"CRAP," SCARLET WHISPERED, RUNNING to her first period. She walked through the door as Ms. Stanford greeted the class.
"Ms. Turner," she said. "Why don't you take a seat?"
Scarlet nodded, shouldering her bag as she made her way down the last row. Ms Stanford handed out slips of paper as she settled on her seat. She took one and placed it on her desk as the play that plagued her life since the beginning of the semester taunted her in black and white.
"Today we will be discussing Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare," Ms. Stanford announced. The PowerPoint presentation lit up on the whiteboard, showing a photo of Shakespeare on top of a red and white slide. "It's also the play we will be performing with Lexton Prep this coming May!"
She went on to discuss the reading, which Scarlet had done none of. Taking out her bent paperback, Scarlet went through the pages to find the specific passage Stanford focused on. Though she had read the play before, it had been a while since freshman English required it, and she didn't have time to re-read it for Stanford.
She had other classes besides English. And the matter of her mother and the meetings for the play she had to work for demanded her attention. Sometimes it was hard to breathe in between intervals. But she managed... at the expense of a few of her assignments and studying time.
Scarlet wasn't one to sacrifice her education, but school had never been top priority in her life.
"Can anyone tell me at which part of the play things start to go wrong?" Ms. Stanford asked the class. Dead silence followed. Scarlet averted her gaze, hoping that if she looked busy enough reading the handout, she wouldn't be called to speak. "Whose fault was it when things went wrong?"
Ms. Stanford walked from one side of the classroom to the other. The clicking of her heels echoed through the rows of students. No one chose to answer her questions. Scarlet relaxed knowing she wasn't the only one lost in the current discussion.
"Scarlet," Ms. Stanford called out. "You're quite busy working on our town's production of Romeo and Juliet. Why don't you answer this question?"
She stared at her teacher, hoping that by her eyes she could see the panic and unpreparedness. Ms. Stanford crossed her arms, waiting for a response. Even some of her classmates turned their heads towards her.
"I don't know," she said.
"You don't know?" Ms. Stanford challenged. "Why, you've been surrounded by talks of this work for weeks now, Scarlet. How can you not know a simple moment when things start to go wrong in the story?"
Scarlet shrugged, looking down at the handout as if it was the one thing in the classroom that didn't judge her. And even then it was but a pity reminder of her small failure. Her cheek twitched.
"Have you not noticed when things start to go wrong during rehearsal?" Ms. Stanford continued, her tone switching to one of mockery. Scarlet pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth, biting down hard so she could leave a mark.
"No, I haven't," Scarlet replied. "Quite frankly, I don't care about the play at all. I don't care about Romeo and Juliet. I don't care about Shakespeare. It's all so dumb. Besides, it's not like I'm at rehearsals to watch. I'm backstage cleaning up after everyone."
Soft snickers filled the tense air. Ms. Stanford set her hazel eyes on her, tightening her lips as if to stop herself from saying something she might regret as a teacher. Finally, she sighed, knocking on her desk with her knuckles.
"You know, Scarlet, I had more hope for you, but you continue to disappoint time and time again."
Scarlet blew a raspberry. "I can say the same about everyone in this stupid school."
YOU ARE READING
Forever Crimson
Teen Fiction"The vultures are disguised as humans." Scarlet Turner has her last semester of high school planned out: graduate as best as she can and take care of her sick mother. But when she's told she won't graduate because of the pile of tardies she's collec...
