Unconscious prelude to heroic themes,
Heart-breaking tears, and melancholy dreams
Of slighted love, and scorn, and jealous rage,
With which his genius shook the buskined stage.
Communities are lost, and Empires die,
And things of holy use unhallowed lie;
They perish; – but the Intellect can rise,
From airy words alone, a Pile that ne'er decays.
- In Charnwood, William Wordsworth
Adam
It was not that Adam disliked Mr Czerny's lessons, but he was slowly getting tired of having to learn a life lesson every time he stepped inside the man's classroom. In his eyes, not everything had to be profound. Sometimes you could learn about ancient wars and crimes for the sake of learning them.
He was still tired after their little trip to the woods and wanted nothing but to be left to read the course material in peace. But when he walked into the classroom and saw Mr Czerny standing on his desk, he knew that wouldn't happen.
"Why do I stand up here?" Mr Czerny now asked. His left foot was dangerously close to an alarm clock. "Anybody?"
"To feel taller?" Ronan asked, earning some laughs from their classmates.
"No." Mr Czerny tapped the alarm clock with his foot, setting it off. A loud beeping filled the room at once. Gansey was the first to get tired of the sound, as he covered his ears with his hands, looking almost panicked.
Adam himself felt all too reminded of early mornings in the Parrish 'household', with his morning alarm going off and his parents screaming at him for waking them up with it when it was the only way he could make it to school in time.
He clenched his fists to prevent himself from doing something stupid.
Mr Czerny looked between them and closed the alarm off with one quick tap of his foot. He gave Ronan a thumbs up. "Thank you for playing, Mr Lynch."
He stood up straighter on the desk, looking out over them with a grin.
"I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. We have to use many different sources when studying history. We must look as far back as we can, not just to the events of the day. We must try to understand and emphasize with the humans at the centre of it, not only those who were in charge; those who got to speak out without consequences; and those who were the loudest. We need to see the silenced people. And we need to understand their traditions and why things that might not upset us, have upset them. Viewing history from the perspective of our own sheltered lives is never going to help us truly understand the human experience."
Mr Czerny's face had taken on a strained expression as he spoke, holding a hand to his heart. It was so different from his usual chirpy self that Adam couldn't look away, even as he wanted desperately to. The man took a deep breath and plastered on another smile.
"The world looks very different from up here," he said. "You don't believe me? Come see for yourselves. Come on."
Gansey was the first one to his feet, almost running over to the desk, and Ronan was as always right behind him.
"Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. Even though it doesn't fit the way you have been taught to think of the world. Now when you read, don't just consider what the author wants you to think, consider what he doesn't."
Mr Czerny leapt off the desk in one quick moment, landing on his feet gracefully. He turned towards the students now climbing atop the desk and looking around the classroom from their newfound perch.
Gansey once more looked like the king he had when Adam first saw him, his head held high, his chin in the air. His face was so filled with glee that you might've thought he'd already found Glendower.
As Adam stepped towards the desk, his roommate immediately jumped to the ground and hurried towards him. His eyes shone behind those wireframes he used whenever he was reading, which now was at any chance he got as the journal hadn't left his side since the day he first got it.
"I know how we're going to find Glendower," he said as Ronan joined them. And although Adam thought he'd gotten to know Gansey enough to expect anything he said, he was still shocked by the words that followed. "We're going to burrow my sister's helicopter."
YOU ARE READING
Dead Ravens Society
FanfictionAdam Parrish is a new student at Aglionby Academy, where the students are taught four core values; tradition, honour, discipline and excellence. While he has had to work for his place at the school, his roommate, Gansey, is the third of his family t...
