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as the car sped past houses and trees, neil's heart was pounding in his chest, his throat running dry. his father stayed silent as he drove, eyes focusing on nothing but the road.
inside the perry household, neil's mother sat in mr. perry's study while taking the occasional nervous puff from a cigarette.
the two perry men walked into the house and made their way to the study. the younger perry sat on the sofa that was in the study, his father standing in front of him.
"we're trying very hard to understand why it is that you insist on defying us." mr. perry hissed. "whatever the reason, we're not gonna let you ruin your lfie. tomorrow i'm withdrawing you from welton and enrolling you in braden military school. you're going to harvard and you're gonna be a doctor."
neil's face fell at his father's words. "but that's ten more years. father, that's a lifetime!"
"oh, stop it. don't be so dramatic. you make it sound like a prison term. you don't understand, neil. you have opportunities that i never even dreamt of and i am not going to let you waste them."
neil quickly rose to his feet.
"i've got to tell you what i feel."
mrs. perry stood up, her face soft with worry and sadness. "we've been so worried about--"
"what? what?" mr. perry interrupted. "tell me what you feel. what is it?"
neil looked at his mother and then back to his father.
should i stick up to him? neil thought to himself.
for a moment, neil was stuck in a mental battle with himself.
think about the dead poets. think about scarlett. carpe diem.
"is it more of this, this acting business? because you can forget that. what?"
neil nervously licked his lips. "father, i have followed every single rule and command that you have set on me. i stayed silent during rain of hell that you poured on me. so i went behind your back to explore acting, that was wrong of me and i know that."
"i am excelling in all of my classes. i will attend harvard or yale or whatever ivy league you choose. but, i want my future to be my own, not yours. i understand that you want nothing but the best for me, and for that i'm eternally grateful. i want to stay at welton. i want to graduate with my friends. i want to stay with the one person who makes me feel loved and alive."
neil couldn't believe that after sixteen years, he was finally speaking his mind.
"i am not expecting you to be happy about what the future might hold, father, but you should support it. it's my life and i am calling the shots from now on."
after neil finished, he sat back down, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.
his father stared down at him, stunned at his son's words.
