CHAPTER NINE!
( WIFE WITH SHINY PEARLS. )

   THE SCHOOL DAYS seemed to be getting longer, and the evenings brought mountains of homework. That Thursday, Joan and Violet sat in the back of the library, pouring over their homework. Joan wanted nothing more than to shut her eyes and fall asleep right there. Knox, Meeks, Cameron, and Pitts joined them after a while, but ended up leaving earlier than them to just work in their rooms.

"I'm gonna go up too, I just finished chem, I'm sorry," Violet said, standing up.

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," Joan nodded, only three quarters through her chemistry.

After mere moments, Charlie ran into the library, moving like a tornado. He spotted Joan and grinned, dumping his bag on the table.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"Nice to see you too, Joey," he smiled. He pulled his notebook out of his bag to reveal his chemistry assignment, absolutely empty.

"You're just starting that now?" she laughed, "Good luck."

"Well actually, I'm really glad I ran into you here. I was wondering if you could give me the answers," he asked giving her puppy dog eyes.

"No," Joan said, using her pencil to turn his face away from her paper.

"What? C'mon," he groaned.

"No, Charlie I've been working on this since school ended, there's no way you're getting out that easily," she stated.

"It's not my fault I go to this damn school," he sighed, opening up his chemistry textbook.

"Not mine either, but it's still a privilege that a lot of people don't have," she reasoned.

"Well sure but I'd rather give that to someone else," he muttered.

"Do you realize how lucky you are? You hardly have to worry about your grades anyway because your dad has the money to bail you out of anything."

"You think I want that? It's so suffocating. I mean, everything I do has a price on it."

"I know the feeling," Joan paused, "Do you ever feel like nothing's really up to you? I mean, my entire future is already decided for me. I just can't stand the idea of me ending up just like my mother in some stupid old house going to weekly book club meetings just to gush about how perfect my life boring is in hopes it'll help me move up the social ladder." Joan looked up at Charlie for a second, confused as to why she just told him that. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I can't stand the idea or being a balding banker who never takes off their suit and tie, wasting away in an office. I don't wanna come home to perfect catholic kids named Frederick and Walter and a wife who always keeps the house spotless. I definitely don't want to be the guy who talks politics while smoking pipes with a bunch of phonies either," he laughed, shaking his head.

"Your dad wants you to be a banker?" Joan asked.

"Oh yeah, he won't hear anything else. How about you? You seem like you could make a fair lawyer."

"I'm supposed to be a wife with shiny pearls, basically."

"Well then what the hell are your parents making you taking all these classes for if they don't even want you to get a real job?"

"Well educated women marry easier apparently, and more importantly marry rich," she laughed dryly.

"That is so unfair!" Charlie exclaimed, straightening his posture, "I mean, you have three times the potential I do and still you're the one who's supposed to be a housewife?" He held his hands up and shook his head. "Well what do you want to be?" he asked, suddenly very interested in what she had to say.

"First of all, three times is very generous, I think I'd leave it at double," she teased, "And I think I would like to be a lawyer, maybe go to Yale?" she nodded. "Or maybe a painter in some remote village off the grid."

"Ooh painter? I didn't know you liked to paint. I know you'd be good at law, like I said. And why not both?"

"Well I mostly just sketch, painting takes way longer and we never really have time for that here. What do you wanna do, like when you're out of here?"

"I just wanna play the sax, maybe in clubs or something where the people aren't all faking their smiles," his eyes lit up as he imagined it.

"The sax? You play the sax?"

Charlie just shrugged with a smirk on his face. After a moment he spoke again.

"We've gotta change this, it's so stupid. How can we switch the narrative?" he wondered.

"I mean... I have an idea, might not be big but it could do something. Wanna do something that would make Nolan really mad?"

"Did you really just phrase that as a question?"

"Okay great, we'll do it tomorrow," she nodded.

"Do what?"

"My idea. I don't wanna tell you yet and give you all those hours to change your mind," she grinned.

"Well now you're scaring me."

"I'll come up to your dorm in the morning and we can talk about it," Joan smirked.

"Oh no that's not gonna work I don't wake up until five minutes before breakfast," Charlie shrugged with a smile.

"Wake up twenty, alright? It won't take long. I know Cameron is out of your room and in the library by six or something so it's perfect," Joan stated.

"Alright fine, but that's fifteen minutes of sleep I'm losing for this secret plan of yours," he groaned. Jo shook her head and smiled, hitting his arm lightly.

"The answer to the first one is covalent bonds," she said suddenly.

"What?"

"Covalent bonds, take it or leave it," Jo repeated, looking back down at her chemistry paper. Charlie smiled and wrote it down.

"I'll help you with trig later to pay you back,"

"Sure you will," Joan laughed, patting his arm.

❦

"Open up!" Jo knocked on Charlie's door for the third time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" A groggy voice came from the other side of the oak. Charlie swung the door open, still rubbing his eyes. His hair was a mess, very different from the perfectly combed look he usually wore. His eyes were still dark with sleep and cheeks were rosier than usual. Jo swallowed as she stood outside the doorway, not used to seeing him so casual. She even thought he looked more handsome like that, when he wasn't trying to be. "Come in," he motioned to the room. Jo nodded and stepped inside. One could clearly see which side belonged to Charlie and which to Cameron.

One side of the room had a perfectly made bed and a desk with a neat stack of textbooks and a shiny typewriter. The walls were bare and a pair of slippers were tucked neatly under the bed.

The other had a bed that was really just a knot of blankets and sheets, the pillow was folded in half and there was what looked to be a cigarette and piece of crumpled paper tucked behind the mattress. The desk was covered in papers, some with obscene drawings, some with sheet music, some with half written poems, and then some with homework and schoolwork underneath. There was a record player where Cameron's typewriter would be, and the typewriter was sitting on the floor beside the bed. His textbooks and other random books were kind of strewn around the room, not having a specific place. The walls were covered in poems and music and a couple pictures of Marilyn Monroe.

"This where you sleep?" Jo asked, pointing to the bed that looked like it had been made by a professional.

"Ha ha," Charlie said sarcastically. He tried to straighten out his bed quickly, but almost ended up making it an even bigger mess. He then seemed to realize that some of the things on his desk were less than appropriate and shoved the papers into the top drawer of his wooden desk, ripping some in the process. "Sorry," he muttered, "Maybe just sit at Cameron's desk?"

"It's okay," Jo laughed, leaning against the wall. "Don't they do room checks around here?"

"Sometimes. We're at the end of the hall though, so I usually get at least ten minutes warning to throw some stuff in the closet. Cameron's super uptight about that stuff so he always comes running when he hears they're doing room inspection," Charlie laughed, shaking his head.

"Clearly," Jo grinned, looking at the neat freak's desk.

"Alright, so what's your master plan?" Charlie asked, grabbing his comb and running it through his hair a few times.

"You're gonna wear this," Jo said, pulling a skirt out of her bag, "I think it should fit you, it's a few sizes bigger than mine."

"You think I'm gonna wear that to class?" Charlie chuckled, thinking it was a joke.

"Yes, and I'm gonna wear your pants. Right now I'm just praying you do your laundry," she grinned.

"As a matter of fact I do do my laundry, thank you very much," Charlie said indignantly, still hesitating to agree to Jo's plan. "Look, Jo, I dunno." Charlie rubbed his hands over his face.

"Why should a piece of clothing dictate who you are? Who I am? You'll probably only have to wear it for a total of five seconds before you get told to change anyways. You have..." Jo checked her watch, "...ten minutes before breakfast, so decide now. It's okay if you say no, but can I still borrow your pants?"

"Fine, fine I'll wear it," Charlie threw her a pair of trousers and grabbed the skirt. Jo smiled broadly and started to leave the room.

"Hold on, can we walk in together at least?" Charlie asked, holding her arm. "Let's go in at the same time."

"Yeah, sure," Jo nodded.

"So just change here, I won't look I promise, I'll go brush my teeth and stuff," he offered, grabbing his toiletry bag.

"Alright," Jo nodded, walking over to the corner of the room as Charlie clicked open the door and left the room. Once she had put them on and he came back, Charlie changed into his new uniform, but he assured her she didn't need to leave the room because he didn't really care if she looked or not.

Jo surveyed his new look, "You look great, you really do. That's not sarcastic," she smiled, smoothing down the sides of his jacket.

"Same to you, Joey," he grinned. He opened the door and stepped outside, dragging Jo with him. She could hear his breaths becoming a little quicker as they got closer to where the people were, he was nervous.

"Hey, Charlie, when have you ever cared about what people think of what you do?" she stopped him.

"I don't," he stated, looking down the hall.

"The look on Nolan's face is gonna be so worth it," Jo nudged his arm and kept walking. Charlie followed until they were at the dining hall.

They stepped inside and did everything as they normally would. Charlie went to sit with the boys and Jo went over to her table. Not even a full minute after they entered, Jo could hear Cameron laughing out loud and they were getting many stares, mainly pointed at Charlie. She felt kind of bad for getting him to do this, a boy in a skirt was worse than a girl in pants, but she also just wanted to show the administration and more importantly the students that the roles could be switched. Charlie was a popular guy, so it wouldn't be considered as strange with him on board.

"What the hell is that?" Dr. Hager's voice rang through the hall. Jo was right, they hadn't even sat at their tables yet and they were already getting in trouble. Charlie turned around and grinned as one by one the teachers stood up with horrified expressions. Charlie looked at every one of them, each disgusted gasp fuel to his fire. Somehow he was getting more confidence from all the attention. He looked at Jo and then directly at Nolan, whose face was the most comical of all, and then he curtsied. The staff and some students looked like he had just murdered someone, while some laughed. Jo grinned and looked at Mr. Keating, who was smiling with a sparkle in his eye. His eyes flitted between Joan and Charlie proudly.

"What's the damn difference?" Jo shouted, "Who decided boys should have to put their legs in two cylinders everyday and girls in one?"

"You two have three minutes to get changed and get to my office or the consequences will be even more severe," Nolan yelled from his seat. Jo suddenly felt very afraid and left quickly, making eye contact with Violet on the way out who gave her a reassuring thumbs up.

Jo and Charlie did as they were told, Charlie revelled in the spotlight a little longer than she did though.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll take the blame alright? Nolan doesn't like me anyways," Charlie patted Joan's shoulder as they walked down the hallway to Nolan's office where the cold blooded creature was waiting. He could tell she was scared.

"No you won't, I basically made you do it so I'll take it."

"You did not make me, I chose to. Look, what do you say we split it, 50/50?" Charlie laughed, not really fazed by the imminent threat of punishment. He held his hand out for a handshake. Jo managed to crack a smile and shake his hand, her heart still beating quickly. They reached the doors and pushed them open, Charlie patted Jo's shoulder once more before they stepped inside.

"I don't even know what to make of you two. The stunt you pulled today was unsolicited and profane. One of Welton's rules, which is one of the reasons it is the finest preparatory school in the United States of America, is that students wear specific uniforms. You knew this, but broke the rule anyways," he barked after they had taken a seat.

"Listen, Mr. Nolan, the rules are sexist. Why can't girls wear pants? That skirt was uncomfortable, and honestly it might hinder their learning experience," Charlie said with a smile. Jo both admired and hated that statement. It had to be said, but he was getting himself into more trouble.

"Did you just speak back to me? The rules are the rules. You violated the honour code and you will now face the consequences. Both of you-"

"Mr. Nolan don't punish her, it was all my idea, she didn't do anything but what I told her to do," Charlie said quickly, cutting Nolan off.

"What?" Jo looked over at him, caught completely off guard, "No, that's not true! It was my plan, Charlie just did what I told him to do, if you're gonna punish anyone punish me!"

"Oh, c'mon sweetheart you've gotta give me more credit than that," Charlie joked.

"Silence!" Mr. Nolan shouted, making both of the students stiffen in their seats. "I have been generous enough already. If either one of you says another word you will be in danger of expulsion. You have made a fool out of this institution and I will hear no more. I will write both of you off with a warning, if you so much as put a toe out of line, you'll be in hot water. Is that understood?" They both nodded quickly, and Charlie was no longer smiling.

"Mr. Dalton, assume the position, Ms. Levy feel free to watch."

Jo put her hand to her mouth and she looked over at Charlie, terrified. Charlie nodded back at her, trying to tell her it was okay. Mr. Nolan unclipped his jacket sleeves and grabbed the wooden paddle. He hit Charlie on the behind, his face not showing even a hint of sympathy. Charlie's face contorted in pain. Jo looked away, she couldn't bear it. She didn't know that this was what Mr. Nolan did as punishment for the boys, she had never gotten more than a slap on the knuckles. After four more blows, Nolan stopped. Jo turned around to see Charlie with tears in his eyes and tight lips. He didn't look at her, he looked at the floor. Jo wanted to hold him, to try to take away the pain, but Nolan's hard stare kept her frozen.

"You next, Ms. Levy," Nolan put the paddle away and took a ruler out of his desk. Joan put out her hands, closing her eyes as Nolan cracked the ruler down on her knuckles.

"Stop!" Charlie said from his chair, trying to stand up.

"Silence, Mr. Dalton! I don't want to have to punish you further," Nolan said quickly. He hit Jo's knuckles again, she felt guilty for letting out a whimper after she just saw Charlie get a much worse punishment. She got ten instead of five, but she didn't think even that was equal.

After it all, their spirits had both waned and they didn't feel so invincible anymore.

"I hope you both understand how important it is to follow the rules, and I expect you will not challenge my authority again. You are expected to go to second period in thirty minutes. Dismissed," Mr. Nolan stated monotonously, still showing absolutely no remorse for beating a couple of teenagers just for wearing a skirt and pants.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Joan began to cry as they left the office, she was holding her knuckles while Charlie was limping, both of them not quite fit to go to class, but both forced to go anyways. "Why the hell were you gonna take the blame? We decided we weren't gonna do that! You could've gotten something even worse and I didn't even do anything to stop him and-"

"Shhhh, Jo, it's fine, it's not my first time. Besides, trust me, there wasn't a single thing you could do," he promised, eyes still wet with tears. They began walking down the steps, each of their hearts a little hurt along with their bodies.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, she didn't know what else to say. She didn't just mean she was sorry for his punishment, she was sorry for ever thinking he was another narcissistic pretentious white kid. What just happened made it clear that he was better than even her. He was gonna take the fall for her when she had never really been nice to him at all. He was concerned about her ruler-cracked knuckles after taking a wooden paddle.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.
❪ ⋆࿐໋  𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒎. ❫

Ahhh they're getting to
know each other for real.
I had this headcanon and
wanted to put it on the
page so I really hope you
guys liked it. I totally see
Keating as a feminist, and
Jo was the little push that
Charlie needed to understand
what exactly it's like to be a
woman in the 1950s/60s.
This was a longer chapter,
so I really hope I managed to
hold your attention for the
entirety of it. Thank you for
reading, and I will see you in
the next chapter!