Dangerouly In Love....[1]

It was just before dusk in Central Park, and Justin Perdu Knew he needed to make his move. Demitaria Flores, a fellow sophomore and Latin scholar at the George C.Chapman High School, sat propped against a tree trunk, blowing bubbles with her gum, and filling in the New York Times crossword puzzle. Justin sat across from Demi, his skinny frame hunched over a copy of the Metamorphoses, his favorite book of ancient Greek myths. But the shrieks of childern on the swing sets distracted him from his translation, and every few minutes, he stole glimpses at Demi. Even though she always complained about being fat, Justinthought she was simply beautiful and perfect, without the bony elbows and pinched look that so many Chapman girls had, and with a wide, open face that made him feel at ease. He could tell when she was concentrating beacause she would forget to pop the bubble gum she just blew, letting it perch on her lips. It was a habit that got her into trouble during tests at school, where chewing gum was strictly prohibited. With a loud pop, she burst a bubble and looked up. "Romantic poet who urned-----spelled u-r-n-e-d frame. Five letters." It had been Demi's idea for the Latin Club to meet at the Arthur Ross Pinetum on this airless, Indian summer day. Ellen Davis, Demi's best friend, sat next to her on the grass and at a picnic table nearby, two of the boys in thier class, Gene and Zolotov, compared Latin translations.