One day a few weeks after school had started, Janet got up from her desk and smiled at her students. "Get out your copies of Romeo and Juliet, everybody. Today we'll be reading the balcony scene, which I'm sure most of you are familiar with." She flipped through her book until she found the right page. "Okay, who wants to read Juliet's lines out loud?"
A few of the girls put their hands up, including Mina. Zondra just sat there looking bored.
"How about you, Mina?" Janet said.
Zondra muttered something under her breath.
Janet looked at her. "What was that, Zondra?"
"You just chose her because she's your daughter." Zondra complained. "What about the rest of us?"
Janet walked over to Zondra's desk. "First of all, I thought you didn't want to be Juliet. All you had to do was raise your hand. Secondly, have you ever seen me show any favouritism toward Mina in this class? Yes, she's my daughter, but when we're at school she's one of my students."
Zondra shook her head. "I guess you're right."
Janet went back to where she'd been standing. "Now, all we need is a Romeo." She looked around at the boys who had raised their hands. "Xander?"
Xander beamed and quickly glanced at Mina before they started reading. "He jests at scars that never felt a wound." He smiled and looked at Mina again. "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun!"
As they continued the scene, Janet grinned to herself. She did have a reason for choosing Mina, but it didn't have anything to do with the fact that they were mother and daughter. She enjoyed listening to Mina read out loud, because Mina always put a lot of feeling into it. In all her years of teaching, Janet had had quite a few students who would just read in a flat voice, not really paying attention to or caring about what they were saying. Mina, however, was different. Whenever she saw an opportunity to perform, she jumped at the chance, even if she was just reading while her classmates followed along in their books. With a lot of melodrama and swooning, she made the experience more entertaining. She was definitely her father's daughter.
"O Romeo, Romeo!" Mina sighed and flopped over onto her desk in despair. "Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
Derek raised his hand, looking a bit confused.
Janet looked up from her book. "Yes, Derek?"
"Why is Juliet asking Romeo where he is?" Derek asked.
Zondra turned to him. "That's not what it means, idiot."
Janet frowned at Zondra before turning her attention back to Derek. "Zondra's right, even if she wasn't exactly polite about it. That's a common mistake, though. The word 'wherefore' actually means 'why.' Juliet's asking why Romeo is a Montague, because she's a Capulet and the two families are feuding." She smiled at him, being careful not to show the uneasiness she still felt around him.
Everyone continued reading. Xander kept looking at Mina and smiling. He wondered if she was aware of the reason why he was able to read his lines as if he really meant every word. The truth was that he actually did have feelings for her, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way. He hoped that she would somehow pick up on it from the little glances he gave her.
After the class was over, Mina gave Derek a little wave before they walked off in separate directions. She then went over to where Xander and Zondra were standing.
"You did a great job as Juliet today." Xander grinned at Mina.
"Thanks." She smiled back at him. "You were really good too. You're an amazing actor! The way you said every line... Well, it was like you were really thinking those things!"
Xander's smile faded a bit. "Yeah, well, I just thought I should read it that way. More realistic."
"Well, we should get going!" Zondra grabbed Xander's hand and rushed down the hall.
"Why is she always doing that?" Mina asked herself when the twins were gone. She was puzzled by the way Zondra always clung to Xander and practically kept him from talking to anyone besides her. He could talk freely to his family, as well as to everyone in the castle besides Mina, but that was it. Mina just shrugged and headed to her next class.