Carpe Diem ▸ Dead Poets Society ✓

twelve

❁

Todd and I were relaxing in his room. Sketching ideas for our poems. I planned on hanging out with Neil and working on it, I had no idea where to start though and Todd was my best friend, and the best writer I know. He doesn't think so, which kills me. I have to remind him all the time.

He was sitting on his bed, and I was laying on Neil's bed, laying down on my stomach with my notebook and pen.

I looked over Todd looked stumped. "Any ideas yet?"

He looked at his paper for a moment. "Not a clue." He looked up. "You?"

I glanced down where I was currently drawing a tree. I looked up and Todd was looking over.
"Nope," He looked harder, "nice drawing."

I giggled. "Thank you. Drawing is my specialty." He laughed.
"I don't know what topic to do, like nature, love, there's so much."

He started scribbling, or writing I couldn't see the paper in his lap. "Well whatever comes to mind and is easiest comes out. It needs to flow, write down as you think. You can always change it later."

I glanced down. I started writing down topics and ideas for each of them.

Neil ran through the door with the biggest smile on his face. "I found it." He pulled a paper out of his pocket, he came over to the bed, sitting the paper in front of me. I glanced down it looked like a play.

Todd looked up, "you found what?"

Neil looked happier than I've seen him in a long time. "What I wanna do right now. What's really, really inside me." His inspiration gave me an idea for my poem.

Neil looked at me, asking if I was done reading the paper. I nodded and he grabbed it and tossed it to Todd.

Todd read the paper out loud. "A Midsummer Night's Dream"?

              Neil looked at Todd. "This is it." I sat up in his bed, notebook in my lap. I leaned against the wall.

      "What is this?" Todd looked at the paper.

               "It's a play, dummy." Neil sat down on the edge of his bed.

   "I know that. I-- Wh-Wh-What does it have to do with you?" Todd looked up.

  "Right. They're putting it on at Henley Hall. Open tryouts. Open tryouts!" Neil lit up.

"Yes, so?"

Neil stands up, grabbing an extra sheet off the bottom of the bed. "So, I'm gonna act. Yes, yes! I'm gonna be an actor! Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to try this. I even tried to go to summer stock auditions last year, but, of course, my father wouldn't let me. For the first time in my whole life I know what I wanna do." Neil walks over to Todd's desk and throws papers in the air. "and for the first time I'm gonna do it whether my father wants me to or not Carpe diem!" He screams in the air.

I look up smiling. Neil looks down at me. "Neil I think this is great, I think you have to go for it. If you don't you'll regret it later." Neil leans on the bed, grabbing my face out of excitement, he smiles. "Yes! Yes! See it's perfect!"