by Barbara Dee
“To the dance? No.”
“So go with your friends! Plenty of kids won’t have dates. It’ll be fun, just a big dress-up party for the end of middle school. And I know Tessa’s going.”
Tessa would, I thought. A chance to wear something outrageous and dance with Liam Harrison. And probably Lucy will say she’s going so she can Tessa-sit, but really, she’ll be totally into it herself. Especially the dancing part.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” I said.
“Okay,” Mom said, giving up. “But if you decide yes, would you please let me know as soon as possible, so we’ll have enough time to shop for a dress?”
“I don’t need a dress,” I said. “If I go, I’ll just wear the Darth Vader costume.”
She looked so horrified I had to explain that I was joking.
16
“O, then I see Queen Mab
hath been with you.”
—Romeo and Juliet, I.iv.53
On Monday, I stayed for rehearsal mostly because of Lucy’s comment that I hadn’t been watching her scenes. I knew she’d been teasing when she’d said it, but I still felt a bit guilty that I hadn’t stuck around for rehearsals last week—except for Friday, when Lucy wanted to do something else. So instead of sitting way in the back of the auditorium, the way we did on Friday, I sat in the third row, to make sure that Lucy could see me. And I wasn’t even the only one in the audience! Keisha was there in the front row, sitting with Ellie Yamaguchi. Who both grinned and waved at me, like I hadn’t just seen them the period before in science.
Today was a rehearsal for Act One Scene Four, which was Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio on the way to the Capulets’ costume party. Romeo says he feels nervous about crashing the Capulets’ party, and also too depressed about Rosaline to feel like dancing. Then he says he had a dream, and Mercutio teases him, giving a big speech about Queen Mab that I didn’t understand at all.
I could tell by the way Tessa was reciting her lines that she didn’t get it either. Usually Tessa was loud and dramatic, her arms and hands busy making gestures. But as she went on and on about Queen Mab and her wagon “tickling a parson’s nose as he lies asleep,” her voice was flat and her arms hung at her sides.
Finally, Mr. Torres stopped her.
“Tessa, what do you think Mercutio is saying here?” he asked.
“No idea,” she admitted. “He just keeps talking! And I can’t even breathe when I’m saying all these words.”
“Oh, we’ll work on the breathing, don’t worry. But as for what he’s going on about—”
Just then the auditorium door opened. In walked Willow, Charlotte, and Gemma.
I pretended to stare at the stage, and not to notice that Gemma had plopped into the seat on my left.
“Hullo,” she whispered. The Gemma scent wafted off her, fresh and powdery. Not like perfume you’d buy at a makeup counter. Definitely not a mom smell.
“Hi,” I said.
Willow and Charlotte took the two seats behind us. Right away, I could feel their eyes drilling holes into the back of my head.
My heart thumped.
“Basically, Mercutio is free-styling,” Mr. Torres was telling Tessa. “Romeo says he had a dream, and Mercutio is kind of saying, Yeah? You think YOU’RE the dreamy type? Mr. Romantic Poet, Mr. Imagination? Well, listen to THIS! And then he’s improvising what’s almost a rap, showing off how imaginative he is.”
Tessa’s eyes lit up. “So it’s like he’s competing with Romeo? About who’s the better poet?”
“Exactly,” Mr. Torres said.
That was when Liam’s friends Devlin, Noel, and Jamal took seats to our left. You could see Liam acknowledge them with his eyebrows. The cool boy’s greeting, I thought.
Then Liam said, “Mr. Torres? Why is Mercutio making Romeo look stupid?”
“He isn’t,” Lucy said. “He’s actually making Romeo look normal.”
Tessa pretended she was insulted. “Are you saying Mercutio is crazy?”
“No,” Lucy said, smiling. “Just that he overdoes everything, right? So compared to him, Romeo looks calm. And sane.”
That was smart, I thought. Lucy was good at this.
“But who’s Queen Mab?” Liam asked, flipping through his copy of the play. “She’s not even in the cast list.”
Gemma tugged on my sleeve, like she wanted me to lean toward her. So I did.
“Poor Liam,” she whispered in my ear. “He’s such a dim muppet, isn’t he?”
I burst into giggles. Dim muppet. The thought of Liam with blue fur, talking like Grover, was too hilarious.
From the stage, everyone stared at me: Tessa, Lucy, Liam, and Mr. Torres.
“Mattie, are you all right?” Mr. Torres asked.
“Sorry,” I said, forcing myself to swallow a giggle. It burned my throat.
“You’re welcome to watch, but I do need to ask all audience members to be respectful of the actors,” Mr. Torres said, frowning.
Charlotte poked my back. “Ooh, teacher not happy with teacher’s pet,” she said in a stupid baby voice.
“Sod off, Charlotte,” Gemma said calmly. She leaned over to whisper again. “Sorry, Mattie. Didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered back. “It was just that expression. Calling Liam a muppet—”
“It means ‘idiot.’ Fuzz for brains.”
“Yeah, I guessed. But he isn’t stupid. He’s just showing off for his friends.”
“Which is stupid,” Gemma said. “I think friends should make you want to be brilliant.”
Now Willow was the one poking my back. “Hey,” she said. “Quiet, you guys. Don’t make Mr. Torres mad at us.”
“We won’t,” Gemma promised, winking at me.
We, I thought. She’d said it again.
* * *
The walk home with Tessa and Lucy was tense. I could tell that Tessa was still frustrated with the Queen Mab speech, even though now she understood why Mercutio was saying it. And Lucy wasn’t talking, just twisting her hair and looking at the pavement.
“Are you mad at me?” I blurted.
Lucy opened her eyes wide. “Why would I be?”
“For laughing during rehearsal. I’m really sorry. It was just that Gemma said—”
“Yeah,” Tessa cut in. “That was kind of weird. The way you were sitting with Willow and her Willow-ettes.”
“They sat next to me,” I protested. “And they kept poking me in the back. Oh, but good news: Gemma thinks Liam is dumb. She called him a dim muppet!”
Lucy seemed confused. “Why is that good news, Mattie?”
“Oh, because Tessa—”
Tessa’s eyes said, SHUT UP, MATTIE. LET’S NOT EMBARRASS ME, OKAY?
So she hadn’t told Lucy I was supposed to find out Gemma’s opinion of Liam? That was surprising.
“I just thought Tessa would like that expression,” I babbled. “Because of how she collects expressions. From Shakespeare, anyway. I guess people say it in England. Isn’t it hilarious?”
“It’s funny,” Lucy said. “I guess.”
But she seemed like she wasn’t even listening, so I let it drop.
* * *
When I got home, my brothers were in the kitchen, eating potato chips.
“You can’t come in here; it’s base,” Kayden informed me.
“Affirmative,” I replied. “But I need to requisition edible supplies.”
“For who?” he asked suspiciously. “The Jedi Counsel?”
“Sure. Them.” I grabbed a handful of chips. “Is Mom home?”
Mason nodded. “Yeah, but she’s in her office, and she said not to bother her. She said we didn’t have to start our homework until four thirty. So you’re invading our game, Mattie.”
I bowed. “Then I shall retreat. Carry on, officers.”
I had no idea whose side I was supposed to be on in this never-ending Star Wars game my little brothers were playing. But as long as it kept them relatively qu
iet and downstairs, I could stay in my room and just listen for crashes and screams and other signs of disaster. I didn’t have to actually, literally watch them while Mom was working.
I flopped on my bed. Then I crocheted for a few minutes. Making cute little animals called amigurumi always calmed me. As soon as I’d finished my blue dolphin, I texted Tessa:
What happened before?
Immediately she answered : yeah I know. Lucy
I waited for ten entire minutes, but Tessa didn’t add any information.
Lucy WHAT?? I wrote back.
sorry, Mom yelling. I think Lucy has a thing about Gemma.
What sort of a thing??
dunno. she was acting weird after you and Gemma were laughing.
Maybe she was just mad at me for being rude?
yeah that didn’t help :P but she does have a Gemma thing?? I think??
Okay, but WHY do you think it??
just an impression lately. and when I asked her about it she wouldn’t talk. maybe she’s jealous?
About what?
Tessa didn’t answer.
I waited ten more minutes.
Still no answer.
My heart was pounding as I texted: Tessa? You there?
yeah sorry.
Why would Lucy be jealous?
maybe she thinks you’re in love with Gemma or something haha.
tessa, that’s not funny!!!
sorry Mom yelling again bye
I couldn’t believe Tessa was saying this. Lucy was the most sensible, logical, sane person I knew. She was nice to everybody and about everybody—even annoying people like Charlotte and Ajay. The whole time I’d known her—more than six years—she was never the least bit jealous or possessive. When Tessa went off with her theater camp friends, she was always happy for Tessa. And there was nothing to be jealous about, anyway: I’d had a few quick conversations with Gemma. That was IT. Not to mention the fact that Gemma was Willow’s friend, and there was no way Willow would let me get any closer.
Plus, Tessa shouldn’t have joked just now about me being in love with Gemma. I knew she didn’t mean anything by it, but you didn’t make jokes like that. Especially not at school, where if someone overheard and got the wrong idea, things could turn weird.
17
“Tell me in sadness,
who is that you love?”
—Romeo and Juliet, I.i.202
Tuesday’s rehearsal was a big one—the costume party scene, when Romeo and Juliet first meet. Mercutio wasn’t in it, weirdly enough, even though he says the Queen Mab speech on the way to the party. (Did Shakespeare just lose track? I liked thinking that even a megagenius like him could be spacey about his characters sometimes.) But at the end of English class, Mr. Torres convinced Tessa to hang out after dismissal anyway, to practice the Queen Mab speech with Miss Bluestone.
“Erg,” Tessa muttered to me. “She’ll probably spend the whole time talking about how she once went to Chipotle with Queen Mab.”
I laughed. Then I asked Tessa if Lucy had said anything to her about the weirdness walking home yesterday.
“Nope,” Tessa said. “Mattie, if you want to know, why don’t you ask her yourself?”
But I couldn’t. Even though whatever it was that was bothering Lucy yesterday was still going on today, apparently. At lunch, she was unusually quiet, explaining that she was just nervous about a math test. The thing was, Lucy was never nervous about tests. She studied hard and mostly aced them.
So I decided to go to rehearsal, even though Paris wasn’t invited to the costume party. Maybe if I walked home afterward with Lucy, I could finally ask her about this “Gemma thing.” Besides, I wanted to watch Gemma rehearse.
I sat myself in the second row of the auditorium, determined to be perfectly behaved this time. Gemma, of course, was onstage in this scene, so she couldn’t make me giggle. Although she did wave at me from the stage, which made me smile.
“Okay, let’s get started, humans,” Mr. Torres was telling the cast. “This scene is one of the most important in the play and, along with the balcony scene that follows, one of the most famous in English literature. I want us to convey two different speeds: the hubbub of the party versus the actual encounter between Romeo and Juliet, which should have a time-standing-still quality.”
“What do you mean?” Keisha asked.
“I mean, look at how Lord Capulet speaks as his servants are setting up the party and guests are arriving. Ajay, any thoughts?”
Ajay read his script. “It’s like he’s having three conversations at once.”
Mr. Torres nodded. “Exactly. Lord Capulet can barely finish his sentences, and he keeps interrupting himself to talk with his guests and to give instructions to the servants. His speech is rapid and hectic, nothing fancy or figurative, right? And when Tybalt recognizes Romeo through his costume, how does he speak, Willow?”
“He tells Lord Capulet to expose Romeo and kick him out,” Willow said. “Tybalt just comes out and says it: ‘’Tis he, that villain Romeo.’ And when Lord Capulet tells him to shut up, he just says, ‘Why, uncle, ’tis a shame.’ It’s so simple; it doesn’t even sound like Shakespeare.”
“Brava, Willow,” Mr. Torres said, beaming. “Tybalt is a young man of action, not words. Now look at how Romeo speaks when he sees Juliet.”
“Yeah, about that,” Liam said. “How come every time Romeo talks it stops making sense?” He glanced at the audience; I turned around and spotted some of his sporty friends, Noel, Devlin, and Jamal, sitting in the back.
What are they doing here? I wondered.
I could see Mr. Torres take a breath. “What doesn’t make sense to you, Liam?”
“The whole thing. Like all this stuff he says about hands and lips and pilgrims. What do the Pilgrims have to do with it?” He grinned, peeking at his friends.
Gemma held the script in front of her face. I could see by the way her body was shaking that she was giggling.
“It’s not about the Mayflower Pilgrims,” Mr. Torres said evenly. “Romeo is comparing his own lips to ‘two blushing pilgrims.’ ”
“Isn’t that kind of gay?” Ajay said, sniggering.
Mr. Torres turned to him. “Ajay,” he said, slowly and firmly. “People may choose to identify themselves as gay, and it’s a word of pride. But the way you’re using the word, it’s just an insult, and there’s no room for that in this production, or in this school. Understood?”
“Sorry,” Ajay muttered. His head drooped.
“Yeah, Ajay,” Willow said in her team-captain voice. “Nobody thinks that’s funny. And even if Romeo were gay, which he isn’t, so what?”
“Although that wouldn’t make any sense,” Keisha said. “Because Romeo loves Juliet, not Mercutio, right?”
“Yes, I think we can all agree on that.” Mr. Torres smiled. “Tell you what. Why don’t we start working on the beginning of the scene, and when we get to the part when Romeo sees Juliet, we’ll talk some more, Liam.”
Liam tossed his beautiful blond hair. “Yeah, whatever,” he said.
I watched as Mr. Torres showed the kids playing the servants how to keep moving across the stage, doing party setup work as Lord Capulet moves in the opposite direction, crossing the stage to greet Tybalt. I hated to admit it, but I thought Ajay spoke his lines really well—not just confidently, but as if he got Lord Capulet’s charming, obnoxious personality. And Willow as Tybalt was perfect: Her voice was loud, and she had the kind of athlete’s energy that made you believe she could even be dangerous.
“The important thing is to keep moving,” Mr. Torres was saying. “Notice all the times—and not just in this scene—the characters tell each other to hurry up, make haste. No one in this world has any time to think.”
Finally, though, it was time for Romeo to notice Juliet. Mr. Torres told all the other actors to freeze in their positions. Then Liam began reading:
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she han
gs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel—”
Suddenly, he stopped. “Okay,” he said, frowning. “I get that Shakespeare is trying to say that Juliet is sparkly? But I don’t get this stuff about hanging on the cheek of night. So is Shakespeare, I mean Romeo, saying that Juliet is hanging on the cheek of night like she’s a cheek piercing, or something?”
“No,” Mr. Torres answered.
“Then what’s she doing hanging on the cheek of night?” Now he was grinning at his friends in the audience.
Ajay was sniggering again.
“Liam, we’ll talk about it, I promise,” Mr. Torres said. “But for now, why don’t you just say the words? We’ll work on the meaning afterward.”
I glanced at Gemma, who was crossing her eyes at me.
“Okay, and now Juliet,” Mr. Torres said.
“Question,” Gemma said. “Am I wearing a mask over my entire face? Because how will we kiss, then?”
“No, just over your eyes,” Mr. Torres answered. He seemed a bit frazzled, I thought. “But we’ll worry about costumes later. Yes, Liam?”
“So here’s another question,” Liam said. “If Romeo, like, wants to kiss Juliet, why does he talk about saints and pilgrims? Wouldn’t she not want to kiss him if he’s being so religious and everything?”
“That’s kind of the joke,” Gemma said. “But it also works, doesn’t it? Because she lets him kiss her.”
Liam stared at his book. “Yeah, it says ‘kisses her’ in the script.”
“So come on, kiss her, man,” Ajay taunted. “Kiss her, Liam.”
“We’re just rehearsing this scene, you prat,” Gemma said.
Ajay pointed at the page. “Hey, it says ‘kisses her’ twice! You can’t get out of this, Liam!”
“Right, then,” Gemma said. She marched over to Liam and smooched him on the lips. “Are you happy now, Ajay?”
Liam practically toppled over. His friends in the audience cheered. Ajay gaped.
Keisha laughed, Willow frowned, and Lucy stared at me.
I swallowed. Why was Lucy staring at me?
“All right, folks, so now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s block the scene,” Mr. Torres said.
