You're Not Enough

Chapter 12

"Well, uh, Hamlet is basically contemplating suicide on and off throughout his soliloquies. He compares death to a night of deep sleep, so he thinks death wouldn't be so bad. Uhm, Hamlet wants to kill himself because he feels betrayed by his mom. After all, she married his uncle so soon after his fathers death. Even though Hamlet wants to kill himself, he is scared because he doesn't know what death will bring."

One of the boys makes a yawning sound interrupting my words. I look up from my paper; it was Ryder who made that noise. The class starts to laugh. His eyes directly are on me, and a smirk creeps at the side of his mouth.

"Mr. Adams, show a little respect, would you?" Mr. Brooks says, irritated. "Continue, Jayda."

I take a deep breath before continuing. "Later on, Hamlet wants revenge for his father's death. He figured out that his uncle Cladius was the one who killed his father, and now he wants to kill him. But hes at a crossroad; if he kills Claudius, Claudius could possibly go to heaven, then killing him will not avenge his father. That is pretty much the point of his entire speech. Hamlet is really seriously considering questions about life and death, and what it means to live, what it means to die. That is the main frustration in his soliloquy, which also is the main frustration in everyone's life. Will we die and go to heaven? Will we die and go to hell? Or will we die and simply go to sleep? No matter how bad life is, we're prevented from doing anything about it because of the fear of the unknown... death."

I fold my paper in half and put it down to my side. I look up towards the class. Mr. Brooks is sitting at the empty desk In front of me. He stands up and claps, applauding my words.

"Well done, Ms. King, really. I don't think I could've explained it any better."

He pats me on my back as I walk away, heading back to my seat.

"Well, while the rest of you get Fs Jayda here will be getting an A. It's only her second day back, and she has a higher grade than any of you." He continues. "Jayda made the story of Hamlet real. She compared his thoughts to our thoughts today. She turned a fictional story into her own interpretation. She made it authentic." He looks around the class. "Maybe Hamlet was a little too tough for you guys. Maybe you weren't ready to dig deep into the topic of death." He walks behind his desk. "I was thinking about switching the lesson plan I've chosen for the rest of the year, but I've decided against it. Instead, I will continue with the original plan, understanding Shakespeare, but I will change the story."

I'm a little upset hes changing the story; going over Hamlet would have been an easy A for me since I know it like the back of my hand.

"I was thinking to myself, what is one Shakespearean story everyone knows? What is one Shakespearean story everyone will understand? What is one subject we all can relate to?" He opens his desk drawer and pulls out a book; he then walks around his desk and stands in front of it. He flips the book around and holds it in the air; it reads. Romeo and Juliet.

He says the words at the same time I say them in my head. The girls in the class get excited, and the boys groan.

"I'm pretty sure no male in here understands that story." One boy yells.

"And why is that?" Mr. Brooks says.

Instead of the first boy responding, Ryder does."What boy in their right mind would kill themselves for a girl. It doesn't make sense."

"And why doesn't it make sense, Mr.Adams?" Mr. Brooks raises an eyebrow to him.

"It just doesn't; it isn't supposed to make sense right; its a fictional book that was written thousands of years ago. Nowhere near this time or generation." Ryder fires back. No one in the 21st century would die for a girl, let alone kill themselves because they cant be with them.