				JUST LIKE ROMEO AND JULIET (Chapter 8)

Sophia sat at her kitchen table, doling out the happy meals to Eric and Tara, her younger brother and sister. Eric was 8, Tara 6, and they really were cute kids. She had to baby-sit tonight after work, because her mother had gotten an extra shift at the hotel where she worked the front desk. Luckily, she had company-Warren had come home with her. He had gone with her to McDonalds to get some food, and was now making googoo eyes at Tara while he ate his Big Mac. Sophia smiled to herself, as Warren engaged Eric on the finer points of the Boston Bruins' power play. Then he made more funny faces at Tara. Tara was utterly charmed, Eric thought Warren was "neat", and Sophia couldn't stop smiling. She'd never had another boyfriend who even acknowledged Eric and Tara's existence. What a guy, she thought for about the millionth time in the two weeks that they had been going out.

"You're really good with little kids."

"I like 'em. Always have. And Eric and Tara are cool."

"You've got these at home, didn't you say?"

"Yeah, but a little bit older. Ryan is eleven, and Kristin is nine."

"Well, you've got Eric and Tara eating out of the palm of your hand."

Warren laughed. "It's practice."

"Practice?"

"I told you I want to be a doctor, right? Well, what I want to be is a pediatrician."

"Judging from my siblings here, you've certainly got the bedside manner thing down already."

"It was easy with them. They're good kids."

"I gotta get 'em ready for bed. Wanna help?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'm gonna crack these books. I did tell you if I came over with you, you'd have to put up with me studying for a bit."

"Right. OK, come on guys, let's get those PJ's on!"

Sophia got her brother and sister ready for bed, and Tara insisted on coming down to "kiss Warren goodnight." Eric settled for a high five. Sophia shooed them up to bed, then came back down to find Warren with his nose buried in a book.

"Watcha readin'?"

"Hamlet."

"Isn't that Shakespeare?"

"Uh-huh. I wasn't lying when I told you I read him for fun, but this is an assignment. I've read it before, but it's been a while, so I'm refreshing my memory. I got my biology done so I figured I'd delve into Hamlet for a while."

"Why do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Study so hard."

"So I can get good grades, which will allow me to get into a good college, which if I continue to get good grades will allow me to get into medical school."

"Got it all figured out, eh?"

"Well, I am only fourteen. Things could change. But you still need the grades to get into college, that part doesn't change."

"I'm just in awe that you even have a clue of what to do with your life. I don't."

"What do you like?"

"Academically? Nothing."

"Soph, if you paid attention in class every once in a while, you might find something."

"Thanks, Prep Boy,"

"Don't mention it. Besides which, I do know something you like. I doubt you could take it yet, but you could build towards it."

"What?"

"When we're watching TV, what channel do you keep flipping to?"

"Well, the Weather Channel. I like weather."

"Right. Meteorology is a career, you know." Warren teased.

"Hmmm. I never thought about it. Ah, it doesn't matter. I'll never get into college, not with my grades."

"Sophia, you're a freshman. You have plenty of time to change."

"Yeah, but I've got a horrible hole to dig myself out of."

"That's the easy part. Colleges will ignore your freshman year, if the other years are good. In fact, they love that stuff. Big improvement in high school grades? That overshadows the crummy beginning."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Hmmm. Of course, I'd have to start to care about school. That's the real tough part. It's so boring."

"It can't be all boring. You have to keep your mind open. I have discovered interesting things in school that I wouldn't have otherwise."

"You go to a better school than I do."

"True. But you'll find something. And, sometimes, you just have to fake it for the sake of the grade." They both laughed. "I hate math, with a passion. But I've got an A in geometry so far."

"I'll have to give this some thought. Now, tell me about this Shakespeare guy."

"I'll do better than tell you." He dug around in his bookbag. "I like Hamlet, but you don't want to start with that one." He withdrew a book and looked at it. "Comedy is good to start, and Taming of the Shrew is one of his best, but I think I've got something that your tortured romantic soul will like even better." Sophia giggled. Warren withdrew another book. "Aha! Here we go. Romeo and Juliet. Here, read this."

"I don't know if I can actually read Shakespeare."

"Sure you can. Listen, the language can be a bit daunting, but most of it you can get from context. This is also my study copy, so you'll see some notes on words in the margins. Any you don't get, you can ask me. The most important thing in reading Shakespeare is to not let the language hold you up. Go with the flow. Don't get frustrated. A word here or there escapes, fine, as long as you get the gist of it. It's the ideas, and the poetry of the language, that you want to get. As the man himself said, 'The play's the thing.'"

"You really think I can get through this?"

"I know you can, Sophia. And, if you get it, you will love that one. Make sure you have a box of tissues handy. Weep, cry, sob." Sophia laughed.

"OK, Warren, if you think I can do this. I'll give it a try."


Sophia fell asleep reading. She called Warren after school the next day, asking about a passage. He clarified it for her, and she surprised herself at how quick she got off the phone to continue reading.
He was right, if you didn't let the language bog you down, it was not really difficult reading. And, wow what a story. Now she knew why Warren was hooked.

She finished Romeo and Juliet before she went to sleep that night. And she used half a box of tissues.


They worked after school the next day. Sophia walked in, and Warren was already there, starting in on the dishes.

"Hi, Prep Boy." She held out the copy of Romeo and Juliet. "What a great, great book."

"You liked it?"

"Loved it. Couldn't put it down. Amazing, isn't it?" They both laughed. "Now I know why you picked that one to give me first, though. It's kind of......well, it's kind of us, isn't it?"

"In a way. Hopefully, without that whole messy double-suicide thing, however." They both laughed.

"True," Sophia agreed. "But the whole lovers-from-different-worlds thing, that's what reminded me of us."

"I had noticed that, yes."

"More?"

"What, more Shakespeare?" Sophia nodded sheepishly. " Dammit, Soph, we'll make an intellectual out of you yet!!"

"Not very damn likely, Prep Boy."

"I've got Taming of the Shrew in my bookbag. I'll get that for you before we leave. This one is different. It's a comedy."

"After Romeo and Juliet, I think a comedy will be a good thing!"


They walked home, and Sophia took her bookbag up to her room, intending to dive into Taming of the Shrew. When she went to get it out, she saw her history textbook. She had a history quiz tomorrow. She knew what chapters it was on. She could read 'em, at least.

What the hell, she thought.

She withdrew the history text and opened it. 





