A Mock Idyl

"A Mock Idyl" by Percy Ross is a story about two young fellows, Dick Tregurtha and Louis Roscoria, and their close friendship as they figure out life and love. They both have different dreams for their futures. Themes such as growing up, first love, and the strong bonds of friendship make up interesting parts of the story as they deal with problems in their relationships and what their families expect of them. At the start of the story, we learn about Tregurtha and Roscoria's friendship from when they were in school together, with their different life choices pulling them in different directions as adults. Tregurtha ran away to sea, while Roscoria becomes a schoolteacher, and they reconnect over dreams and hard parts of life. In the opening, Roscoria strongly would like to change the teaching system and also to meet new people, and he accidentally meets a mysterious lady that makes him think differently. This opening gets ready for their friendship's challenges, which involves crushes on others and the characters philosophical thoughts as they wrestle with their feelings and where to go from there.