The Library

Seventh Scene

"Sit down," No. 5 ordered, "you're late for class."

'What class?' Gwen looked around and saw everybody was sitting in a semicircle around the speaker, ostensibly to attend class.

"Just sit!" No. 5 rolled his eyes, displeased by the time wasting.

No. 4 and No. 1 scooted over to make room for her. By means unknown, someone had produced a notepad and a pencil, sharpened to a fine point, and the two implements were now getting passed around the group until they reached her.

"What exactly am I supposed to do with these?" she whispered towards No. 4, trying to disturb the assembly as little as possible, but the latter looked annoyed by the interruption and didn't answer.

She sat herself quietly between the two numbers, notepad in her lap.

"What's the class about?" she leaned over to whisper in No. 4's ear again, undeterred by the latter's cold shoulder.

"The afterlife," he answered curtly.

"The what?"

"Shhh!"

"Do you have anything to contribute?" No. 5 asked her directly, trying to put this class disturbance to good use.

"I believe I do, yes."

"Oh, you do, do you? How? Have you been? By all means, enlighten us!"

"No. 5!"

The latter waved off the protest with a bored hand gesture and signaled her to continue.

"Are we in agreement about the existence of the unconscious?"

"As opposed to..." No. 5 retorted.

"Human consciousness being consigned only to the rational realm."

"We reluctantly acknowledge the unconscious," No. 5 frowned. "If for no other reason than that it makes itself manifest all too frequently, and always in the negative."

"Then you may consider the possibility that the collective unconscious exists as well," Gwen continued.

"No! No! Absolutely not!" No. 5 got instantly infuriated. "We're not even going to discuss this nonsense!"

"It's not nonsense," No. 6 protested. "Just because you have an opinion about it..."

"It's not an opinion! The Easter Bunny isn't real either!"

"By that logic, neither is love!"

"We know that for a fact!"

"So," No. 1 intervened, "love does not exist. Remind me to save you a seat at the Diogenes' club." He turned towards Gwen and added. "Which reminds me to tell you your generation did not invent youthful rebellion. It's as old as time."

"Even more proof the collective unconscious exists," No. 6 added with an ironic smile.

"Let's allow her to finish her argument, shall we?" No. 3 pleaded.

"That's right, we're going to teach her rhetoric and debate by starting with false premises!" No. 5 brooded.

"Continue, my dear," No. 4 turned towards Gwen.

'Why are you taking a rhetoric class?' she mused.

The group burst instantly into Homeric laughter that lasted for quite some time, during which she tried to make herself small and inconspicuous, but good luck trying to hide anything taller than a rock in the desert.

When the laughter finally subsided, No. 3 replied.

"We're not taking the class, silly! We ARE the class!"