Only lonely hid the morning from the stars

[discursivedream]

The dream has a double advantage over madness as an instrument of doubt: first, the extravagance of dreams can exceed the absurdities of madness, and second, the habitual nature of dreams makes the suggestion that one might be dreaming much less fantastic than the idea that one might be mad. - Foucault and Derrida: The Other Side of Reason by Roy Boyne

It was always so easy--laughably easy--to gain attention.

They came to him, tumbling over themselves and lapping at his heels like puppies. He only had to open his mouth, to smile, and he would have an audience.

And today, on this beautiful, sunny autumn day, how could he do anything else? Attending class would be unimaginable. Teaching class was barely tolerable, and only because he'd taken the class outside. Never mind that his class had ended twenty minutes ago. The group of rapt young listeners had doubled, hanging off his every word as he expounded upon morality and governance, philosophy and politics, all with the reckless confidence of a young man who had never known war or loss or any real privation.

They worshiped him. He made it seem like a discourse, but he led every question, meandering at first and then rising, amplifying their energy and feeding it upon itself, whipping them into a frenzy of inspiration and rage.

And lust, to be sure. Gabriel had nothing planned once his class was done--and it was long since done now. Several of his front-row listeners were passably attractive. There was a pretty young redhead who blushed whenever she met his eyes. A shy, handsome young man who hadn't yet grown into his own shoulders. Gabriel was deciding between the two of them--maybe both?--as he spoke, when he noticed someone else near the back of the crowd who watched him intently. Gabriel cast him a smile like a lure, with enough shine to hide the hook, and then paid him no more attention as he wrapped up his lecture and dismissed his listeners. The young and energetic ones would stay a few minutes more, pressing him with questions and vying for his attention, but Gabriel had no more than a passing interest in those. It was the stranger with the intense eyes who had caught his interest.