Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

Jack Goes to Broadway

December 3

     "Mr. Bingley is far superior to Mr. Darcy," Halfborn declared.

     "Really?" Magni asked, "but he's wealthier and more handsome."

    "Mr. Bingley was the one who hosted the ball," Halfborn said, "and besides, he is far kinder to Jane than Mr. Darcy is to Elizabeth."

    "Mr. Darcy and his 'she's not pretty enough for me' airs make me want to vomit," Mallory said.

     "Why do you guys think Jane Austen included that aspect of Mr. Darcy's character?" Odin asked us.

     "So we'd dislike him — at least initially?" I guessed.

     "I've never read Pride and Prejudice before," TJ prefaced, "but I'm guessing that our attitude towards Mr. Darcy will change and reflect Elizabeth's future fondness of them. Mark my words: they're getting married."

    "What?" Magni asked. "What a horrible ship! Elizabeth should have accepted Mr. Collins' proposal and Caroline Bingley should end up with Mr. Darcy."

    "Alright guys," Odin said. "I'm going to redirect our conversation before it turns into a ship war. If you want to discuss this more, you can write about it in your essay."

     "Will do," Magni said.

      I raised my hand. "I find it interesting how Mrs. Bennet is in such a hurry to get her daughters married."

     "It's a reflection of the time," Sam replied.

      "Yes, but why is Mrs. Bennet more pushy about marriage than Mr. Bennet?" I countered.

      "I think that might just reflect that she is a woman and so she knows the importance of marriage," Jack said. "Because of inheritance laws at the time, the Bennet girls really did need to get married to secure their economic futures."

"Yeah," Sam said. "Imagine how different the book would be if it was from Mrs. Bennet's point of view?"

"It wouldn't be a chick flick," Magni said.

He then blushed and added, "Actually, chick flicks are sorta my guilty pleasure."

"Knitting is my guilty pleasure," Mothi added, uncharacteristically shy.

"You guys are acting like you're admitting to some crime or something," Mallory said, rolling her eyes.

"That's because we've been told so long that we have to avoid acting feminine or we won't be seen as real men," Halfborn replied.

I nodded my head, remembering how I'd been called gay and a host of slurs in middle school after saying it was perfectly okay for boys to wear pink. The way they treated me, you'd think I was some massive jerk who gave people complex trauma just to pass my time, but that was them — not me.

    Everywhere around me, the other boys were nodding their heads. Odin cleared his throat. "While I hate to interrupt this philosophical discussion, but we need to get back to the book. If you guys would like to continue discussions like these, you can always take a Gender and Women Studies course."

    This ended our great discussion.

***

    "Are you guys going to the student matinee?" Jack asked us in Ceramics class.

"I'm a man of culture, so why not?" Halfborn said. "Mallory, would you like to go with me?"

"Course," she said. "What's the play?"