Capulet was jubilant.
She hurried along the school hallways, the fight of the day already forgotten. Behind her, struggled a Sophomore boy, the source of her joy. He had dark red hair, and wore a tan jacket over a blue shirt. His jeans were ripped, and he had a tan beanie. Capulet shot another look at him, and couldn't help giggling. She was a genius.
The boy, Paris, hurried to stand beside her. "Capulet, wait!" He bent over, breathing hard. "Please, give me my answer." He looked up at her with bright blue eyes, a picture of longing.
Capulet laughed out loud. "Go on, Paris," she said, putting an arm around the younger boy's shoulders. "It was nice of you to ask permission, and my answer is yes. You're a good student, and a good kid. My younger sister will love you." She grinned at Paris, who smiled back in relief. It was old news that he had a huge crush on her baby sis, Juliet - many students did. Capulet was so proud of her matchmaking. They would be so cute together!
"Look." Capulet forced herself to calm down. "As many know, I'm throwing a party tonight, in the school gym. Everyone's invited." She wrinkled her nose, as Montague's smirking face intruded her thoughts. "Well, almost everyone. But the point is, my sister will be there. It's the perfect time to get know each other!" She looked at Paris. "What do you think?"
Paris grinned. "Thank you, Capulet," he whispered. Finally, Juliet would be his!
"What's that?"
Romeo looked up, as Benvolio grabbed his arm, willing him to stop. Exasperated, he turned around, wishing his friend would stop following him. Couldn't a person mope in peace?
Benvolio was studying a poster on one of the school message boards. He shook his head. "Never mind. It's just another of Capulet's pointless parties."
"No, wait." Romeo headed forward, suddenly interested. He had noticed a name on the guest list, a name that made his heart flutter and his head spin. "Look! Rosaline's invited!"
Benvolio glanced at the name, and sighed. "Yes Romeo, that's very interesting. Now-."
He stopped. An idea had just occurred to him. He stood in the hall, mulling it over. It was dangerous, reckless, stupid, and probably bad.
But it just might work.
He turned back to Romeo. His friend was still looking at the poster, gazing longingly at the name of his crush, written in swirly pink cursive. Benvolio put his hand on Romeo's shoulder. "Hey Romeo," he said slowly. "How would you like to see Rosaline again?"
Romeo slowly turned to him, one blond eye-brow raised. "What do you mean."
"Well, she obviously doesn't like you," Benvolio said, intentionally blunt. "But what if she didn't know you were you?"
"What?"
"Here's the plan," Benvolio said excitedly, warming to the idea. "We sneak into Capulet's ball, in disguise of course. You can talk to Rosaline, and she won't know it's you!"
This was not the real plan, but it what Benvolio had to tell Romeo. The real plan was along the same lines, except for the talking-to-Rosaline part. Benvolio had seen many names on the list, including some of the prettiest girls in the school. If things worked out, Romeo would forget about Rosaline by the end of the night.
Romeo was quiet for a moment. "Fine," he said slowly. "But how do we get in?"
Benvolio gestured to the list again. "Look," he said. "Do you recognize that name?"
Romeo looked. A few lines down, the list read: Valentine, and his brother Mercutio.
"So?"
"So Mercutio's going!" Mercutio was another one of Romeo's friends. The only reason he was invited was because he and his older brother were Principal Escalus's nephews. "We can just ask him to-."
"Ask me what?"
The two boys jumped, and turned. Behind them was Mercutio himself. His black hair hung over his mischievous green eyes. Both his ears and his lip were pierced, and he had several bracelets. His shirt glorified his favorite band, Fall-Out Boy, and his dark cargo pants were loose and baggy. He clutched his backpack over one shoulder with one hand, and pulled his head-phones off his ears. "Ask me what?", he repeated.
"Romeo's in love again," Benvolio said, matter-of-factly. Romeo glared at him, and Mercutio laughed. "Anyway," Benvolio continued. "Capulet's throwing a party, and Romeo's true love is invited."
Romeo shot him another dirty look, and went back to studying the poster. Benvolio pulled Mercutio aside, and whispered the rest of the plan in his ear. Mercutio's expression changed from interest to mischievous, and Benvolio knew his friend was sold. Mercutio was, if nothing else, a trouble-maker. He gave Benvolio a thumbs-up, and walked forward, throwing an arm around Romeo's shoulders. "Weep no more, my friend. I'll get you guys in."
As the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, Benvolio pulled his friends into a huddle. "Tonight," he said, his heart racing. "Meet at the basket-ball courts. Remember, we're going in disguise."