"...the sorrows we brought on ourselves, through folly or wickedness, were by far the hardest to bear."
~ Anne of the Island, L.M Montgomery
Chapter Thirty - Judgement Day
Two sharp knocks sounded on the door of third period geometry, the harsh sound cut through the quiet scratch of pencils. Eight heads in particular shot up as the door opened, and Mr Nolan took three, firm steps into the room, certain that this was the end as far as the dead poets were concerned.
But it was not.
"Classes will finish an hour early this afternoon" he announced. "Regrettably, a compulsory assembly will be held, which you are to go directly to in place of your last class. Understood?"
"Yes, sir" echoed the students.
With one last look of scrutiny around the young faces staring back he left, the door closing with a thud behind him.
Kathleen caught Neil's eye and he attempted a smile, but it did not reach his eyes. A similar wordless conversation passed between Meeks and Pitts at the back of the room. It felt as if the net they had deluded themselves into escaping was finally catching up, poised above the water ready to banish their freedom, in exchange for an eternity in the fishbowl they had tried so desperately to escape.
Suddenly, Kathleen felt an odd kinship with captured sea creatures that she had never felt before.
XXXX
Only five turned up to lunch. Well, more accurately five plus Cameron who had decided to begin distancing himself and had chosen a seat elsewhere. Their worlds might have been ending but the outside world was not. The day that Richard Cameron skipped a meal would be the day he was six feet under, even then he would be dining at precisely one o'clock inside the pearly gates of heaven, or depths of hell. As Charlie had pointed out eagerly, it all depended on one's view of redheads.
Meeks and Pitts were missing, assumed to be hiding the kitchens. Knox although present in body was certainly not present at the table in mind. Todd had reverted to the nervous silence of his early days at Welton. Leaving Neil to navigate an appeasing conversation with his rather falsely cheerful best friend while Kathleen tried to communicate with Todd using only her eyes - contributing audibly to the conversation only when asked a question.
Fifth period followed in so much of a similar fashion that it was almost a relief when the bell signalled for their descent into the assembly hall and their inevitable doom. The group reunited for the first time since first period as they made their way down to the hall and took their seats, ignoring the whispers of speculation from the student body around them. Even Charlie was silent, but a small smirk played across his lips which worried Neil - who was sat on his other side - enough to elbow him into solemnity.
Silence fell when the teacher's footfalls were heard on the steps. Mr Keating winked at the group as he passed with a newspaper in his hand like many other members of the faculty. Every student rose, standing patiently until Mr Nolan instructed them to sit from his podium at the front.
"In this week of Welton's Honour there appeared a profane and unauthorized article." The headmaster addressed the assembly with a frown. "Rather than spending my valuable time ferreting out the guilty persons - and let me assure you I will find them - I'm asking any and all students who know anything about this article to make themselves known here and now. Whoever the guilty persons are, this is your only chance to avoid expulsion from this school."
Cameron made a move to stand but Knox dutifully yanked him down, but before his movement could be noticed the shrill ringing of a bell echoed around the stone walls. The noise caught the attention of the staff who looked around in confusion for the source. The poets' own confusion was short-lived as they realised one by one, that the culprit was amongst them.
Kathleen's mouth fell open as Charlie pulled a telephone out from under the bench, ringing a bicycle bell attached to his left thumb.
"What are you doing!?" Hissed Neil.
Kat made a grab for the telephone, but he was to quick. The colour drained from Cameron's face and the group exchanged looks of pure horror at the drama that was unfolding before them.
Stood up in a sea of matching blazers and shock, Charlie Dalton answered the phone, "Welton Academy. Hello. Yes, he is. Just a moment." In a performance that Neil would have been proud of in any other scenario, he said in a tone of equal surprise and nonchalance, "Mr. Nolan, it's for you...It's God! He says we should have girls at Welton."
Laughter erupted from around the room, prompting Mr Nolan's face to turn an impressive shade of crimson. Cringing, the dead poets sunk low in their seats and shook their heads in utter disbelief.
Charlie held the phone out towards Mr Nolan. Apparently oblivious to the rapidly rising blood pressure of the both the faculty and his friends, he basked in the reactions he had elicited from the teachers and student body.
"My office, Dalton. NOW!" Mr Nolan pointed to the doorway before turning his attention to the rest of the students with no less aggression, "you are all dismissed."
Taking advantage of the chaotic discussion taking place amongst the staff, the teenagers exited boisterously. Various boys slapped Charlie on the back in congratulations for his daring stunt, others in sympathy for the whipping he was about to receive. Nobody needed Kathleen to explain the meaning of her Grandfather's strained expression. It was one the more troublesome boys were already well acquainted with.
"Charlie!" Kathleen pushed her way through the throng of males, "CHARLIE!"
"Come to lecture me or congratulate me?"
"Come with you, actually" she grabbed his arm and pushed her way out of the horde, pulling him along with her. Ignoring his protests, she marched him up to her Grandfather's office and slammed the door shut behind them.
"Kat-"
"WHAT THE HELL!" She shouted, "are you that much of fool or just a masochist."
"Calm dow-"
"I am not calm, Dalton" she snapped, " so don't patronise me. You know what he's going to do to you. He has an entire cupboard of torture weapons and you're practically begging for him use the worst of them! Yes, humiliating him is daydream we all have. But, doing it, and in front of the entire school is not a sane thing to do-"
"I KNOW THAT" he cut in, "I don't care what he does to me! Which is why you need to leave because I happen to care about what he does to you."
"I am not leaving" she crossed her arms, staring him down defiantly.
"I thought you didn't like to pull the family card."
"I don't" she gritted her teeth.
"Then don't" he threw his arms up. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm a big boy. I can handle a little whipping."
"You shouldn't have to!"
"Kat! Don't worry about me. Just get out before he gets here."
The door clicked.
"Too late" she whispered, heart pounding as she squeezed his hand. She dropped it as the door opened, too focused on the oncoming storm to see him staring down at the spot where their hands had been entwined mere seconds ago, flexing his left hand.
"Kathleen?" Gale Nolan's eyebrows jumped up at the sight of his granddaughter stood next to the miscreant by his desk.
"Good afternoon" she replied weakly.
"Why don't you wait outside. I will be with you ten minutes."
"It has to be now" she blurted.
"Go" whispered Charlie.
Mr Nolan's eyes slid back to the troublemaker, "what was that?"
"I told her to go, sir."
"No, this isn't right" she protested.
"Stop this insolence at once, Kathleen. Go back to your dormitory."
"There is no proof that Charlie is responsible" she cried, "maybe a detention for that silly stunt just now, but corporal punishment...Grandfather, you can't!"
"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, young lady" Mr Nolan held open the door, "obey me, and stop this nonsense."
"Please!"
"I SAID OUT" He shouted. She flinched, and he took a calming breath.
Charlie broke the silence, "It's my fault, Kat. I am not worth getting into trouble over. Listen to him."
"Those words are the most intelligent that you have uttered since beginning this school, Mr Dalton. Take heed of his advice, Kathleen."
Blinking back tears Kathleen left.
XXXX
Biting his lip, Charlie watched her walk out.
"Wipe that smirk of your face" Mr Nolan circled around him, finally settling in a standing position behind his desk. "My Granddaughter may have a sensitive disposition, but I certainly do not."
He remained silent as the headmaster's stare bored into him.
"If you think, Mr. Dalton, that you're the first to try to get thrown out of this school, think again." Nolan continued, "Others have had similar notions and have failed just as surely as you will fail. Assume the position."
With a sigh, Charlie braced his hands on the desk.
Mr Nolan crossed the room and opened the famous right-hand cupboard. He did need to turn around to know that the headmaster was selecting the tool he felt most appropriate to express his anger. While he waited - as much as it would shame him to admit - he thought about how much worse this could be with Kathleen's failed intervention. Nolan hated him. That was common knowledge. How he would react to his only granddaughter defending him could be painful.
"Ah" Mr Nolan selected a hard, wooden paddle that would not look out of place in a garden cricket set. Taking out his cufflink and rolling up his sleeve, the authority figure turned towards the boys who had caused so much disruption to his beloved institution throughout the years. "Count aloud, Mr Dalton."
Charlie gulped, keeping his face neutral.
The first blow was delivered.
"One."
Another swing.
"Two."
Another.
"Three."
Again.
"Four" he spat.
SMACK.
"Five."
A harsher strike.
"Six" he breathed, not wanting to give the man the satisfaction of hearing his pain.
A quicker strike.
"Seven."
TWACK.
"Eight" he growled.
Again.
"Nine."
The last, violent strike was delivered, and Mr Nolan watched the boy's face screw up in pain.
"Ten" he choked out.
"What is the Dead Poets society? I want names." He placed the paddle down on his desk in full view of the student.
Silence.
"You are to turn in every member of this club and apologise. Then all may be forgiven." He rolled down his sleeve and replaced his cufflink. "Go back to your dormitory. Let us hope that your lesson had sunk in."
Keep your eyes peeled this weekend for the next chapter. A christmas gift from me!