A Separate Peace.pdf - Southwest High School

33called to me on the chapel steps over the organ recessional thundering behind us. I made myway haltingly past the members of the choir with their black robes flapping in the morningbreeze, the doctor's words reverberating around me. He might denounce me there before thewhole school. Instead he steered me amiably into the lane leading toward the infirmary. "Hecould stand a visitor or two now, after these very nasty few days.""You don't think I'll upset him or anything?""You? No, why? I don't want any of these teachers flapping around him. But a pal or two,it'll do him good.""I suppose he's still pretty sick.""It was a messy break.""But how does he—how is he feeling? I mean, is he cheerful at all, or—""Oh, you know Finny." I didn't, I was pretty sure I didn't know Finny at all. "It was a messybreak," he went on, "but we'll have him out of it eventually. He'll be walking again.""Walking again!""Yes." The doctor didn't look at me, and barely changed his tone of voice. "Sports arefinished for him, after an accident like that. Of course.""But he must be able to," I burst out, "if his leg's still there, if you aren't going to amputate it—you aren't, are you?—then if it isn't amputated and the bones are still there, then it mustcome back the way it was, why wouldn't it? Of course it will."Dr. Stanpole hesitated, and I think glanced at me for a moment. "Sports are finished. As afriend you ought to help him face that and accept it. The sooner he does the better off he'll be.If I had the slightest hope that he could do more than walk I'd be all for trying for everything.There is no such hope. I'm sorry, as of course everyone is. It's a tragedy, but there it is."I grabbed my head, fingers digging into my skin, and the doctor, thinking to be kind, put hishand on my shoulder. At his touch I lost all hope of controlling myself. I burst out crying intomy hands; I cried for Phineas and for myself and for this doctor who believed in facing things.Most of all I cried because of kindness, which I had not expected."Now that's no good. You've got to be cheerful and hopeful. He needs that from you. Hewanted especially to see you. You were the one person he asked for."That stopped my tears. I brought my hands down and watched the red brick exterior of theinfirmary, a cheerful building, coming closer. Of course I was the first person he wanted to see.Phineas would say nothing behind my back; he would accuse me, face to face.We were walking up the steps of the infirmary everything was very swift, and next I was ina corridor being nudged by Dr. Stanpole toward a door. "He's in there. I'll be with you in aminute."