Honesty
Will was coming out of his 3rd period class, English, and was headed for his free period. Elizabeth was right behind him, but neither said a word to the other; they hadn't spoken since 2nd period. Will felt that he should apologize, despite his better judgment. Before he had a chance to open his mouth, Norrington appeared and whisked Elizabeth away by the arm. Someone tapped a slightly disappointed Will on the shoulder. Will turned to see Jack, clutching a bottle of orange soda, his breath smelling like citrus.
"We need to talk," he said. Will followed him to a deserted classroom. Jack shut the door behind them. He got close enough to Will to smell his breath; it smelled like chips. Jack leaned in closer; Will got chills up the back of his spine, worried about what Jack was going to do. The pirate leaned in closer, if that was possible, and whispered, "Scarlett."
Will pulled away, confused. "What about Scarlett?"
"You have to break up with her if you want to complete your part of the plan," Jack explained.
"Not as easy as you'd think." Will sunk to the ground, discouraged. "She's not exactly the kind of girl to take it…lightly."
"I know what you mean, Will." Jack sat down beside him. "I've known a lot of women like that," he sighed sadly. "But I never really was in love with any of 'em. And then…I think I did fall in love, but she wouldn't love me back…couldn't love me back."
"You're talking about Ana Maria?" Will asked. "I think she likes you back."
"No, not Ana- I mean, yeah, it's Ana Maria," Jack lied. He stood up and dusted himself off. "C'mon, mate. We've got to find Scarlett for you."
They found her relatively quickly; she was chatting with her best friends in the courtyard. Will took a deep breath and walked over to her. He gently took her hand and led her away from her friends, who were giggling loudly and flirting with Jack.
"What is it, Will?" Scarlett asked breathlessly.
"Umm," Will stalled. "The truth is that," he thought for a moment. "Elizabeth doesn't want me to go to the dance with you." He knew it was a mean lie, but it was his only option.
Scarlett's face turned red and she clenched her fists. "You listened to that little-"
Once again, Scarlett was interrupted. This time, however, it was because of Will's lips. He kissed her gently on the mouth. He felt no attraction to her, yet he felt like he owed her that much.
Will pulled away, looked her in the eye, and said, "I'm sorry." He walked away, knowing that he had cruelly played with her heart for much too long.
Will returned to Scarlett's friends, leaving a now sobbing Scarlett behind him. He grabbed Jack by the arm and took him inside the building.
"What is it, mate?" Jack asked.
"I broke it off with Scarlett," Will said. Jack nodded, urging him to go on. "…by telling her that Elizabeth told me to."
Jack's eyes popped out of his head as he gagged on his orange soda. "You what!" he exclaimed.
"Now Scarlett detests Elizabeth and it's all my fault," Will buried his head in his hands.
"Well, if it's any consolation, she hated her already, mate," Jack offered. "But how're you going to break the news to Elizabeth? She'll be furious."
"Well, right now she's probably making out with Norrington." Will sighed.
But, in fact, Elizabeth was not kissing Norrington at that time. She had already left him back in the fencing room after accidentally clocking him on the head. She had instead gone to the art room to finish her drawing of Jack. She had to finish shading it in and doing the details on his teeth.
Mr. Montague, the art teacher, was examining her artwork. "It's wonderful," she said. "You can feel the rebellion here in his eyes, but deep underneath the surface is a more caring, sensitive side."
Elizabeth realized that Mr. Montague was absolutely correct; that was exactly what Elizabeth saw when she looked at Jack. She retrieved her portrait from the teacher and finished coloring it. she admired the finished product and stuck it in her bag just as the bell for 4th period rung. She grabbed her books and headed out the door.
Her last class was Gym. When she arrived, she found that the other girls were already changing in the locker room. Elizabeth opened an empty locker with her name on it; inside were a pair of red shorts and a white t-shirt, under a pair of white sneakers. She pulled the clothes on quickly and laced up her sneakers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scarlett glaring darkly at her.
The gym teacher, Ms. Rubeus, blew the whistle and all the girls rushed out to grab giant red balls. "Dodgeball!" Ms. Rubeus shouted.
Scarlett whispered something to her friends and they all threw their balls at Elizabeth, who jumped over them and ducked so as to avoid getting hit. She paused, slightly out of breath. Scarlett seized her chance to lob a particularly hard ball at her. It zoomed up to her and made contact with her head. Elizabeth flipped over and landed on her back, groaning. She touched her right eye to find that it was swelling.
Ms. Rubeus blew her whistle with a loud "Tweeeeeeeeeet" and rushed over to examine Elizabeth. She then sent her to the nurse's office with a pass. Elizabeth took up her belongings and left the gym.
She passed the pool where Jack was spending his gym class. Elizabeth gazed through the door for a moment, watching the boys do laps. Jack looked up and spotted her. He gasped when he saw her eye. He waved his hand around wildly in the air and asked the coach for a bathroom pass. Within seconds he had joined Elizabeth in the hall.
"What the devil happened to your eye?" he asked her.
"Scarlett," Elizabeth said simply, and they both understood.
They were almost to the health room when a girl stepped out of the nearby bathroom. She had long, twisted dreadlocks and slightly crooked teeth. Even without her usual outfit, Jack and Elizabeth recognized a younger, more modern Tia Dalma.
Tia Dalma, looking about 16 years old, walked up to them. She silently retrieved a jar of yellow herbs from her bag and rubbed it on Elizabeth's right eye, which swelled a bit more before going back to it's original size. Elizabeth touched her eye in disbelief before throwing her arms around Tia Dalma and hugging her.
"Thank you!" she said.
"It be nothin', child," she waved it off and smiled briefly, before her voice turned solemn. "Today be your last day to get ye tasks down if you be wantin' to come back tonight. Ye have to get it done. Will's finished his but yours be harder. Elizabeth, if you get stuck, close ye eyes. Ye heart will lead you there." With that, Tia Dalma disappeared.
Neither Elizabeth nor Jack was too keen on returning to their classes, so they talked in a deserted classroom, sitting on the desks.
"Why did Scarlett attack me?" Elizabeth wondered. "I know she didn't like me, but she was never that mean to me before. What happened?"
Jack bit his lower lip before answering. "Will told her that you told him to break up with her," he blurted out suddenly.
Elizabeth was outraged. "Why on Earth would he do something like that? Wouldn't he know that something bad would come out of it!"
Jack grasped Elizabeth's hand in his and looked into her honey-brown eyes. "He didn't know just how bad it would be, love. I'm sure if he did he wouldn't have told her that. He just wanted to protect you and make you happy. We both do. Don't be mad at us."
Elizabeth caught her breath a little before answering. "I forgive you. Tia Dalma fixed my eye and Jack and Scarlett broke up, so I suppose there's no harm done."
Jack smiled. Elizabeth released his hands suddenly to dig through her bag. She pulled out the painting that she had completed earlier and presented it to him.
Jack admired it. "It's me," he finally said. "It's me from when I was a pirate." He looked at her, then back at the picture. "You even got me teeth right, love."
He handed it back to her, but Elizabeth closed her hands over his and slipped it back to him. "Keep it," she whispered.
The bell rang; the day was done. Jack and Elizabeth felt a familiar sensation sweep over their bodies: an intense wind. This time it only blew over them for a short while before coming to a stop. Jack checked his watch: it was 8 o'clock and time for the dance.
Elizabeth's hair was pulled in a glamorous bun on top of her head. She was wearing a fitted blue dress and black heeled shoes. Jack's hair was combed and he was wearing black pants and a black jacket. He ran a hand through his dark locks, messing it up slightly so that it looked more like his style.
He took Elizabeth's hand and led her out of the room. "Well, my darling, it's time for the dance."
