where all the poets went to die [dead poets society]

6 - why do women swoon?

After lunch, the group joined some of the other students who had taken to spending time in the fresh air instead of somewhere holed up in the school.

"Todd?" Maria called out suddenly, slowing her steps so that she was walking beside him now.

He turned to her with wide eyes. "Yea?"

"Are you joining study group today? I was hoping to ask you a couple of questions about history."

Todd hesitated, stuffing his hands deeper into his pant pockets. "Me? You... you want to ask me?"

Maria nodded, smiling up at him brilliantly. "I heard you're very good at history."

"Not as good as Meeks though," Todd said softly.

"I'm sure you're plenty good," Maria said. "Meeks and Pitts will probably be busy with their radio - I mean, radar science experiment anyway. I'd appreciate your help a lot, Todd, really."

Todd knew what she was doing. He'd have to be dumb to not, but she was looking up at him with such heartwarming kindness that he felt his resolve falter almost immediately. She was trying to get him to study group, to join in with the rest of them, and she was doing so in the most indirect and gentlest way she possibly could.

And Todd was so thankful for that.

He remembered what she had told him the other day, about how she could teach him to fake it, to overcome the shyness within himself. He hadn't believed that she'd once been just as shy as he was until she explained to the group that her nickname - meadow mouse - had come from the fact that she had rarely spoken up in grade school and one of her teachers, during a parent-teacher night, had compared her to such.

"Mr. Foster said that all I'd need was a tail and I'd be right at home in the fields as a meadow mouse."

She had told them that Keating had found it extremely amusing and the nickname had stuck ever since.

But now she was so... Todd didn't have the right words to describe her, but he just found that he admired her. Maybe a part of him was a smidge envious at how she had overcome something that seemed to plague him day and night, but he wanted to learn from her. He wanted to be like her in some way and he'd take this olive branch she was extending out to him readily.

Todd looked over at her and smiled. "Sure," he said.

Maria smiled, about to say something more, but then suddenly turned to her right.

Someone had tugged on one of her curls, forcing her attention away from Todd and she felt someone move to walk beside her. She had half-expected it to be Knox, who now seemed to enjoy tugging at her curls, but it was Charlie instead.

"What?" She looked at him.

Charlie tugged at the tie around his neck and she was almost about to say that if he pulled at it anymore it would come entirely undone, but she held her tongue. He didn't look at her right away but instead looked towards a group of younger boys - probably sophomores - who were lounging under a tree and following the group with hawk-like eyes. He gave them a dirty scowl and stepped closer toward Maria, forcing her more into the center of the group.

"Nothing," he said, casting a glance over to her.

Now that they were walking side-by-side, Charlie noticed how she came to a perfect height beside him, just a little bit less than a head shorter.

"You pulled my hair," she replied back pointedly.

"And?" He gave her an expectant look and smirked when she seemed to struggle to come up with a response and shook her head at him with an exasperated sigh.