Incandescently | Dead Poets Society

Four

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated." Oscar Wilde

"Elizabeth?" I hear Neil's voice call out from behind my door in a hushed whisper, sounding confident and excited at the same time, "are you ready?" The door to my dormitory room opens and I hear Neil's footsteps walk inside, then stop. When I turn around, I notice how wide his eyes are, and his mouth gapes open slightly in a stretched smile. A small chuckle falls from my lips at his reaction to my outfit, or lack thereof, as it is just my black lace evening dress.

He stammers slightly before he utters a compliment, his eyes glancing up and down my figure as I reach for a jumper in my wardrobe unit; a similarly dark colour to my nightdress finds itself in my hands and as I lower it over my head, I feel Neil's eyes still focussed on my figure. "Weren't you ever taught how impolite it is to gander at another?" I ask, keeping my tone light and playful, to which Neil's response is a second stammer before he just chuckles and leaves the topic alone.

"I am ready now," I finally respond, turning back to face Neil after buckling up my black heeled wedges and pulling up my lace trim, over the knee socks also. "You look beautiful," he murmurs as he leads me out of my bedroom, after which I softly shut the door that leads into my room. I follow behind Neil as we meet the rest of the group, of whom almost all of them take several long glances at my figure; most notably Cameron, who fails to disguise his gaze and I notice practically immediately. Yet surprisingly, Charlie deters them to look away, sending me into a momentary pause of shock that I come back from as we all start to make our way out of the Academy building.

"Guys act like they've never seen a girl before, honestly they can be such idiots at times," he mumbles, staying relatively close to my side. "Please, it does not matter, I remain un-offended," I respond and I see Charlie's eyes shift slightly as we sneak out into the darkened field, confused and intrigued. "How and why do you speak so... proper? And you've got such a strong English accent, did you grow up there?" He questions whilst we continue to follow behind the rest of the group, who head the journey with their flashlights lighting the path up for us all.

"I was born and raised in England, but have only recently been here in America with Father," I answer him, "so the accent has always been the same, and for the way I communicate, I don't think I could give a definitive answer for that. I suppose being around Mother and Father influenced my manner of speaking, Mother especially," I feel my cheeks brighten as a smile grows on my face, "she has always been well-spoken and well-mannered." Charlie proceeds to question more about Mother, and I happily answer them all; from her outward appearance, her career as a university professor back home to the parts of her love tale with Father that I know.

By the time I have revealed how Father and Mother met one another, and how the love that they share together has blossomed since I have had knowledge of their fondness, the cave has been discovered by the rest of the group. Once we are all inside, and the attempts to create a small fire within the cave have failed, Neil clears his throat and catches the attention of everyone in the group. I take a seat beside Charlie, as Neil officially reconvenes the Dead Poets Society, just before he takes a short drag from a cigarette.

"The meetings will be conducted by myself and the other new initiates now present," he continues, "Todd Anderson, because he prefers not to read, will keep minutes of the meetings." I glance over to Todd, who seems to still be holding himself back from the rest of the group, but Neil gives him a considerate smile before he continues. "I'll now read the traditional opening message by society member Henry David Thoreau." Then, he begins reading from a book in his hands that I recollect seeing on Father's bookshelf before.

"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately... I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life... and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived," he recites, before mumbling something about Father marking other pages within the book for potential reading. Charlie calls out for an intermission, and almost orders Meeks to place his coat upon the slightly muddy floor to mimic a 'picnic blanket', then everyone chucks out various little things: raisins, biscuits, apples, cigarettes and half a roll.