In Fair Verona

XVI

Unedited—

"You excited for Halloween?" Phoebe asks.

"Yes and no," Isaac says, he doesn't look up from his homework.

He's laying on his stomach writing in his binder. Phoebe and I are sat next to him on the grass under a tree.

It's after school and we decided to stick around for a bit. Isaac will drive us home.

"What homework is that?" Phoebe asks.

A cold breeze flies by, causing Isaac's papers to flutter in his binder.

"English."

"Whats it's about?"

"Shakespeare. As if we haven't done enough Shakespeare's over the years," Isaac says annoyed. "We already did Romeo and Juliet in grade nine. Now we're studying the structure Shakespeare wrote in. Iambic Pentameter."

"I don't know why I asked," Phoebe says.

"Oh that's to do with the syllables," I say.

"Yeah. And we have to write this thing using it. Although some kids wanted to do Dactylic Pentameter as a challenge or whatever."

"Aren't you in enriched for extra challenges?"

"The extra challenge is dealing with all the studious kids who think they're some Ernest Hemingway junior."

"Oh must be so tragic," I say sarcastically. "Being smart and all."

"Yeah. Dealing with idiots is a lot of work," Phoebe says.

"I shared a room with Amber till we were nine. I've dealt with idiots."

"Sometimes I wonder if you got all her brains too and so you're just way smarter and she's..."

"Got no level of percipience."

"Yes," Phoebe says waving her finger at Isaac. "Whatever that means."

We all fall silent but the sound of the wind in the trees is peaceful. Phoebe picks up a tiny, red moleskin book.

"Two households, both alike in dignity, In Fair Verona where we lay our scene—"

"You're so distracting."

"Verona is in Italy right?"

"Yes."

"Is Hamlet also written in I- ambic? Penta-what?"

"Iambic Pentameter. What did you learn in English."

"I don't think we learnt this."

"I hope you know if you want to be a vet that's lots to do with medicine plus learning the Latin prefixes of long scientific or medical words. For example Iambic—"

"You're right I am distracting. Now go back to working, when you didn't spit out facts."

The wind picks up a bit again. Tasseling everyone's hair. Phoebe's hair is in a ponytail and Isaac's curly hair gets messier by the minute. He's got on a grey hoodie and black jeans.

The sun sets earlier now and it already feels like it's five o'clock.

"Romeo and Juliet is dumb," I say.

Isaac looks up.

"And why's that?"

"Because in three days so many people die. Romeo, Paris, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercurio. And then some people forget that lady Montague died because she was so sad her son was exiled. All because Juliet saw Romeo at a mascarade and they fell in love in five minutes and decided to get married the next day."