"Let the world outside
forget us for a while,
as we lose ourselves
in these moments together.
Even when we don't speak,
the silence is charged
with magic and meaning.
Hearts have their own language
and ours are always speaking."
-John Mark Green
PO...
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IT WAS ONLY DAY ONE OF CLASSES AND ALREADY SHE WAS OVERWHELMED. Ophelia had learned years ago that most teachers seemed to believe their class to be the only one students attended, and assigned work to reflect it; none accounted for the other five classes, plus extracurriculars, that their students may have attended.
"Meeks, I'm already lost in Latin, please help me," Ophelia laid a hand on his arm, looking to him with desperation. The two lagged behind their friends, on their way to their last class. "I try really hard in that class, but then I saw a huge bird outside and I got dis-"
"I'll help you, Fe." Meeks smiled down at her. Ophelia murmured a thank you, squeezing his arm appreciatively before letting go, the boy looking down momentarily at where she had grabbed.
"Lifesaver, I tell you." She looked ahead at the classroom her friends were entering, "Did you catch a glimpse of him at the ceremony? The new guy."
As they arrived at the classroom, Meeks shook his head, holding the door open for her with one arm, balancing his books in the other. "He can't be worse than Mr. Portius."
The two walked toward desks at the front of the classroom, Ophelia murmuring a hello to Neil's roommate. Behind her sat Cameron, "Where's Charlie?"
"Where do you think?" Cameron scoffed, turning his head to eye Charlie at the back of the class.
"Of course." She caught his eyes and smiled, opening her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by a whistling rendition of the 1812 Overture.
Turning, she found her new English teacher, smiling at them all as he emerged from his office. Her eyes followed him as he moved across the front of the room, walking down one of the rows and straight out the door.
The students were silent for a moment. "Do you think we should follow him or-"
"Well, come on." The man stuck his head in the doorway for a moment, a hand beckoning the class to join him.
Ophelia felt a lightness take over her. She untensed slightly, already excited for English. Grabbing her book, she stood up, nudging Meeks as she walked down her row, the ginger following after her quickly.
They met Cameron out in the hall, Meeks shoving the boy forward slightly as they huddled around the teacher who stared into the achievement case.
Her eyes instinctively looked at the group, seeing Neil send her a reassuring smile which she returned. Charlie stood apart from them, leaning against the back wall. The teacher waited for them to hush up, smiling when they did. "O captain! My captain. Who knows where that comes from?"
