𝑷𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑹 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺 • 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧. 𝐦 (wolfblood)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

"Two households, both alike in dignity in fair Verona where we lay our scene. An ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean."

The teacher's copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet snapped closed, jerking the half-asleep students awake. She smiled, walking between the tables, "So, what is Shakespeare talking about?"

She was answered with silence, so Jimi, naturally, broke it, with an unenthusiastic response, "Fighting?"

"Yes," She began, snapping her fingers and pointing at the boy, "Fighting. A feud, a vendetta. An ancient grudge that just keeps going on and on. But what are they fighting about?"

"Juliet?" Kara queried, followed by Katrina, "Way cool! Men fighting over you."

Lia rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. While she loved Shakespeare, his romantic tragedies were almost always boring. She knew Romeo and Juliet off by heart, but she found the whole concept very unimaginative. Although, she and Tom did cry over the ending of Leonardo DiCaprio's 1996 iconic rendition of the play.

"No, Katrina. They're not fighting over Juliet." The teacher said uneasily. Kay scoffed, "Well, they should be."

"So? What are they fighting about?" The teacher tried again, scanning the room before picking on the two boys who were in the middle of a thumb war, "Sam? Liam?"

They both gave her an uneasy smile.

"Because one side thinks they're better than the other, Miss?" Maddy tried, uncertainty in her voice. The teacher twisted her mouth, "No. They're both alike in dignity."

There was a period of silence until her eyes settled on the boy who was tipping back on his chair, skillfully balancing on the two back legs and somehow not falling off, "Tom?"

He sat up instantly, almost head-butting the table with the speed of it, causing a small smile to creep onto Lia's face. He looked to her for an answer, but she twisted her mouth with a subtle shrug, truly not knowing the answer herself. The boy cleared his throat, looking back up at the teacher, "I don't... I don't really know, Miss."

She pointed over at him with the book, a smile growing on her face, "Is the right answer. They don't know either."

Tom looked at Lia (who was already grinning) in shock, then an open-mouthed smile grew on his face and the pair high-fived each other with a laugh. The teacher continued, "They've been fighting for so long, they've forgotten what they're fighting about. It's become a way of life."

Lia's smile faded slowly. That sounded familiar. Her eyes met Maddy's, and clearly, she had had the same thought.

"But it's the love of Romeo and Juliet that makes everyone realise that the only way out is reconciliation. Forgiveness."

That sounded... true. Good. Lia's eyes flickered up hesitantly to Rhydian, who was already looking over at her, something she recognised as pleading in his eyes. She understood. She truly did. They had to at least attempt to solve this feud between the two sides: the tames and the wilds. They had to build a sense of trust with one another, otherwise the fighting and threats would only continue and grow worse. And if they did this, maybe they could reason with one another - Jana could come and visit, Rhydian could visit the wild to see his mother and brother. It was the only way out. Trust and forgiveness.

Once the last bell had finally rung, the class was quick to flee out of the classroom, including their teacher who was meant to be running a department meeting. The six students remaining placed their copies of the play on the stack on the centre table, and they all shared a look.