Dead Poets Society

walked out of the room.

Chapter 12

     
     
    Knox flew out of
Ridgeway High and raced back to Welton as fast as he could, riding against the
blinding snow and over the icy roads. Back on campus, his friends were just
finishing their class with Mr. Keating. They were huddled around Keating’s
desk, laughing, when the bell rang.
    “That’s it,
gentlemen,” Keating said, snapping his book shut. Several of the boys groaned,
wishing they didn’t have to move on to Mr. McAllister’s Latin class.
    “Neil, could I see
you a moment?” the teacher called, as the boys gathered their books and headed
out the door.
    Neil and Keating
waited until the others had left. “What did your father say? Did you talk to
him-Keating asked.
    “Yeah,” Neil lied.
    “Really?” Keating
said excitedly. “You told your father what you told me? You let him see your
passion for acting?”
    “Yeah.” Neil felt
the lie grow bigger. “He didn’t like it one bit, but at least he’s letting me
stay in the play. Of course, he won’t be able to come. He’ll be in Chicago on
business. But I think he’s gonna let me stay with acting. As long as I keep my
grades up.”
    Neil avoided Mr.
Keating’s eyes. He was so embarrassed by the lie that he didn’t even hear what
the teacher said to him. He grabbed his books and said he had to run, while
Keating stood looking after him, puzzled.
    When Knox finally
reached campus he ditched his bike near the kitchen at the rear of the main
classroom building and raced inside, cold but triumphant. He stopped for a
moment to enjoy the warmth and smell of the huge cooking area, and helped
himself to a sweet roll that had just come out of the oven. He ran into the
corridor just as classes were changing and immediately spotted the gang.
    “How’d it go?”
Charlie asked. “Did you read it to her?”
    “Yep!” Knox grinned,
swallowing the last of the sweet roll.
    “All right!” Pitts
slapped him on the back in congratulations. “What did she say?”
    “I don’t know,” Knox
replied.
    “What do you mean,
you don’t know?” Charlie was puzzled.
    The boys surrounded
Knox before he could escape and ushered him into a classroom, closing the door
behind them. “Okay, Knox,” Charlie ordered, “start from the beginning.”
     
    That night, the boys
milled around the dorm lobby waiting to go to Henley Hall with Mr. Keating for
the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Knox slumped on a chair by
himself, still bewildered by his encounter with Chris, exhilarated and confused
at the same time.
    “Where’s Nuwanda?”
Meeks asked. “If we don’t hurry we’re going to miss Neil’s entrance!”
    “He said something
about getting red before he left,” Pitts said, shaking his head.
    “What does that mean?” Cameron asked.
    “You know Charlie,”
Pitts laughed, just as Nuwanda scampered down the stairs.
    “What’s this getting
red?” Meeks asked. Charlie checked around. He opened his shirt and revealed a
red lightning bolt painted on his chest.
    “What’s it for?”
Todd wanted to know.
    “It’s an Indian
warrior symbol for virility. Makes me feel potent. Like I can drive girls
crazy.”
    “But what if they see it, Nuwanda?” Pitts asked.
    Charlie winked. “So
much the better!”
    “You are crazy!”
Cameron said as the group headed out of the lobby. As they neared the door,
they passed Chris, who was just walking in.
    Knox nearly fainted.
“Chris!” Knox’s heart began to beat wildly.
    “Knox, why are you
doing this to me?” Chris cried.
    Knox looked around.
“You can’t be here!” he said, pushing her into a corner.
    Mr. Keating came
down the hall, ready to go, and joined the group of boys at the door. “Come on,
fellows,” he said with a smile, and they left.
    “I’ll be right
there,” Knox called after them, and he ushered Chris out of the building into
the snowy night.
    “If they catch you
here, we’ll both be in big trouble,” Knox said, his teeth chattering from the
cold.
    “Oh, but it’s fine
for you to come barging into my school and make a complete fool out of me?” she
shouted.
    “Sshh, be quiet.
Listen. I didn’t mean to make a fool of you,” he apologized.
    “Well, you did! Chet
found out, and he’s nuts. It took everything I could do to keep him from coming
here and killing you. You have to stop this stuff, Knox!”
    “But I love you.”
    “You say that over
and over, but you don’t even know me!”
    In the distance,
Keating and the boys,