Boys Don't Cry

Early in the Morning

[Less climatic than Rostock, but we need to introduce Near. Still taking requests!]

Nate was always a good student.

He excelled in Mathematics, although he kept high marks in all subjects. However, he detested English.

It was a shy summer morning when Ms. Lawhorne came to Mr. Ruvie's office to discuss a certain Nate River.

"He challenged me! He had perfectly valid reasons for doing so, too! This really isn't about his behavior, it's about how he's just so ahead of the class. He would probably benefit more from something more structured to his interests..."

"Miss Lawhorne, you're rambling. I know he's very... different, even by our standards, but I'm not about to pull him from a core subject."

"You don't understand! He reminds me of... L? Was it?"

"Yes, yes, now run along. We can discuss this when you have concrete reasons to reccomend his removal from your course."

"Yes sir."

The following day, the lesson was on plot diagrams when a white sleeve lifted into the air.

"Yes?"

"I don't understnad why we need this. I feel that we all know the elements of prose, so why would we learn this to confuse us?"

He stared into her face with this light eyes, right index finger twirling a curl of his flaxen hair.

"It's not to confuse you, and some people find that it helps."

"I beg to differ, Ms. Lawhorne. You said that no one got it perfectly correct on the assessment, which is why you wanted to review it today-"

"Nate, go sit in the corner. I'm sorry, but you can't be disrupting... my class..."

He got up promptly with his paper and pencil and planted his bottom firmly onto the seat of the other desk. He remained there for the rest of the hour- his peers gawking and staring at him between every sentence the young woman said. Just as he was about to leave with his books after the bell, Ms. Lawhorne called him back.

"Nate, please come here. I'd like to talk to you."

He turned on his heel to face her and came calmly to her desk.

"Listen, I'm sorry I put you in the corner. The diagram teaches to think about these kinds of things without really registering it, making the identification of things like climax easier. It teaches the student how to think critically- It teaches thought. It is kind of stupid, but it's addressing something as abstract as thought... do you get what I mean to say?"

"Yes, I understand."

She wanted him to express something, anything she could offer consolation for. She wanted him to know what she wasn't trying to discourage his questioning... she knew it was what he was good at. Finding answers through answers to other questions.

"But, I needed to punish you to assert my authority to the other students. I can't just let you walk all over me, it's unprofessional. I'm really sorry, but I'm glad we have this understanding now, right?"

He nodded and mumbled a goodbye before he hurried off to his next class without asking for a late pass.

At recess, she was taking a walk, skirting the concrete inner courtyard with a lazy breeze stirring her skirts. Near was sitting by himself, building a model of the Hubble telescope on a placemat of butcher paper from the art room.

Patiently, he glued pieces together, a tiny smile creasing his face. When he was finished, a group of eleven and twelve year olds began to inquire him about it. Sensing a bit of trouble, she began to stride towards them.

"That's stupid. Why don't you go play tag with the other first years?"

Truth be told, they would have never approached him had L been present. Most residents fear him out of the unknown.

"I'm not a first year, I'm a third year..."

"You're really short for a third. You're probably lying."

Mocking him, the rightmost boy reached for the model with greed, Nate did nothing at all-

"Stop! Go play squash, get on out of here!"

She shooed them away, and Nate collected his untouched model and rose, preparing to follow them.

"No, not you. I didn't want them to break it. I like it a lot... what's it called?"

"The Hubble telescope..."

"Oh yeah..."

Picking up the butcher paper, she pulled him gently into the building so they could set it somewhere.

"Do you know where we can put it?"

"I don't know..."

"Well, do you want it?"

She asked him patiently, enjoying his gentle replies behind- oh, just to think of what he could think was enough to make her hurt to think! Think, thank, thunk, indeed.

"No."

"May I have it? It would look nice in the classroom, everything is very boring, don't you think?"

"Yes, you may have it."

They walked together to place it on top of her bookshelf, and he turned to leave again.

"Nate?"

He turned his head to face, her, dropping his other hand.

"Thank you. I enjoyed talking to you."

"You're welcome. Goodbye, Ms. Lawhorne."

And, he finally left as she admired him. She wouldn't admit it, but she had high hopes for him. And, she couldn't shake the similarities he had to L... the feeling just wouldn't let up.