No Ivory Tower

[Wooseog Ryu]

It was nice to give the students a brief recess even when classes were in session. Mr. Wiley had realized long ago in his teaching career that content students were easier to teach than micro-managed students. More so, it gave him time to figure out the students, so to speak; each class was like a little community that operated in their own distinct way. Of course there would be students who hated each other, and lovebirds to distract each other, Wiley prided himself on his ability to seat them on opposite sides of the class.

Mr. Wylie was one of the teachers almost everybody found to be pleasant, unless they gave him enough of a headache. He was a professional looking man in his sixties with a trimmed beard and a tweed coat you'd expect to find in a university. He taught history with flare as well, he related it all to a story, and who didn't love stories?

School was almost over for these students though, tomorrow would be the last day of May, and June is when the students began to power down, but not in this history class. Mr. Wiley had projects to assign for the last month; the students weren't going to get away too easily after all. He had used the five-minute recess to pair up the students for these projects, now he held the list in his hand, and some students watched him like defendants boring into the eyes of the jury foreman. Before Wylie could hand down his verdict, however, he was interrupted. The door opened, and in slipped the last two students returning from their recess. Wylie looked at them from over his spectacles, grinning and shaking his head.

"Miss Harper, Miss Harper." He greeted two girls with a warm familiarity; they weren't the type of girls who could sneak into a class unnoticed. They were referred to simply as the "Harper twins," two girls who might be impossible to distinguish if not for their polar opposite personalities and stylistic choices.

Evelyn Harper was the younger of the two sisters, by exactly twenty-seven minutes, a fact her older sister would never let her forget. Her doe-eyed complexion and elegantly braided raven hair were overshadowed by her taste for a heavy-metal style of clothing. Her two-size-too-big vest was covered in band patches, and bobbed with her as she sauntered back to her seat. Evelyn dipped her head apologetically to the teacher and sat next to a boy who seemed to share her tastes in music. They had been together all year, but Mr. Wiley only agreed to let them sit together when their marks rose.

The second Harper could have been from an entirely different planet from Evelyn. Dahlia Harper approached Mr. Wiley's desk timidly with a softened smile, making the room smell of a sickly sweet perfume. Unlike her sister, Dahlia was a ginger. Her vibrant red waves cascaded under the same waterfall braid that her sister wore, falling just short of her bodice. She wore a distracting pink sundress that drew eyes when she stood at the teacher's desk; she always dressed like some sort of heiress. Reaching into her purse, Dahlia pulled a small slip of paper from the office and handed it to Mr. Wiley.

"Sorry Mr. Wiley, we had to speak to our councilor about transitions, I can stay after class if you'd like?" Dahlia offered the man, who was quick to shake his head and tuck the note away. He could see fake excuses coming from Evelyn, but her sister was never the type to lie to a teacher.

"That's alright, Dahlia, take your seat," Mr. Wiley replied. Dahlia spun around and stopped dead when she looked at her usual seat. Of course, she knew this was going to happen. She had spent the whole semester in the same spot, in front of Evelyn, and next to Andrew Slater, her now ex-boyfriend, who worked for her dad. She had stopped short from telling her father what happened between them, but it didn't mean she was ready to make eye contact yet. After mouthing the word "Judas" to Evelyn, who refused to move with her, Dahlia crossed her arms and slowly made her way to the other side of the classroom. She could hear Andrew and his buddies snicker but paid it no mind as she sat down in her new seat.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit here, sorry." Dahlia whispered to the boy she sat next to. She didn't know many of the people in her class but any of them were better than her ex. She sighed and composed herself, as Mr. Wylie watched the hesitation and second-guessed the pairings he had decided on.

"Well good afternoon everyone, happy to see you all today, I know your minds must be wandering into summer territory." Mr. Wylie greeted, stalling as he crossed off a couple names, and rearranged a couple more. "As you all know, I hate tests as much as all of you, so I've decided against giving you a final exam for this class, and am opting for a team presentation project. I've come up with a list of pairings here. I want you and your partners to think of a topic that captures the essence of the twentieth century; be it the lessons we can take, the way it shaped the modern world we're living in today. Vague enough for you?" He said with a chuckle, before handing out detailed packages. "There are about fifty or so topic suggestions in here, take a look through them after I read out the groups. Get ready to write your partners names down."

Mr. Wylie began to go through the list with mounting anticipation, as he paused between each set of names. Dahlia was the teensiest bit nervous of the outcome, but hoped Mr. Wylie was as astute as he seemed.

"Harper, Evelyn. You're with Dallas Bar-," Wylie was cut off.

"Weow!" Evelyn hollered from the back of the class, giving her boyfriend a playful punch on the arm. Mr. Wylie looked at her from over his glasses and perhaps regretted his choice.

"Thank you for that, Evelyn. And Harper, Dahlia," The teacher paused and looked at Andrew for a moment, "You're going to be with Mr. Darren McCloud for the project, I believe you have found your new seat next to him."

Dahlia breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she found out she didn't have to work with Andrew. She wouldn't have been above groveling to Mr. Wylie for a new partner, but she was grateful she didn't have to. She turned towards her new partner with a polite smile and extended hand.

"Hello. Dahlia Jayne Harper at your service!"

 

[Cerulean]

Well then. He was -this- close to having the project by himself. Didn't have anyone to worry about, and it would just be him doing it. He wasn't much into the classless, teenage gossip that everyone had to swim in around here. What he did know what was the girl was partnered with had just got out of a relationship and just seemed all too pleased that she wasn't partnered up with him. But holy crap that dress was pink. Was that even her favorite color, or did she just feel like dressing up like a marshmallow peep?

Of course, she was trying to be friendly. And she was friendly, from what he seen, but she had never tried to speak to him before. Perhaps her kindness was a facade sugarcoated on so that people would like her...or at least not treat her terribly. Not that it likely worked all time, with how cruel people his age were to those that were different. Something that he knew both sides of.

At this point, he had been staring at her hand for a few seconds. Not wanting to be rude, he reached out and took it politely, but firmly into his own. Returning the smile, he decided to try and be positive.

"Darren McCloud. Nice to meet you, Pinky."

He chuckled and wrote her name down in his notebook, as instructed.

"Did you want to pick the topic, or did you want me to rummage through it?"

 

[Wooseog Ryu]

Ah, Dahlia had seen that face before! It was the face of a student who had wanted to work alone for this project, and how could she blame him? In practice it sounded great, two people meant fifty percent of the work each, right? But Murphy's Law meant one of them would always be useless. Perhaps he thought that of her?

Well Dahlia wasn't about to give Darren the time of day. When she heard his nickname for her, she assumed she had been right. She shushed him quite quickly, and looked around as if she were about to tell a secret.

"Hey, nobody's supposed to know my real name, keep it between us." Dahlia pleaded with Darren, offering him her "pinky" finger in a gesture she found to be quite witty. She chuckled after, before shaking her head calmly. "Actually, it's pronounced Dahlia, but you were close, Cloudy Boy!" She teased him slightly, before turning her nose back to the syllabus that had been handed out. She wasn't known for being shy, but it had been a while since she met anybody new.

Her "clique" was easy to recognize, she mostly hung out with the typical jerks, jocks, preps, and what-have-you, but it was no choice of her own. Dahlia felt proud to not have an inflated ego, but perhaps thinking that was egotistical? Maybe. But today was no time for drama, whoever Darren Mccloud was, they didn't know each other, this was a clean slate for the last month of her high school career. When he asked her about their topic, she simply shrugged.

"Oh, there's just too much to pick from! Humanism, modern warfare, globalization too! It says film studies are an option too, ugh, far too much to pick from." Dahlia griped as she read down the list, Mr. Wylie was giving them a break as he re-wrote the project syllabus on the whiteboard. However, within a few moments, Dahlia perked up, and her finger dropped at one of the suggested topics, and her lips curled into a smile.

"Hey Cloudy. Have you ever seen The Titanic?"

 

[Cerulean]

At least she acted like a human being. Thinking it was some sort of pinky promise, Darren squinted at the nickname and smirked, before hooking the pinky briefly with his own. Letting go of the finger quickly, it seemed that she was right into the business of the project.

They never hung out, that's for sure. His crowd was more of the underdogs. The nerds. The burnouts. The criminals. And likely not exactly very friendly to her type. Darren's clothes, however, were rather unassuming for his position. A buzzcut with a blue t-shirt and some decent jeans that fit him just fine.

Finger down and grin up, Darren knew something was up. When the sentence came out of her mouth, you could probably hear the internal screaming all the way in the cafeteria. It was a cheesy, chick flick, love story. It had all the usuals components. Forbidden love, a jealous ex type, a mother who just doesn't get it....and it was one of his favorite movies.

It was one of his favorites, but one problem. If he said that to her, his rep would come crashing into itself like an iceberg into a ship.

"I have, but it was stupid. Figures a girl would want to do that movie. Fine, but you are doing the research. I will just put what you give me together. Deal?"

 

[Wooseog Ryu]

Darren's indifference was Dahlia's drive. Sure, it may have sounded like a silly topic at first, and maybe an excuse for Dahlia, a girl, to get all sappy over some chick flick, but she was thinking bigger than that, something to live up the expectations Robin had of her.

"Figures a lady would want to do that Movie," Dahlia corrected him again with a cheeky, self-satisfied grin. She lived for banter, and this new partner seemed as if he was going to be a gold mine. She wouldn't pretend she knew him, or what he was thinking, but she felt if she dropped Darren in a room with Andrew and his crowd, they would probably end up having it out.

"No, no, no. We can't chop it up into parts! I mean, think about it, the unsinkable Titanic! It was supposed to be the ship of the future, all the bombast, all the pride. It kind of makes me think of the world entering the twentieth century with its head held high, leaving behind the bleak Victorian era..." Dahlia had a knack for rambling, a habit she considered as unattractive as it was impossible to break. "But two World Wars, a Cold War, and countless proxy wars later, doesn't the twentieth century sound just a bit like a sinking ship?" Dahlia asked, as she scribbled a downward spiral on her notebook.

It seemed like she had zoned out while explaining her ideas, Dahlia brought her eyes up to meet with his again, grateful to see she hadn't put him asleep.

"Oops. I'm rambling again," her cheeks turned a little red and she shrugged her shoulders. "We do the research though, and we put together the project. Sound like a plan, Stan?" Dahlia asked. All the while, she heard her phone buzzing in her bag. Knowing it was Evelyn telling her to ditch her partner, Dahlia shot her twin a dirty look across the room before turning her attention back to Darren.

 

[Cerulean]

"Excuse me, my lady." He said, raising his hands slightly, visual admitting defeat.

As she went into why the Titanic was such an icon in its content and style that it made Darren want to do it all the more. And her insistence just gave him a chance to have to do it without seeming too excited. Seeing her connect the movie with a foretelling symbol his eyes squinted slightly.

"Ok. Fine. We do it all, but I don't have to like it. Personally, I think the best part will be the sketch scene. Or maybe the car scene. Kate Winslet is hot." Excluding that, he would be enjoying every minute. The movie was amazing and it seemed his partner was no slouch. This might be a project that they kick some ass on.

As they meet eyes, he briefly felt like a deer caught in headlights. Her dress suddenly looked like Rose's and they were on the ship. But that thought was quickly pushed away, in favor of writing down a place for her address and phone number. He didn't even notice her look away.

"I want to get this done quickly. We should probably meet at your place to get any other outlying things done. I don't really have room to do something like this. What's your number and address?" He asked directly, with a focused expression on his face.

Diligence was the name. Getting crap done, was the game.

 

[Wooseog Ryu]

Dahlia grinned as Darren corrected himself, bowing her head to him and giggling. She had nothing left to correct him on now.

"Why you're a perfect gentleman," She assured him with a gentle, second long pat on the shoulder. She found his game of resistance and nonchalance to be charming, most guys wouldn't willingly do a project on "The Titanic" without some nudging, but he folded almost too quickly. Maybe he was expecting her to do all the work? Or maybe he didn't mind her movie choice quite so much.

"Kate Winslet is a beautiful woman isn't she?" Dahlia said, choosing a different word to describe the actress. "My favorite scene is when they're dancing below deck, it just melts my heart," Dahlia cooed. She must have spaced out for a second because she came back and found herself staring at Darren, batting her lashes absently as she imagined being on the actual ship.

It was Darren to pull her back down from having her head in the clouds, she clued back in when he was asking for her address, and then her whole face went red. Dahlia's father was a successful man, but more so he was a lavish man. Not only was the Harper house located in the Gold Coast (known for their lavish housing,) but the house itself was too exuberant to describe. She almost felt like she was boasting giving her address, and suddenly became shyer. She wasn't blind to the fact that the wealthy received a lot of judgement.

"Umm..." Dahlia stalled as she reached for her own notebook, decorated with watermarked kittens, her pen was also cat themed. She quickly wrote down her address and cell phone number. "It's 2042 North Stockton Drive," Dahia said succinctly. She scrawled the address inelegant cursive and handed it to him, even drawing a small smiley face.

"Hey. If you have nothing to do today, I'm not busy. We can both go to my place after school? I mean, if you want a head start. I mean, you want it done quickly, am I right? Mr. Mccloud?" Dahlia asked, making it known she was trying to tease him. She had told Evelyn that she would drive her back (Dahlia was the one of the twins who could drive,) but after hearing her giggle along with Andrew, Dahlia was more focused on her new friend.

 

[Cerulean]

Hearing her go into her favorite scene, made Darren want to speak on it more but he had to now keep the the charade even if he didn't want to. It was unfortunate, but image around here mattered way to much not to.

When she revealed her information among a slew of cats, he blinked. Granted, it was obvious Dahila was a richy girl, but that had to be the obnoxiously swanky street among them all. Seeing the smiley face, he shook his head and put the note among his things to look at later.

When the offer of coming over came up, it was more forward than he expected her to be. Still, he smiled. "Sure, as long as your family can handle a colonial rube in their precious manor of gold."