Love Me Love Me (English)

19

June

Theater class had barely started when the teacher stood up, cursing like a sailor. The string of words that the teacher spewed made everyone in the theater laugh, and the assistant next to him turned purple.

"Jesus fucking Christ! I swear I'm gonna expel you again if it's the last thing I do! You're good for nothing! The worst Romeo in the history of theater! I can't handle these miscreants any longer! I'm leaving, you're in charge, Miss Kavanagh. Good luck. Send the principal the psychiatrist bill he'll have to pay after spending months comprehending these dingbats!"

"And that would be the theater teacher?" I asked Brian, who was sitting next to me.

"Can you blame him?"

Brian motioned to the stage where James Hunter was standing, unconcerned by the teacher's reaction. A black T-shirt hung on his chest, covered by a studded leather jacket on his shoulders.

"James, please don't vape. Not on stage." The flustered assistant was a few seats away from us.

James shrugged. "What's the problem? Romeo never vaped?"

"Well, actually, Shakespeare doesn't mention . . ." The woman shrank in her seat, then rifled through the notes on her lap.

On the other hand, James looked completely relaxed as he continued to inhale more vaping fluid than oxygen.

"I saw the old movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Romeo definitely smoked. Does that mean that smoking didn't make him look like a bad boy at the time?"

"It's beautiful and damned, James." The teacher said.

A wave of feminine giggles made me roll my eyes.

Suddenly the collective laughter gave way to the clickety-clack of Taylor's footsteps. She stopped right below the stage looking anything but happy.

"I'll stick that vape pen where the sun don't shine!" she shouted, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Miss Kavanagh looked like she was about to faint.

"Miss Hart!" she reprimanded weakly.

But Taylor obviously wasn't paying attention. She pointed a finger at James, who looked down at her with his usual impudence.

"I called you eight times yesterday!"

"Congratulations, do you want a standing ovation for being the most insufferable Juliet in history?"

"No, the applause should go to the airhead you were banging at the party the other night while knowing that you were already spoken for!"

"Miss Hart!" James taunted, mimicking the assistant. "Anyhow, if you like to think there was only one, be my guest," he added.

"You son of a —" Taylor lunged toward the stage.

"Guys!" Miss Kavanagh exclaimed.

"Please, don't interrupt, there's a real tragedy about to take place!" James exclaimed, amused. Jackson and Marvin laughed like two idiots.

"You're the one who's gonna have a tragic ending when I cut off what's between your legs, asshole!"

Taylor was going for the jugular, and I wasn't complaining.

"Go fuck yourself, James! Look, Romeo and Juliet can go fuck themselves for all I care. I'm not playing her anymore!" Taylor shouted, directing all her rage at the poor teacher, before channeling her anger at James. "But I'll watch the show. You know why, you half-wit?"