Anderson: Well, we found dirty jokes in some unexpected places. Me: Uh, yeah, it's called Freshman Honors English. Sabrina: No, really? Charlie: I just don't like having to explain to everyone who Joel is! Joel: But they know who I am. Danny: Well, technically, we haven't met you yet. Sean: If you follow with the story that is. Geoff: Because otherwise, we know you very well. Joel: That wasn't funny…((grumbles angrily)) Anderson: Tee hee. Charlie and Me: What did you do…? Anderson, Sean, Geoff and Danny: We played the 'Psycho' theme-song and Sean came in with a knife when he was in the shower. Me: You guys have big issues…but, you know what? Go get Rob out of the dressing room and I might have cookies for you. Anderson, Sean, Geoff and Danny: ((dash off))
"So…" Sabrina was looking me over as I wrote. "You seem to be happy." I nodded, not taking my eyes off the paper. She still couldn't figure out who it was for and it was driving her insane. I scratched something out and penciled something new in. I was penning my first letter back home to Joel and, well, truth be told, it was getting rather long for me only having been back a few hours. Sabs snapped.
"Who, just who, has you writing them a very long letter?" she said, exasperated. I laughed hard and replied, "What do I get out of it if I tell you?"
"I won't tell anyone else." She said with a pout. I shrugged and tossed her the paper. I needed a break, my fingers were killing me. I heard her sharp intake of breath before I knew she would ask. I didn't want to have this conversation, though I knew it was coming. It was one of those things you can't avoid and I knew I was going to have it with quite a few people by the end of the week.
"Who's Joel?"
"A friend."
"Just a friend?"
"Yeah Sabs, just a friend."
"But he's a boy."
"Yes, he is." I rolled my eyes. "So are a lot of our friends if you haven't noticed yet Sabs."
Sabrina dismissed my comment with a flick of her hand and sigh. "But you're not writing to them special telling them you miss them."
It was then that I turned a brilliant shade of red and snatched my letter back.
0-o-0
We were all convened in the cave, enjoying another late night meeting. Rob was toting Romeo and Juliet for some reason. He was often good at turning anything Shakespeare into something dead comical. Even if it was tragic. He flipped open to the first pages of the book and cleared his throat dramatically.
"Two households-
"Do we have to listen to this?" whined Geoff before Rob even got the first line out. Anderson whacked him upside the head.
"We listened to you telling sissy ghost stories."
"Yeah." Everyone muttered.
"But Romeo and Juliet?" Geoff moaned, "Come on!"
"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whose misadventure piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, naught could remove,
It is now the two hours traffic of our stage;
The which is you shall with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."
Rob silenced us with the opening sonnet. He smiled widely. "Who wants to pick parts? We have a cast of, let's see…" he flipped around, checking for names, "Who wants to be Romeo? Come on, someone must…no? Ok then…I'm going to be Romeo. And, hum, how about Charlie why don't you be Julie- on second thought, how about Sabrina can be Juliet and Charlie…you can be the Nurse. And, Danny, my man, you'll be Benvolio. And…Anderson you can be Mercutio…Geoff, you're Sampson and Sean…why don't you stick to Gregory for the moment." Rob looked around with that silly smiled affixed to his face. He was making us play Romeo and Juliet. People, frikkin' Romeo and Juliet! There was nothing to do now but go along because never before had we done something of his picking. The first scene of the first act was between Sampson and Gregory and it went well up until about line fourteen.
"'Tis true; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague's men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall." Geoff said. Sean picked up his passage next.
"The quarrel is between our masters and us their men."
"'Tis all one. I will show myself a tyrant. When I have fought with the men, I will be civil with the maids – I will cut their heads off."
"The heads of the maids?"
"Ay, the heads of maids or their maiden heads. Take it in what sense thou wilt."
Sabrina's jaw dropped. "Oh my god." She said softly. "Oh my."
We all turned to face her as she reddened. Everyone had to ask what. She shook her head, seemingly unable to speak anymore. So we continued.
"They must take it in sense that they feel."
"Me they shall feel while I am able to stand; and 'tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh ."
"'Tis well known thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been Poor John. Draw thy tool! Here comes two of the house of Montagues."
"My naked weapon is out-
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" screamed Sabrina, she lives! "Are you all really that naïve!" she asked.
"About what?" Danny asked slowly.
"God, do you know what that whole thing is about?" all of the head shook; Sabrina drew in her breath before telling us the truth.
"They're talking about sex you idiots." It didn't take that long for the rest of the pieces to fall in place and for all of us to be thoroughly disturbed. Or amused; Sean found it very entertaining. We continued through most of the play, however, finding that it was great fun to act it out. Our boy Robby was by far the best of us, memorizing his passages faster than one can imagine. We all took great pleasure in watching him fluster Sabrina with his remarkable ability to keep a straight face while acting even the most romantic and gushy scenes. Rob finally snapped the book shut and tucked it into his jacket at about three in the morning. It was time to go back and get ready for another day at Welton Academy.
0-o-0
Oh dear god, could today have been anymore boring? No, I don't think I could have. But lovely Donnelly was proving me wring, oh so, very wrong. I was actually to the point where I was holding up my eyelids to stay awake. Rob could make Shakespeare fun and interesting; Donnelly made him so freaking dull. For lack of a better word. I moaned as she launched into sonnets. Ugh, make it stop.
It was taking all I had not to bang my head on the desk out of frustration. Anderson was already long gone, asleep with his head resting on his desk. Not that I blamed him, coming back in from California had been a shock to his system plus a late night. I was just hoping for his sake that he wouldn't snore. Rob was having a moment in back, his nit-pickiness was driving him insane as Donnelly delivered lines without much feeling or rhythm. Rob understood this whole Shakespeare mess; Donnelly, well, I couldn't tell you what she knew. Finally, finally after about thirty five minutes of this, Robert Thomas Overstreet snapped.
"It's 'Two households, both alike in dignity', not 'Two households, alike in dignity'!" he screamed a little too passionately. Donnelly stared awestruck at the normally quiet and conservative boy. She was drawing in her breath to discipline him but Rob wasn't done yet. "And for the love of god, put some feeling into it! Don't just say it, mean it!" Rob was now standing up, papers flying everywhere from the sudden movement. Oh dear god, the boy was going to try to act. "Ah, but soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon who is already sick and pale with grief that thou her maid art far more fair than she."
Every single jaw in that room dropped to the floor. Even the teacher's. Rob ended the passage, which was beautiful in it's delivery and his motions, and suddenly seemed to realize just what he was doing. He went a brilliant shade of red as his classmates either applauded (the Society and a few others who were a little more appreciative of the arts) or laughed hysterically. He bowed clumsily and took his seat, burying his head in his arms. I patted his shoulder, congratulating him on an excellent performance.
"I'm dead!" emanated from somewhere beneath his arms. And sure enough, Donnelly was making her tongue work again.
"Mr. Overstreet." Was all she could manage. "The headmaster's office. Now. Go."
Rob gathered his books with a somber and frightened face. I winked at him as he walked by andhe shot me a disparaging glance. The boy must have never been in trouble in his entire life, what a stiff, but now, now he was in for the real deal. When the bell rang about ten minutes later, all of us, the Society that is, rushed to the headmaster's door and waited.
Robby emerged pale and sweaty, his knuckles had turned white from grasping his books so hard. I took him a little while to be able to form words.
"Detention. For. A. Week. Starting. Tonight." He gasped out. Danny, Sean, Geoff and Anderson clapped him on the back, proclaiming that he was officially one of the gang having finally earned himself a detention with Harding. Said headmaster came to clear us out of his area with an icy glare directed at me.
"Six thirty sharp, Ms. Dalton." He reminded me. "Don't be late. Now all of you, out before I call your parents!"
0-o-0
I was sitting at dinner with my letter to Joel in my lap. I was trying to write in under the table rather unsuccessfully as I had to try to keep my hands above the table enough as not to rouse suspicion. Tonight, unfortunately, was one of the "mixed seating" nights where we were allowed to sit where ever we wanted, or rather that the boys were allowed to sit with the girls for a meal. Anderson, who was next to me, peeked over to see what I was doing. My eyebrows hit my hairline as I felt his hand slide over my thigh to feel for the paper. In my rage, amazement and complete shock, he was able to get the paper. After scanning the first few lines, he grinned weakly.
"Your boyfriend?" he asked hesitantly, as if this was something he didn't expect of me. I scowled and took the paper back. "My friend." I went back to my dinner as Anderson's smile increased a few molars. "So, he's not your boyfriend?"
I poked the gap between his jacket and his belt with my fork. "He is not my boyfriend."
0-o-0
You know what? I don't care if I get thrown out, I want to throttle this old, stuffy, pompous, snotty, condescending and a touch sexist, I'm sure, headmaster that I have gotten stuck with and throw the body in the lake. I don't care if I get caught, I can't take this anymore.
'This' was detention with Harding. He was pacing the room lecturing me about, god, I don't know, I stopped paying attention, but when I did catch snatches of what he was saying it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear. My teachers, he said, had often complained of my presence being a disturbing one to the class. Apparently, the way I conducted myself was not a ladylike one and I most definitely needed better manners by all counts. Sneaking into the boys' locker room and pulling the towel off of a student hadn't exactly earned me lots of brownie points around here.
Oh yeah, Rob was there too, but he wasn't getting lectured tonight. I think because he was a guy and his offence less offensive that Harding was saving him for tomorrow. After all, reciting Shakespeare in the middle of class wasn't really up there with forcing a classmate into nudity. I stood the firing line until about nine o'clock. I was let out of the office with about ten minutes to do my homework. Which really meant that I would be up doing it with my flashlight. Cheers.
Charlie: They got Rob out of the dressing room, and ((snickers)) it's just too ((snorts)) good to miss. ((breaks down laughing completely)) Me: Presenting the Romeo of Welton Academy: Robert Thomas Overstreet! Rob: ((is shoved forward in a Romeo costume)) This is so wrong… Everyone: Act! Come one, do something! Rob: ((evil glare)) If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with tender kiss. Everyone: ((laughing hysterically)) OH! Keep going, keep going! Rob: ((pouts)) I think not. Me: Oh, come on! I had to do it in front of my entire English class and I forgot it the second I got up to the front to recite. Rob: Still not saying anything. Me: ((huffs)) Fine, then I'll do something…Come night; come Romeo; come thou day in night! For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night, whiter than new snow upon a raven's back. Come gentle night; come loving, black-browed night and give me my Romeo- Rob: Ok, that's enough, you suck. Me: ((grins)) Cheers poet-boy.