Untamed S2 ep07

UNTAMED

WRITTEN BY

STEVEN JERAL HARRIS

EDITED BY

EMERALD BLUE OKIKI

S2 ep07

Favourites.

I hope I’m not as stiff looking as I feel.

“Ms. Hill, how do the title, ‘From land to sea’, relate to the story?"

"Um…" I bite my lip while I wait for my brain to process an answer. ‘…from life to death’."

"Wow. A lot of my students never have the answer to that one. Good job Miss Hill. You may sit down," he smiles brightly at me.

As I sit back down and the shyness slowly dissolves away.

"In the story the warriors fought on land, and in death their bodies were cast into the sea. Therefore the title, From Earth to sea, is only a figure of speech for, from life to death. What made this book so controversial are the gruesome battles he depicted.

The climax is the most memorable, when the leader of the rival village kidnapped an innocent man. He tortured this man and killed him. He hung him in the highest tree on their enemy’s territory. He carved an x on his chest. He wanted to send them a message. And the message is..." he gives a slight pause to survey the entire class, "...a war is coming. And it will take place here."

An hour later, the students are gathering their belongings and clearing the room. I make my way through the aisle and begin to walk down, but freeze so Kendrick won’t run me over. Professor Grant stares at him bitterly, as he rushes out the classroom with rage.

I step aside and wait patiently for the other students to leave the room. One of the last people to leave is Daniel. Before leaving he approaches Professor Grant and they start having a whispering conversation together.

"What is he doing in here?" Daniel asks lowly.

"I don't know, but I’m pretty sure he won’t be back. His father must be furious right now," Professor Grant replies.

Daniel glances over his shoulder at me then walks out the door with the remaining few. I finally have an opportunity to approach Professor Grant.

"Hello, Miss Hill," his smile returns.

"Hello, I just wanted to say that I loved your lecture on J. L. Lucas."

"Did you now?" he replies.

"He’s my favorite author too. You said your favorite book is from Land to Sea, right?"

"Yes it is."

"Why that book? It’s so depressing, so..." I try to grasp the word in my head but can’t seem to.

"Tragic," he finishes for me.

"Yes exactly."

He walks over to his desk and leans up against it, contemplating my question.

"Well, isn't life?” he explains, “we live in tragic days. Just go home and turn on the television, and see for yourself."

"What about the ending? No one wins the war. The story builds and builds with no big payoff. I mean, come on, he ends the book in a huge cliffhanger. Why tease the audience without a part two?"

He laughs at my statement.

"You must understand he's a symbolic novelist. That's his representation of war. He’s not teasing anyone. Think about it, when a war starts does it really end? That’s why he ends the book in a huge war scene."

With our schedules free for an hour, we settle at some vacant seats and have an in-depth discussion about J. L. Lucas.

"Which one’s your favorite?" he asks.

"That’s hard to say. But the one I found most interesting has to be, the damsel and the knight”."

"Wow that’s upsetting," he tells me disappointingly.

"Why? It’s a great book."

"First and foremost, instead of approaching it realistically, he goes into this fairy tale romance."

"We’re officially enemies now," I say in a joking way.

...to be continued

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