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

10 - a barbaric yawp

Neil raced down the hallway, all excited.

"Charlie, Charlie! I got the part! I'm gonna play Puck! I'm gonna play Puck!" He pounded on Charlie's door. He barely registered the others lounging in the room, eyes focused on Charlie who straightened from lying on his bed and stopped tossing a small cloth ball into the air.

Maria, who was sitting at Charlie's desk spun around quickly when Neil ran into the room.

"I got the part! I'm gonna play Puck!" Neil said again excitedly, eyes darting over the people scattered around the room.

"Puck?" Pitts asked from where he sat on the floor, leaning against Charlie's bed next to Meeks.

"That's the main part!" Neil said, bouncing on his feet.

"That's amazing, Neil!" Maria gushed with pride. "That's so amazing!"

Neil smiled widely.

"Great job, Neil!" Pitts and Meeks said, standing up from the floor and giving him solid claps on the back.

"I can't believe I got it, Charlie," Neil said when Charlie got up to give him a congratulatory hug.

"Congratulations! Good for you, Neil. Good for you." Charlie said, patting Neil on the back before he darted out of the room and into his own where Todd sat on his bed working on some homework.

"You got the part?" Todd asked right as he entered.

Neil grinned, eyes twinkling with joy and he nodded quickly. "I did, Todd! I got the part!"

"Congratulations, Neil!" Todd said truthfully and watched as Neil sat down by his typewriter. He followed, taking a seat on Neil's bed and watching him.

Neil shook out his hands. "Okay, okay, okay, okay," he said, feeding a piece of paper into the typewriter.

"Neil, how are you gonna do this?" Todd asked.

"They need a letter of permission from my father and Mr. Nolan," Neil said simply, settling further into his chair and pulling his typewriter closer to the edge of the desk to make it easier to type.

"You're not gonna write it," Todd said disbelievingly.

Neil turned to him with a mischievous grin. "Oh yes, I am."

"Oh, Neil. Neil, you're crazy," Todd said, shaking his head.

Neil giggled, making a funny squeaking noise which caused Todd to laugh.

Neil began typing. "Okay, I am writing to you on behalf of my son Neil Perry..." Neil laughed manically, stomping his feet up and down. "This is so great!"

••●••

Knox stood at the front of the room with his poem in hand. He swallowed, hesitating for a moment, until he caught Maria's encouraging thumbs up from where she sat at the front.

"You got this," she mouthed to him.

Knox smiled at her, giving her a quick nod. "To Chris," Knox read softly.

Charlie looked up from his desk at the back of the room with a grin and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Who's Chris?"

"Mmm, Chris."

Knox ignored the murmurs in the classroom and read:

"I see a sweetness in her smile.

Blight light shines from her eyes.

But life is complete; content is mine,