FRANCIS
I don't know why I'm doing this, I obviously know who she is. The beautiful girl sitting next to me is Mary Stuart. She was my closest friend when I was growing up but my parents decided that 'our families were too different' and we should not associate with the Stuarts anymore. I'm only pretending not to know her because there is no possible way she remembers me. Right? Soon enough my brother Bash comes in and sits next to me. Bash is my half brother, born to my father and Diane, his first wife. He catches me staring at Mary and leans over to whisper 'Ah, I see you've seen Mary. Strange one isn't she?' I don't know how he doesn't remember her, but he doesn't. Pretty soon there after, Mrs. Kane walks in. 'Alright class' she announces 'I have some pretty big news.'
MARY
When Mrs. Kane announced that we were playing Romeo and Juliet, anything that just happened with Francis was erased from my mind. The minute she asked who wanted to be Juliet I jumped at the chance. I was on a real emotional high before Francis auditioned to play Romeo. I mean, he doesn't remember me so why wouldn't he? I overheard him talking to his brother Bash and apparently they think I'm weird. I mean it's not like I wasn't friends with both of them for almost 6 years. Kenna also has a crush on Bash. From what she has told me, it's because his eyes captivate her and he seems to be the knight in shining armor for his girlfriends. We had a pretty close friendship but not nearly as close as Francis and I, which is why it didn't hurt as much to hear Bash say it as it did to see Francis agree.
The bell rings after a couple minutes of me talking to Kenna and Francis talking to Bash. Desperate to get out of that classroom, I ran out only to drop my books. 'Damn it, Mary. Really?' I mutter to myself. I am almost done getting them all before I hear 'Here let me help you with that'. I knew who it was before looking up just by his voice. Francis reached down to help me pick up the rest of my books and he stopped for a minute to look over my book about Henry the second of France. 'History project?' he asked. 'No I'm actually just really interested in the time period.' I replied. We walked to class together and talked and it felt really nice. But in the end I had to remind myself he didn't remember me and I was just another girl.
The next class I have is Chemistry. I walk into the classroom but because of the book situation, I'm late. 'Ah, Miss. Stuart nice of you to join us.' I look down, blushing and walk to my seat. Halfway through the class, I look up to see what time it is, and catch Francis staring at me. He looks down quickly when he sees me, but I know it's not the first time he has looked at me this period. The teacher comes over to tell me I'm getting a new lab partner. I don't know how it didn't cross my mind that my new lab partner could be Francis, but when I saw him walk over to talk to Francis, it all clicked and I groaned. As I watched him walk over to our table I realized why every girl in school wanted him. His curls framed his face perfectly, and they bounced when he walked, almost as if they were excited about something. No Mary, stop thinking this way I remind myself, I don't want to be one of those girls, chasing after something they could never have.
The lunchtime bell rings and I walk to the cafeteria. Our school's cafeteria is big, but it also has picnic tables outside, which is where I sit. I run through the lunch line to get what school calls lunch, which is probably melted cardboard, but I'm too hungry to notice. I make my way over to Kenna and her friend Greer. We talk about school and upcoming projects but I notice that someone is staring at me, Francis. 'I'll be right back' I tell the girls. I march up to Francis and tell him firmly 'Look, I don't know why you can't seem to leave me alone, but you need to back off, ok?' He looks like he's about to respond when he just grabs my face in his hands and kisses me. It's a nice kiss but it's short because I cut it off. 'What the hell, Francis?' I yell. He just replies 'I remember you, us, all of It.' and walks off. For a minute, I don't know what he's talking about, but then it clicks. He remembers our childhood. The games we use to play, the awkward dinners we used to have, and when my parents would fight and he would sneak over to play with me and distract me from it all.
After the school day is over, I ride home, and Kenna sees that something is wrong. 'Ok, Mary what's up?' she asks turning to study my face. 'Oh, nothing really, I'm just really tired.' I lie. Kenna doesn't buy it. She's known me for long enough to know when I'm lying. 'Great so what's really up?' 'Well, Francis kissed me today.' She gasps so loudly it think the whole bus hears. 'Oh my god tell me everything about it.' But thank God the bus
drops me off before I can.
When I get home I tell my mom I've had a long day and I escape to my room. My room is pretty spacious, with white walls and a queen bed in the middle to frame the whole thing. The first thing I do is grab my phone and look at the directory. The name I need is still there, somehow. It rings twice before I hear a hesitant voice answer. 'Hello, ? It's Mary Stuart, is Francis home?'