The Academy

Chapter Six

                   

There's this store a couple doors down from Ophelia's called Torn Pages. It's a used bookstore with some cheap—but quality—literature. It supplies some of the best books from both famous and utterly unknown authors. I usually went over there every Thursday to check out the new books they displayed each week.

         It was two weeks after Marisol and Warren's run-in at Ophelia's and ever since, she'd been acting pretty down in the dumps instead of her usual cheery ditziness.

         I picked up a book full of Shakespeare's best plays. When I was fifteen, I was obsessed with Shakespeare. I would've killed for a book full of his plays. I had to—for old time's sake—buy that book. I bought a few others and made my way to the cafe next door, called Serenity.

         Serenity was the stereotypical type of cafe you'd expect to see in Europe, not America. It was gorgeous, played soft classical music in the background, had comfortable sofas, and perfect reading light. I'd been in Boston for a little over four weeks, and it quickly became part of my routine to go to Torn Pages, pick up a couple of books, and sit in Serenity, reading my purchases on a red couch in the corner of the cafe for a couple of hours while sipping on a vanilla latte.

         As soon as I entered Serenity, I bought a latte, sat down on the soft, red couch that I frequented, and pulled out my book of Shakespeare. I hadn't been reading for ten minutes when someone sat next to me. There were four other completely empty couches in the cafe, so why did they have to choose the one that I was already occupying?

         I turned to face them, prepared to politely ask them to move, when I was greeted with a wide, adorable grin.

         "Tatum?" I said, slightly shutting my Shakespeare.

         "Hey, Kayleigh," he replied. His hands were placed on top of the front cover of a book sitting on his lap, so I couldn't see what he was reading. "Long time no see."

         "Yeah," I said. I wasn't really sure what to say. Honestly, I was pretty glad to see him. We hadn't crossed paths in weeks, but I didn't want to bring that up. That would make me look obsessed with him for noticing. And I was anything but obsessive.

         "Don't you seem enthusiastic to see me." He moved his hands, revealing the front cover of the book. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare. Of course. "When I walked in and saw you, I was pretty thrilled."

         I laughed. He couldn't have meant that, could he?

         "Romeo and Juliet," I read off of his cover.

         He quickly covered the front of it again and his cheeks turned a bright red. "Shut up. I like it."

         "I'm not making fun of you," I said. I flashed him the front cover of my book. "Romeo and Juliet is amazing. I've read it a few hundred times."

         "Really."

         I nodded and marked my page with a dog-ear in the corner. "I don't like discussing that play with others. People always perceive it as a love story, when it's not supposed to be. It's meant to be upsetting and intense."

         Tatum's jaw dropped as if I had just read his mind. "Exactly! It makes me so mad. It's called a tragedy for a reason, people!"

         I smiled at him and looked back down at my book. Most guys wouldn't care about Shakespeare at all, let alone know that Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and not a romance. This kid certainly was special.