now tell me, how did all my dreams turn to nightmares?

Chapter 15

For the next two weeks, Cheryl and Toni worked diligently on their assignment. Despite their best efforts, they didn't finish until the day before it was due, putting the finishing touches on it over the weekend. They kept it professional, much to Cheryl's distaste, but the redhead was determined to not make the first move; this had to come from Toni.

Then there was the fear that everything would take a step backward after the project came to fruition. She couldn't help but wonder if their closeness was temporary. Cheryl hoped that wasn't the case; she didn't think she could survive losing Toni again.

They met before school, needing to use the school's copier to duplicate their project for the entire class. Toni seemed nervous about something, constantly biting down on her lip and zoning out. Cheryl was about to ask the girl if everything was okay when the machine silenced, alerting them that the final copy had been made.

"Can't believe this is done," Toni said.

"We still have to get through the presentation," Cheryl reminded her.

The shorter girl nodded, "Right, but the project is done."

Cheryl laughed, "I suppose you are correct."

"So, since the project is done, would you, uh, want to go out after school? To celebrate?"

"Wait. Are you asking me out on a date?" Cheryl asked, needing to be sure.

"Only if you want to," Toni answered. "If not, it can just be a friends thing. Ya know, no pressure."

A smile threatened to take over the redhead's face. Cheryl struggled to control the pure joy she felt. With as much composure as she could muster, she responded, "I'd love to, Toni. Truly."

"Great," the blonde grinned. "Uh, Pop's after school?"

"Sounds lovely," Cheryl assured.

The bell for first period rang. "Shit. Guess we better go," Toni said. "See you in third."

"See you in third!" Cheryl called after her. She collected their copies and headed to study hall feeling on top of the world.

-

"Presentation week," Miss Rollins singsonged as she walked into the classroom.

Cheryl was already in her seat, trying to contain the joy she felt as she stared at the back of Toni's bleached locks. Things were finally starting to move forward. They were going on a date. Sure, she still had a huge secret... multiple huge secrets for that matter. But it wasn't like Toni would believe her if she told her the truth.

She was surprised when Toni volunteered them to go first, taking Cheryl out of her thoughts at the sound of the girl saying her name. Cheryl handed out the copies before joining Toni in the front of the room.

"We were assigned Romeo and Juliet," Cheryl explained to the class. "The medium we chose to use was comic books."

Miss Rollins flipped through the book in her hand, "Very impressive."

"Cheryl did all of the drawing," Toni said. "She's an amazing artist."

"It would seem so," the teacher said. "Now, tell us about your adaptation."

Toni walked over to the computer, inserting a USB drive. She navigated to her project folder and opened the file. The digital copy of their project opened as an interactive, animated comic book.

"Romeo is a Southsider and a Serpent," Toni said.

"Juliet is a Northsider and captain of the River Vixens," Cheryl added. They had agreed to split their presentation rather than one person saying everything. "We wanted you all to have a copy as a 'traditional' comic, but we put together this multimedia option as well."