by Yuriko Hime
“Fair enough,” I agreed. “But like I asked earlier, why?”
Her hand sought her raven-black hair. She stared at me seriously. “I wanted to show you this before I ask you something.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“Can I draw you Dulce?”
It was like someone pulled a rug underneath me. What did she say? Was she serious? “Draw me? Draw me what?” My voice was barely audible.
Glace smiled, her eyes gleaming. Her aura changed from the nervous home owner showing me around earlier, to an opportunistic art-crazed lady. “I want to draw you naked. It’s nothing personal of course,” she said, tilting her head. “As I’ve said, I didn’t bring you here to hook-up. It’s purely for art purposes. When you helped me last week, I couldn’t help but notice your slender body and your beautiful face. It would be perfect Dulce.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “Then what? You’re going to hang me up on your wall?” I shook my head. “This is crazy Glace. I’m sorry but I barely know you, and I’m not ready to show you anything.” I left her room in a hurry, wanting to stay far from her as possible. She followed close behind. “See you in school okay?” I said before going down the stairs and running outside. I didn’t glance back to check if she was in pursuit. This girl was completely, totally insane.
Chapter 4. Complications
A month has passed since the first day of school. I’ve been avoiding Denise and Glace like the plague. It was easy to hide from Denise since all I had to do was come to school earlier so I wouldn’t see her, but it was a nightmare when it came to Glace. She was my seatmate, and I found it hard to ignore her presence. Aside from the fact that my classmates often found ways to talk to her or mention her in every conversation, my two closest friends were crazy about her.
Also, I hated to admit this, but her scent bothered me a lot. No, she didn’t smell awful. On the contrary, her fragrance was divine. She was cream and coffee. Sometimes I found myself drooling by the mere thought of it. I’d never let anyone catch me like that, but you know it goes.
In the first month that I’ve been her seatmate, I noticed a lot of things about her. Like how she’d have this twinkle in her eye when she caught me staring. She also hummed a lot, especially when the class was boring. Sometimes she’d sing to herself and I’d be the only one who would hear it. Based from the stories that I’ve heard, she was a good actress. She even got nominated for the Emmys, but I never knew that her voice was angelic.
I guess it was a hidden talent of hers that she didn’t want to reveal to her fans. Another thing I found cute was her nape. You know how girls would tie up their hair in a braid or ponytail and leave their nape bare? Yeah, I was pretty much crazy about that. Whenever she’d do that in class, I couldn’t help but ogle at her.
Sometimes I think that she knew I was looking and did it on purpose. She’d have this small smile on her face where the edge of her lips would pull up slightly. After several minutes of gaping at her, she’d finally turn to meet my eyes and give me a bright smile. It was like a secret message saying ‘I know that you’ve been looking,’ and I’d quickly avert my eyes and pretend that nothing happened.
Sadly, the butterflies and the heart pounding were still there. Though I was trying hard to ignore her existence, my heart wouldn’t stop bothering me. It would still beat fast whenever I came to class and saw her sitting in the corner. My stomach still made this little flip when she’d come closer or talk to one my classmates.
I knew that I was being pathetic, but my hormones and teenage mind and body were so happy and filled with the thoughts of her. Maybe deep inside I was a fan of hers too and just couldn’t admit it. I desperately wanted to be friends with her or even talk to her for a while, yet when I think about the weird encounter in her house, my brain would reject the prospect.
We’d be friends, then what? I’d have to pose naked for her so she could look at me at night inside her bedroom? I wasn’t comfortable with people seeing me in my birthday suit. Maybe when I was ready to go all the way with someone I loved, but until then, thanks but no thanks. Those were the reasons why I Dulce Gavin made a promise to avoid Glace McKenzie, or Frio to her fans from now until forever. I hoped that things go my way. If not, then I’d have to find a hole to crawl into.
“Okay class, listen up,” the English teacher said one afternoon. “I know that this is your senior year and there’s nothing more you’d love to do than relax and breeze past the whole subject, but things don’t always go that way.”
The whole class stared at Mrs. Banks in confusion, encouraging the plump teacher to continue. “To make things a bit more interesting this year, Mr. Dawson, your art teacher and I had a lengthy discussion.” She seemed to be enjoying herself. “What was this discussion about, you may ask. Well, we decided to have a little play. All the seniors would have to participate, and no one would be exempted as this will make up a bulk of your English and Art final grades. It would be per class and you’d be competing with the others.”
“Each class would be assigned a famous story. You’d all have to select who would play the part of the lead characters and support, who would set up the props, and all that hullaballoo that involves this kind of practice. The play would be set a week before Christmas so you’ll have 2 or more months of preparation.”
“If you do well, you’ll all have a passing grade for this subject and your Art subject, whether or not you fail on the last exam. If not, then I’ll see you next year in this school.” She smirked. “Oh and there’s one more thing before you gather round and discuss this. We don’t want the play to be your run-of-the-mill type. There needs to be a twist of some kind. Make it different from the original.”
“Mr. Dawson and I want to see something refreshing, something that we haven’t seen before. For this class, the play would be Romeo and Juliet. You’d present it on the auditorium in front of the other senior classes you’d be competing with.” She clapped her hands excitedly while we gaped at her like she grew another head. “Alright, gather around and talk about your strategy. I’ll leave you to your own devices, but you can always consult me.” With that, the teacher left the room.
The whole class was so silent that you couldn’t hear a single breath if you tried. And then conversations exploded at the same time. “It’s official. The teachers have gone insane,” one of my classmates said dramatically.
“I’m ruined!” another said, grabbing his hair. It wasn’t the end of the world. Chill out dude.
Meanwhile, Tim pulled his curly black hair away from his face and pounded his hand on the table repeatedly, making everyone look and listen to him. “Don’t panic guys.” He grinned triumphantly. “Remember that we have Frio by our side.” They turned to her direction collectively. Sure, dump all the acting responsibilities on her guys.
Patty beamed. “That’s right! As long as we have Frio, this play will be easy as pie.” Glace appeared conflicted. I felt sorry for her. All she wanted was to have a normal high school experience. This would definitely attract more than the student body. If the media found out about this, they’d make a write-up in a magazine or something.
Nadia, my classmate, spoke up. “What about the twist that Mrs. Banks was talking about? She said to make it different. How do we even make that possible for Romeo and Juliet?”
Her question was met with silence. No one had any idea how to bring a different life to such an old play. After several minutes of thinking, one kid – I didn’t know his name- in front pitched in. “Let’s make it a girl to girl play,” he said. “Instead of having the usual boy and girl, it would be kind of cool to see both girls playing as the lead, even for the Romeo part.”
Everyone stared at each other, as if the answer to the hardest question in the universe was right there in front of them. It was obvious that they thought it was a good idea. I stared at my notebook and pretended that I wasn’t part of the class, while they talked among themselves. They’d probably give me a lot of responsibility like
they always did because they thought I was dependable and cool. What a bummer.
“Okay Frio,” Tim said, after discussing with my classmates. “You’ll be Romeo.” Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Sorry guys,” Glace said hurriedly. From my peripheral vision, I could see her shaking her head. “I don’t want to disappoint you, but can you please give me something else instead of the lead role? I can work as the props man or maybe take care of the costumes for you. I really, really don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why?” Patty asked, disappointed. “Everyone loves you. They’ll be inspired to work on this if you become Romeo. Please Frio. Pretty please?”
“Yeah Frio, we want to see you act live,” said another girl in front of the classroom. “This is a dream come true for all of us. I mean how many times will we see a legit Hollywood celebrity do a play right in front of us? It’s like never. Besides, we’re thinking of making Dulce your Juliet. Look at her.” My classmates murmured appreciatively. “She’s so beautiful like you. You’d be the perfect pair.” The sound of my name made me look up. Everyone was staring at me and Glace. Say what now?
My gaze shifted to Glace. Our eyes met. The class might have missed the small smile at the edge of her lips at that moment, but I’ve been observing her for a month. I knew that she was thinking of something weird inside that pretty head of hers. “If Dulce is going to be Juliet, then I have no choice but to agree,” she said, smirking. The whole class heard her, but to me, it seemed that she was passing a message that only I was supposed to know.
I turned to the class and shook my head fiercely. “I don’t want to be Juliet. I’ll do anything. I’ll be your runner, the music director, even the school mascot, just not this.”
My words were met with deaf ears. Tim patted my back. “Sorry cutie, you’re going to be Juliet. Even Frio thinks it would be a good idea. Right Frio?”
She seemed to be enjoying a private joke. “Of course," she said smoothly. “If Dulce is not my partner, I’ll have to decline.” I groaned and settled my head against the desk. How selfish of them to do this. But I couldn’t tell them exactly why I wanted to avoid Glace, so in the end, I would come out as the one at fault.
The whole class went back to discussing the play while I sat slumped on my chair, ignoring them all. What more would they want from me? They made me do this against my will, and that pesky Glace just had to agree. Thankfully, English was the last class for the day. When the bell rang, I hurriedly took all my things and left the room without waiting for anyone, even my so-called friends.
Guess who was standing by my locker? Ding! Ding! Ding! You won a million dollars. Yes it was Denise. I opened the locker door, cringing deep inside. “So,” she began. “All seniors need to participate in the play. I had the lead part for our class, and I’m confident that you got it with yours too.” There was no doubt in her tone.
“Yes Denise,” I said automatically, too tired to argue with her. I didn’t have the strength to contradict her or even turn in her direction to roll my eyes. I was a zombie.
“We should have a celebration babe. Let’s hang out at Nels. My treat.” Nels was this cool restaurant near our school where all the popular kids go. I wasn’t in the mood today, and I didn’t want to hang out with Denise of all people. I shut the door to my locker and walked away without saying anything. Denise followed behind, her heels clicking. “Babe! Where are you going? I’m not done talking to you yet.” She touched my shoulder, forcing me to turn to her.
“Please. Not today. I’m really having a bad day and I just want to go home.” My voice was devoid of emotion.
“Do you have a fever?” she asked, concerned. She placed her palm over my forehead, trying to feel if I was warm. She wasn’t satisfied and tried to touch my neck, my arms, even my hands, though I didn’t understand how she’d spot a fever with that. To make her stop, I leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. She froze, withdrawing her hands immediately. See? I knew that would shock her.
“I don’t have a fever. I just want to go home and rest. Thanks for the concern. I’ll be going now.” Denise didn’t argue and stood still as a statue. I took that opportunity to turn away. When I did, my eyes met coffee colored ones looking intensely at me. From a short distance away, there stood Glace with all her beauty. Her eyes danced with amusement. I didn’t stick around to try to figure out anything. Instead, I walked briskly to the parking lot, going straight home.
Mom was at the house when I arrived. Thank God! I needed someone sensible to talk to. “Hey sweetie,” she greeted from the sofa.
“Hi mom.” I kissed her on the forehead.
She took one good look at me with those soulful eyes of hers and began her interrogation. It was so like her to know that I was down. “Someone looks unhappy,” she said, putting her phone aside to focus on me.
“Someone is.” I took a seat on the couch next to her, grabbing one of the blue pillows that I always loved to hug.
“Who made my beautiful daughter sad?”
I looked behind me. “Beautiful? Where?” They really had to stop telling me that.
She chuckled and patted my knee. “Okay Dulce, what happened?”
I told her about Denise and how I was getting tired of her mixed signals, her following me around every chance she got, and about the school play and Glace. I left the part about Glace being Frio the celebrity, and how she wanted to draw me nude. That was my little secret.
After the lengthy explanation, my mom placed her hand on her chin and thought for a while. When she was done, she cleared her throat and smiled at me. “Denise is obviously crazy for you. I may not be a lesbian, but I’m a woman. And I know that women do those sorts of things when they like a person, be it a boy or girl.”
“That’s what I thought so too, mom. I mean, I did like her at first. Maybe at the back of my mind I still do. But I can’t handle the part where she doesn’t want to admit that she’s gay. I don’t want to be stuck with someone like that because she won’t give me everything I need. What if I want to hold hands at school or somewhere else? I doubt that she’d allow me to.”
“I see how that could be a problem. But maybe she’s not ready to come out yet. Give her some space.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing, but she keeps popping up everywhere.”
“Or perhaps you can try to enjoy her company without bringing up her sexuality.” I nodded, though it would irritate me every time Denise lied. “How about this Glace girl. Do you like her?”
I avoided her gaze. “Maybe.”
“What do you mean maybe? It’s either you like her or not. There’s no in between when it comes to these things. Remember Dulce, with love you have to go all or nothing, just like your dad and I used to do when he was still alive.” I looked at her and nodded. Mom really loved dad. She still did. It was too bad that he passed away so soon. We would have been a happy family. “So do you like her?” she asked again.
“A little,” I confessed. “But she’s weird! What’s up with that? What would you do if you have a big crush on someone and it turned out that he or she is a nut job of some kind? Would you pursue her?”
“If I really like this person, then I probably would.”
I groaned. “What if she’s really, really, really strange?”
She arched an eyebrow. “What kind of strange are we talking about honey?”
“Sorry mom, I can’t tell.” Like I said, it was my secret to keep. My mobile phone rang loudly inside my bag, interrupting our conversation. I took it and raised a finger, telling mom that I needed to take the call. When she nodded, I stood up, pressing the accept option. “Dulce here. What’s up?”
“This is Nadia from school. You left quickly when class ended so we forgot to tell you that we’re going to have practice tomorrow for the play. Since its Saturday, we’ll have the whole day. You have the lead. You can’t say no. And don’t worry about the script. We’ll give you a copy and maybe run a few lines here and there with Frio to te
st your chemistry together.”
“But.”
“No buts’ cutie. We’ll be waiting for you tomorrow. The address for the meeting place will be texted to you. Have your beauty rest tonight and get ready. See yah,” she said before hanging up.
Chapter 5. Double Threat
Early the next morning, I drove to the indicated meeting place. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to escape the lead role that they gave to me, much less skip this practice altogether. So many people were counting on this- the whole class, my quirky yet annoying friends who I was close to strangling with my bare hands, and Glace.
I was sure of the others, but with her, my mind was blank. She did mention that she wouldn’t take the role if I wasn’t her Juliet, so was she sending me mixed signals? Or perhaps she was taunting me because I didn’t accept her offer to pose nude. Don’t expect or think of anything Dulce. Like always, pretend that you’re cool with everything so you can live your life normally in school. What did you call people like me? Exactly. A pushover.
This was the reason why I disliked high school with a passion. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the studying and learning aspect of it. As for the rest. Let’s just say that it plain old sucked. Everything revolved around cliques, popularity, and being “cool,” which I didn’t really understand. It was a good thing that they found me cute, likeable and all that puke-worthy words stitched together that I despised so much. At least I didn’t have to try hard to fit in, unlike other people at school. You should have seen how they treat the others. It was disheartening.
I rounded the corner and produced the phone from my pocket. The location seemed to be right. This must be the place. I pulled over a spot and cut the engine. After I got out of the car, my gaze went to the huge house in front of me. The size of the building was comparable to Glace’s property. I didn’t know which one of my classmates owned it.
