by Sheryl Berk
Lexi had to agree, Juliette looked very strange. Why would her teacher show up to school in such a crazy costume? She looked like she had stepped out of another time…or a Disney princess movie!
Lexi saw that Kylie was waving, motioning for her to come sit with her. But just then, she spied Jeremy in the back row of the classroom. He was wearing a Yankees shirt, and his bangs were combed to the side, revealing his twinkly blue eyes. Lexi sighed.
I guess I could sit next to him, she thought. But before she could make her way to the back of the classroom, Jack Yu jumped in front of her and settled next to Jeremy. Kylie continued waving and shouting, “Lexi! Over here!” so she gave up and sunk into the chair next to her.
“Pray class, dost thou knowest why I am dressed in this peculiar fashion?” Juliette began.
Meredith’s hand shot up: “You got a part in a play and you’re leaving the school?”
Juliette frowned. “Content thee, for my loyalty lies here. Another guess?” She turned to Lexi. “Willst thou venture a guess?”
Lexi gulped. “Um, something to do with Shakespeare…like you said yesterday?” she answered softly.
“Thou speakest true!” she laughed. “Ah, ‘the play’s the thing’!”
“Yes!” Meredith cheered, pumping her fist in the air. “I love plays. I want to be the lead!”
“Fear thou not, for we shall all have parts to play,” said Juliette.
Then she handed out a stack of books. When Jack Yu got his copy, he groaned out loud. “Oh no! Are you serious? This is a mushy girl’s play!”
Lexi looked down at the cover: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. When she flipped through the pages, it was as if the characters were speaking a foreign language, talking the same way Juliette was. She could only understand a word here or there. What did anon or wherefore even mean?
Kylie raised her hand: “Why do they talk like this? I mean, I know it’s supposed to take place a long time ago, but so does Dracula, and besides the Transylvania accents, they all talk pretty normal.”
“Romeo and Juliet takes place in the fourteenth century,” explained Juliette. “The language is old. People spoke more formally back then, and Shakespeare created his own words and sounds to make things sound better, funny, or more poetic. Has anyone here ever watched this play performed? Or seen the movie versions?”
Lexi remembered strolling through Central Park with Aunt Dee this summer past the Delacorte Theater where they put on Shakespeare plays outdoors. She shyly raised her hand and Juliette smiled. “Yes, Lexi?”
“I think I saw a statue of them in Central Park outside the Delacorte Theater.”
“Yes! Do you remember what they were doing?”
Lexi thought hard. “They were kissing.” The class erupted in laughter and her cheeks flushed.
“Calm thee!” Juliette summoned the class back to attention. “Yes, they were kissing. In this play, Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers. That means their relationship is doomed to fail.”
Lexi sneaked a glance at Jeremy. She secretly hoped their relationship wasn’t doomed to fail before it even began! She wondered if he’d laughed at her kissing comment. But he seemed too busy doodling in his notebook. So he liked to draw too! She knew they had so much in common!
“Starting Thursday, a gentleman from Great Shakes for Kids will be coming to our class to help us learn the play and stage it for a big production on Valentine’s Day,” Juliette continued. “Some of you will be acting, and others will be helping to build scenery and sew costumes. The entire fifth grade will be involved.”
“I hope there’s an evil wizard somewhere in here,” Kylie whispered to Lexi. She was flipping through the pages and couldn’t figure out much of the text either. “Or a monster. Or a witch. I think Shakespeare has some witches…”
But Lexi wasn’t paying attention. She was still staring at Jeremy.
“You really like him, don’t you?” Kylie whispered, noticing her friend in a trance.
“No!” But she felt awful lying to her friend, so she added softly, “I mean, maybe…”
“I thought so,” Kylie replied. “That’s great, Lexi!”
Lexi wasn’t sure how great it was, but it felt good to finally share her secret with someone. And she was relieved that Kylie didn’t make fun of her. She seemed really happy.
“I never had a crush on a boy before, so I’m not sure,” Lexi confided. “My Aunt Dee says when you fall for someone, you feel all warm and mushy inside.”
“Like a cupcake fresh out of the oven!” Kylie smiled.
Lexi frowned. “I just get so nervous whenever I’m around him. I don’t know what to say!”
“Don’t worry,” Kylie assured her. “We’ll think of something.”
“Pupcakes? Seriously?” Lexi read the order Jenna had just taken over the phone for a special rush delivery Sunday morning. They had just twenty-four hours to make them.
“This lady is crazy about dogs—she has six of them, all different breeds,” explained Jenna. “She wants us to do four dozen cupcakes for a party with different dogs on top, and she’ll pay us extra if we can do it on such short notice.”
Lexi sighed and whipped out her sketchbook. “We could do a chocolate lab on a devil’s food, a pink poodle on a strawberry, a white bichon frise on a vanilla, and maybe a Dalmatian on a chocolate chip?”
Kylie looked over her drawings. “Sounds good. Let’s do little chocolate candies for the eyes and nose. I think we have some left in our kitchen cupboard.” She was digging past the containers of sprinkles and colored sugar when she saw something that gave her a great idea.
“Lexi, I think I got it!” Kylie exclaimed, placing a small container of red cinnamon candy hearts on the counter.
Lexi looked at it. “You want me to make the dogs’ eyes out of red hearts?”
“No! Jeremy!”
“You want her to make Jeremy out of red hearts?” teased Jenna.
“No!” cried Kylie. “This is the way to get Jeremy to like you. Let’s bake him cupcakes and you can give it to him with a note: Love, Your Secret Admirer, L.P.”
“So it’s true? You do like Jeremy?” Sadie asked.
Lexi rolled her eyes. Why did Kylie have to bring that up again?
“Come on, amiga, your secret is safe with us!” Jenna insisted. “What’s the plan for making Jeremy fall head over heels for you?”
Lexi mulled the idea over. If there was anyone she could trust, it was her PLC girls. “Okay, but it doesn’t leave this room.” She flipped through her sketchbook to the page titled, “Bake Me, I’m Yours.” On it, she’d drawn a rich, gooey, dark chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and a marshmallow heart on top. “I’ve always wanted to try this one.”
“Wow. That is a really sweet cupcake,” whistled Jenna. “I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love you if you baked that for them.”
“Jeremy’s chess club meets in the library on Mondays, the same time I have my reading tutor,” said Sadie. “Maybe I could leave the cupcake on top of his backpack when he’s not looking.”
“That’s brilliant!” said Kylie. “What do you say, Lex?”
Lexi was afraid of what Jeremy would think. What if he told everyone on the chess team? What if he didn’t like her and laughed in her face? What if he thought her braces were ugly—or that she was stupid because she almost never raised her hand? “I don’t know, guys…”
Kylie put her arm around Lexi’s shoulders. “You know how my dad got my mom to marry him, right?”
“He proposed?”
“Yeah, but he did it with Milk Duds.”
“Huh?” asked Lexi. She knew Kylie’s dad had a silly sense of humor, but Milk Duds?
“They ate them on their first date when they went to see Titanic at the Jupiter Cinema. My d
ad remembered and spelled out Marry Me, Jackie in Milk Duds on my mom’s front porch two years later.”
“Well, it could have been worse,” chuckled Jenna. “He could have proposed on a sinking ship.”
Sadie wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather a guy ask me to marry him at a Knicks game, on the JumboTron!”
Lexi thought it over. “Did your mom say yes?”
“Well, eventually…” Kylie hesitated. “She kind of wanted a diamond ring first. But the point is, it was a sweet gesture, and it totally won her heart.”
Lexi chewed the eraser on her pencil. “I’ll think about it—after we get these four dozen pupcakes done by tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, this is one ruff order to fill,” giggled Jenna. “You gotta admit it: even after the summer, I still got it!”
• • •
Monday morning, Kylie caught up to Lexi in the auditorium.
“Call me Cupid!” she beamed, handing her a bag of pink, heart-shaped marshmallows. “I found them at the baking supply store in Greenwich. Perfect for Jeremy’s cupcake, right?”
Lexi pulled her aside and whispered, “I never said I was baking him a cupcake! And please, be quiet. I don’t want anyone to hear!”
“Lex, you have to do something! Jeremy’s never going to know you like him unless you make the first move.” She handed her the marshmallows. “All the girls are free next Sunday afternoon. And I found a great recipe for gooey brownie cupcakes…”
“I’ll think about it,” Lexi said. What she really meant was “I won’t think about it.” Because thinking about Jeremy made her palms get all sweaty and a lump form in her throat.
“You promise?” pleaded Kylie. “You sugar-sweet swear?”
Lexi nodded but crossed her fingers behind her back. It wasn’t lying if she did that, right? “I sugar sweet swear with sprinkles on top.” That should convince Kylie!
Now all she had to do was convince herself to bake Jeremy a delectable cupcake that would speak louder than words.
After Juliette’s colorful costume, Lexi was sure Mr. Higgins, the founder of Great Shakes for Kids, would show up in a cape and tights—or at the very least waving a sword. Instead, he was dressed in a dark black suit and tie and carried a briefcase.
“My name is Rodney Higgins,” he told the class. “I have a doctorate in English Literature from Oxford and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.”
Juliette stifled a yawn. “You want us to call you Dr. Higgins….or Professor Higgins?”
“Mr. Higgins will do just fine,” he replied, sounding snippy.
Kylie leaned over and whispered in Lexi’s ear, “Wouldn’t they make a cute couple?”
That was it—her friend was completely nuts. First Kylie was playing matchmaker for her and Jeremy, and now Juliette and Mr. Higgins?
“I played Romeo on the West End, as well as Macbeth and Hamlet,” he added.
Juliette smiled politely. “Really? I’ve played Juliet, Viola, and Ophelia.”
“You don’t say,” Mr. Higgins replied, completely forgetting the entire class was listening in on their conversation. “And where would that be?”
“At Stratford. I studied at the National Theatre School of Canada.”
“I see,” Mr. Higgins sniffed. “Well, I think my résumé speaks for itself.”
Kylie kicked Lexi under the table. “Can’t you just see the sparks fly between them?”
Lexi looked at her teacher, then at Mr. Higgins who had turned his back and was now writing with perfect penmanship on the Smart Board. There were no sparks, and there was no way that Juliette would ever fall for him. She was wearing a Wicked Broadway show T-shirt and jeans, while Mr. Higgins looked like one of her father’s stuffy partners at his law firm.
“Am I boring you?” Mr. Higgins asked, as Juliette yawned again, this time loudly.
“No not at all. I’m fascinated by Shakespeare.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Apparently, since you’ve played all the great roles in Canada.”
Juliette’s face turned almost as red as her hair. “Are you saying I am not as good an actor as you?”
Kylie grabbed Lexi’s wrist. “This is getting good!” she squealed. “I’ve never seen Juliette get this mad at anyone—not even me when I accidentally piped green frosting on the teachers’ lounge wall!”
Lexi watched as the two teachers had a heated discussion in the corner of the classroom. They tried to keep their voices down, but every so often she caught a word or two…
“Pompous!” “Amateur!” “Nincompoop!”
The last word was Juliette’s before she marched to the door and held it open. Mr. Higgins gathered his briefcase and walked out in a huff. The fourth-period bell rang and the class lined up to go to lunch.
“I can’t wait to see Jenna and Sadie and tell them about Rodney and Juliette,” giggled Kylie. “It’s so romantic!”
“They hate each other!” Lexi insisted. “She threw him out of the class!”
“A minor setback,” replied Kylie. “Did you ever see Bride of Frankenstein when she meets Frankenstein? Worst first date ever!”
“I don’t think Juliette would appreciate you calling her the bride of Frankenstein,” Lexi said. “Or you playing Cupid for her and Mr. Higgins.”
But Kylie wouldn’t hear of it. As far as she was concerned, love was in the air at Blakely.
“I think I caught Jeremy sneaking a look at you in drama today,” she told Lexi.
Lexi sighed. “He doesn’t know I’m alive.”
Kylie did her best mad scientist impression: “She’s alive! She’s alive!” and tried to make Lexi laugh. But it was no use. She’d gotten her braces tightened yesterday and it hurt to smile. Besides, she didn’t believe Kylie. Every time she tried to make eye contact with Jeremy, he’d look away or hide behind Jack Yu. Once he asked her if he could borrow a pen for a grammar test, but that was the most they’d ever said to each other.
“I think Rodney and Juliette have a better chance than me and Jeremy,” Lexi pouted. “Why would Jeremy like me, anyway?”
“Because you’re smart, pretty, and really talented,” offered Sadie, resting her lunch tray on the cafeteria table. “I wish I could do half the things you can, Lexi.”
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Lexi. “I wish I could sink a hoop as easily or run as fast as you can, Sadie.”
“The point is, everyone at this table is unique and special,” Kylie said.
Jenna raised a juice box in the air. “A toast to the girls of PLC!” Then she froze. “Don’t look now, but Jeremy’s in line for seconds of hot lunch!” She pushed her empty plate at Lexi. “I could go for another helping. Lex, would you mind?”
Lexi gulped. Go stand next to Jeremy in line? She wasn’t sure she could will her feet to stand, much less walk in that direction. But before she had a chance to hesitate, Jenna dragged her up and pushed in behind Jeremy.
“Now say something!” she whispered.
Lexi shook her head wildly. “No! I can’t!”
“You can!” said Jenna, and with that, she purposely bumped into Jeremy, sending his plate flying in the air and splattering all over the cafeteria floor.
Jenna dashed back to her table, leaving a horrified Lexi staring at the mess of spaghetti and meatballs on the floor.
“I-I-I’m sorry…” she stuttered. She braced herself for Jeremy to yell at her or call her stupid.
Instead, he shrugged. “It’s okay. It was an accident…I guess.”
They both bent down at the same time to wipe up the spill and smacked foreheads.
“Ow!” yelped Lexi. For a moment she thought she saw stars from the collision. Then again, it might have been because Jeremy was only inches away, looking so adorably apologetic.
“Now I’m sorry!” he said. “I’m a klutz. Are you okay?” He helped Lexi to her feet.
“Fine,” she said, picking a strand of spaghetti out of her hair.
Jeremy blotted the marinara sauce off his white T-shirt with a napkin. It reminded her of how Aunt Dee had dribbled Popsicle juice all over her shirt in Central Park and rubbed it in.
“Pretty—looks like tie dye,” she said softly.
Jeremy glanced down at the big red stain he was absentmindedly rubbing in. “Gee, I never thought of it that way…it is kind of cool.” He smiled. “Maybe I’ll leave it like this—if you think it looks good. I mean, you’re an artist, right?”
Lexi blushed. “Um, I guess.”
“No, you are! I saw your map of the thirteen colonies hanging in the fifth grade hallway. It’s really good!”
He’d checked out her map? He’d noticed it? He’d noticed her? Lexi felt giddy…
“Thanks,” was all she could manage.
Jeremy smiled again. He had such perfect white teeth. They sparkled in the cafeteria lights. Lexi ran her tongue across her rainbow-colored braces. He must think my smile is gross! she thought.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, handing her a clean tray.
Lexi nodded, keeping her lips locked tightly together. “Mm-hmm.”
“Okay, then I guess I’ll get some more spaghetti and meatballs. It’s my favorite.”
Walking back to the table, Lexi felt like she was floating on air.
“So you forgive me now?” asked Jenna. “I was waiting for you guys to share a strand of spaghetti and rub noses, like the dogs in Lady and the Tramp.” She began to hum “Bella Notte.”
Lexi came back to her senses. “You shouldn’t have done that, Jenna. What if he had gotten really mad?”
“The point is he didn’t,” Kylie reminded her. “Sometimes guys need a little push. So Jenna gave him one.”
“It was actually a big push,” Jenna pointed out.
“So now what? Dump chocolate milk on his head?” Sadie chuckled.