TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU! | R. HEFFLEY

―SEVEN: MODERN DAY ROMEO AND JULIET

"So.. who can tell me what some of the themes of ROMEO AND JULIET are?"

Mr. Fredericks, Hestia's English teacher, looked around at the classroom full of teenagers with piercing eyes, to only find twenty one faces either with blank expressions or staring down at their feet. Hestia sighed and rolled her eyes.

"C'mon ladies and gentlemen! It's two class periods into the day, get your brains working! Anyone? Anybody know what some of the themes of Romeo and Juliet are?" he asked exasperatedly. Silence was his only response.

Hestia was considering raising her hand just to put the poor man out of his misery, but before she could, she was cut off by someone entering the room very, very late.

"Well, Mr. Heffley! Glad to see you've taken time out of your day to show up to class, huh?" Mr. Fredericks quipped.

Rodrick smirked back at the teacher and retorted back, "Ah sorry sir. You know my schedule, it's bursting at the seams." Mr. Fredericks rolled his eyes and Rodrick came to sit next to Hestia, the only empty seat in the class.

It was only five minutes later when she heard a loud whisper from the seat next to her.

"Hey! You're Hestia, right? The shrew?" Rodrick whispered.

Hestia only turned to glare at him.

"Look, are you gonna say anything of substance? Or just stay there like an idiot?" she spat.

"Excuse me! Mr. Heffley and Ms. Sawyer! Is there something of such importance that you two find it beneath you to stay quiet in class?" interrupted the peeved English teacher.

The two mumbled their apologies and after a few minutes, Rodrick whispered to her again.
"I was gonna ask you if you wanted to grab a bite to eat tomorrow? Like as a date?"

She stared back at him incredulously.

"A date..? We don't even know each other?" she said, her previous spite replaced with surprise.

"That's what the date's for. So we can get to know each other better," he reasoned.

Then he gleefully added, "We can be a modern day Romeo and Juliet and do all kinds of romantic stuff and shit like that."

Hestia rolled her eyes. "You do know that they die at the end, right?"

His eyes widened. "What? Don't spoil the book for me!"

"We literally finished the book last wee- okay, nevermind," she groaned.

Hestia gave him a wary look. What was this wannabe goth boy that she had never talked to before asking her on a date?

Suddenly, the bell rang and the students filed out. As she rose from her seat and began to go to her next period trigonometry class, she was pulled back.

"Hey, you never answered my question," Rodrick complained.

"Dude, I don't even know you. I don't know if someone put you up to this as a dare or something, but-" she began.

Rodrick suddenly smirked and edged closer and closer until she was basically cornered against the wall. Her cheeks grew red as she realized how close the pair were.

"What, scared of me?" he questioned cockily.

"No.. of course not," she said, desperately trying to stable her almost shaky voice.

He grinned again and then stepped back, starting to leave the room.

"Just let me know by the end of the day, okay?" Rodrick said, and then added, "And trust me. It wasn't a dare."

ᐅ

WORD COUNT: 504

their first real interaction :) i'm trying to get as many chapters out as possible before the swim season and school starts because then i get super busy and stop updating oop-