star-crossed

iii. in which viola gets roped into multiple things she doesn't want to do

Viola curled up on her bed, a big orange history textbook from at least twenty years ago in her lap, a soft blanket wrapped around her, and an arsenal of highlighters scattered around her. She'd just settled in and prepared to read about the Age of Exploration (which she rolled her eyes at upon seeing the chapter heading) when the doorbell rang. She vaulted off her bed, sending her blanket and at least three highlighters clattering to the floor and dashed to the edge of the stairs, where she saw that her father was already halfway to the door. She shrugged and went back to her room, reassuming her prime study position.

"Good afternoon, sir," an all-too-familiar nasal voice said, picking its way up the stairs and stinging Viola's ears. Her eyes went wide. No. Anybody but Lennox. She could deal with him at school. Sure, she hated it, but she could put up with it. But now he was in her house, a self-declared Lennox-free zone. That was too far. One of her fingers twitched, begging to curl into a ball and fly full speed at his face.

She peeled the blanket off her body, making sure she didn't disturb anything else, and crept out of her room, dodging every creaky board as she made her way to the wall right next to the stairs. The perfect point to hear everything Lennox had to say.

"Lennox!" her father said, his booming voice jollier than anything as he opened his arms. Lennox gave him a quick hug and retreated behind the threshold. "It's great to see you! Did your father send you for a business proposition?" He shook his head. "No? Then did you come to see Vi? I'll call for her, if you want." Viola's breath caught in her throat.

Lennox wrung his hands. "I'm here to see you, actually, sir. Though, where is Vi? I would prefer this to be a private meeting."

Viola, she corrected without even thinking about it. I know you wish it were true, but we aren't friends. You can't call me Vi.

Her father looked around, and she pressed herself even closer to the wall, holding her breath. If she made any sound, he'd call her down, and she'd have to talk to Lennox. Everything would fall to pieces. He shrugged. "She's probably upstairs with her earbuds in. I know she said something about an AP European History test tomorrow." He shrugged. "Besides, I won't tell her what you've come to say if you don't want me to. I keep plenty of secrets from her." He lowered his voice. "More than I ever kept from Olivia or Ophelia when they were her age, at least. Liv and Lia were just so much more responsible, you know?" Viola bit the inside of her cheek, trying to calm her anger.

"I understand completely. My parents refuse to tell my little brother anything. He's so irresponsible compared to me. When I was ten, my father was already grooming me to take over his company," Lennox said. Viola fought back a sigh. Sometimes she could tolerate him, even almost like him. Then he came into her house and said things like that, and she hated him all over again.

Her father guffawed. She winced. She knew that laugh all too well. The 'I'm about to make fun of Viola' laugh. Her personal favorite. "You should meet the twins! The three of you would have a lot to talk about, as the children who aren't going to drive the family into ruin. Liv's going to be a nurse like her mother and save lives, and Lia's going to be a marine biologist. You know what Vi's trying to do?"

"No, sir, I don't."

"She wants to work at Disney World! And be a screenwriter on the side!" His laugh boomed through the house again. "How awful is that?" Lennox nodded, his eyes darting back and forth. "She used to want to be a diplomat. Learned so many languages for it. Researched trips to Europe in her free time. Then we let her go to Disney World with her friends from her old school and she came back buzzing about some Disney College Program. Met some girl there who told her all about it. Absolutely ridiculous! I wish she was more like Ophelia or Olivia. Maybe then she'd have a good head on her shoulders."