▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʟɪғᴇ ʟᴇssᴏɴs ꒱


❝ THE MITOCHONDRIA IS THE
POWERHOUSE OF THE CELL! ❞

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

A group of students including Shawn, Cory, Topanga and Juliet were crowded around a pinned-up paper in the hall. "Finals!" Cory exclaimed, "oh my God. I didn't even see it coming!"

"Three in one day!" Juliet complained as she quickly read the paper.

"English, Chemistry and History with only ten minutes in between? That's not enough time to study!" Shawn added.

"Cory, do not even try to call me for the next two weeks. I'll be incommunicado," Topanga said firmly before she walked away.

"Wow, that's guts," Shawn commented, "we're studying and she's off to Mexico."

"This schedule stinks, man," a student behind them grumbled.

"Whoa, guys. Guys, calm down, alright? Now, if we devote the next two weeks to studying in the library we got no problem," Cory suggested.

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet did just that. Grades had always been important to her and she had a strong desire to prove her intelligence, so there was no way she was accepting anything less than a B-plus. On one hand, it made her social time very short. On the other, all the time she spent at the library helped her avoid going home. She still was on rocky ground with her mom and the situation was made even more uncomfortable whenever Barron tried to talk to her, so she continued to make it a point to make herself unavailable.

Luckily, some of the subjects were easier for her than others so she worried less about English and History and focused most of her efforts on Math and Science. She brought those textbooks with her everywhere and loose pieces of paper often followed her path, usually covered with numbers from her studying. She was currently reviewing her Science notes when she half-listened to Cory complain (again). "Guys, we got a problem here. I mean, finals start in two days. How did this sneak up on us?"

"I don't know man 'cause these books haven't left my side in two weeks," Shawn answered.

"You know, Shawn, what kind of evil, sick, twisted mind would think of a finals schedule like this?" Cory asked.

Mr. Feeny had wonderful timing. "Hi, gang."

Cory and Shawn stood as the curly-haired boy addressed him, "Mr. Feeny, about this finals schedule. It's either gotta be a mistake or a joke."

"And let's face it," Shawn remarked, "you're not really funny."

"And you're not really studying. I suggest you take a leaf out of Miss Capelwood's book."

"Jules?" Topanga asked as she shook the redhead slightly. "Jules? Pay attention."

Her head jerked up. "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!" She turned faintly pink when people turned to stare. "Sorry."

"You know, if we just buckle down and study I'm sure we would have no problem at all," Topanga suggested.

"I'll tell you when we've got no problem. It's when we get rid of Feeny," a boy named Denny spoke.

Cory laughed until his words registered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean get rid of him," he answered evenly before he stalked off.

"Those guys give me the creeps," Topanga said.

"I'm more afraid of failure," Juliet countered before she returned to her notes.

"Yeah, but we do have a real gripe here. I mean, too much work, not enough time. You know, gang, the only way Feeny's gonna listen to us is if we organize and show strength, right?" Cory asked, addressing the cafeteria.

"Yeah!" everyone cheered.

"So, are you with me?"

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet returned to the public library after school with a slightly disgruntled Shawn following her. "You've been coming here for two weeks! Surely these people are tired of seeing you."

"I have to study, Shawnie," she replied with a roll of her eyes. They stopped at her usual table and she laid her books out. He plopped down the chair across from her and rested his head on his hands, his gaze fixed on the girl. 

It was less than thirty minutes before he spoke again, pouting as he complained: "pay attention to me!"

"Can't, studying," the redhead answered without looking up from her notes. "You don't have to be here, you know."

"I wanna hang out with you."

She tried to ignore the warmth that spread through her at his words (really, she did) but she had to look up. Immediately, she wished she hadn't because oh no, he looked so cute like that, with his dark hair falling into his eyes, the puppy-eyed look he was giving her, his lips pulling into a frown—

Juliet shook her head. Focus. Don't be distracted by your attractive best friend. "I gotta study, Shawnie."

He sighed and reached one hand across the table to lay it flat on the pages of her open book to cover the words. "There, now you can't read."

She huffed and picked his hand up by his wrist (making sure to only touch his jacket as any skin-to-skin contact would make her lose her focus immediately) before she carefully moved it off to the side. Two seconds later, his hand was back on the page. 

She let out a groan of annoyance. "Shawn."

"Julie. You've been studying for two weeks! Everyone knows you're the smartest person in our grade," he whined slightly, "please?"

She turned pink at the compliment. "Topanga's much smarter than me, Shawnie. That's why I need to study. You should too, you know."

"Don't wanna," he answered childishly.

"You're distracting me," she grumbled, "I'm gonna have to ban you from the library."

Shawn quieted then, exhaling so that his breath puffed up the hair that had fallen into his face. He withdrew his hand from her book and placed it back under his chin, only complaining slightly under his breath as he contented himself with watching her admiringly— his expression going unnoticed by the focused redhead.

🌎🌎🌎

With one day left before finals, the kids who hadn't studied were getting anxious, so they— with Cory in the lead— approached their English teacher. "Mr. Turner. Now, we go to school all year and I'll be honest. We don't like it. Now it's the end of the year and we gotta take all these finals about stuff we already learned and naturally, have forgotten about. I mean, why does Feeny like torturing us?"

"Have you got a point, Matthews?" Mr. Turner asked.

"Well, yeah. We're very upset."

"Yeah," the crowd agreed.

"So? It's a tough schedule. That's what school's all about."

"Yeah, but not this tough," Cory argued, "I mean, people are starting to crack."

As he said this, Topanga walked by studying her notebook and chanting: "hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron. . ."

"Panga, wall," Juliet warned her.

She moved just in time. "Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen. . ."

"And she's not even in Chemistry!" Cory exclaimed.

"Feeny's schedule is a conspiracy, man," Shawn spoke up, "it's exactly like the government telling us about the aliens that are living in our old trailer park."

"Mr. and Ms. Monroe," Cory supplied.

"Uh-huh, and their little dog, too."

"Look, Mr. Turner," Juliet pleaded, "it's enough that we have to take all these finals but why does Mr. Feeny have to jam them all together? It's a lot for even those who have studied."

"Yeah," the crowd agreed again.

"It's a reasonable question," their teacher acknowledged, "I tell you what. I'll talk to Feeny. I'll get a reasonable answer."

"Okay," Cory agreed, looking at him.

"What, right now?"

"Yes, please," the redhead answered. There was a brief wait as he spoke to their principal before he returned to the group.

"So? So? Schedule changed?" Cory asked immediately.

"He agreed to listen to one of you, so appoint a leader," Mr. Turner answered.

The curly-haired boy looked down. "Oh, look. A quarter!"

As he bent to pick it up, Shawn grasped Juliet's wrist and pulled her back with the other students. There was a smattering of applause as Cory straightened. "Alright, Cory," Shawn congratulated him, "you're our leader."

"Boy, you guys have to be the cheapest gang I've ever seen," Cory replied.

"Alright, Matthews. But if you can't change that old dinosaur's mind, we will," Denny-from-earlier told the boy.

"Hey, Denny— Denny. I've known this guy since I was in diapers. I mean, I ate his dirt for crying out loud," he answered.

"Yeah, and he hates you," Juliet reminded him, earning a glare from her friend.

"Thanks, Jules."

🌎🌎🌎

There was another short wait before Cory reappeared, causing the students to cheer. Someone from the crowd spoke up: "so, Matthews, what does the new schedule look like?"

"Uh, well, to many of you, it will look much like the old schedule but as your leader. . ." he trailed off, "I got nothing."

"So the old dinosaur made no changes at all?" another person asked.

"'Fraid not."

Denny approached the curly-haired boy again. "Look, Matthews. You had your chance and your way worked for, uh, never. Now it's time to do things my way."

"And, um, what is your way?" Juliet asked tentatively.

"Look, Feeny has made our lives miserable, uh, forever, and now it's time to give him back a little bit of what he gave to us. Are you with me?" He turned to the crowd, who cheered. "Let's go. Let's do it."

"C'mon, Julie," Shawn said as he tugged on her arm.

"But—" she began to protest, though her words fell on deaf ears.

"Shawn, Jules, where are you going?" Cory asked.

"Cory, I hate these exams," Shawn answered.

🌎🌎🌎

"So, while the abolitionist John Brown thought of himself as a hero because of his night raids," Mr. Feeny said, looking pointedly at Denny as he paced by him, "he was eventually captured and hanged by the neck for his crimes. So, with that we conclude the semester."

The bell rung and everyone packed up excepted for Cory, Topanga and Juliet. "Finals are tomorrow. I want to wish you all good luck." Most of the exiting students booed.

"Mr. Feeny, will the chapter on the Continental Congress be included in the test?" Topanga asked.

"Miss Lawrence—" Mr. Feeny began.

"Wait— wait." She held out a voice recorder.

"Miss Lawrence, you've done the work all semester. I have no doubt that everything you need to know, you already know."

"Continental Congress, yes or no?"

"Yes, Miss Lawrence," their teacher answered.

Cory approached him carefully. "Uh, Mr. Feeny? Look, about what happened last night. . ."

"Yes?"

"We were at the library," Cory explained.

"But we— well, Cory— saw what happened after," Juliet added, as her friend had shared the details that morning. "We're sorry."

"No one is accusing either of you. I know you better than that," their teacher replied.

"Look, I think what those idiots did was way out of line," Cory said.

"Yes, Mr. Matthews, I must agree. I haven't always been popular with my students but I've always had their respect. Until last night."

"You know, I'm sure they're just frustrated over their exam schedule," the boy suggested. Juliet (wisely) chose not to add anything.

"Frustrated? You know, Mr. Matthews, forty years ago there was a very small faction of students who were frustrated but the majority of them wanted to learn. Now, with each passing year, I find that the authority and respect have rotted away and now that small faction is the majority."

"Wait, Mr. Feeny," Cory protested, "wouldn't it be easier to just spread the exams out? You know, I mean, it makes us happier and it takes off the pressure."

"Oh yes, but don't you see? That little bit of pressure forces that tiny nugget of education past baseball statistics and girls' phone numbers into a place where you can store it and recall it, and maybe, even someday use it, huh?"

"Oh," Cory said.

"Like turning coal into a diamond," Juliet offered.

"Exactly, Miss Capelwood. You know, Mr. Matthews, at the end of each school year I also take a final exam," Mr. Feeny continued.

"I'm sure you do great at that," Cory commented.

"I examine my effectiveness as a teacher and I wonder: what have I taught? Who have I reached this year? Well, this year, after seeing what was done to my house, I realize that they have finally reached me."

"What do you mean?" Juliet asked.

"I believe the term was 'dinosaur' wasn't it? I'm an old dinosaur."

"Which is a good thing, huh?" Cory tried, "I mean, people love dinosaurs. I mean, you got your Barneys, right? Your Jurassic Parks? They're legendary."

"Mr. Matthews—"

"Don't forget Dino from the Flintstones," Juliet added, pretending to claw at the air in T-Rex fashion and growled slightly as she did so.

"Mr. Matthews, Miss Capelwood, I'm retiring at the end of the year."

"Mr. Feeny—" Juliet protested.

"The official announcement will be made very soon."

Denny and his gang appeared in the doorway. "Hey, Feeny. About your exam schedule."

"Yes, Mr. Burgess?"

"If you don't move it to later in the week we ain't gonna show," Denny threatened him.

"Well, that is your right. And of course, if you don't take the exam, it is my right to fail you, hmm?" Mr. Feeny answered, brushing past him.

"That old dinosaur just doesn't know when to become extinct," Denny commented after he left.

"Shut up, Denny," Juliet snapped.

"What're you gonna do, Capelwood?"

The redhead opened her mouth to reply but Shawn stepped forward. "Denny," he said warningly.

He scoffed. "Man, I wish I could've seen his face when he saw his house."

"I did," Cory spoke up.

"So, you kiss-up, what did you tell him?" Denny demanded, resting a hand threateningly on the boy's shoulder.

The curly-haired boy pushed it away. "Get off me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shawn said, stepping between them. "Easy, easy. Look, Cory and Julie are cool, okay? They wouldn't have squealed."

Cory gave a mocking laugh. "Does that make me cool, Shawn? Is that what makes you so cool?"

The redhead gave Denny a dark look as she passed him. "You're the reason why good teachers go extinct."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys, guys," Shawn tried to get their attention, "lighten up, okay? You're the one who said we should stand up to Feeny."

"Yeah. But Shawn, I didn't say vandalize his home."

"Neither of us were there, Cory," Juliet protested.

"Yeah, we didn't do anything," Shawn agreed.

"Yeah, but you knew about it."

"But what was I supposed to do? Stand up and say 'stay away from Feeny's house?'" Shawn asked.

"Look, you didn't stop them, Shawn, okay? And I think that makes you responsible."

"Me?" the dark-haired boy argued, "you're the one who started this whole thing."

"Then I think that makes me responsible, too," Cory said.

"I didn't want any part of it," Juliet added quietly, "which makes me a bystander and also responsible."

🌎🌎🌎

After school, Juliet joined Cory and Topanga at the Matthew's home to study with them, though a part of her did feel like she was third-wheeling despite the fact that neither of them were dating. Topanga looked up from her notes. "Okay, so tell me about The Great Gatsby."

"It was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald," Juliet answered immediately, "about people living in Eggs. You know, if I named The Great Gatsby, I'd call it The Eggcellent Gatsby."

Cory huffed and pointed towards the door. "The exit's there, you know. And besides," he added, lowering his arm as the redhead rolled her eyes, "that's all wrong. He's obviously the best hockey player of all time. One point for me, none for Jules. Next!"

They were interrupted by Shawn bursting through the door. "They're at school."

"Who?" the redhead asked, startled.

"Denny and all those other jerks. They got a bunch of people with them, too," he explained, "they're up to something. Something bad."

🌎🌎🌎

The four of them ran up to the back parking lot after hearing the shouts of the students and stumbled to a halt just out of view. "Alright, I'm calling the cops," Cory said immediately.

"No, no, no, no. There's no time," Shawn countered, "this is our school. I'm not turning my back. I sleep here every day!"

"Look, Shawn, I know, okay? But the police are trained in handling unruly crowds," Cory replied.

"Come on."

"Alright, I'm right behind you," the curly-haired boy relented.

"Me too," Juliet added, following close behind.

"Denny!" Shawn exclaimed over the noise.

"Hey, Hunter. You're just in time. Dude, here. Take this can and go craz—"

Shawn knocked it out of the boy's hand. "I don't think so."

"Are you gonna stop me?" he demanded, shoving Shawn back harshly. "I didn't think so. Just another chicken." He turned away from them and grabbed a tool to cut the chains on the doors.

"Guys! Come on, why are you doing this?"

"To show Feeny we're not gonna take his stinkin' tests," a boy answered Cory's question.

"Oh yeah we are. We're gonna take his stinkin' tests right off his stinkin' desk," Denny agreed.

"Can you find another adjective besides stinkin'?" Juliet sassed.

"A what?" one of the boys asked before he brushed it off. "Who needs the stuff Feeny teaches anyway? It's all about dead old guys anyway."

"He doesn't teach history, he is history," Denny continued, "he doesn't care about us."

"Yeah, of course he cares about you. I mean, he's trying to push this little nugget of education past your basketball statistics and your criminal record, right here." Cory pointed to the boy's head.

"If you touch my head again I will break your finger," Denny threatened him.

"You see? I learned something," he said.

"Well, that's more than what you're ever gonna learn from Feeny."

"That's not true," Shawn argued, "let me tell you something that I learned from Feeny this year. See, it's cool for you guys to come down to the schoolyard 'cause you got freedom of assembly."

"What are you talking about?"

"Amendment One of the Bill of Rights," came Shawn's prompt answer.

"Shawn?" Juliet asked. He caught the impressed note in her voice and straightened proudly.

"I accidentally read the chapter while you were studying it," he explained.

"Yeah? What did you learn?" Cory asked.

"Well, I learned that they've got the right to peaceably assemble but the second you guys broke that lock, you broke the law and I got the right to call the cops," Shawn replied.

"Why are you guys defending him? What's he ever done for you?" Denny asked.

"You see those bolt cutters in your hands?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well, you see I don't have any in mine?"

"Yeah, so?"

"That's what he's done for me," the dark-haired boy explained.

Mr. Feeny opened the doors. "Breaking down the door to take your finals, Mr. Burgess?" The group scattered at his comment, leaving the four alone. "So, Mr. Hunter, you do listen in class sometimes, hm?"

"Yeah, well, y'know. Some days you're talking so much I can't really sleep."

"Mr. Feeny, what are you doing here so late?" Cory asked.

"I'm preparing your final exams. You're not the only ones who work hard for these tests."

"I hear Feeny's making them real hard to he can cram some more of that knowledge stuff into our heads," Shawn said.

"Oh, if you think these are tough, Mr. Hunter, wait 'till you see what I have in mind for you next year."

"Next year?" Juliet repeated the words hopefully.

"Yes, Miss Capelwood. Perhaps this old dinosaur still has a few hundred million years left in him."

"We gotta be out of high school by then," Shawn remarked.

Their teacher gestured for them to leave but they returned a few moments later to help him clean up the mess.

🌎🌎🌎

After finals were over, the students were much more relaxed— at least, until the exam results were posted. Cory covered his face with his hands as they pressed through the crowd to read the scores. "Oh, Shawn, I can't look."

Juliet used Shawn as a lever to push herself closer to the results, squinting slightly to read: "'C, C, C, C, D.'"

The dark-haired boy gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Julie. I know you wanted to do better."

"Those are your grades, Shawnie," she corrected him with an amused smile.

"Oh! Yes!" he exclaimed.

"A, A, A, A, B. Math, figures," she commented happily, "not too bad."

"Okay, B, B, B-minus, C-plus, B," Cory read off his scores.

"Cory, you did better than you thought," Topanga said supportively.

"You know, this is encouraging," the curly-haired boy raised his voice, "people, studying really is the way to go. Are you guys with me?"

"Yeah!" everyone cheered.

"Then follow me!"

Their newfound enthusiasm didn't last long and soon the crowd found themselves at Chubbie's with their eyes glued to the TV as the Phillies game played. Juliet, who was completely uninterested in sports, closed her eyes and rested her head against Shawn's shoulder to take a well-deserved nap.

[written jan. 2021]
[edited may 2022]