Rebels Never Smile

June: Romeo & Juliet

When I arrived at school today, the girl who was missing for the past few days was here. Surprisingly, her name was Lady. Hayley had introduced us. " June, this here is Lady." She smiled, shyly and said " Hello." She was the same height as me and her skin was dark tan and she had black hair. " Hello Lady." And we shook hands. Unfortunately, she wasn't in any of our classes so we only hung out during the morning, recess, lunch, and after school. After talking to her earlier, trying to get to know her, i found out she also lives in Lauderdale courts and the reason she was out was because she had a fever.

During lunch, we all met up and all got our lunch. We decided not to eat in the cafeteria as it more crowded than usual. We sat on the picnic tables on the right side of the school. We were laughing and giggling when Lady squealed. I looked up at her with my eyebrows risen and she was looking behind me. I looked and there was elvis again beneath the tree with his hands in his pockets. I looked back at Lady. I whispered " oh my gosh. Do you like Elvis?" Lady blushed and nearly yelled " No! Why would you even assume such a..." She didn't even get to finish her sentence when the other girls told her to shut up. Hayley said " Shut your mouth Lady, everyone knows you like Elvis. Skylar cracked up and Val nudged her and said " Lady, Elvis is behind you!" Lady turned around so fast I thought her head would fall off her head. She groaned and said to Val " I can't believe I fell for that again!" And we all cracked up.

When we were walking to English class I asked Hayley how long Lady had been crushing on Elvis. " Since we were Sophmores. That's when Lady first came from Hawaii-" " Lady came from Hawaii?!" I said in a high pitched voice. " Well yeah, people in the south ain't normally dark. Anyways, when we became friends we noticed that she was a crazy bitch. She took a piss in the bushes once, in front of everyone and that's why most people know her. Anyways she obsessed over Elvis and finally, one day she told him." She stopped to shake her head. "  He walked past us and she blurted out " Elvis, will you go out with me?" As soon as she said that the hall got quiet. Ain't nobody asked Elvis out since he's, well, he's a jerk, and ain't nobody know him. He turned around and he got up real close to her and, sort of like, growled " No." And then he spat on the ground next to her and he slammed her locker real hard. Then he turned on his heels and walked away." She shook her head again. " She cried hard for days, but eventually she still liked him and never mentioned it again."

In class, Mrs. Wallace was talking about Romeo and Juliet. Nobody was listening to her and most of the class was falling asleep. She looked into her notes, smiled a little to herself and turned herself to us. " Class," she said looking us over, " I have a major assignment for you." At that everyone's eyes snapped open. I guess everyone was either scared or excited. Of course, the jerk next to me merely sighed. " I have made a plan. I want you to discuss what you guys think about Romeo and Juliet. Everyone point to the left." We all pointed and I was pointing at Elvis. He looked slightly annoyed, or maybe he was just bored. " That's your partner. Now your discussion is the introduction into the product that I will assign in-" she looked at her watch, " 30 minutes, so please, during the next 30 minutes discuss your thoughts. Everyone turn your desks and face your partner." Everyone, including myself turned our desks. Everyone except Elvis. Mrs. Wallace narrowed her eyes and said " Mr. Presley please turn your desk or I'll notify your parents." Elvis, who had been staring at the board looked at Mrs. Wallace. His eyes became ice cold and filled with rage. A vein on his forehead was throbbing. Slowly he turned his desk and he turned to me. " I want to see you talking or I really will talk to your parents."

Elvis closed his eyes, inhaled a sharp breathe and slowly breathed out. His jaw was clenched tight, and he opened his eyes. " Well? Start talking! Your 3 minutes behind!" Mrs. Wallace yelled. The silent class burst into conversation and I made eye contact with Hayley, Sky and Val and they looked at me with sad expressions. I looked back at Elvis and he was just staring at me. I mumbled " do you want to go first or do you want me to go first." His unclenched his jaw and gestured towards me. " Well to start it off, I think Romeo was extremely handsome. I mean, she was engaged to the princes cousin! He must've looked very handsome. He also must've been very kind, and gentle, and... Yeah. Juliet on the other hand must love Romeo a whole lot. She gave up everything to be with him. She was selfless and she was courageous. Together, I think they were a beautiful couple. They loved each other and died for each other. How romantic. I think it's the most romantic, most heartbreaking story ever." And I closed my eyes, sighed, and opened them again to find elvis staring hard at me. I blushed and quickly said " your turn." For a few minutes he didn't respond. Then finally he cleared his throat and my heart missed a beat. He was actually going to talk.

" I think Romeo and Juliet..." He looked looked down at his hands. " I think Romeo and Juliet are the stupidest people... And it's the stupidest story ever." He sat back and pinched the bridge between his nose. " There." I couldn't believe it. That's what he had to say? What a jerk. " How can you say that?! Romeo and Juliet is the most romantic and most beautiful story ever. Your just jealous of them." And as soon as I said that, I realized It was a mistake. He snapped his head up and his cold eyes met mine. They were as cold as they were earlier and filled with fury. He snarled " You. Don't. Know. Anything. Why should I be jealous of Romeo when he was stupid enough to fall in love with a girl he met in one night? Love at first sight? Please. Juliet is just as foolish, she fell for him when all he wanted was her body and she listened to all the lies he told her. If he really loved her he would've let her go so she could marry the princes' cousin, who could provide more for her then he ever could. Together, they are pathetic. Dying in each other's arms is pathetic and is a sick excuse for love. Romeo should've lived so he could remembered her. And she killed herself too, when she found out he killed himself for her-" he scoffed " pathetic." He shook his head.

I should've stopped it from happening but it came too quickly. My vision blurred and I looked down at my desk so he couldn't see the tears. As hard as I tried, they came out and splashed onto my desk. They kept multiplying and fell twice as fast as the first. He was so mean, I had never met someone as rude as him. Fucking jerk. I think he noticed me and he sat up. He cleared his throat, loud enough for me to hear and he said softly, " that's all I have to say." With a blurry vision, my eyebrows screwed together, I said nothing.

Mrs. Wallace stood up and announced. " 30 minutes is over, ladies and gentleman, and I hope you had a warming conversation-" I snorted softly and saw Elvis sneak me a look- " because the person your with will be your partner for your next project. You and your partner will pick a scene from the book, or movie and perform it." The class groaned and she rose her voice. " I'm not done. You are unable to change partners. Who you are with is now your Romeo or Juliet. If it's a boy and boy or girl and girl, one of you must pick who will be Romeo or Juliet. Any questions?" Nobody raised their hands. " great. Now turn your desks back where they belong." She looked at her watch. " you have 5 minutes left of class, the rest of the time is yours." Everyone turned their chairs and I turned mine making the most noise I can make. I sat down hard and again wiped my eyes. That asshole is my partner. GREAT.

After school, I decided to walk home with Lady since we live at the same place. We were supposed to meet each other by the road. As I was walking there, a rough hand grabbed me and pushed me into the wall, knocking the breathe out of my lungs. It was him. Elvis. I met his icy eyes and his arms reached to the wall, so I was stuck there. He opened his mouth and whispered " Look, I never intended to make you cry." He looked down at his feet. " You asked for my opinion and I gave it to you." His voice hardened and he said " You didn't have to be such a baby." And I slapped his face hard. His cheek turned red and he clenched his jaw and he slowly turned his head back to look at me. " You are the most cruelest person I know." Tears started falling again. Great. " You didn't have to be so rude." And I shoved him out of my way. Again he grabbed me, roughly, and threw me against the wall. He put his arms around to meet the wall again. " Meet me at the park by our house. We'll talk about the project there." I pushed him out of my way and mumbled " don't count on it." I wiped my tears away and saw Lady looking impatient at the end of the street. As soon as she saw me she narrowed her eyes. " Where you been? I been waiting so long." I smiled a fake smile and said " I had to use the bathroom. Girl problems." And she nodded with understanding and we walked home.

She tells me that the girls are going to the movies soon and I'm invited. " I'd love to come. I want to finally get used to this place." She snorted and said " ain't much to see out here. I bet the sights are better in Seattle." I shook my head and said " girl, Seattle may have better sights but this place is warm and sunny and people are kinder here. They understand each other. A place like that is worth more than any Seattle." She smiled at me and I smiled at her trying to forget what happened earlier.