Ken in the Common room too, so you both should probably leave now if you want to be on time. Lena your student's full name is Ken Sanigi. I guess I'll see you both next lesson in the mean time if you have any questions, you're both welcome to come see me in my office." Finn concluded.
Will waited patiently for me to collect my information papers and booklet from Finn; I smiled at him before following him out of the class. I would have to remember to ask Jake about him later. As we walked down the hall to the Common room I could feel his eyes on me as he slowly took in my favourite dress. I wondered if he liked it, when I turned to see his face it looked very much like the thunder clouds in the sky outside. Why he looked like he wanted to kill someone, I had no idea. Unsure what his problem was, I looked at the picture Finn had given me of Ken before mumbling a quick 'goodbye' to Will and going off to search for Ken.
After I was a short distance away from Will, I was able to think clearly again. I wondered what Will thought of me and if he would be interested in going out sometime, but then I stopped that train of thought. He was obviously a complex guy and I always seemed to pick the guy's that were out of my league, or too full-on, and most recently gay. So it made sense to give this guy a miss, oh well maybe we could still be friends. I quickly spotted the guy from Finn's photograph and belatedly realised that the guy I was looking at was not Japanese. I walked over to him, convinced there must be some mistake. "Hi,' I said, 'Are you Ken Sanigi?"
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KEN
'She faded like a cloud which had out-wept it's rain.'
P. B. Shelley.
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"Yep, that's me, only it's Sangini. I know what you're thinking, I'm not Japanese. Actually I am, Japanese-Australian. I'm also third generation Italian, hence the Italian sounding last name, it always gets spelt wrong." I replied, "My parents are Australian-Italians and we live in Japan, but I was born in Japan. So therefore I am Japanese." It was an explanation that I had used many times but for the first time the words felt strange coming out of my mouth.
I wanted to apologise for wasting this poor girls time and then I wanted to go and steal Yuko away from the good-looking guy who had his hand on her arm. Why did he have his hand on her arm? Did he think she needed holding up? I shook my head as if to clear it and forced myself to stop looking in their direction. I looked at my new tutor; she was pretty but totally not my type. My type ran to the amazing Japanese girl that stood across the hall.
I had to get a grip. I should have known by now that if I want to keep being a part of Yuko's life, that I had to play it cool. It wasn't her fault that I felt like I was dying every time I saw her even just talk to another guy. I loved her, my best friend in the whole word. How could I be so stupid, I thought maybe if we came here together she would finally see me, really see me but now we were here, I wasn't so sure. I thought that if we could just get away from our lives for a minute, maybe she would fall for me but now we'd probably just grow further and further a part. The last few months had been torture, it was like she no longer wanted to be friends, like she no longer needed me and the last few days had been hell. Yuko and I had been fighting non-stop since we arrived at Rawley, and the worst part was I didn't even know why.
Oh, well I have to suck it all up. At least while I'm here I can watch out for her, keep an eye on her kind of like a big brother. I smothered a groan before it could escape, a big brother. Who was I trying to kid; I'd have to be dead first. I realised then that the girl, my tutor - I think she said her name was Lena or Tina, or something - had been talking to me all this time. I have no idea what was said but I must have said the right things because she was smiling at me.
She asked me if I liked old movies and then held out her hand, I took it and followed her outside on to one of the many lawns that surrounded the campus. She was nice I decided, friendly and I made an effort to get to know her. We walked for along time and talked about lots of different things but the whole time I found myself wondering what Yuko and that guy were doing. I wanted to lock myself in a room and never come out; it was going to be a really long year.
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Tuesday
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MORGANA
'How dreary to be somebody.'
Life, Emily Dickenson.
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I woke on Tuesday to the sound of laughter coming from outside my door. Wishing whoever it was ill luck, I snuggled down under my blankets and waited for sleep to capture me under it's spell again. When I awoke again about an hour later the laughter could still be heard from the other side of my door only now it was accompanied by a quiet whispering. Curious I found myself tip-toeing over to the door, I pressed my ear to the door but I couldn't make out any real words.
I felt extremely silly and decided to open the door and introduce myself to whomever was standing on the other side. When I opened my door I saw the culprits jump away from each other. I thought they had been kissing but they had moved a part so quickly that I couldn't be sure. It was just the two of them in the hall; I figured everyone else must have still been in bed sleeping. Lucky people.
Both of them were dark haired and dressed in masculine attire. I thought it was a little strange, since one of them was obviously a girl but then I figured 'hey' who was I to judge. It was a cool idea really, I figured that her boyfriend must go here and so instead of being separated by a body of water (the lake), she decides to enrol at Rawley Academy for boys. I couldn't wait to get all the details, it was a cool idea, and I wished that I had thought of it.
I cleared my throat, getting their attention and held out my hand, "Hey, I'm Morgana. I mean Morgan Finn." I said introducing myself to the cute couple. I hoped that we could be friends.
"Finn as in English teacher Finn?" Asked the girl with the short spiky brown hair, she looked surprised to see me dressed in my PJ's talking to her. Not at all surprising since this was the boy's dorm.
"Yeah, he's my dad." I replied.
The girl looked at the guy standing next to her, like she was hoping he would say something but when he kept silent she said, "Well, umm cool. I'm Jake Pratt and this is Hamilton Fleming." Jake pointed to Hamilton. The guy looked like he had just come out of a trance.
"Hi, Bye. Gotta go!' Hamilton said to me before turning to Jake 'I'll see you at Friendly's later?" he asked her. He must have suspected I was about to question his earlier behaviour with Jake.
I watched him turn and practically run down the hall, when he was gone from sight I turned and said to Jake, "So, he's like your boyfriend? The Dean's son, he's cute."
"Ummm...." Jake hedged. She looked kind of shocked by my question; I guess she thought that I thought she was gay. Time to let her know that I knew the truth.
"So, does my Dad realise he has a girl on his beloved crew team? What's Jake short for anyway? Jacqueline? Jacinda?" I motioned for her to come into my room, it was cold in the hall, and I wanted to be comfortable while Jake explained the reason behind her cross-dressing to me.
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JAKE
'The seldom female in a world of males.'
The Kitten's Eclogue IV, Ruth Pitter.
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"It's short for Jacqueline but that's kind of a secret." I said hoping she would keep my secret. As I waited for her to respond to my confession, I noticed how pretty she was. I also noticed how alike to Finn she was. She sat on the bed and waited for me to do the same. I obliged her and I sat down curious to know she was going to do with the information she had just acquired. "So...what's the deal are you like psychic or something?" I asked for lack of anything else to say.
"No, it was obvious to me. Come on, you're a beautiful girl. It was kind of hard not to notice, it's just that guys are dumb. They can never see what is right in front of them; I guess that goes for my Dad too. So, what's the story? Don't worry I'm not a narc or anything!" She said laying back on the bed. She patted the spot next to her indicating that I should join her. Why not I thought? I lay down and thought about what she had just said. After thinking for a minute her words register and I had to try not to laugh, after all Hamilton had said pretty much the same thing to me when I first started at Rawley, only he had been referring to my bike. I wondered if I could trust her to keep her word, she seemed pretty nice a little blunt maybe, but nice. Also it would be so cool having another girl I could hang out with who actually new my true sex.
Besides she knew now anyway so I might as well tell her the whole story. It took me a little over an hour to tell her everything including how Hamilton and I got together and about what had happened with us and everyone last session and during the summer. Morgan didn't say anything for a couple of minute and then she burst out laughing. "What?" I asked her, wondering what had amused he so much about my terrific but traumatic summer.
"You...you,' She stuttered. 'You really do have balls! I mean what guts, what cunning I would have gotten caught ages ago."
A beep sounded out throughout the room, Morgan sat up and swore. She jumped off the bed and walked over to her desk. "What's the problem?" I asked jumping up to follow her. I watched as she flipped open a laptop computer. She sat at the desk and pushed the enter button on the laptop's keyboard several times before swearing again. I continued to watch her as she hung her head and began to shake it slowly from side to side.
"I just got the bloody thing fixed." Morgan said finally answering my question.
"What did you get fixed?" I asked needing a little more information before working out if I could help her or not.
"My computer, the Email keeps getting locked up and when it does I can not retrieve my Emails or send new ones. It happens at least once a month but I only just got it fixed before I came here." Morgan answered as she got up from her desk and stomped around the room.
"That shouldn't happen you know. Maybe I could take a look, I might be able to fix it for good." I hoped I wasn't giving her a false hope but it sounded like an easy problem to fix. Obviously her C drive had a bug in it, all I had to do was go in through the back door so to speak and kill the bug.
"You can do stuff like that? How?" Morgan stopped pacing and sat on the bed. She was smiling now, "Are you like a hacker or something?" She inquired, her whole face shiny with excitement.
"Yeah, I guess." I answered, feeling a bit naked. After all this girl now knew pretty much all of my secrets and I knew almost nothing about her.
It took me about twenty minutes to fix the problem and I couldn't believe that none of the computer people, that Morgan had take a look at her computer hadden't found it. I was getting ready to shut down her computer when Morgan finally spoke again. "While your here, do you think that you could possible hack into the Dean's database? I met someone yesterday and I want to find out who he is, before I see him again." She asked, not at all embarrassed by the fact that she had just asked me to break the law.
"I mean you've done it before right? When you enrolled?" She continued, before coming to stand next to me at the desk.
"Yeah, but I'll have to go and get the access codes from my room. Also we'll have to be quick with our search, it's still early and you know it's a guy you want to find out about but it's still going to take a while to find him. Do you know his name?" I asked, as I walked to her door.
"No, but all the student files have pictures don't they? I'll know him when I see him." She replied, as she followed me to my room.
I burst out laughing when we were safely in my room, as I noticed that Morgan was still wearing her PJ's. Morgan laughed too as she looked down at her fluffy pink slippers and bright green PJ's with frogs on them. I grabbed the disc with the access codes from the Dean's database and we headed back to Morgan's room.
After about four minutes we were looking through the student records for Rawley Academy for Boys. "Look, there's you!" Morgan said as my picture popped up onto the screen. It seemed like forever to me since the day that I first enrolled here at Rawley Academy but in reality it was only a few months. Memories flowed past my eyes of the summer just gone, while pictures of Rawley boys flashed in front of Morgan's.
I was so into my recollection of the past few months that I didn't notice when Morgan stopped flipping through the student files and actually began to read one, until she leaned over to me and said, "I've found him, what now?" Still not looking at the screen, I reached in to my pocket and pulled out a new disc to copy the file onto.
"First, we'll copy the file and then when you've read it, you can delete it." I replied as I put in the disc and typed in the proper command. Then I looked at the screen. I was so shocked that I actually rubbed my eyes convinced that there had to be some sort of mistake.
"But...that's Ryder Forrest." I stammered, trying to get a grip. Morgan seemed happy by the news that I knew who Ryder was.
"You know him, well that's great. Tell me all about him." She begged.
"He's a monster, a complete bastard!" I said, as I got out of the Dean's database. I was eager to convince my new friend of the danger she was facing if she attempted to get to know Ryder better.
"I know, but it's all just an act. I think I glimpsed the real Ryder and that's the guy I want to get to know." Morgan said, looking excited at the prospect of delving into Ryder's world of madness and mayhem.
"But..but why?" I asked unable to understand her urge to get to know the one guy at Rawley, that every one tried to avoid. Was she a masochist?
Morgan smiled at me before switching off her computer. "Why because we're kindred spirit's offcourse." She stated with out any reluctance. I left soon after that, completely dazed and confused, and I wondered briefly if my new friend was completely insane or just blind.
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HAMILTON
'See a penny pick it up and all day you'll have good luck.'
Anon.
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I felt guilty about leaving Jake to handle Morgan alone but I'm still not totally okay with everyone thinking we're gay. Not that I have anything against homosexuals, I think they are really brave. The thing is I'm not a homosexual and sometimes it just feels wrong lying to everyone. Not that I would ever change a thing about last summer or my relationship with Jake, I love her and that's the real problem. I want everyone to know this fantastic girl belongs to me; I want then to know that she loves me as much as I love her. I long to kiss her and hold her hand, without people like Ryder giving us a hard time.
I spent the rest of the day hoping to catch a glimpse of my beautiful girlfriend but unfortunately Tuesday is the one day I have no classes with her, hence the early morning make-out session. After classes I hurried into town and when I reached Friendly's, I was relieved to see her sitting their waiting for me. I stood outside for a minute and watched as Jake leaned over the counter to hit Will playfully on the arm, she was smiling as she did so and the smile appeared to light up her entire face.
As I entered her smile was directed at me, I felt so full of a sensation that I cannot even describe; yet it was so amazing I know that I will never forget it. It will become another of the hundreds of memories that Jake and I have chalked up together so far. "Hey Will,' I said, as I took my place next to Jake at the counter. I turned to look at her, 'Hey beautiful."
"Hey Ham, I was just telling Jake here all about my day and an interesting discovery that I made." Will's voice broke my concentration on Jake's features. I figured he wanted me to ask him about his discovery, so I did. I was content to listen to Will all night long, as long Jake was seated next to me.
"Well, I met a girl. I knew I'd seen her before but it took a little while for it to come to me then I realised that she was Jake's girlfriend from summer session. You know the girl who kissed Jake thinking she was a guy." Will was trying really hard not to laugh as he leaned over to wipe the counter.
"You mean Lena?" I asked, trying to decide if Will's voice had actually changed when he talked about her. "What were you doing talking to her?"
"She wasn't my girlfriend." Said Jake looking a little embarrassed. At least now I knew why she had been hitting Will, when I arrived earlier.
"You know I'm just teasing Jake.' Will said, before turning to me 'Yeah Lena, the redhead. Finn's picked the two of us to be the official tutors for the two Japanese exchange students. She seems really nice, interesting..."
"Who the Japanese student?" asked Jake, with a smile.
"What?...Oh Yeah, she's nice too. Her name is Yuko but I was talking about Lena. What's she like? You both know her right?" Will replied, and then asked some questions of his own.
"Will, Lena's in our English class or haven't you noticed her before?" Jake answered, before I could open my mouth. Jake was looking at Will and she had this look on her face, a secret smile that said 'I know something you don't know'.
"He's noticed her,' I said, on Will' behalf. 'He just hasn't noticed her." I knew that I now wore a smile very similar to Jake's. Will had a thing for Lena, I wonder how long it will take him to realise that he was a goner. We spent the next twenty or so minutes informing Will all about Lena. It didn't take long because we really didn't know that much about her, besides the fact that she was from L.A, and that she was an artist who liked watching old movies.
"I will say on thing though, without Lena, Jake and I probably wouldn't be together today." I said trying to explain how even though Jake and I didn't really known Lena that well, we still valued her friendship.
"What do you mean?" Will asked looking very interested.
"Well, when I still thought Jake was a guy in was Lena who told me to 'Throw caution to the wind, bit the bullet, seize the day', no matter what. It's funny, Lena knew we were in love before we did." I answered, folding Jake's hand into mine as we both remembered the night of the cotillion.
Jake and I left not long after that and as we walked back towards the dorms, Jake wrapped her arms around my waist and said "You do realise he's in love with her don't you? Or at the very least his interested But we're defiantly going to have to help them get together." I watched as the moonlight streaked Jake's short hair with silver and light. I knew at that moment that she would always be beautiful to me, this was a perfect moment, a perfect memory and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, she leaned over and kissed me. A deep drugging kiss, that made blood roar through me ears. I wondered, no I hoped that we would always be like this, together - kindred spirits.
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Wednesday
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RYDER
'Misspent youth - faking up a rampage
To hold off the real slaves
Paid off and Staid
And what you never knew
Can never get to you
So fake it'
Stumbleine, The Smashing Pumpkins.
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Another beautiful sunny day in America, I thought with scorn as walked through the halls of Rawley Academy for Boys. I spotted Jake and Hamilton ahead of me, "Morning Ladies" I said as I passed them. I did a double take, when I saw who they were standing with; it was the babe with the tattoo. What was she doing hanging out with those losers?
I brought myself around, so that I was heading once again in their direction. When I was level with them I spoke my latest thought aloud. "So Beautiful, why are you hanging around with these losers? I'm sure you'd much rather be hanging out with someone like me."
"As tempting as that sounds,' replied the babe, 'I think I'll pass but maybe we could get together later and you can try to impress me with your cruelty to others then!" She turned her attention away from me then and continued her conversation with Jake and the Dean's Daughter Hamilton.
"I think I will come with you to that little Diner after all." She said to Jake, and the three of them turned and left me standing in the hall by myself.
I didn't get it; most of the girls here at this stupid school would have given any thing to have me ask them out. Obviously people had been telling her about my limitless charm. For some reason it bothered me to think that she might have negative thoughts about me and my past behaviour to my fellow peers.
As much as I tried to shake off the feeling of dread that filled me every time I thought about her comment about my behaviour, I couldn't. It made me feel unbelievably insecure, a place I hadn't visited since I was a small boy and it was a place I didn't want to be in ever again. As hot as this chick was, I decided then that it would be a good idea to forget all about her.
My hands started to shake as memories from my childhood began to seep out of the vault in mind, in which I had locked them up in, a long time ago. Some were good but most were bad and I had no desire to relive any of them. When I finally got a hold of myself, I found myself heading in the direction of the library. Oh, well I guess I better do the assignment for Finn's English class, after all for once in my life I found myself without something better to do.
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BELLA
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When I arrived at Friendly's everyone else was already there, including four people that I had never met before. After a few quick introductions I learned that these four people were Lena, a friend of Jake and Hamilton's, Yuko and Ken, the two exchange students from Japan, and Morgan, Finn's daughter.
We spent what was left of the afternoon all becoming better aquatinted with the four new people, who were fast becoming a part of our once small group. I was beginning to feel more and more of an outcast. All of these young people were a part of something that I would never understand, never experience and never be a part of. It was a pretty lonely place to be and I could only hope that once I told Scout the truth about him not being my brother, that things would get a little bit better. I could only hope that things might go back to normal.
I waited until everyone else had gone before I walked over to sit next to Scout, I wanted us to be alone when I told him the truth about us. He looked surprised to see me sitting next to him and something else, something I couldn't identify at the time. I memorised his expression hoping to be able to analyse it more thoroughly in the privacy of my bedroom later on. "Your not my brother!" I just blurted it out. No 'How are you?', just pure honesty.
I waited for what seemed like an eternity, for Scout to say something, for him to show some sign that he had heard what I had just told him. When it came it wasn't what I had expected. "Do you still love me?" Scout asked, his eyes searching mine.
"Yes,' I said, 'I think I will forever and always." I waited for Scout to react, the whole time hopping that I said the right thing. It was a possibility that he didn't feel the same.
His whole face seemed to be swallowed up by the grin that he flashed in my direction. He jumped to his feet and grabbed me in a hug that was destined to squeeze the life out of me if he didn't let go soon. When Scout realised what he was doing he loosened his hold on me and began to swing around in circles with me still firmly clasped in his arms. It felt so good to be in his arms again, it felt like it was only yesterday that we lay on the bank of the lake sharing our most intimate secrets and dreams, our arms wrapped around each other as he bestowed a kiss on my lips.
Memories and the feelings that accompanied them flowed in every direction making this moment more special than any thing I could have hoped for. I looked at my watch and I realised that it was time for me to go. My dance classes started back today. I realised then that out of all my new friends, the only person who knew about my love of Ballet was Scout. The only other person who knew was Will and he only knew because I had been going since I was five and he had known me longer than that.
I didn't want leave Scout so soon but this year was really important for me and if I wanted to get a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, that meant I had to be at every class. Also Madam O'Durand would kill me if I didn't show up and I couldn't let her down not after all the time she had spent helping me to become a better dancer. "I have to go Scout, I'm sorry but I've got Ballet class in an hour and if I want to make it in time I need to leave now." I finally confessed, realising that I didn't have much time left.
"Do you want me to come? I'd love to watch." Scout asked me as we walked to my truck. I smiled at him, he was so cute so totally different to any guy I had ever known and I loved him so much.
"Yes, I'd love that." I gave him my keys and I got into the passenger seat and waited for him to start the truck.
As we drove towards Carson, I thought all about the Summer just gone, and about all the memories we had made. I realised that I couldn't wait to make new ones, with Scout and with the rest of our friends.
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SCOUT
'I'll be back.'
Arnold Schwarzenegger
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I really should have been watching the road but I had to keep looking over at Bella to make sure that every thing I believed to have happened in the last hour had actually occurred. I had spent the last week walking around in a daze hoping for some sign that Bella and I would get back together and know here we were together speeding towards her dance school.
When Bella first told me about the dance school in Carson, I was surprised that such a predigest school should reside in such a small town in the middle of no where but then again one only had to look at the location of Rawley to see that location didn't really have any affect on the popularity or reputation of a school. I knew how important and how private Bella was about her dancing, so I felt very special that she was allowing me to come and watch her.
I realised that even though we both still cared about each other, that it would be a while before things were completely back to normal, if ever. Spending a whole Summer watching each other date other people, while we believed ourselves to be brother and sister put a great strain on our love. A strain that I can only hope will not leave a scar, making it difficult for us to put the past in the past.
When we arrived at Carson School of Ballet, Bella rushed inside leaving me to lock up the truck before following her inside. When I entered the room, where Bella had her classes, I was just in time to grab a seat before the lesson began. Hoping that I wouldn't fall asleep or distract the class, I was surprised to find myself intensely entertained by the sight of Bella dancing across the room on point.
There was so much that we didn't know about each other and I hoped that we could spend the rest of time, finding out what we were both made up of. On the way back to Rawley I felt a contentment that I hadn't felt in a very long time and as I drove, with one arm around a sleeping Bella, I let my thoughts stray.
I had been a mess the last couple of weeks but in the last few days I had noticed that something was wrong with Will. He had been such a good friend to both Bella and myself that I knew it was time for me to be there for him. I would talk to him as soon as I got back to school, well first I would tell him about Bella and myself, getting back together and then I would ask him what was wrong. It was probably just something with his Dad.
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Thursday
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JAKE
'I don't play well with others.'
Jonny Lee Miller as Dade Murphy, in Hackers.
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It was a nice day and the sun was shining, so Finn had once again decided to hold his English class outside on the lawns. I was sitting with Hamilton, Scout, Morgan, Yuko and Will, so when I saw Lena and Ken walking towards us I waved them over. "Sit with us." I said. Finn waited for the rest of the stragglers to sit down before beginning the class. Scout had just finished filling us in on the good news about him and Bella. I already knew because Bella had rung me early this morning before classes had started but I let Scout have his moment.
I really wanted to hold hands with Hamilton but I noticed that Ryder was watching our group closely. Then I realised that it was not so much our group he was watching but Morgan. I then noticed that Morgan too was watching him, in between watching Finn and talking to Hamilton.
"Well I hope you have all completed your assignments. I think we will start with you Mr Pratt." Finn said his eye's directed at me. I had several quotes prepared just like we were asked to gather for the assignment but I was unsure if they would give away my true gender. I told the class my three favourite, the first being by Ruth Pitter. "My favourite of the three quote that I have chosen is, 'The seldom female in a world of males.' I like it because it's so true, we live in a world completely run by males, even in today's society but every now and then there is a female that stands out, like Joan of Arc, or Mother Theresa."
I could see my friends smiling at me, I knew what they were thinking, I was a seldom female in a world full of males. I waited for Finn to make a comment on my choice of quote but he remained quiet only indicating that I should continue. My other two quotes were from a movie called Hackers.
"My last quote is said by Jonny Lee Miller in the movie Hackers. 'Unbelievable, a hacker.' is what is said. I picked this quote because I liked the movie and because in a way I am also a hacker. I hunger for information and the reason that this quote is even mentioned in the movie is because Jonny's character is so surprised by meeting another hacker, it's an unknown occurrence, because hackers are so rare."
Finn said nothing letting the class take over the discussion. It seemed everyone had something to say and everyone wanted to listen for once. After me it was Will's turn. He had three very deep quotes, but my favourite was by Lord Byron. It was, 'Agree to a short armistice with truth.'
Finn went around the classroom until he came to Hamilton. Finn was less than impressed with Hamilton's first two quotes and said so, asking for something a little more profound. Which Hamilton delivered to Finn's surprise, "After we read Robert Browning, during the Summer session I became interested in reading some more of his works. So during the break, while I was in New York I bought a book of his poetry from a second hand book shop and this is what sticks in my mind as being a profound statement, 'Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what is heaven for?'."
The rest of the lesson was extremely enjoyable for it was interesting to see what everyone else, including my friends deemed to be worthy of discussion.
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FINN
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'We are all born mad. Some remain so.'
Samuel Beckett. - Ryder
'Be warned in time, James, and remain,
as I do, incomprehensible; to be great is to be misunderstood.'
Oscar Wilde. - Ken
'Truth is rarely pure, and never simple.'
Oscar Wilde. - Scout
'Come up and see me some time.'
Mae West. - Lena
'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'
William Shakespeare. - Morgana
I was astonished by the level of understanding and interpretation that my class had of their chosen quotes. "Since the majority of you have quoted songs or poems, lets try a little some thing different for our next assignment. I want every one to compose a poem or lyrics to a song about love."
"Do they have to be happy, soppy love songs?" Will asked.
"No, love scorned is fine as well." I replied, I couldn't wait to see what they would come up with.
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Will's voice over:- Memories are there so that we can remember the good times and learn from the bad times. Is it possible that we can learn for other people and their mistakes? Are we destined to follow the same pattern forever, never realising our own mistakes until it is too late? Or do we learn the secret of life moments before it all ends? No one really knows, but one thing is for sure without memories we live our lives with no purpose. We cannot strive for greatness if we do not know what it looks like and unless we have seen it in the past and can recognise it in the future, it stands to reason that all would be lost to us. So, is it through our memories that we learn to value the important things in life, or is it the important memories that make us value life? I guess the most important question is what is important to you? What do you value?
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