Chapter 8: The Socratic seminar battle.
Hey there! Guess where I am! I'm in Mexico! Last minute plans really, I'm here to see some relatives and I will spent a lot of time with them, so updates may not come in a timely order, like I was doing before. Also I have limited access to the Internet so updates may be scarce. But don't worry I'm only here for a week or two so it's not forever and I am still continuing the story. I hope you're all enjoying your summer! Thank you for your reviews...and yeah Romeo and Juliet is a bit cliché but its something I had to read over and over again in school and I decided I was most familiar with that play then any other.
Disclaimer I Do Not Own This Show.
As soon as the teacher left a short lived silence filled the air before quickly disintegrating into friendly chatter amongst the students. I looked at Nathanael, who was sitting right across from me, as he quietly formed words that related to our studies.
"…Romeo and Juliet is a cautionary tale that talks about the stupidity of youth and shallow lust..." Nathanael coolly murmured under his breath as he rested his cheek on the palm of his hands. I frowned.
"I disagree!" I stated firmly and I made sure I said it loud enough so my words could transverse across my seat to his. Nathanael blinked in confusion, surprised I heard his low muttering above the white static noise of chatter and teenage gossip.
"Disagree…? All right; what do you think the play, Romeo and Juliet, was about, despite a tale of two horny teenagers." Nathanael retorted with skeptical eyes.
"How dare you slander the name of a beautiful tragedy, that talks about how poisonous hatred can be conquered by love?!" The chatter became whispers.
"Love? What love? It was all infatuation, no it was lust! They only knew each other for three days!" He fired back.
"It was love at first sight!" I shouted temper flaring. He frowned and I could feel the soft brewing of a verbal war coming along.
"Love at first sight is bullshit." He replied coldly. "They died as fools."
"They died as lovers!"
"Three days, Lila!" Nathanael was starting to lose his cool resolve.
"It's True Love!" I proclaimed fiercely. Then out of nowhere a voice pops up from the background.
"I…I think Lila is right about true love." It was Rose. Her eyes were shinning bright as she allied herself with my cause. I smiled in victory. But then another voice popped up.
"Yeah, but you can't just look at someone and instantly fall in love with them; it's not practical." Alix said. Traitor! She had aligned herself with the enemy.
One by one the lords and ladies separated into two groups lead by their leaders, Nathanael and I. Fighting over whose interpretation of Romeo and Juliet was correct. The game was set, everyone had aligned themselves with the people who shared their ideology, and they had raised an army. Let the battle begin. Nathanael's narrowed eyes were the eyes of a fiery general's. We had our armies at our beck and call, armored with heavy books and light quotes of knowledge from ancient mages of wisdom and so the first shots were fired.
"Love is to be delighted by the happiness of another, Gottfried Leibniz!" First shot fired, advantage Nathanael. But he wasn't done yet, he gave the signal for his comrades to fire at will.
"If we are to believe this statement about love then, love at first sight cannot be possible as you can't know if that person is happy by merely looking at them." I growled…they aren't going easy on us but I retaliated easily.
"And what about body language, the way they move, the way they smile and the aura they generate, the magnetic personalities of people that can ensnare anyone with a mere glance. The eyes are a window to the soul and we can create a bond when we see beyond the window sill."
"Funny you mention personalities, seeing as you can't know a person's personality if you only look at them." Nathanael retorted as he send out a few of his soldiers out, loaded with literate bullets and sharp quotes, I sent out mine as well to blockade their incoming attacks.
"We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it, John Lennon!"
The gun was fired by none other than Kim. Luckily, Aurore was able to gracefully block the upcoming bullets with her charming parasol.
"Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration, D.H Lawrence." Aurore replied smoothly as she flipped one of her long blonde pigtails to the side.
"When I saw you I feel in love, and you smiled because you knew, William Shakespeare." Rose said as she hesitantly pointed the gun towards the opposing enemy.
"Love looks not with eyes, but with the mind, William Shakespeare." A faceless solider fired back and redirected the bullet's course back to Rose. The shot caused her to fall, fatality wounded from her own bullet. I snarled out and glared at the faceless solider.
"Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight. Let's see for means, Shakespeare; Quoted from the source material that illustrated the powerful love shared between Romeo and Juliet!" I proclaimed as I tried to save Rose from anymore upcoming bullets, by shielding her with a shield made of the same metal as the upcoming missiles. But just as I was about to reach her a sword cut through preventing me from moving any closer to my fallen comrade, cold and calculating with sharp cynicism. Nathanael!
"Show of love, or just being melodramatic?" I was cut down by his cold eyes but like hell I was going to back down. Unsheathing my own sword I wasted no time in clashing our verbal blades together.
"The course of true love never did run smooth, Shakespeare." He frowned and I grinned. "Plato even hypothesized that souls were dived into two parts when they descend to earth, so meeting your soul mate for 'the first time' was actually a reunion." He looked nervous now that I brought in Plato but then he grinned.
"But if that's the case, then even the metaphysical explanation of love at first sight still includes some sort of proper direct or indirect experience with the person in question." I grimaced. This was going to be a long, tiring battle.
The teacher walked inside the vacant halls of the school towards her class. She was gone for a while and she had no doubt in her mind that her class had gotten off topic. She was not prepared for what she saw when she opened the door to her classroom…if it could even be called that anymore.
The once organized chairs that formed an elegant oval were now piled up into makeshift barricades one on each side of the classroom, evenly split in the middle. Pencils and balls of paper with scribbled quotes on them littered the room like corpses. It seemed as if a war was underway and the two rebel leaders were both standing on top of two separate desks, across from one another. Needless to say she was surprised Nathanael of all people was one of the two, he always seemed like an introverted polite boy.
"I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times, in life after life in age after age MOTHERFUCKING RABINDRANATH TAGORE!"
Lila said as she aimed the incoming missiles towards Nathanael. Unfortunately, Nathanael had his own missile to counteract hers.
"In life after life, age after age, sill means previous experience with the person in question! You contradict yourself!"
Swiftly Lila tried to slash her sword, attempting to catch him off guard.
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart, Confucius!"
Her sword managed to graze him as he fell backwards slightly and Lila went in for the kill, Nathanael smirked.
"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction, Antoine de Saint-Exupery!"
Lila's eyes widened in horror as she felt the cold metal of Nathanael's sword slash through her. She stumbled back and Nathanael saw his chance and went running in sword glimmering high above his head and millions of swords fell at his command, like raining arrows.
"You say that you love the rain, but you open your umbrella when it rains. You say that you love the sun, but you find a shadow spot when the sun shines. You say that you love the wind, but you close your windows when the wind blows. This is why I am afraid; you say that you love me to. WILLIAM. SHAKESPEARE."
There was a chilly silence….
"…Doubt thou the stars are fire; doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love…Shakespeare…" Nathanael's eyes widened in surprise to see Lila had created a large shielding bubble that had blocked most of his attack. He was reading another attack when….a nuclear bomb went off.
"That's enough! Lila, Nathanael, hallway now!"
The babbling brook of rage fell upon us as soon as we exited the door. We said nothing…
"You will stay here in this hallway to think about what you've done. You are very lucky I haven't called the principle yet!" She said sternly. The wrinkles on her forehead became more apparent as she frowned.
We didn't say anything…..The silence lasted for a minute…or less because we soon resumed our quarrel, motivated be our annoyance at being sent out to the hallway like preschoolers.
"How can one just decide they are in love? Love is not like that, lust is!"
"That's your opinion…" I responded quietly, not wanting to get in more trouble and still pretty pissed about how Nathanael can't seem to grasp the awe inspiring notion of love at first sight.
"It's an old notion that is dying for good reason because looks are deceiving."
"You act like people don't lie about who they are…" I said as I felt a slight twinge of bitter sadness of the irony in my statement.
"You have a point…but…that still doesn't excuse the lack of chemistry shared between Romeo and Juliet!
"Lack of chemistry?!" I shouted. "Did you not hear me when I said Romeo died for Juliet because he couldn't live without her!?"
"Ms. Lila I ask you to keep your voice down or I will send you to the principal's office!" I jumped back in surprise to see the teacher clenching the door handle and glaring at me to be quiet.
"Sorry…." I replied softly and as soon as she closed the door again I felt brave enough to talk again. "Romeo died just to be with the one he loved." I whispered angrily.
"And did you forget what I said."
"Aug! You're impossible to reason with Nathanael!" I said as I combed my hands through my long hair in frustration.
"They don't discuss their likes, their dislikes, their past, or their hopes for the future; they just keep talking about how much they love the other person." That's when it all clicked.
As soon as I finished my statement her lips formed an 'o' in realization and her eyes widened and they held a bright glimmer that made my heart skip a beat.
"What if, Romeo and Juliet, wasn't about true love, but young love!" I tilted my head in confusion. "Let me explain, do you remember how you felt when you were in love with Marinette?"
"H-hey you better not be making fun of me…!" I said face flushed.
"I'm not making fun you. Listen, when I was head over heels in love with Adrien I wasn't thinking about what he liked or what to do to get to know him. I just kept thinking about how perfect he was and how head over heels I was for him!" My eyes widened in realization as I nodded my head in agreement.
"You're right! It only mattered that you were feeling happy and blissful and you thought the feeling would never go away!"
"But…did it…?" Lila asked, expecting me to answer and I let out a sigh.
"No they didn't last forever. Time passed and my feeling shifted, as feelings do."
"Exactly! That's why Romeo and Juliet is a story of tragedy. Feelings change with time and…often you find yourself in love with…someone else…." Her speech slowed slightly and her cheeks gained a slight pinky hue as she directed he eyes shyly to the ground but she was quickly able to regain her confidence. "But Romeo and Juliet never got to experience that! Because the two families tried so hard to keep them apart and any rebel teenager would want to be together even more because when you're young, in love, and people say it won't work you want to prove it will work and that your feelings are valid even though their just hormones running their course."
"So the focus of the play isn't about love, it's about the dangerous of prejudice." I concluded and Lila nodded in agreement.
"If the prejudice between the families didn't exist their relationship could've blossomed more naturally, but with the mixture of unknown feelings, hormones, and hostility it become like a battlefield where you had to fight to prove your love instead of having it develop over time."
"That's why Paris says they are all punished…because they are all at fault for the death of Romeo and Juliet. If they weren't closed minded, if they had guided Romeo and Juliet throughout the phases of first love…then they wouldn't have died." I finished….everything made sense now…it wasn't true love it was young love…reckless young love.
Suddenly, without warning, I remembered the clashing of our verbal blades and the merciless attacks that both Lila and I made towards each other using sharp burning quotes. I felt ashamed at my actions and I directed my gaze towards the ground…I didn't want Lila to see my guilty face….Shifting my weight around I hesitatingly let out a 'I'm sorry…' Lila's eyes grew wide in realization and a blush spread across her face.
"No! I'm the one who should be sorry….!" She cried fiercely. I let out a weak laugh.
"I hope you aren't going to fight me about who is the most sorry." I replied jokingly and she gave a small smile in return.
"I would, but I'm too tired from our last argument." She replied cheekily. I just rolled my eyes and she let out giggle.
Over the course of a little over a week Lila had gone from being a friendly acquaintance to becoming one of my closest friends. I loved how confident she was, her confidence was a major contrast against my meeker persona and often she would give me words of encouragement to boost my self-esteem. I loved how she was stubborn in her ideals and ideas, how she was willing to fight for them (case in point today) I, begrudgingly, loved how she teased me, how she didn't treat me like frail china. I loved how considerate she was because even though she didn't treat me like china she knew where the boundary was and never dared to cross it.
In many ways she sort of reminded me of Ladybug…my thoughts soon become scrambled as I think about Ladybug…she always had this effect on me…but I was able to organize my thoughts quickly…I could feel Lila's hands gently slid into mine and I let my head rest on her shoulder. My heart beat was steady and I felt comfortable, even though I'm usually flustered with any sort of physical contact…with Lila it was different….I'm very glad she's my best friend….
However, in the back of my mind I made a mental note not to project my feelings of Ladybug onto Lila, because despite their similar character traits they were two completely different people and it would only cause confusion and disaster if I somehow started projecting my romantic feelings of Ladybug onto Lila, not only would it be unhealthy it would be selfish…I didn't want to use Lila as a rebound….As of right now this innocent platonic relationship we have is in my comfort zone and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship in any way, shape, or form. With this in mind I made my decision. Lila is my friend, I will never hurt her and I will not purse a romantic relationship with her for the fear that my feelings may just be a projection and not genuine.
So how was it, sorry for the wait really I am. I hope you enjoyed my story please leave a review leaving your thoughts.
I'll see you in the next update.
Love, Caramel