At the next meeting of the Dead Poets Society, several things occurred. First, Knox was not present, as he was at Chet Danburry's party. Second, Charlie had two announcements.
"In keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From now on, call me Nuwanda."
Plucking a tube of red lipstick from Camille's hand, he drew red marks on each cheek. Lilith just shook her head and laughed. She did not care what Charlie was called. He was hers and she was his.
Charlie's second announcement was much more controversial. He told them how he had slipped an article into the school newspaper in the name of the Dead Poets, demanding Welton become a co-ed school.
This did not sit well with most of the poets. Cameron went on a tirade about expulsion that made Scarlett almost break his neck.
"He would have deserved it," she told Charlie the next day as the pair waited for Meeks, Cameron, Azalea, and Lilith to finish Calc.
"Yeah, but then you'd definitely be expelled."
Scarlett shrugged.
"It's not like I'd be missing much."
"Oh come on, you'd miss us. And Mr. Keating's class. And -"
"Okay, okay," she laughed. "I get the picture."
"Are you sure you're not mad about the article?" he asked her.
"Honestly, I was about two seconds away from writing something similar and nailing it to Nolan's door."
Charlie laughed. Just then the door opened and their friends joined them, Azalea and Meeks hand in hand. Lilith and Charlie copied them linking hands as the group walked to the assembly.
"What are you going to do?"
Charlie looked down at Lilith.
"Hopefully, not get expelled."
----------------------------------------------------
The entirety of Welton Academy waited as the faculty walked down the steps, several carrying newspapers. Hagar glared accusingly at the row of Henley Hall girls. Lilith and Azalea grabbed Scarlett's arms to prevent her from decapitating their math teacher right then and there.
"Sit," Mr. Nolan told his students coldly.
"In this week of Welton's Honor, there appeared a profane and unauthorized article. Rather than spend my valuable time ferreting out the guilty persons --and let me assure you I will find them - - I'm asking any and all students who know anything about this article to make themselves known here and now. Whoever the guilty persons are, this is your only chance to avoid expulsion from this school."
He stared around the room intimidatingly, eyes lingering for a moment longer on the two troublemakers, Scarlett and Charlie.
The sound of a phone ringing echoed through the hall. Several rows behind the other boys, Charlie picked up a phone receiver.
"Welton Academy, hello. Yes, he is. Just a moment."
Standing up, he held the receiver out to his headmaster.
"Mr. Noaln, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have more girls at Welton."
The student body erupted into laughter. The male Dead Poets sighed and face-palmed. Scarlett and her friends, however, were all secretly thrilled. Welton had just had its blatant sexism thrown in its face.
-----------------------------------------------
Lilith paced nervously in front of her dorm, not listening to Camille and Todd's conversation. Charlie had been immediately taken to Mr. Nolan's office, and according to Knox, most people who went in there never came out.
Suddenly shouts echoed from the corridor. Neil wrenched open his door to reveal Scarlett and Cameron engaged in a full-on yelling match. Azalea was unsuccessfully trying to hold her impassioned friend back as Cameron spewed garbage.
"What the hell?" Neil asked.
Cameron turned to face him, livid.
"I'm just telling the truth-"
"Bullshit!" Scarlett cut across him. "You're telling jaded, sexist lies."
"Scarlett," Cameron said in a condescending tone, "Charlie was wrong. We should not have girls at Welton. They. Are. Not. Smar-"
Scarlett lunged for him, fist at the ready. Camille managed to catch her shoulder and together she and Todd dragged the seething girl into her dorm, closing the door behind them. Neil and Lilith remained with Cameron to scold him.
"What the hell, Scar?"
"I'm sick of it! I'm so sick of it!" she exploded, gesticulating wildly. "Everyone thinks that women are small, and weak, and inferior, and it's ridiculous. We have minds and thoughts. Our job, regardless of what that prick thinks, is not to serve men and fulfill their every whim. No, I'm so done with patriarchal bullshit."
Camille always thought Scarlett was stunning when she was passionate, her eyes aflame and hands gesticulating wildly, unafraid of anyone or anything.
A knock sounded on the door. Camille opened it to reveal Lilith.
"Charlie's back."
A/N scarlett is my feminist icon
we stan
also c*meron is not going to be
redeemed in this story bc he pisses
me off
A/N 1/1/22
okay after a long stint on tumblr I'm
now a cameron apologist but changing that
in this story is too much work
so live with it
most of yall are cameron antis anyway xx
YOU ARE READING
WE ARE GOLDEN--DEAD POETS SOCIETY
Fanfictionit's everything the welton boys had prayed for. girls were attending welton. henley hall's finest students were attending as a result of their excellent grades and slight flair for rebellion (edited and changed 12/31/21-1/1/22, so some comments ma...
