(n.) The pleasantness of a word's sound.
she spoke of nights she would never experience and dreams that would never come true
he found himself clinging onto every word, desperate to make them a reality
[Dead Poets Society]
𝐈...
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 a map, arguing over the best way to get to the cave. "You're not listening. Any questions? Look, you follow the stream to the waterfall. It's right there. It's gotta be like that." Ophelia had sat herself next to Todd, both silently working on their many assignments. Neil walked over to Todd, sat down next to him and asked, "Todd, are you coming tonight?" Todd looked up at him and replied, "No." Neil, looking exasperated said, "Why not? God, you were there. You heard Keating. Don't you want to do something about-" "Y-Yes, but-" "But, but what?" Todd sighed and looked down at the work in front of him. "Keating said that everybody took turns reading and I don't wanna do that." Neil frowned, and softly said, "Gosh. You really have a problem with that, don't you?" Ophelia looked up at Neil and shook her head slightly, until Todd said, "N-No, I, I don't have a problem. Neil, I just... I don't wanna do it, okay?" "Alright. What if you didn't have to read? What if you just came and listened?" Todd shook his head replying, "That's not how it works." "Forget how it works!" Neil exclaimed, "What if, what if they said it was okay?" "What? What, are you gonna go up and ask them if- No, no." "I'll be back," Neil said, darting over to the group to convince them to let Todd join. "Neil? Neil?" Todd called out, but stopped once McAllister told everyone to be quiet. Ophelia looked up at Todd with a slight smile and whispered, "I'd like it if you came." He looked up at her, ears turning red and nodded slightly.
Later that night, Ophelia was once again waiting outside the boys bathroom. She was reading 'the Complete Works of Keats', sitting cross legged with her back against the wall. Someone stopped in front of her, and cleared their throat. She was greeted by the same striking blue eyes that caused her to question her own sanity, wondering why he plagued her thoughts each day. "Hey, Todd. Is everything alright?" she asked softly. He nodded, feet shuffling as her cleared his throat. "I uh... I thought you should know that... that I'm coming tonight." Ophelia jumped to her feet, and wrapped her arms around his neck excitedly. He tensed at first, but slowly relaxed while wrapping his arms around her waist gently. "I'm so happy, Todd. Thank you," she whispered in his ear. She released him gently, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. He nodded and walked away, uttering a "see you later," over his shoulder. "Cut out that racket in there," she heard Hager grumble beside her, turning to her with a slight smile. "Good evening, Miss. Williams. I hope they aren't making you wait too long." She smiled back at him, replying, "No, sir. I'm fine with waiting." He nodded and walked away, muttering something along the lines of "those damn boys". Hager always had a soft spot for the girl. He was one of the only advocates for her having her own room, as well as placing her closer to the staff bedrooms for her safety. He seemed to admire her work ethic and exuberance for learning. She settled down in her previous position, submerging herself in the words of Keats once again. Meeks and Pitts strolled up to her a while later, telling her the bathroom was vacant, to which she went in and did her nightly routine.
