Sugar - Charlie Dalton

15

"No grades at stake, gentlemen. Just take a stroll." Mr. Keating yelled to Cameron, Pitts, and Knox.

They had all been walking in a circle, when they suddenly began to march to the same beat.

"There it is!" Keating smiled as the others clapped. "I don't know, but I've been told-"

"I don't know, but I've been told-"

"Doing poetry is old-"

"Doing poetry is old-"

Clara loved how everyone in the class had learned to have fun with these activities instead of being embarrassed.

"Left, left, left-right-left. Left, left, left-right-left. Left, halt!" The three all stopped in their tracks. "Thank you, gentlemen. If you noticed, everyone started off with their own stride, their own pace."

The teacher began to walk very slowly. "Mr. Pitts, taking his time. He knew he'll get there one day. Mr. Cameron, you could see him thinking, 'Is this right? It might be right. It might be right. I know that. Maybe not. I don't know.'"

The girl laughed lightly as she whispered to her brother. "Would you want to go to town tonight with me?"

Neil smiled and turned back to the class.

"Mr. Overstreet, driven by deeper force.
Yes. We know that. All right. Now, I didn't bring them up here to ridicule them. I brought them up here to illustrate the point of conformity: the difficulty in maintaining your own beliefs in the face of others. Now, those of you - I see the look in your eyes like, 'I would've walked differently.' Well, ask yourselves why you were clapping. Now, we all have a great need for acceptance. But you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go, 'That's baaaaad.'"

The class had began to laughed loudly at the teachers horrible impressions.

"Robert Frost said, 'Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.' Now, I want you to find your own walk right now. Your own way of striding, pacing. Any direction. Anything you want. Whether it's proud, whether it's silly, anything. Gentlemen and lady, the courtyard is yours."

Immediately, everyone began to walk. Clara scanned the area until she saw who she was looking for - Charlie. There he was, resting against one of the school's pillars.

"You don't have to perform. Just make it for yourself. Mr. Dalton? You be joining us?" Mr. Keating asked the boy.

"Exercising the right not to walk."

"Thank you, Mr. Dalton. You just illustrated the point. Swim against the stream."

Clara laughed at the scene as Charlie sent her another wink. To which she blew him a kiss.

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As the twins walked back from their night out, Neil noticed a special someone.

"Todd? Hey."

"Hey."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. Today's my birthday."

Clara immediately frowned. Poor Todd, no one knew anything about the boy.

"Is today your birthday? Happy birthday." Neil smiled as Clara said the same.

The boy smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"What's you get?" Clara asked, taking a seat on the ground next to him.

"My parents gave me this."

"Isn't this the same desk set-"

"-Yeah, yeah. They gave me the same thing as last year."

"Oh." Neil finished, scratching his head.

"Oh."

Suddenly, the older Perry began to laugh. "Maybe they thought you needed another one."

"Maybe they weren't thinking about anything at all. Uh, the funny thing is about this is I, I didn't even like it the first time."

"Todd, I think you're underestimating the value of this desk set." Clara said with a sly smile, picking up the present.

Her brother nodded. "I mean, who would want a football or a baseball, or-"

"-Or a car."

"Or a car if they could have a desk set as wonderful as this one? I mean, if, if I were ever going to buy a, a desk set twice, I would probably buy this one both times. In fact, its, its shape is, it's rather aerodynamic, isn't it? I can feel it. This desk set wants to fly!" Neil laughed, throwing the set in the air and catching it.

"Todd? The world's first unmanned flying desk set." The brunette smiled, handing over the present.

Immediately Todd flung it in the air as the pieces fell down below.

"Oh, my!" Clara laughed as the other two did as well.

"Well, I wouldn't worry. You'll get another one next year." Neil smiled at the other boy who was still laughing loudly.