“Hey,” I say. “Are you doing research on Shakespeare?” I want to kick myself. Duh he’s doing research on Shakespeare! Last I checked, we’re not doing an assignment on the first guy who landed on the moon.
“Yep. I got some books there.” He nods to the pile on a nearby table. “Can you imagine how much info they have on Shakespeare here? Who would have thought the guy was so famous?”
I know he’s saying it as a joke, and maybe I would have laughed or at least smiled if he were anyone else. But I find myself just looking at him.
He clears his throat. “Anyway, you can look through the books I chose and decide which you want to check out. Some of them can’t be checked out, though. We’ll need to do the research here.”
“Joy,” I mutter as I head to the stack of books. “Thanks for this. I wondered if you would dump all the work on me.”
He whirls around. “Why would you think that?”
“Um…because…I…I don’t know,” I say lamely. But that’s a lie because I know exactly why I said it.It’s because we’re trying to avoid each other. No friends, remember?
“I never take credit for work I don’t do,” he says as he turns back to the bookshelf. “I thought you knew that.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just…”
He turns around and searches my eyes. “You just what?”
“Nothing. Look, forget I said anything, okay? Let’s just work on the assignment.”
It looks like he wants to respond, but he nods and turns back to the shelf. I sit down at the table and look through the books. Many of them are about Shakespeare’s life and his work, but Kylen and I want to find something deeper, something different that most people don’t know about. How his legacy really contributed to our world today. I’m not settling for anything less than an A, especially after what I have to go through by being Kylen’s partner.
After a few minutes, I make progress on what I’m looking for and jot everything down. I also make copies of the pages I want to explore further.
Kylen joins me a short while later with a few more books, and we go over them silently, barely exchanging more than a few words. I’ve never been the kind of person who feels like I need to say something when I’m sitting next to a person, but the silence and awkwardness are so stifling. I feel like it’s choking me. But I don’t want to say anything, not that I would know what to say anyway.Hey, Kylen, why did you run away from me after I told you that I was in love with you? Were you just playing with my heart the whole summer?
Maybe someone tougher than me would actually demand those answers from him. But despite how blunt I can be at times, I’m not that confident in myself. Besides, it’s not worth it to rehash the past and possibly get into a huge fight. I want to ace all of my classes so I can get into a good college. I have no idea what I want to study or what career I want, but I want to have as many options as possible.
“What do you think?” Kylen asks.
I blink and look at him. “Did you say something?”
“Yeah. I said that we’ll need to choose a play. I’m bringing it up because I’m finding some info about some of his plays and I want to know what I should focus on.”
“Oh. Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. What play do you want to do?”
“Most people would choose his most famous ones, right? Should we focus on a less popular one?”
“But the point of the assignment is to choose something that is still relevant today. Everyone knows Shakespeare’s famous plays, but they don’t know his less famous ones.”
“True.”
“Like, there are so many movies and shows onHamlet. But I’ve never really been a fan of that play.”
“Yeah, same. Besides, I bet every other team would perform ‘To Be or not to be? That is the question.’”
He said it in his terrible British accent, and I can’t help myself but smile. I think Kylen notices it, because his eyes light up with surprise and he, too, smiles lightly.
I pull my eyes away and stare down at the book I’m reading. “There’s alwaysRomeo and Juliet. That play definitely has had a major influence on the world. There are still so many artists, writers, and creators incorporating that storyline into their stories and worlds. I doubt there is anyone on the planet who doesn’t even know who Romeo and Juliet are.”
He’s quiet for a few seconds as he shifts in his seat. “So you’re saying you want to performRomeo and Juliet?”
“It’s probably the most cliché play to perform, but…” My voice trails off. Do I even hear what I’m suggesting? I want to perform a freakin’ romance with Kylen? I must be out of my mind.
“Itiscliché,” he agrees. “But maybe it’s cliché for a reason.”
We’re both quiet.
