You Must Remember This

Chapter 9: A Theater So Obsessed

Frank expected more difficulties in selling his act to others, especially those who tended to view everything with a critical eye and did not see him as the reason why they had passed fall semester. Instead, he saw the link to the text shared on Snapchat and the few printed copies he made circulate throughout the school, from student to teacher and teacher to student. For many, it offered a concise guide on how to become their idealized version of Frank: who knew that wearing bright colors and avoiding profanity could improve their IQ? The vanity of the manifesto did not occur to most, who were simply happy to learn; the absurdity also did not occur to most, and the people who noticed were all too happy to pass it along to their friends as a humorous piece. Frank, of course, was deadpan when asked to explain exactly what he meant when he wrote that "paranoia is a sign of intelligence," quoting directly when possible and telling a hyperbolic tale of backstabbers everywhere when not. For those who had not paid much attention to Frank, none of this behavior seemed incongruous; as he clearly was a good person, who were they to question the foundations of his belief? Those who knew Frank to be a kind person, but also realized that a good person in theory and a good person in practice clearly were dissimilar, simply assumed that their own perception was at fault. A few distinct schools of thought began to form, including those who saw the potential for a school-wide phenomenon (surprisingly, this group did not include Frank, at least at first) in the satire and wished to do their part to stoke the flames of confusion, and those who earnestly believed Frank needed to start a lecture series. John read the text during math class methodically, poring over every word and nodding approvingly before passing it to Juliet, who gently but intently pulled it from John's hands and started reading herself.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" John remarked, noticing Juliet's unusual eagerness to begin reading. He put away his reading glasses.

"It's exactly what I had hoped for. I can see he took my advice."

"What advice did you give him?" John was a bit confused: when Frank encountered him before class that day and told him about his latest creative effort, and said because he trusted John's judgment, he would be deeply touched if he were to give it a look-over, it sounded like a spontaneous affair. Something that Frank pulled out of a top hat like a magician. Beth rolled her eyes as she eavesdropped.

"Nothing much, really. I can't possibly take any credit for this. He was tutoring me—you were there, you must have seen us—we talked a bit, and I convinced him it was necessary for him to speak to a wider audience. He was skeptical, you know, but clearly I convinced him."

"It's like you're his Muse. Great work, Juliet. I'm proud of you." John's first thought when he read the text was that Frank had managed to articulate many of the sentiments that John could not have otherwise put words to. What other word but "simpleton" could describe someone like Regina or Louis? John had a particular bone to pick with the latter, and not solely because of Beth. Earlier in Mr. Reinhardt's class, Louis had discovered that something about elementary chemistry did not sit right with him. It made no sense why a proton should be positive and an electron should be negative, or why you couldn't stick all the atoms in a molecule in one long, trailing chain and be done with it. Louis, who was developing a burgeoning sense of his intellectual inadequacy, had turned to his group partners to give him the answers to the questions that Mr. Reinhardt was asking them. Louis tried to remain silent, but Mr. Reinhardt smelled his weakness and made an effort to call on him at every opportunity. After a few rounds of these shenanigans, John thought Louis had to be put in his place, and gave him a mildly unconventional answer.

"Louis, what exactly is a covalent bond?" Mr. Reinhardt asked with a sneer.

"A covalent bond is when two atoms share flux capacitors!" Louis announced with a grin—he was a biology wizard! Mr. Reinhardt looked deadpan at him for a few seconds, then burst out in laughter.