wherefore art thou » dead poets society

symphony

todd first met her in english class.

she sat in the front row, a seat to the right of him.

there was a restless chatter surrounding her like a thick cloud but she didn't once bother looking up from whatever she was hunched over. boys would peer over her shoulder, only to return to their desks, shrugging their shoulders. she was the talk of the town, quite naturally. oh, the hungry eyes of welton's student population was drawn to the poor thing like moths to a flame.

"todd!"

said boy's head swivelled around, meeting neil's expectancy with upmost apathy, "yes?"

'what's she doing?' he mouthed, eyes glimmering and all. he looked like a puppy, todd noted, a wide-eyed curious dog. something so childlike and keen about him that made todd want to roll his eyes. it was a girl not the incarnation of christ.

todd narrowed his eyes, brows creasing and shook his head at neil. was he going to elbow his way through the people swarming around the new girl? absolutely not. he'd sooner hang himself than do that. neil huffed a sigh and pouted at todd, no different than a kicked, sad, wet-eyed puppy (but an adorable puppy nonetheless)- yes, todd was still running with the dog metaphor.

and her. her unblinking dark gaze, an arrow piercing through the air, struck its target. todd anderson, the boy who was most unwilling to get involved with the whole overly celebratory welcoming ceremony (if you could even call if that) for the newcomer. he felt every fiber of his being seize with fear, his hairs standing on end at those smothering eyes, burning like a raging fire and cold like ice all at once.

she said nothing and he hadn't the nerve to so much as exhale the breath that was caged within his lungs that were burning and screeching for air. soon after fruitless attempts at conversation, the boys that veiled her began peeling away and wandering back to their seats like mindless sheep that had finished their grazing. she was uninteresting, they deemed.

but todd had a different opinion as his palms grew slick with a cold sweat under the terrifying stare of the girl.

"good morning! it is a new day, folks, a new week, a new start to your lives!"

at the sound of mr. keating's all too enthusiastic entrance, both todd and the girl settled back into their uncomfortable wooden seats and todd released a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding. the hair along his arms stood on end and he felt a shudder, an aftershock, from the bizzare first encounter.

"mr. anderson, is there a problem?"

oh. he flushed red, having not realized his discomfort was that apparent. "n-no sir," he stammered, which earned a few snarky snickers from the back of the room.

"well, todd, your anxiety is very much radiating off of you like moonbeams! yes, moonbeams! mr. perry, please,  another word for nervous," mr. keating chuckled, peering at todd from where he stood. the boy shuffled in his chair, cheeks painted a bright crimson. intimidation was the key to making todd anderson squirm. from mr. keating's towering, standing height, he felt all but intimidated.

"skittish!" neil would call out, a smile of sunrises and early morning bird chirps and all sorts of sweetness lifting his lips. quite a drastic change from todd's near-trembling state and wide, deer-caught-in-headlights visage.

"brilliant! mr. anderson here is most certainly skittish!"

"it's cause of the new girl!" charlie shouted from across the room in a voice that was too loud for charlie's own good, "he's got a crush!"

the classroom promptly erupted into laughter, a clap of rolling thunder that travelled from mouth to mouth and was only amplified by each second the noise dragged on. todd felt his face and the tips of his ears catching fire. and it burned. after what felt like several lifetimes to todd (he might've died several times too), the cacophony died down and mr. keating fixed a curious stare on the subject of upmost interest.

"well, mademoiselle, would you like to make an introduction to the rest of the class?"

a pin could've dropped and the noise would ring loud and clear at that moment. it seemed as though the laughter had been sucked inside them and everyone now held their breaths, gigglges and expectations within swollen lungs. she paused for a moment and the entire room inched a little closer, ears pricked, anticipating her response.

"my name is evaline."

todd thought that was a beautiful name. neil thought it was pretentious but smiled nonetheless.

mr. keating gave her a stern look which todd nearly missed. that was a first. he had never seen mr. keating look quite so firm. "i expect many things from you, miss evaline. i do hope no trouble will be caused during the duration of my classes."

"no sir, i do not intend on hindering your teaching in any way," she responded, eyes never leaving the older man's. an eletric stare. a cold stare. a fiery stare. everything at once yet nothing at all in those eyes. 

what a curious response, todd mused to himself. any normal student would just reply curtly after having being outed like that in front of the whole class. the newcomer had certainly been full of surprises thus far. she had utterly set fire to todd's preconcieved notion of the standard female student. 

mr. keating smiled.

"well, class, let us begin."

and that was the first day of many yet to come. but for now, she would remain an enigma for todd to unsolve.