The Lesson

"Your structure is weak, and you're making careless mistakes."

"Like what?"

Ms. Baker looked at Charles from over her reading glasses. "Well, you use passive voice quite a bit."

"Have you read Shakespeare?"

"Yes, but you are not him."

"I could be, I might be."

She went on, "You repeat yourself too often."

"Have you ever heard Martin Luther King's 'Mountain’ speech?"

"You're not him."

"I could be, I might be."

"You use vague phrases."

"Four score and seven years ago."
"What?"

"Abraham Lincoln."

"You are not him either. Just stay with the elements of good writing and style, you could be very good."

"I could be, I might be."

"Now you are starting to be annoying, Charles."

"When was the OED published Ms. Baker?"

"1888."

"How did Shakespeare manage with no rules? What about Chaucer, Poe, and even Thoreau?"

"What's your point Charles?" she was annoyed now. There was always a malcontent, who was going to ignore the rules.

"My point, Ms. Baker, is that if all you can see are the rules, then you miss the story."

"Do you think that's what I'm doing Charles?" She could feel the blood rising in her face, and she wanted to scream 'Just do it the way I tell you, you little shit!'

"I read your book."

"What?"

"The book you wrote when you were in college. The poetry. You were good; you wrote anyway you wanted." The bell rang, Charles gathered his books and walked to the door. He looked back over his shoulder and said, "You're not that person anymore." He stepped out into the crowd and disappeared.

She watched him go and said to herself, "I could be, I might be."