romeo + juliet ↠ l.h

19

"Alright, everyone. We have a lot to discuss." Ms. J chirped.

The room was silent. I tried so hard not to sneak glances at Luke, but I couldn't stop myself. My cheeks heated up when I flicked my eyes to his, only to find that he was staring back. I think I'm in love.

"Have you guys decided on a theme yet?" Ms. J questioned. We all looked back and forth at each other in question, before Mateo spoke up.

"I think we all liked the Hollywood idea." he pushed, before adding, "You guys liked it, right?"

Mateo.

We had yet to acknowledge what he saw, and I wonder what he assumed. He did just see me getting out of Luke's car. We could be friends. We could be hitting a vape. We could be planning After Grad.

There were so many other viable solutions for Mateo to think than... whatever we are actually doing.

Which made me realize, I didn't even know what that was. What's exactly are we doing? Should I ask him? Is it too early? I had no clue if it would last, or if there was even anything to last.

If I asked Mateo about what he saw to clear things up, would I look even more suspicious?

My thoughts were cut off when Jafari spoke.

"What next?"

"Well, we have the official budget now." Ms. J paused as Mateo gave a loud 'whoop whoop'. "I think you guys will be happy to see with what you can work with."

She slid a paper to the middle of the table with a single thing written on. I stared at the six-figure number in awe.

All of this? For a party?

"Holy shit!" Mateo exclaimed. Ms. J didn't acknowledge his language, part of why she was everyone's favorite teacher. She was young, let you get by with anything, and kind of hot. In a sexy librarian kind of way.

"I'm gonna get a paper and write down everything we come up with today." Ashlyn Price, the quietest girl in our senior class, told us.

"We should get a band." Luke pitched.

A chorus of 'yeah' and 'that'd be cool' could be heard from the committee.

"Live music would be dope!" Mateo exclaimed.

"The next question is, how much of the budget are we willing to spend on the band?" Jafari inquired. He was always the rational and logistical person, on top of everything and thinking realistically.

"We could spend like, 7 grand?" Josslyn suggested,

We all were silent for a moment, before Luke politely spoke.

"I was thinking more like 80 grand."

"80 could get us a really good band." I spoke up, just to show I agreed with Luke. Take that, Josslyn.

"I agree. Ashlyn, write down 80k music budget." Jafari bossed. He was definitely a take charge guy, especially in school related things. He was the student council president, National Honor Society president, and the African American History club president. He was Yale bound in the fall, and I envied his drive. I expected him to become president one day.

Ashlyn jotted a note down at Jafari's command, and looked back up at us through her glasses, as if to say 'what next'.

"What about the venue?" I questioned.

If I knew anything, it was the hottest places in town to throw a party. With New York City about an hour away, the possibilities were practically endless.