chapter ii
chapter summary: in which gale teaches her class about tragedy and love, she forces her nephew to get friends and sees a familiar face.
word count: 1k
notes: hi this was quick because i wrote this instead of doing homework
playlist cast ao3 chapter i chapter ii
“Now, what makes Romeo and Juliet not a romance but a tragedy?”
Gale leaned against her desk with her hands holding onto the ridge. Her fingers tapped the surface in sync with the raindrops against the roof. She overlooked her sea of students. Some of them just stared back at her with their eyes fluttering, trying to stay away and others stared down at the ground. One of her students raised their hand and Gale pointed at them to answer.
“Yes, Diane?”
“Because they both die in the end?”
Gale nodded. “Yes, exactly.”
She jumped off the desk and stepped forward. “They were so close to reaching their love story. If Romeo just waited a few seconds for Juliet to wake up, they would have gotten their happy ending, but they didn’t. Romance stories are more of how we want love to go. We don’t want our love stories to end with sudden death. I mean, the play ends with the quote: ‘For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo’.” A story of more woe, in ways, that means tragedy. Can you think of another prominent tragedy?”
Gale gazed at a student in the back who clearly was on their phone and had headphones in. “Daniel?”
Daniel dared not to look up. It took his friend, Marty, to smack his shoulder that made Daniel look up and stop his music.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Can you name a tragedy?”
“…Romeo and Juliet?”
The class roared with laughter, but Gale silenced them with shush and a yell of “quiet!”. She smiled, not wanting to embarrass Daniel.
“Can you name one that isn’t Romeo and Juliet?”
It took Daniel a second before spitting out. “Eurydice and Orpheus?”
“Yes! That’s perfect, Daniel!” Gale shouted with excitement. “For many who don’t know, in Greek mythology, Orpheus went to the Underworld to retrieve his love, Eurydice. Hades said he could if he travels throughout the Underworld without looking behind him to check if Eurydice was behind him. Much like Romeo, Orpheus was so close to his happy ending but he looked behind to see Eurydice behind him, breaking his promise. Following that, he fell into despair.”
Diane asked. “So, ma’am, tragedies can have love in it, but love stories can’t have tragedy?”
Gale thought for a second before answering. “I mean like every story, there is going be sad parts but love stories don’t end in tragedy-“
Before Gale could continue, the bell rang, causing her students to rise from their seats and run towards the door. She yelled over the bell. “Remember your papers on Romeo and Juliet are due by Wednesday. If you need any help, let me know!”
The crowd of teenagers left the room. As Daniel was about to leave, Gale said his name. He turned with his headphones in. Gale gestured to take them out and he followed.
“Great work today, Daniel.” She said. “Just to let you know though, if I see you on your phone and headphones in again, I will take your participation points off.”
Daniel sighed. “Got it.”
“Hey.” She reassured. “I know you’re a smart kid and I want you to show it off. I mean, when I was your age, I wouldn’t have even thought of Orpheus and Eurydice.”
He smiled back and walked out of the room, passing Troy in the doorway. Gale stared at her nephew and sighed. “Troy, what are you doing here?”
Troy stepped into the room. “What? Can’t I have lunch with my favorite aunt?”
“I’m your only aunt.”
“Exactly!”
Gale rolled her eyes. “Please, go have lunch with the other kids-“
“Excuse me, I’m sixteen-”
Gale snapped. “Exactly. Please, be social. Hell, go to a party this weekend.”
Troy gasped. “But what about our Doctor Who binge?”
“We can watch David Tennent some other time.”
Troy wrapped his arms. “Fine, if I’m going out, you do too.”
“No, no, I’m the adult here, you listen to me.”
Troy scoffed as he waved goodbye and left. Gale waved back and smiled before folding up her papers. She stared out the window. The rain continued to pour against the window. The clouds covered the sky. It made her want to fall asleep again. She shut her eyes for a second and opened them but suddenly, the wilderness was gone.
Instead of the trees and rain, there was a library. Shelves lined each side but in the middle was a gorgeous staircase that led up to a throne. A raven sat on the top, peering over the room. Behind the throne, stain glass windows let sunlight shined through.
On the steps sat a familiar face. The pale person from Gale’s dream this morning. But instead dressed in 19th century clothing, he wore a normal black t-shirt with black slacks and a long, black cape that fell behind him like a waterfall.
Gale stood up in amazement, walking towards the window. She breathed in and out. This had to be a dream too right. This had to be real right? She put her hand to the glass of the window. Suddenly, she heard a voice yell, “Morpheus, look!” Then, the raven flew to the person’s side. Who Gale believed to be Morpheus looked up from the ground and stared right back at Gale. The two locked eyes.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my library?”
His voice was the same as the dream or memory she had. It was quiet but still gruff. She took a step back away from the glass as he stepped closer. He started closing in. Gale wondered what he would do if he broke the glass between them, but she didn’t want to know. She wanted to get out of here, out of this dream or nightmare. When she was a kid, Gale always clicked her heels together three times, like in the Wizard of Oz, to escape her dreams or nightmares. And that’s what she did to escape. She quickly clicked her heels together and closed her eyes. She opened them and instantly heard the rain pour. There, in front of her, the trees were back and no Morpheus in sight.
