𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐄 𝐃𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐑𝐄, c.d.

𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

CHAPTER EIGHT | THE FIRST OF MANY
Neil stood in his doorway, looking across the hall to the other room where Cameron and Charlie stood. Cameron gave a quick thumbs up as Neil looks down the hall, seeing Pitts and Meeks looking out of their room, Knox looking out of his, and Cove looking out of hers. All of them had grins on their faces as they closed their doors, grabbing everything they needed for the meeting.

..........

It had been about four hours since everyone went to sleep when everyone walked out of their rooms, the group in their hooded coats with flashlights in hand. Cove had a few dog treats in her pocket for the campus dog, Buddy, who barked whenever students were out at night. As soon as the group got to the last step, the dog began to bark, the girl kneeling down to pet him as she handed him some treats.

"I thought we were friends, Bud. You're trying to get me caught." The Overstreet girl grinned as she stood back up, following after the boys. Unlike the rest of the group, Charlie waited for her at the door, holding his hand out towards her. "I would've caught up with you, Char. You could've gone with the guys."

"What? And leave my favorite lady alone in the dark to walk by herself? No thanks." Cove blushed deeply as she took Charlie's hand, the two following after their friends. "Now, come on! Hager's gonna be down here soon." The two teens began to run behind the others, all of them laughing as they did. These were the times the brunette was glad she was constantly pushed by her parents to have perfect grades. If she didn't, they would have never made an exception for her to attend Welton, and she would have never met her best friends. As they ran though the woods, Charlie pulled his best friend behind a tree as Meeks walked behind them with a flashlight, looking around. At the same time the two teens jumped out from behind the tree, scaring the curly headed boy. "Arrr, I'm a dead poet."

"Aww, you guys." The two brunettes laughed as they continued to walk, calling for the other boys. "You two are funny. You're real funny." After a few more minutes of walking, the group gets to the cave, beginning to start up a fire. "It's too wet." Charlie and Cove looked at each other, eye brows raising as they attempted to hold back their laughs at the inappropriate jokes in their heads.

"God, are you trying to smoke us out of here?" The boys and Overstreet girl began to take their seats, Cove in between her brother and Charlie. The girl placed her head on her brother's shoulder, as Pitts attempted to stand up. The tall boy slammed his head into the low rock ceiling, letting out a yelp while the others laugh.

"You okay, Pitsie?" The boy nodded at the girl as she offered a soft smile in return, pulling her robe tighter around her.

"All right, all right, forget the fire. Let's go." Neil stands before the others with the book in hand, clearing his throat as he flipped the book open. "I hereby reconvene the Dead Poets Society." The group of teens cheer as Neil continues. "Welton chapter. The meetings will be conducted by myself and the other new initiates now present. Todd Anderson, because he prefers not to read, will keep minutes of the meetings. I'll now read the traditional opening message by society member Henry David Thoreau. I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." Charlie grinned, placing his hand on Cove's, who still had her head on her brother's shoulder. "To put to rout all that was not life, and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived." Several of the boys whistled softly in reaction to the poem, making Cove chuckle, rolling her eyes at her friends. "And Keating's marked a bunch of other pages." Neil quickly began to flip through the book as Charlie got up from his spot, telling the group to empty their pockets. Before leaving the library, they had all agreed to bring food for the meeting.

"On the mud? We're gonna put our food on the mud?" Cove rolled her eyes, sitting up straight and removing her head from Knox's shoulder, glaring at the Cameron boy as she emptied her pockets.

"Why don't you put your coat down then, Cameron? Since you want to keep complaining." Charlie and Knox nodded in agreement as the boy scoffed, taking his coat off to place on the floor.

"Don't keep anything back either. You guys are always bumming my smokes." Everyone dumped their food on the coat, piling up the cookies, raisins, apples, an orange, and even half of a bread roll. Charlie looked over to Cove, who hadn't placed her share down, wiggling his brows in question.

"I brought everyone a piece of candy." Charlie grinned as he pulled Cove towards him, under his arm as she laughed, falling into him. "Who brought the raisins?" The smiling girl looked around the group, seeing Cameron look up at her, before quickly looking down. "Cameron, I get that you dodn't have taste, but just because you like raisins, doesn't mean we like them too. You bring raisins again and I'll slap you. Keep them to yourself." Cameron scoffed at the girl again as she winked at him, aggravating him some more.

"Wait a minute, who gave us half a roll?" Pitts looked up with his mouth full, telling the group he was eating the other half. "Come on."

"You want me to put it back?"