Burning Water

'Romeo and Juliet' Is For Hopeless Romantics

Celeste

"I am SO glad it's lunch. I'm starving!" Isa states.
Right you are, sister! First and second period felt like years. It was lunch and we were sitting in the far corner of the cafeteria - in our unofficial seats across from each other.
"Same here." I responded sighing. I was about to ask her if she was going to talk to Sam. That was until he brought it upon himself to plant his behind right next to her.

"Hey, babe!" He grinned as he pecked her on her cheek. "Hey Lesty!"
"Hi Sam." I replied with a small smile.
"Sammy!!" Isa exclaimed, hugging Sam. Honestly, I'm not one to be phased by so called "love", but I have to admit - they are cute. I'm really happy for Isa, knowing she's truly happy with him. They've been together for 3 months now and I've gotten used to his presence. Don't get me wrong, he's cool and all - but if he ever hurts her, I'll kill him myself with a frying pan. I made sure to tell him that.

"Okay. Get this babe..." he starts.
Isa raises her eyebrows in curiosity, signalling for him to go on.
"With Halloween being next week, my parents just give me 6 tickets to the haunted fair!"
"Omg babe!!" Isa squeals. "Sounds exciting. Who are you inviting?"
"So far, obviously you, Lesty, Cameron and.." he drags. Before he could finish, I cut him off.
"Wait...I don't know."
"Nu-uh, Cece. There's no way you're not coming! Number 8, remember?"
Oh boy. As much as I hate to admit it, she's right.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, coming to a conclusion.
"Fine, okay. Thanks Sam."
"Wait a second..." he says, obviously confused. "What's number 8?"

Isa and I look at each other and both begin to smile. Isa steps in with, "In forth grade we came up our own friendship rules. Number 8? NEVER make different plans on Halloween."

It's true. 10 rules that we should never break.
#1: Never let an argument play for over a day.
#2: To make each other feel better, buy Ice Cream.
Yes, okay. I know how it sounds. But we had a crazy ice-cream obsession in fourth grade.
#3: Never let ANY boy come between our friendship.
#4: Always support and listen to each other.
#5: NEVER lie to each other.
#6: Sleepover! At least once every two weeks.
#7: Never make different plans on Halloween. MATCHING COSTUMES!!!
#8: Christmas movie marathon during the holidays.
#9: Always back each other up in an argument in public. NO MATTER WHAT!
And finally #10: Don't let us graduate without getting ourselves a double date.
I think we all should know who came up with number 10. I guess I just agreed because as a fourth grader, listening to the idea of liking people didn't sound so repulsive.

Sam blinks numerously as he begins to shake his head. "Girls actually come up with friendship rules?" He paused then looked at me. "No offence, Lesty. But there's no way that was your idea."

Smart boy. Although I didn't mind the idea very much. I knew I'd do anything for Isabelle.
"None taken." I chuckle. "I did come up with a few of the rules though."

"You came up with most of them, surely except for number 10." Isa grinned.

No. We are not having this conversation right now, especially right in front of Sam. If he knew about number 10, he'd definitely try set me up with one of his friends. And let me tell you - his friends made me want to bash my head into a wall.

I narrow my eyes at her, hoping she'd magically read my mind. I think it's safe to say that Isa really likes to push my buttons around others - being fully aware that I wouldn't want to react or cause an unnecessary scene.

She didn't go any further, thankfully. Instead she changed the subject and started talking about God knows what with Sam. I finish my food as my mind gently drifts away to the thought of next period - English.

I've got to say, I don't suck at English. Although I've been placed in a class with people who think every novel we read is romantic. Seriously, for a whole hour I have to listen to others coo at every single character. It does my head in.

————————————————————

"I thought today would be nice if we went over our thoughts mentioned in the essay that was due today." Mrs. Morelli smiled.

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself to tune out all the voices. Instead of paying attention, I start to think about how much I'm going to dread next week.

"...the tragedy just proved that how much they loved each other. If I was Juliet, I wouldn't handle seeing the love of my life lifeless right next to me." I heard someone say.

There were murmurs all around the room, agreeing with the comment. Hmph. They're all the same.

Mrs. Morelli must've liked the answer. She smiled and nodded as she scanned the room - until her eyes landed on me. I think she noticed my bored expression because she lifted her eyebrows while grinning.

"Celeste!" She exclaimed. Oh no. Someone please save me. "What were your thoughts on the novel?"

I sighed, knowing there was no way of getting out of this one. Out of all days, she asks me a question which will possibly have the whole class want to fight me. But this is no debate - I'm not giving them the answer they want to hear.

I straightened my posture.
"I don't think Shakespeare wanted to teach us about the meaning of true love." I began. With that all heads turned to me as Mrs. Morelli replied amused. "Why so?"

"Their forbidden love as star-crossed lovers wouldn't realistically end well. They were rivals. Back then, they wouldn't be close to having the power of convincing their families any different. Sure, they died for each other, but it was obviously bound to happen - regardless of what they planned. If I was Juliet, I would've been smart enough to find someone who wouldn't get me killed."

At that point, everyone went speechless. Some gasped, some even turned their bodies to completely face me. I heard a few omg's and what?'s. Definitely nothing I didn't expect.

Mrs. Morelli on the other hand, did the unexpected. She widely grinned. She looked...pleased? "Good answer, Celeste. I agree that Shakespeare had a more deeper lesson throughout his tale."

With that she turned to the board - continuing with the lesson. She's either really good at interpreting Shakespeare, or she's currently fighting with her husband for forgetting to take out the trash.