Project High School

They Date

I still have three more periods before I see Kendall again. I almost fall asleep in history, Mr. Blakely's dull, scraping voice droning on and on about the Industrial Revolution. Chemistry is a bit better, mixing simple chemicals to change colors. Then, at last, ninth period theater comes.Kendall and I meet in the hallway. I check that no one's watching or listening before grabbing his hand. "It's killing me to just walk with you," I whisper. "I wanna put my arm around your waist and kiss you and act like a normal couple." He smiles. "I feel the same way." I sigh and drop his hand as we enter the classroom.

Ms. Coniungere is writing on the board when we walk in. It's a list of famous love scenes. The one that catches my name is "The Balcony Scene- Romeo and Juliet." The balcony scene is one of my absolute favorite theatre moments. Kendall and I sit down at our table. Ms. Coniungere turns around from the board once we're all seated. "Today, you are going to be performing famous love scenes with your partner so you can connect emotionally and access your romantic feelings to use in your scenes," she says. "And I don't want to hear anything about boys playing women or two boys playing romantic parts, because in Shakespeare's time, men played all the roles, women included." She looks down at a sheet on her clipboard. "Josh and Kendall, you will be performing Shakespeare's famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. I translated it into modern English so that it's easier to understand." She beckons us forward and hands us each paper scripts. "Josh is Romeo, Kendall is Juliet." Kendall smirks as he flips through his script. "Change all female pronouns to male ones," Ms. Coniungere adds. I nod. "Take it from 'He speaks,' Josh," she says. I skim the line and look up at Kendall.

"He speaks. Speak again, bright angel. You are as glorious as an angel tonight, shining above me like a winged messenger from heaven. You make mortal women fall on their backs and look at the sky, watching the angel walk on clouds and sail on air." Kendall looks up at me. "Oh, Romeo, why must you be Romeo? Forget your father and change your name. And if you won't change your name, just swear to love me and I will stop being a Capulet." I speak to myself now. "Should I keep talking or listen for more?" Kendall speaks out, half to me and half to the class. "It's only your name that is my enemy. You would still be you even if you weren't a Montague. What is a Montague, anyway? It isn't hand, foot, arm, face, or any other part of man. Be some other name. A rose would smell as sweet even if it wasn't called 'rose', and Romeo would be as perfect if he wasn't called Romeo. Lose your name, Romeo. Trade the name that has nothing to do with you for me." We finally turn back to each other. "I trust you," I say, walking up to him, "just call me your love, and I'll change my name. I will never be Romeo again." We're close enough to kiss now, my face inches away from his. I almost lean in, the passion between us enough for me to give up hiding already. He reaches out slightly. The moment is broken by Ms. Coniungere.

"Excellent," she says, "truly excellent." I back away from Kendall. He smiles. I bite my lip and look down, smiling, too. Ms. Coniungere claps her hands. "Okay, so, notes on the scene," she says. A few people raise their hands. Ms. Coniungere looks around a bit. "Ariana?" She finally says. A girl with dark skin and long black hair answers. She's really good friends with Rachel, and we've hung out on several occasions. She's one of the few girls who doesn't flirt or brag around me. "They both knew when to speak to themselves or the audience or each other, and it really helped the scene," she says. Ms. Coniungere nods. "Great. Anyone else?" More hands. More scanning. "Heather?" This time a girl with reddish brown hair and paler skin answers. She's also friends with Rachel, and we've talked a few times. "They connected really, really well," she says. "They're romantic chemistry was excellent, considering that they're both straight boys playing a young man and woman who are madly in love. I didn't see Josh and Kendall, I saw Romeo and Juliet. It was almost like they really were in love." If only you knew, I think. Kendall smirks and looks down at his shoes.

"Okay, Josh and Kendall can sit, let's have Ariana and Brandon," Ms. Coniungere says. Kendall and I sit down at our desk. Kendall scribbles something down in the margin of his notes and taps his pen on the desk, trying to get my attention. I glance over and read what he wrote. Did you want to kiss me as badly as I wanted to kiss you? I smile and write yes on my notes. He smiles. This is gonna be harder than I thought it would be, I write. He reads it, sighs, and nods. I turn my attention to Ariana and Brandon, who are performing a scene from Rent. Coniungere wrote a romantic duet into lines, which Ariana and Brandon are performing perfectly. I hear the pen tapping again and turn to look at Kendall's notes. You're really cute, you know that? I smile and respond. Not as cute as you are. His hand finds mine under the table. I squeeze it tightly before releasing him. He smiles shyly and watches the scene. I'm so tempted to lean in and kiss him on the cheek, but I force myself not to. I glance over at him occasionally, watching his movements. His smile is sweet and gentle, and it warms my heart every time I see it. He blushes every time he catches my stare. I think for a while before writing something down on again and tapping for his attention. He glances over and reads the one word written on my paper. Sisters? He smiles and nods.The periods takes what seems like an eternity to end. I went to the bathroom to text Elle about halfway through. She agreed to pick me up with Chloe and take Kendall and I to Starbucks. I'm not really nervous. Elle and Chloe love me. They accept me. There's no reason for them to be against me having a boyfriend. Kendall and I walk to my locker together when the class finally ends. I let him borrow my old football sweatshirt with my last name on the back.Elle's car is parked right out front. Chloe is sitting in the passenger's seat. Seeing them suddenly scares me. I glance nervously at Kendall. He smiles reassuringly. I take a deep breath and walk over to the car, opening the door. Elle looks up from her phone and smiles at us in the mirror. "Hey, Josh." She starts the car. "This is Kendall," I say. "Kendall, Elle and Chloe." Chloe cranes around to face us. "Hi, Kendall." He smiles. "Hi." Chloe's forehead creases slightly. "Isn't that your sweatshirt, Josh?" I pause. "Yes," I say carefully. I see Elle's smile in the mirror.Chloe and Kendall get the drinks while Elle and I sit and wait for them. She beams at me. "What?" I ask, laughing. "I'm so happy for you," she says. I smile shyly and look down at my hands. "He's cute, too," she says. "Elle!" I say, laughing again. She shrugs. "It's true." Kendall and Chloe return with the drinks. Kendall sits down next to me. I lean in and kiss him. "You're going to hell, fags!" I pull away abruptly. Two boys sitting a table away are laughing at us. I stand up sharply, but Chloe beats me to it. Everything happens in a blur. I hear a yell from one of the boys, and Chloe pulls her fist back, her knuckles red with a blood blush. The boy who shouted clutches at his nose, blood seeping from between his fingers. The other boy stares at Chloe. "What the hell?" She shrugs, calmly sits down, and takes a sip of coffee. "Josh, mom and dad are going out tonight so we can order pizza," Chloe says. The boy turns to the barista behind the counter. "Shouldn't you make her leave?" The young woman smiles sweetly. "Actually, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." The boy's mouth falls open. He looks over at us. I slide an arm around Kendall's shoulders, smirking. Kendall holds my hand. The boy curses under his breath and helps his friend up and out the door. "Well," Kendall says, "you win at handling homophobia." Chloe smiles. "It's not the first time I've punched a guy in Starbucks and then continued on like nothing happened." Elle nods. "I was there the first time she did it, and she knocked the guy out."