Author's note: This is my first Dead Poet's Society story, so be gentle. I'm not sure how it'll go, but I thought I'd get it out there and see if this is worth pursuing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Dead Poet's Society (shock) but I do own other characters/situations which will be introduced; please don't use them without permission.
Ulysses in New York
"Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world."
--Alfred Tennyson
Technically, this was not the road less traveled by. Probably the most traveled by, if you think about it, Neil thought as he watched the frosted New England landscape slide by. After all, what kind of road less traveled by would include a bus full of people at six o'clock in the morning? Three men in business suits crinkled their newspapers as they turned pages. A young mother kept rubbing her knee, where there was a hole in her stocking. Beside him, an elderly woman in a maroon hat snored. Neil wondered if this was what Robert Frost had been thinking about.
At least it's a road less traveled by for a Perry, he thought. No one else has hopped the first bus out of town before—unless there's some uncle who was disowned years ago that I don't know about. I wouldn't put that past Father.
His parents must just be waking now, preparing themselves for an argument at the breakfast table. Neil imagined his mother wrapping a bathrobe around her shoulders and shuffling into his bedroom to offer him a few words of encouragement about his father's decision. His stomach twisted to think of her shocked expression when she would catch sight of his empty bed and the single page note lying atop his schoolbooks.
He'd be caught between writing, "I'm sorry, I'll miss you both, but I can't do this," and "Fuck you all, I'll see you in hell." What resulted was something stilted and rushed, as he didn't have time to craft a proper good-bye note. He knew he needed to get to the bus station as quickly as possible, make sure he had the time to put enough distance between him and his father as possible. Neil gazed outside the window, watching that distance become greater and greater with each passing second.
Even the first step had been thrilling. Neil had stepped carefully as he moved through the house, barely daring to blink, but once he was outside he felt a huge rush of relief and excitement. The sky had cleared and the stars winked at him. He had shivered from cold, anxiety, and joy, standing in his yard for a moment. He had to restrain himself throwing himself in the snow and making snow angels. For the first time in his life he would be able to do what he wanted to do! No more med school, no more Hellton conformity, no more being controlled in every aspect of his life. He felt guilty leaving the rest of the Dead Poets Society to deal with it all, but this was an emergency; it was either leave or get shipped off to military school, neither option permitting him to see his friends.
I'll write to them the first chance I get, he promised himself. Once I find a place to stay and something to do.
That last thought made the knot in his stomach tighten, but he realized that he couldn't do anything about that problem at the moment. He shivered, burrowed further into his seat, and tried to fall asleep.
To be continued...please review!