Chapter 4 - Complications

A month had passed since the first day of school. I’d 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. Remember how I told you that I loved coffee? Well, her scent reminded me of that. She had this creamy aroma that I wanted to eat up. Sometimes, I found myself drooling at the mere thought of it. Of course, I’d never let anyone catch me like that, but you know it goes.

In the first month that I’d been her seatmate, I’d noticed a lot of things about her, like how she’d have this twinkle in her eye when she caught me staring at her. 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 could hear it.

Based on the stories that I’d heard about her, she was a good actress. She even got nominated for the Emmys, but I never knew that her voice was angelic. I guessed it was a hidden talent of hers that she didn’t want to divulge to her fans.

Another thing I found cute about her was her nape. You know how girls tie up their hair in a braid or ponytail and leave their napes bare? Yeah, I was pretty much crazy about that. Whenever she did that in class, I couldn’t help but ogle her.

Sometimes, I thought 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 in amusement. After several minutes of me 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 had 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 came closer or talked to one of my classmates.

I knew that I was being pathetic, but my hormones and teenage mind and body were so happy and filled with the thought 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, but when I thought 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 ogle me at night inside her bedroom? I may be a lot of things, but I didn’t roll that way. I wasn’t comfortable with people seeing me in my birthday suit. Okay, maybe when I was ready to go all the way with someone I loved, but until then… Thanks, but no thanks.

So 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 just hoped that things would go my way. If not, then I’d have to find a hole to crawl into.

“Okay, class, listen up,” the English teacher said. “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, prompting 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 have to participate, and no one will be excused as this will make up a whole chunk of your English and Art final grades. It will be per class, and you’ll be competing with the others.

“Each class will be assigned a famous story, and you’ll all have to select who will play the part of the lead characters and support, who will set up the props, and all that hullaballoo that’s involved in this kind of practice. The play will be set a week before Christmas, so you’ll have two or more months to prepare for it. If you do well, you’ll all have a passing grade for this subject and your art subject, whether or not you fail 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 all gather round and discuss this. We don’t want the play to be your run-of-the-mill type of play. 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. So, for this class, the play will be Romeo and Juliet. You’ll present it in the auditorium in front of the other senior classes you’re competing with. Alright, now 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 groaned loudly and talked at the same time.

“Oh my God, the teachers have gone insane!” one of my classmates cried out.

“What does this even have to do with anything? I’m ruined!” another said.

Meanwhile, beside me, Tim pulled his curly black hair away from his face and clapped loudly, making everyone look and listen to him. He grinned before saying, “Don’t panic, guys. Remember that we have Frio by our side.”

They collectively turned in her direction while I stayed silent. Sure, dump all the acting responsibilities on her, guys, I thought.

Patty beamed. “That’s right! We have Frio, so this play will be easy as pie.”

Glace didn’t reply and seemed to be conflicted. I felt sorry for her since I knew she was trying 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 uncomfortable silence, one emo kid—I didn’t know his name—at the front of the class piped up. “Let’s make it a girl-on-girl play. You know, 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 before they erupted in cheers. It was obvious that they thought this was a good idea. I just stared at my notebook and pretended that I wasn’t part of the class while they talked amongst 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. “You’ll be Romeo.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Sorry, guys,” Glace said. “I don’t want to disappoint you, but can you please give me something other than the lead role? I can work as the props man or maybe take care of the costumes for you guys. I really, really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why?” Patty asked dejectedly. “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. 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; she’s so beautiful, just like you. You’d be the perfect pair,” said another girl in front of the classroom.

I looked up at the sound of my name. Everyone was staring at Glace and me. Say what now?

I glanced quickly at Glace, and our eyes met. The class may have missed the small smile at the edge of her lips, but I’d been observing her for a month, and I just 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. 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. “Oh my gosh, 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,” I pleaded.

My words fell on 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?”

I stared at Glace, and she gave me a smirk. “Of course…” she said smoothly. “If Dulce is not my partner, I’ll have to decline.”

I groaned inwardly and settled my head against the desk. They were so selfish! 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 could 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, so 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 cringed inwardly as I approached and opened the locker door.

“So,” she began, “all of us seniors need to participate in the play. I have the lead part for our class, of course, and I’m confident that you got it in yours too.”

“Yes, Denise,” I said automatically, too tired to even argue with her. I didn’t have the strength to contradict her or even turn in her direction to roll my eyes. I felt like a zombie.

“We should have a celebration, babe. Let’s hang out at Nels. My treat,” she said with enthusiasm.

Nels was this cool restaurant near our school where all the popular kids went. Sometimes, I’d eat there with Patty and Tim—not because I was forced to do so by the school clique but because they served mouth-watering dishes. I wasn’t in the mood today, and I definitely didn’t want to hang out with Denise, of all people.

I shut the door to my locker and walked away without saying anything. I heard Denise following behind me. “Babe! Where are you going? I’m not done talking to you yet.” She touched my shoulder, forcing me to turn to her.

“Denise, please…not today. I’m having a bad day, and I just really want to go home,” I said in a dead voice, completely devoid of emotion.

“Do you have a fever, babe?” she asked in concern. She placed her palm over my forehead and tried to feel if I was warm. After that, she still 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 and withdrew her hands immediately. See? I knew that would shock her.

“I don’t have a fever, Denise. I just want to go home and rest. Thanks for the concern, but I’ll be going now.” She didn’t argue and just stood as still as a statue, so 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 in all her beauty. Her eyes danced with amusement, but I didn’t stick around to try to figure anything out. Instead, I ignored her and walked briskly to the parking lot and went straight home.

My mom was already at the house when I arrived. Thank God! I needed someone sensible to talk to.

“Hey, sweetie,” she greeted.

“Hi, Mom,” I said and kissed her on the forehead.

She took one good look at me with those soulful eyes of her and began her interrogation. “Someone looks unhappy,” she said.

“Someone is,” I replied. I took a seat on the couch next to her and grabbed one of the blue pillows that I always loved to hug.

“Who made my beautiful daughter sad?”

I looked behind me. “Beautiful? Where?” I joked.

She chuckled and patted my knee. “Okay, Dulce, what happened?”

I told her all about Denise and how I was getting tired of her mixed signals, about her following me around every chance she got, and about the school play and Glace. I left out the part about Glace being Frio the celebrity and how she wanted to draw me nude.

After the lengthy explanation, my mom raised her hand to 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, Dulce,” she said. “I’m not a lesbian, but I am a woman, and I know for a fact 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 in 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.”

“Yes, I see how that could be a problem,” Mom said. “How about this Glace girl. Do you like her?”

I avoided her gaze. “Maybe,” I said.

“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. My mom really loved my dad. She still did. It was too bad that he had passed away so soon. We would have been a great family.

“So, do you like her?” she asked again.

“A little,” I admitted. “But she’s weird! What’s up with that? What would you do if you had a big crush on someone and it turned out that he or she is a nut job of some kind? Would you pursue her, Mom?”

“If I really liked this person, then I probably would.”

I groaned loudly. “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,” I said lamely.

“Hmmm,” was all she said before my mobile phone rang loudly inside my bag, interrupting our conversation.

I quickly took the phone from the bag and raised a finger, telling my mom that I needed to take the call. When she nodded, I stood up and answered the call. “Dulce, here. What’s up?”

“Hey, Dulce. 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. Tomorrow is Saturday, so we’ll have the whole day. You can’t say no since you have the lead role. The script will be taken care of, so don’t worry about that. We just need to give you your copy and maybe run a few lines here and there with Frio to test out your chemistry together.”

“But, but—” I objected.

“No buts, cutie. We’ll all be waiting for you tomorrow. We’ll text you the address of the meeting place, so have your beauty rest tonight and get ready for tomorrow. See ya,” she said before hanging up.