Romeo and Juliet... need I say more?
Yes, I'm back! 82 people commented on the poll and 79 out of 82 wanted me to continue. So I thought; it's gonna take a lot more than 3 people to make me quit this story, so enjoy!
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"Hey! Wait up!" Nicole called to Aislinn. It was just after last bell and she was trying to catch up to Aislinn who seemed to want to get away from school as soon as possible. "What's the hurry?" She asked panting.
"I'd really like to not stay in school longer than I have to," Aislinn replied. "Plus, I have an audition to practice for."
"What audition?" Nicole asked.
Aislinn sighed. "You can be so out of it sometimes. Come on, don't tell me that you haven't heard about the 'Romeo and Juliet' play! It's such a romantic story and I'm auditioning for Juliet."
"Sounds interesting," Nicole mused. She always loved Shakespeare.
Aislinn's eyes glinted mischievously. "You should try for Juliet. I heard Dan's trying for Romeo," she said suggestively.
"Yeah... I don't think so," Nicole replied. "Jake's not trying Romeo?"
Aislinn sighed. "I wish! He doesn't like Romeo and Juliet." She shook head like it was the most disappointing thing she had ever heard. "Stupid boy..."
"But anyway, I wanted to ask you something," Nicole started. "It came to me when I met Daniel's family."
"Oh," Aislinn's mouth formed a perfect O. "That serious, huh?"
Nicole groaned. "You and Megan would definitely bond well. You're both crazy."
Aislinn gave up. "If you say so. Back to your question though."
"What do your parents look like?"
"What?" Aislinn asked confused.
"You have to resemble a bit to them, don't you. Daniel has his dad's eyes and his mom's hair. So does anyone have red hair like yours?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah, my mom has the same red shade of hair as me," Aislinn replied and suddenly felt a bit relieved. Nicole frowned, thinking about it. "What about you?"
Aislinn's question snapped her back. "I've got my dad's hair," Nicole replied.
Aislinn frowned as well. "Same shade?"
Nicole nodded. "Where's Bailey?"
Aislinn shrugged then suddenly smirked. "But Reggie probably knows where she is." She quickly fished out her cell phone and sent him a quick text.
Aislinn: Where's Miss Moody?
Reggie: Doing her job at grocery store down Wimbleton Street.
Aislinn: She has a job?!
Reggie: Do u think her mom goes to work? Or dad? Wow, you're definitely not the smart one

Aislinn: Says the one who doesn't have the guts to ask a girl out.
Reggie: Can I talk to her NOW?
Aislinn: Yeah... NO!!
"So, where's she?" Nicole asked watching Aislinn's face as she texted furiously.
Aislinn looked a bit reluctant when she answered. "She's doing her shift at the grocery store down the block."
Nicole didn't notice the edge in her voice. "Do you have her number?"
Aislinn bit her lip. "You know what, let's just talk to her later. We don't want her to get in trouble at work," She glanced at Nicole's watch. "Besides, I need to get home and practice." She hoped that Nicole hadn't noticed the change in topic.
Nicole sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to her later." She looked back at the school which was almost abandoned. She had a feeling that Megan had definitely left without her.
Aislinn seemed to read her mind. "I don't see Megan. Wanna a lift and some company?"
"Thanks," Nicole replied, smiling gratefully. "I don't know what's going on with her today," she commented as she walked along with Aislinn. Aislinn stopped at a flashy red convertible and pulled out the keys from her bag. Nicole couldn't help it; she stared at the car.
"Why does everybody seems to have the coolest cars, I've ever seen," Nicole wondered aloud as she got in.
Aislinn grinned. "I'm guessing you've seen Danny's car." Nicole rolled her eyes at Aislinn's cheeky tone. "Come on, Nicky! You've gotta audition for the play! Plus, we get extra credit for taking part!"
That peaked up Nicole's attention. "We get extra credit?"
"Yeah," Aislinn said rolling her eyes. "Do you seriously not care about anything but studies?"
Nicole grinned at her. "No."
"Can't believe I'm related to someone without a single romantic bone in their body. It's a good thing I have enough for all three of us."
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Megan walked down the road in deep thoughts. At the back of her mind, she felt guilty for leaving Nicole without a single word. But at the moment, she needed some time alone. She was suddenly snapped back to reality when a voice interrupted her reverie.
"Walking alone, again? There's just no convincing you, is there?"
Megan smiled to herself, feeling his presence just behind her. "Are you a stalker or something?"
"No, we just happen to have the same path." He answered.
"As to your question," Megan said, "no, there's no convincing me." She paused then asked, "Can I ask you something?"
"Depends on the question," he said shrugging.
Megan gave him a side glance. "You don't seem like the club going type. How did you end up there?"
To her surprise, he laughed low under his breath. "Yeah, I'm really not the club type. My mom made me go."
The irony of his reply made Megan stop walking but since he kept on walking, she quickly caught up to him. "Your mom made you go? That's the strangest thing I've ever heard. Why would she do that?"
"She said I should do something like a typical teenager for once," he replied, sounding amused by his mother's thinking.
"You really meet my friend, Nicole," Megan said, "You two would get along really well."
By then they had reached Megan's house. Before going inside, Megan turned to him and admitted, "You know I actually came to apologize and thank you for yesterday. You know after I slammed the door in your face..."
Alan laughed louder than she had ever heard him. She hit his shoulder so hard that he almost fell. "Why are you laughing?! I just apologized and said thank you! You're not supposed to laugh!" She half yelled at him.
"Sorry," he said trying to keep a straight face. "It's just I've never seen anyone being as dramatic as that-"
"Ugh! You're unbelievable!" Megan threw her hands in the air and shut the door behind her.
"Second time you've done that," she heard him call out. She looked out of the window and saw him walking down the road with a hint of a grin on his face. Unbelievable, she thought shaking her head but smiling too because she, Megan Stewart made Alan Redmond, aka. Mr. Maybe-I-Can't-Smile, laugh.
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"I cannot believe you dragged me into this," Alex whined groaning. His annoyance grew bigger when Daniel didn't even look at him as he scanned the crowd for someone. Alex was just surprised that so many people even wanted to take part in that dorky play. It was a good thing the auditorium was so huge or they'd be squashed.
So he knew he shouldn't have let Daniel drag him away from his comfy sofa enjoying some popcorn while watching dumb stuff on T.V.
"Who are you looking for?! I'm standing right here!" He yelled into Daniel's ear.
"You didn't have to yell," Daniel complained rubbing his ear. "Just looking for Nicole," he replied absent-mindedly.
Alex stared at him with his eyebrow raised. For the first time since they got there, Daniel turned to look at him. "What?" He asked, questioningly.
"Are you okay?" Alex asked cautiously.
"Yeah..." Daniel answered wondering where he was going with this.
Alex put his hand on Daniel's forehead. "What are you doing?" Daniel asked slapping his hand away.
"Just checking to see if you're okay," Alex replied shrugging. "You've been acting... weird lately. No dates for a week now, 'Romeo and Juliet' and now Nicole," Alex said ticking off the things with his fingers.
"I like Romeo and Juliet," Daniel said defensively.
His eyes suddenly lit up and a smirk formed on his face. He turned completely towards Alex. "Imagine two teenagers in love," he grabbed Alex's hand, ignoring the bewildered look on Alex's face, "fighting against the world," he waved his arm around them, "just to be with each other." He wrapped his free arm around Alex's shoulder pulling him closer.
"You'd better not kiss or hug me," Alex warned.
"Mr. Clifte and Mr. Mason," a sharp melodious voice called out. Madame Gabrielle appeared. She was petite middle-aged woman who wore old-fashioned clothes and kept her long straight black hair in a tight bun. "This play is called 'Romeo and Juliet'," she told them sternly, "not 'Romeo and Romeo'."
Everyone gave little fits of laughter. Daniel instantly let go of Alex, who looked at ground fighting the urge to laugh along with the others. But Daniel shamelessly grinned at Madame Gabrielle, knowing that she was too much of a softy to do more than give him a stern look.
And he was right. Madame Gabrielle clapped her hands loudly to get everyone's attention. "This year, we're going to perform the play 'Romeo and Juliet' for the showcase. You all have artistic talents and this is the perfect way to show," she met every eye in the crowd, making sure that they were listening, "I want you all to do the best you can and take no role as small. Everyone has an important part to play no matter how small."
Most of the students looked skeptical at the remark. Alex was 100% sure that most of them were here for the lead. Madame Gabrielle finished her speech and the auditions began.
Aislinn waited patiently for her turn while quietly rehearsing her dialogs. She was almost sure that she could be Juliet, but as she cast her eyes around the people around her, she knew she had competition. Brenda Cortex tapped her heels impatiently not even bothering to do a last-minute rehearsal. Bree Mathews was furiously muttering the dialogs under her breath and Aislinn knew for a fact that Bree would do just about anything to get the lead. Even Sally Hart was eying every girl as her rival.
Nicole, on the other hand seemed to be the only girl who was content on just reading the script with no care about whether or not she would get the role.
"You seriously don't want the lead?" Aislinn asked unable to contain herself.
Nicole shrugged. "I'm not trying for Juliet anyway; I'm trying for her understudy."
Aislinn looked at her with her mouth hanging. "Who in their right minds would try for somebody's understudy?!"
"Me," Nicole replied cheerfully. Aislinn shook her head at her; there was no freakin' way she could be related to that girl. Suddenly, she caught sight of another red-head.
"What are you doing here?" Aislinn asked Blair who came to stand next to them, astonished.
"For taking part in the play," Blair answered in a 'No, Duh' tone while rolling her eyes.
"You're trying for Juliet too?" Nicole asked with more control of her surprise.
Blair snorted. "As if. I'm just going to be with the backstage management."
"You're doing this for extra credit," Nicole stated. Blair nodded.
"You two are just unbelievable," Aislinn concluded while Nicole and Blair grinned at her disappointment.
"Aislinn King!" Madame Gabriel suddenly called. Blair and Nicole gave an encouraging push as Aislinn strolled on stage. Sally gave her a thumbs up. But she could see Bree's and Brenda's glares on her back. Just ignore them, she told herself. She looked onto the audience and met Alex's eye. He smiled at her and mouthed 'Good Luck'.
"Scene five, at the Capulet's Hall," Madame Gabrielle informed.
Aislinn smiled confidently. She was expecting this scene. Madame Gabrielle continued, "Daniel Clifte, same scene with Miss King."
"Aren't you lucky," Daniel said, smirking as he came up next to her.
"Oh, I'm just dying with gratitude," Aislinn shot back sarcastically. But in fact, she was relieved that at least it wasn't some creep. They were both natural when it came to acting and the whole auditorium burst into applaud when they finished. They exchanged a grin.
Madame Gabrielle clapped the loudest. "I suppose I don't have to tell you two that was magnificent acting," she said smiling.
Aislinn high-fived Daniel as they went off stage. "We are so in!" They both yelled out. They were praised by nearly everybody backstage. But Nicole noticed a few people, particularly the girls, looking at Aislinn and Daniel with envy. Bree slumped into a chair looking very defeated and Nicole suddenly felt sympathy for her. It couldn't be easy to see a girl get everything she wanted.
"I wouldn't be sure about your part, King," a nasal voice caught their attention.
Daniel groaned. "Give it a rest, Brenda!" Everyone was suddenly quiet. Brenda's voice had that effect on people.
Brenda narrowed her eyes on Aislinn who looked back with equal hostility. "Oh, so you're defending her too," Brenda said without taking her eyes off Aislinn.
Daniel sighed. "Yes, because she's a friend."
Brenda turned her eyes towards him. "Just a friend?" Her mouth suddenly formed an unpleasant smile and Alex noted how her eyes flickered to Nicole for a second. "Old feelings die hard," Brenda continued on. This time she nodded towards Nicole very visibly. "Is that why you like the newbie? Because she looks like her?"
Alex's mouth almost hung open. He couldn't believe she could be that sick. He sneaked a side way glance at Nicole. She was frowning and so was Blair who stood beside her. Nicole turned to Alex. "What are they talking about?" She asked while Blair looked at him expectantly.
"You didn't tell her?" Brenda asked innocently, her sharp ears catching Nicole's question. "There's nothing to hide so why are you keeping her in the dark?"
"That's enough, Cortex," Aislinn spat out. "It was nothing and that's why it's nothing worth telling."
"What the hell is she talking about, Aislinn?" Blair demanded impatiently.
"That she still likes Daniel," Brenda answered instead, "Even though they're not dating each other now." She turned to Nicole to see her reaction causing everyone to stare at Nicole too.
Nicole just stared at Brenda's face. She heard those words and she knew it was nothing to get upset about. Daniel was just some jerk she had met. But then she asked herself why she suddenly felt like crying right there and then. Aislinn cast her widened eyes to Nicole, dearly hoping not to see any hatred for her.
Blair read the look on Nicole's face and almost automatically grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the prying eyes. "Don't you dare start crying now," she whispered furiously into Nicole's ear.
Aislinn's shoulders dropped. She wanted to follow Nicole, explain everything but she knew right now, Nicole was best left in Blair's company. She turned her eyes to Brenda. "This is too sick, Brenda. Even for you," she nearly whispered. Instead of hate, she felt only sympathy for Brenda. People, she believed, became what they were for a reason.
Alex came to her and tugged on her hand. "Let's just get out of here," he whispered, concerned by Aislinn's face. Aislinn followed him, mute.
Brenda's narrowed eyes followed Aislinn. She saw that sympathetic look, the look that had always taunted her. She was cool and collected on the inside but rage flared inside her. Who the hell did Miss-Popularity think she was, giving her, the Brenda Cortex, that look?! She suddenly felt Daniel's eyes on her.
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. All the cockiness and playfulness vanished. "You are the most disgusting girl I've ever met." He didn't scream or shout. He was calm as if stating a fact, his face cold as he looked into her dark eyes. And just like that he walked away leaving everyone buzzing with talk.
Sally shook her head at them. It was just like a soap opera to them. But Daniel and Aislinn weren't the only people who had the guts to talk to Brenda. Sally saw Bree and Brenda arguing with each other quietly. Bree looked frustrated while Brenda's face remained stubborn.
Sally sighed. Things were suddenly starting to become really complicated.
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