Carpe Noctem - Dead Poets Society

Chapter 2: A late night drive

They'd been waiting hours for news of Neil. Nothing. The silence was deafening, and the boys' breathing was too loud. They'd stopped whispering at some point, because they'd run out of things to say. Todd laid there, awake. Charlie had offered to stay in his room for the night, because Todd didn't want to be alone and Charlie wanted to be away from Cameron. Todd was in Neil's bed, hoping to find some semblance to comfort. Maybe he was hoping that the knowledge this bed was Neil's would be enough.

The only thing he felt was dread, like something horrible was going to happen. Todd had always had some kind of sixth sense for horrible, life changing events. Not that many had happened before, but the few times they had, he was right. Like the time his grandma had been in the hospital, even though she appeared to be doing fine, Todd wouldn't stop crying. It had been her last day alive. He couldn't take it anymore, so he sat up, and made a decision.

"I'm going to see Neil." He announced, getting out of bed and putting his coat on.

"What? Todd, it's... It's a bit late, don't you think?" Charlie replied, slightly annoyed, having been pulled out of his half asleep state by Todd's words.

"I'm asking Mr. Keating to drive me, and I'm going to see Neil." Todd stated firmly, and it was clear he was actually going to do it.

Charlie scoffed, and asked, "You really think he's going to drive you to Neil's house at this hour? Todd, you're getting your hopes up for nothing. Just go to sleep, alright? It'll be better for everyone if you don't wake the captain."

Todd contemplated for a second, taking Charlie's words into consideration. He just looked at Charlie, before leaving the room and walking to Mr. Keating's office. He stopped right outside the office, and almost knocked. 'What am I doing? Charlie's right, I should just let this go...' He thought to himself, about to walk away. He hesitated, but then took a deep breath and knocked gingerly. There was a pause, and then a slight shuffle, before a wide-awake Mr. Keating opened the door. He blinked, taking a second to realise it wasn't a teacher knocking on his door in the middle of the night, but Todd.

"Todd? What are you doing up so late?" He questioned softly, wondering why Todd was up, but knowing it had to be important.

"Mr. Keating, I- I'm sorry... For- for disturbing you so late. And- I know this is a- a very big r-request, but could you... Drive me to Neil's house? I- I need to see him because- I have a horrible feeling that something's wrong, and I have to make sure that he's okay."

Todd said, gaining his courage towards the end of his statement. Mr. Keating simply smiled, glad that Todd managed to find the courage to ask him at all. However, he suspected that the involvement of Neil played a part in Todd's asking too. Mr. Keating grabbed his keys from the desk, the metal glinting in the moonlight as he showed them to Todd.

"Carpe noctem, Todd. We're going for a late night drive."

The car ride was mostly silent, but it wasn't awkward. It was filled with silent determination and worry from both the driver and the passenger. When they arrived, Todd suddenly felt scared. Scared of who might answer the door, scared of Mr. Perry and Mrs. Perry. Scared that he was too late, and the dread he'd been feeling didn't warn him soon enough. He second guessed every decision he'd ever made that led him to this point. He got out of the car, giving a silent nod to Mr. Keating, who gave one in return.

They both knew that it was Todd who needed to do this, because it was Todd's request. That, and the fact that whoever answered the door would be much less harsh towards a kid. It was his choice to do this and ask for help in doing so. The little flakes of ice drifted from the sky, the frost clinging to the trees' withering branches. He walked up to the door, in his pajamas with his coat on. It was freezing, the cold biting at Todd's face, turning his cheeks and nose a rosy colour. He stood at the door for a bit, hands in his pockets and his breath fogging in the air.