"What makes you so sure that I hate you?"
»»----- -----««
Jade Montgomery didn't think the consequences of one little mistake would be so drastic. After being forced to pack up all of her things and move across the...
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"For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo," Ms. Edwards reads in a solemn tone, her voice filling the relatively silent classroom. And with that final line, the story of Romeo and Juliet comes to an end. After all the time I've spent reading the play and wishing it was over, I'm surprised to find that I feel a little sad that it's completed. I guess I've never been too good with endings or goodbyes. Change just doesn't come naturally to me.
The sound of Ms. Edwards setting down her copy of Romeo and Juliet startles me back to reality, and I stare down at my own booklet before closing it slowly, resting it on the corner of my desk.
"The end," Ms. Edwards says after a moment. "You know what that means! Skit time!"
I'm shocked when my classmates don't release groans at this news. Instead of cries of disdain, the class begins to whisper excitedly amongst themselves, as if they're looking forward to this portion of the quarter.
I suppose I'm sort of excited, too. I mean, performing is going to be much more fun than taking tests. I glance over my shoulder at Emma, who shoots me a knowing smile.
"Now, we won't be performing until Friday. I'll be grading these performances as a test grade so, please, take this seriously. Since we don't have much time left in class today, I'm going to close things by assigning your partners. You can get in pairs and start preparing your skits tomorrow."
I cross my fingers as Ms. Edwards begins pairing students together, hoping I'll be lucky enough to end up with Emma. Ms. Edwards seems to already know who she wants to work with whom, pairing off the students quickly. Before I know it, there's only a handful of us left, including myself and Emma.
Just as I turn to Emma and offer her a hopeful smile that we'll somehow end up partners, Ms. Edwards says: "Emma and Ashton."
Just like that, my excitement dissipates. I watch as Emma's expression turns crestfallen, her smile wilting into a frown. I turn to look over at Ashton Holt, who is beaming at Emma as if things couldn't have turned out better for him. Don't get me wrong, Ashton isn't a bad guy or anything. The only problem I have with the boy is that he's not-so-subtly been flirting with Emma every single day of class for the past two months.
I shoot Emma an apologetic glance, noticing the way her fists are clenched atop her desk. She catches my gaze and forces a smile, seemingly trying her best not to lose it.
My gaze wanders around the classroom as I notice only four people are left to be partnered, including me. I must be an idiot, because once only Luke and I are left, I'm still unable to put two and two together.
"Lastly," Ms. Edwards says with a smirk, "since these two seemed to really love debating with each other in my class, Luke and Jade."
It takes a moment for the double meaning behind Ms. Edwards' words to hit me, and I blush profusely when I understand. She's referring to the time Luke and I argued over love at first sight, when Luke ended up revealing he was in "love" with me in front of the entire class.
