Cliché

chapter 13. you need some ice?

The next day in drama, I plop the stack of papers down on Evan's desk in a nice little plastic bag, one that Mom gave to me from her hoard in the pantry. As I take my seat, the teacher begins droning on about the Romeo and Juliet sign ups, while Evan cautiously looks between the bag and me.

"What's this?" He whispers to me, eyeing the Thank you! and smiley face in blue ink on the front of the bag.

"Documents for Cayden King," I explain, pulling out the papers and showing him the name printed repeatedly in ink. "I don't know whose it is though. Can you help me give it to them?"

Evan looks at me pointedly. "Didn't I write down all the names for you?"

"I studied it, I swear! But there's just too many white boys with too many white names," I mutter under my breath. Author, where is the diversity?

"Well, this white boy is the gang leader," Evan explains, taking the stack from me and flipping through them himself. "This must be the missing documents he was talking about."

I nod slowly, recalling the gang's conversation and accusations of me on the first day of school. "Must be. And now that we're returning it, doesn't that mean my storyline with him will end?"

Evan frowns. "But it doesn't make sense why the author would make his arc end while the others are just beginning."

The two of us sit in silence, each trying to figure out the author's mysterious way of planning while the drama teacher continues lecturing at the front. Finally, I sigh, shoving the papers back into the bag.

"I don't even know anymore. Let's just give these to him and see what happens."

"Alright, class. Now is time for what you've all been waiting for," the teacher announces excitedly, clapping her hand together. "This year's leads for the production of Romeo and Juliet are... Evan Grayston as Romeo and Irissa Lockhart as Juliet!"

I sit up in shock at the same time Evan's jaw drops.

"Us?"

"But we didn't even sign up for it!" I whine in frustration.

"Hell, I didn't even sign up for this class," Evan mutters, crossing his arms and leaning back against his chair.

The teacher ignores our protests completely, instead handing out class copies of the script with a few handwritten annotations scattered about the pages. Without announcing the rest of the parts, she merely goes on to explain how today's class will be a free period to practice lines with a partner.

"I don't even know the first thing about acting," Evan grumbles, lazily flipping through the script.

"I don't know how to pretend I'm madly in love." I frown, rubbing my temples.

Before long, the drama teacher calls our names, beckoning us to her desk. When we hesitantly get up from our desks and cross the room, she adjusts her narrow glasses and smiles warmly at us.

"Congratulations on becoming the lead roles for Romeo and Juliet," she commends kindly, nodding to us in acknowledgement. "However, these roles aren't going to be a simple walk in the park. Playing Romeo and Juliet comes with the need for passion and romance between not only characters, but the two of you, as well. And because of this, I'm giving you a bonus assignment: you must hang around each other, go on dates, and develop a fake relationship in order to truly get into character."

The fake dating trope? Not this.

"Is this really necessary?" I question.

She clasps her hand together on her desk, looking between the two of us expectantly. "Unless you two can put on a show of passion right this moment," she states firmly, "then yes. It is absolutely necessary."