Charlie, who had escaped death with his conscience intact, and Frank, who had given up on ending his life, sat on the sofa in the room, chatting idly. The Frank before him was no longer the forceful military man, just a kind and amiable old man.
"Do you know what kept me going? It was a dream. One day… forget it…" Frank spoke meaningfully, but in the end, shook his head and gave up.
"What?" Charlie, his eyes still red, asked.
"Very stupid," Frank seemed to be talking to himself. "It was the dream that maybe one day, a woman would hold me with her arms, wrap me with her legs, and when we woke up in the morning, she'd still be there. Her scent sweet and warm." After speaking, Frank paused. "But later, I gave up on that dream." He slowly savored the wine in his glass.
Looking at the colonel like this, Charlie said seriously, "I don't understand why that's impossible. When we get back to New Hampshire, we can go searching. You're so handsome, and you're funny, a great travel companion. You're sensitive, full of empathy."
Frank immediately realized, "Charlie, are you teasing me?"
Charlie couldn't help but laugh, "Yes."
That night, Charlie and Frank returned to New Hampshire. Charlie brought up the school meeting to be held the next day, and it made him very worried. Because his parents couldn't come to attend, he had to face the school's pressure alone, and he hadn't yet decided to compromise. As for George, he had been completely cut off.
Before leaving, Frank, who refused to say goodbye, still couldn't help gently touching Charlie's face, trying to remember the appearance of this young man this way. This surprised Charlie a little, because he still remembered how much the colonel had hated being touched at the start.
After saying goodbye to Frank, Charlie walked into the auditorium alone, facing the turning point of his fate. But just before the meeting began, Frank, who should have gone home, appeared in the auditorium. With Charlie's help, he walked onto the stage and sat in the seat meant for Charlie's father. Opposite them were George and his father, old George, and George didn't even dare meet the gaze of Charlie or Harry everything was just as Frank had expected.
The dean began to question young George on the spot. At first, young George was evasive, trying to excuse himself by saying he didn't wear contact lenses and couldn't see clearly, but the dean wasn't buying it. Under the dean's pressure and old George's coercion, young George finally gave in, "Don't believe everything I say, it was dark, I didn't have contact lenses and all, maybe it was… Harry Havemeyer, Trent Potter, Jimmy James."
George sold out his friends, their other three accomplices, exactly as Frank had predicted. And when the dean tried to dig further, George again sold out Charlie, shifting all the blame onto him. So the dean turned and began questioning Charlie.
"You don't wear contact lenses, right?" The dean wisely confirmed first, and after receiving a definite answer, continued questioning, "With no obstruction to your sight, who did you see?"
At this critical moment, Charlie still couldn't make a decision, because this was the moment that would decide his future on one side was his future, on the other his conscience. He couldn't choose. "I… I saw something, but I… I can't say who."
"Alright, so what did you see?"
"I can't say."
"Can't or won't?" The dean's relentless questioning left Charlie helpless.
"I… I just can't say!"
"Can't, won't, shouldn't you're testing my patience and mocking everyone. I'll give you one last chance, or the consequences will be serious." The dean was already on the verge of rage. "By serious, I mean your future will be permanently harmed." Under such pressure, not just Charlie even George sitting opposite couldn't take it anymore. "Now, I'll ask you one last time, what did you see in the parking lot last Tuesday night?"
"I saw some people." Charlie was finally forced to admit.
"Good! Did you see their body shape and appearance?" The dean saw the light of victory, and Charlie was forced to nod. "Then whose body shape and appearance was it?"
Charlie's amber eyes were filled with hesitation and uncertainty. "Those features…" But just as the words were about to come out, Charlie struggled again, and this time, he knew his final choice firm and unwavering. "Could've been any Baird student, sir." Charlie chose to stand his ground.
The dean flew into a rage. "I don't have a single witness. Mr. Willis's testimony is vague. The clue I'm looking for, Mr. Simms, should have come from you. But… since it hasn't, I can't punish Havemeyer, Potter, or James, and I won't punish Mr. Willis he's the only one who can be called a true Baird man. I'll recommend the disciplinary committee expel you."
"Mr. Simms, you're a sly accomplice, a liar…" The dean's accusation was only halfway through when Frank interrupted, "But not a snitch!"
"Excuse me, what did you say?" asked the dean.
"I won't excuse you," Frank said stiffly.
"Mr. Slade!" The dean's voice was furious.
"This hearing is a farce." Frank's words stirred up the students in the audience.
"Watch your language, Mr. Slade. This is Baird School, not a military camp." The dean no longer wished to argue with Frank. "Mr. Simms, I'm giving you one last chance to defend yourself."
But it was Frank who responded, "Mr. Simms doesn't need to. He doesn't need to be stamped with a label that says 'a true Baird man.' What is this? What is this, really? What's your school motto? 'Boys, betray your friends to save yourself, or burn without a trace'?" Frank's voice, brimming with power, echoed throughout the hall, "Gentlemen, when bullets are flying, some men run, and some stand firm. This Charlie walked through fire, and that George ran to his daddy's arms, and what are you going to do? Reward George and destroy Charlie?"
"Are you done, Mr. Slade?" The dean tried to ignore the speech, but Frank would never agree to that.
"No, I'm just getting warmed up! I don't know who those famous alumni are—William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan, William Tell—who cares; their spirit is dead, even if it ever existed, it's gone. You are now building an ocean liner for carrying snitches, a shipload of sell-out cowards. If you think you're shaping them into men, then you're mistaken, because you're killing the very spirit your school claims to uphold."
Frank easily captured everyone's attention, and his thunderous words left the hall in complete silence, with only his voice reverberating.
"Shame on you! What kind of circus are you performing here today? The only person worthy of praise in this whole incident is the young man sitting beside me. Let me tell you, this boy's character is impeccable, beyond any doubt. Do you know how I know? Someone here I won't say who tried to buy him off. But Charlie would not sell his soul."
The dean finally lost his temper and banged his gavel, "Sir, you've gone too far!"
But Frank stood straight up and thundered even louder, "Let me tell you what going too far means! You don't know what it is! I'd like to show you, but I'm too old, too tired, and god. damn. blind. If it were five years ago, I'd come here with a flamethrower!" Frank slammed his cane hard against the table. "Too far? Who the hell do you think you're talking to? I've seen a few things, understand? Back when I could still see… I saw a lot of younger boys' arms twisted, legs blown off but none of that was as terrifying as a deformed soul! You can't fit a prosthetic on a soul! You think you're just sending this fine young man home with his tail between his legs? Well, I tell you, you're executing his soul! Why? Because he's not a Baird man! Baird man! Hurt this boy and you're a Baird coward! All of you! And Harry, Jimmy, Trent wherever you're sitting… go. to. hell!"
Frank's words stirred the hall again, and the people named could no longer sit still, fidgeting in anxiety. The dean was forced to bang the gavel three times, "Mr. Slade, please restrain yourself!"
But Frank shut him down with one sentence, "I'm not finished!" leaving the dean speechless. "When I got here, I heard something about a 'cradle of leadership.' But when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And it's fallen here. It's fallen. Makers of men, creators of leaders, be careful what kind of leaders you're producing. I don't know if Charlie's silence today was right or wrong. I'm not a judge or jury. But I can tell you this he will not sell out his friends for his future! And that, gentlemen, is called integrity! That's courage! That's the stuff leaders are made of."
Frank's speech even made the dean avert his eyes. "When I came to the crossroads of my life, I always knew the right path. No exception, I knew it. But I never took it. You know why? Because it was god. damn. hard. And now Charlie's come to the crossroads. He's chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path built on principles, leading to the character of a man. Let him continue on his journey. His future is in your hands, gentlemen of the committee a future that is absolutely worth something, believe me. Don't destroy it. Protect it. Embrace it. One day, you'll be proud. I guarantee it."
Frank's passionate words stirred a wave of applause throughout the hall. It started here and there, and then grew into a thunderous ovation. All the students stood, clapping for Frank. Even though the dean kept banging his gavel, he couldn't stop the rising reverence.
The committee immediately began deliberations. Finally, Mrs. Hunsaker announced the verdict, "Mr. Haffmeyer, Mr. Porter, and Mr. James, for involvement in improper conduct, are placed on school probation. In addition, it is recommended that Mr. George Willis Jr. be neither praised nor punished for the manner in which he cooperated. Mr. Charles Simms bears no responsibility for this incident."
At the moment the verdict was announced, all the students stood up and cheered, applauding for Charlie and offering the highest respect to Frank. This was the most important and profound moment of their lives!
After leaving the auditorium, political science professor Christine Daugherty caught up with Frank and Charlie, expressing her admiration for Frank. It was even apparent that she harbored romantic affection for him. When Frank left, his face once again glowed with renewed light.
Charlie escorted Frank back home. As he watched Frank return to the Ross family, Frank, for the first time, smiled at the children he used to scold and push away, kindly calling them into his "no trespassing" room to eat chocolate.
At that moment, Frank's back stood tall once again, and Charlie showed a radiant smile.
....
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