[ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ]	“I dunno.” She paused, gazing up at the ceiling, “The whole thing.” “I think it was brilliant.” Elena chimed in, not looking up from her doodle filled notebook. She didn’t like to play favorites, but when it came to Literature, Elena definitely made teaching easier. “Go on Elena.” “Well the idea of the world where everyone is equal. How the government would go about doing that. How screwed up that would be. I think it’s brilliant.” “What’s wrong with everyone being equal?” Mary chimed in from the back row, “Isn’t everyone equal? That’s what they teach us in church.” “No,” Elena replied in an irritated tone, turning to make eye contact with her peer, “Some people are smarter, some people are prettier, some people are more talented. But by handicapping them, they made everyone equal: dumb, ugly and no talent whatsoever.” “Now Elena and Mary both make good points,” Mrs. Malarkey chimed in, “But let’s not get off track. What is Vonnegant saying about this so called ‘perfect’ world? What was the word we talked about yesterday?” “Utopia,” half the class replied in unison, the others staring blankly into their laps. “Right. What is the author saying about this utopia?” “That there is no such thing.” Elena mumbled under her breath. She always did that. Mrs. Malarkey didn’t understand what could possess students to think that it wasn’t cool to be smart, but Elena was definitely under that impression. She would constantly hold back answering questions, especially when she knew she was right. A way of humbling herself. “Speak up so the class can hear you.” “There is none. In every perfect world there are going to be flaws, or people that want to rebel against it.” “Very good.”