Dream Boy

Chapter Eleven

Wednesday finally arrives--I am dying to find out as much as I can about Evan. Does he have dreams too? Is he only pretending not to know me? Could he possibly be that good at acting? Does he know more about Chris and isn't telling me?

"Hey." How can one word make your stomach fill with butterflies, your cheeks flush, and your heart swell?
"Hi."
"Are you okay?" CHEEKS STOP FLUSHING GSJHDKDJAA!
"Yeah, yeah." Just low-key having a battle with my inner voices.
"Do you want to start working, or--?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm totally fine. Are you fine, because I'm fine...is it a little warm in here--never mind, never mind, I am a rambling idiot--"
"Woah. You need to chill. Are you sure you're fine?"
I let out a breath of air, shake out the crazies, and then nodded, "yes. I'm fine, I'm fine now."
"Okay. Now would you mind explaining what just happened?"
"Um, er--" I take a deep breath. " You just interrupted a daydream and it caught me off guard, that's all."
"Oh, were you daydreaming about me?" He smirks.
"What is it with you boys and your cockiness?"
"Well--"
"Never mind! Never mind. I don't want to know. Shakespeare, let's talk Shakespeare.
"'Parting is such sweet sorrow--'"
"GAAAHHHHHH!"
"Okay, okay, geez. Let's start."
I reluctantly sit down, mentally screaming at myself for being such a mess. I pull my binder out of my backpack and it falls to the ground.
"Fingers not working?" I blush and don't reply, bending over to pick up the binder. Evan bends over at the same time--unfortunately--and we smack heads. "Geesh woman, are you trying to kill me?" I cover my face with my hands and lay my head down on the table in defeat. The librarian shushes Evan, and he starts laughing, quietly of course.

"Are you okay Sarah?" I am making a noise that could have sounded like crying. I lift my head, and Evan's face of concern quickly shifts into a smirk, and then a full blown smile. "Why are you laughing?"
"Because--because we just experienced the most cliche, high school romantic comedy movie moment ever. The awkward conversations, me dropping my book, us smacking heads. Oh, this is unreal!" I am dying, laughing so hard that tears are in my eyes. Evan is smiling at me and shaking his head, and the librarian is frowning and shaking her head. "I'm sorry--I'm sorry!" I an trying to calm myself down, and I put my face against the table once more to muffle the laughter.
"You have the craziest emotions..." I jerk my head up, my laughter immediately stopping.
"Have you met a teenage girl before?" He gives me the "really?" look and rolls his eyes.
"Are we gonna work on this or not? If we don't start soon the librarian is going to murder us, and make it look like an accident."
"Okay, okay. I'm ready."

"How about we read the original scene out loud, and then we can start rewriting it?"
"Okay," I agree, "you read Benedick and I'll read Beatrice."

Act I, Scene I, lines 107-139:

"Benedick: If Signor Leonato be her father, she would not have his head on her shoulders for all Messina, as like him as she is.

Beatrice: I wonder that you will be still talking, Signor Benedick. Nobody marks you.

Benedick: What my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?

Beatrice: Is it possible disdain should die while he hath such meet food to feed it as Signor Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain if you come in her presence.

Benedick: Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted, and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart, for truly I love none.