by S.D. Wasley
Guide to the retelling
Starcross’d: This word describes a relationship between lovers that is derailed by forces beyond their control. It was most famously used in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet.
Verona: This is a real city in Italy and was the setting for Romeo and Juliet. It is used in this story as the name of the fictional state of Verona, the capital of which is Verona City.
The Debate: The debate represents the conflict between the Montague and Capulet families and also provides the setting for Romilly and Julian’s first meeting. In the play, Romeo and Juliet did not at first realize they were both from the feuding families.
Paris: Paris was the man in the play that the Capulets wanted Juliet to marry. He was a powerful figure with his own large estate, and a cousin of Prince Escalot (represented by Vice President Escher in this story). Juliet’s mother pushes her to allow Paris to ‘woo’ her.
Romilly’s pendant: She wears happy-sad theatre masks. I included this as a reference to theatre and plays.
Ty: Julian’s younger brother represents the play’s hotheaded Capulet clan member, Tybalt, who goes on to murder Mercutio in a duel.
Merrick: Merrick Utz is Romilly’s best friend. He represents Romeo’s quick-witted best friend Mercutio, who is murdered by Tybalt.
Benita: Benita represents Benvolio, Romeo’s other best friend, who tells Prince Escalot that Tybalt killed Mercutio.
Ross: Ross represents Rosaline, a Capulet; the girl Romeo was smitten with before he met Juliet. His passion was unrequited but he quickly forgot about her after he met Juliet, anyway!
The Beach Party: In the play, Mercutio and Benvolio convince Romeo to come check out the pretty girls at a big party being thrown by the Capulets. Rosaline will be there but they tell him he’ll forget about her when he sees the other girls. Tybalt recognizes the Montague clan members and gets aggressive but the senior Capulet tells him not to ruin the party with violence. In this story, the party is hosted by Paris Addison.
Laurence Fry: Laurence represents the play’s character of Friar Laurence, the clergyman who helps Juliet and Romeo marry in secret and then later attempts to help them run away together. He is a voice of reason in the play, but also a bit of a subversive as he believes Romeo and Juliet getting married might heal the feud between the Capulets and Montagues.
Romilly overhearing Julian: Romilly eavesdrops on Julian while he confesses how he feels to Laurence, echoing the memorable moment in the play when Juliet is on her balcony, wishing that Romeo was anyone but a Montague. She yearns for him to have any other name, saying a ‘rose by any other name’ would smell as sweet. She’s mortified when she realizes he has overheard her and demands he tell her the truth about his own feelings.
Romilly gives Benita and Merrick the slip: In the play, Romeo takes off to meet Juliet after the party. His friends Mercutio and Benvolio think he might be seeing Rosaline.
Kissing the hand: In the play, Romeo kisses Juliet and she tells him he kisses ‘by the book’, meaning in a traditional, typical manner.
Swearing on the Ford Luna: In the play, Romeo swears on the moon that he loves Juliet. She tells him not to swear on the moon because it’s inconstant and always changing. I’ve used the imaginary car model of ‘Ford Luna’—Luna meaning moon.
Consorting: In the play Tybalt asks Mercutio if he and Benvolio ‘consort’ with Romeo and there is some word play on the word ‘consort.’
Balthasar Forest Reserve: I used the name Balthasar as he was one of the servants in the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet.
Happy-sad: This conversation between Romilly and Julian is a reference to the scene where Juliet says goodbye to Romeo for the night, calling parting a ‘sweet sorrow.’ She says she would rather say goodbye all night and through to the next day than part from him.
Benita’s phone messages: In the play, Benvolio must break the bad news to Romeo about Mercutio’s death. In this story, Benita tells Romilly Merrick has been the victim of gay-bashing.
The Globe Entertainment Precinct: I have used the name ‘The Globe’ for the mall/arcade where Benita and Merrick are hanging out. The Globe was the theatre in London where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed.
St Peter’s: I named the hospital St Peter’s after Peter, the Capulet servant in the play.
Benita’s testimony: In the play, Mrs. Capulet screams at Benvolio that he is a liar when he identifies Tybalt as the murderer of Mercutio.
Giving the pendant: This is done differently in the play. Juliet sends her ring to Romeo via her Nurse. In my story, Romilly sends her pendant to Julian via Laurence.
The Capulet family bust-up: In my story, Julian’s mother calls him ungrateful when he won’t do what she wants. In the play, Juliet is called ungrateful when she begs her parents to delay the wedding with Paris.
The Fundraiser Ball: In the play, Juliet’s wedding date with Paris is set by her parents as Thursday. In this story, Julian’s mother tells him he has to go to the Fundraiser Ball with Paris Addison on Thursday.
The faked environmental report: In the play, Romeo kills Paris. Paris doesn’t actually die in my story but the scandal about the coal mine and the faked report is a symbolic death of the Addison family’s success―at the hands of the Montagues.
Mantua Ladies’ College: In the play, Romeo is banished to Mantua for murdering Tybalt (a revenge killing for Mercutio’s death). He rushes to Friar Laurence, who reminds him not to panic. He tells Romeo that if he goes away to Mantua for a while, he will probably be allowed back to Verona within a couple of years. This is similar to the advice Laurence gives Romilly about boarding school.
The Urban Orchard on Hathaway Street: In the play, Juliet and Romeo’s last meeting is in an orchard. I’ve used ‘Urban Orchard’ because there is a real Urban Orchard in my hometown. Hathaway Street is a reference to Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway.
Romilly’s admission of love: It went against the grain for me to have Romilly and Julian to declare their love so early in the relationship! But the fact is, Romeo and Juliet were insta-lovers. They got married after meeting for one night.
The plan to escape from Verona: In my story, Romilly and Julian plan to run away together. In the play, Friar Laurence helps Juliet escape marriage to Paris by giving her a poison that sends her into a death-like state. The plan is for Romeo to come and smuggle her out of her tomb so they can escape from Verona together.
The vial of poison: Romilly thinks Julian’s pendant is a vial of poison. He explains it is a paint pot. However, in the play, the vial of poison is relevant twice: once when Juliet takes the trance-inducing drug and again when Romeo buys poison in case he needs to kill himself if he finds Juliet dead (he’s a prepared kind of guy). In my story, Laurence uses the vial of poison as a metaphor for injecting some ‘poison’ (doubt) into the Montague for Governor campaign when he reminds the Montagues not to be hypocritical about their stance on public education.
What’s in a name? One of the most famous lines from the play, referring to a rose. The idea is that names mean nothing―the true essence of a thing or person won’t change if you change its name.
Bonus: Chapter 1 of Downfall
Book 1 of The Incorruptibles, a new adult paranormal romance series by S.D. Wasley.