Today is Opening Night. That’s right. It’s the big one.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is only a small school play, but this is the eighth grade. This is the last time I can prove myself before I go into dreaded high school.

I guess I could say I’m perfectly fine, but that would just be a lie. Mr. O’Neill, the director, just had to pick something right out of Shakespeare. I mean, it’s not like I have anything against the 500-year-old playwright… or is he older than 500? But I do know that Shakespeare is known for making tragedies.

This play is going to be the biggest of them all.

Romeo and Juliet, a forbidden love story between two young lovers. Where I am blessed to be Juliet, I am also cursed to say that Romeo is the one and only Shane Johnson, which, of course, is just the most popular boy in our school. He just has these stunning green eyes, and perfect sandy colored hair. He’s tall, he’s handsome, he cares about people around him, and he even prefers dogs over cats!

As if you couldn’t tell, I’ve had this secret crush on Shane since the third grade, even though I’ve never spoken more than five words to him, and yet, tonight I have to kiss him in front of an entire audience that will include both my, and Shane’s, parents.

            Well, as I’m in the dressing room powdering up my face and getting into the itchiest Shakespearian dress ever sewn; I can’t help to wonder why I tried out for this play to begin with. I could have at least been backstage, hidden from the crowd of parents. When did kissing ever become a spectator sport? I should be at home, reading Romeo and Juliet and lusting over a forbidden romance I wish I could have, not acting it.

            Five minutes later and I’m walking out on stage. Why didn’t they give me an understudy? I’m sure they would have liked to perform this play a thousand times more than me. In fact, how did I even get this part? I have scrappy brown hair that’s always thick and tangled, and dull gray eyes that aren’t even close to being pretty. Juliet is supposed to be a beautiful maiden; a big bowl of chocolate ice cream covered with sprinkles and crumbled Oreo cookies, where I am the month old vanilla ice cream that has become completely flavorless due to freezer burn.

            The lights are bright. The scenery is colorful and elegant. I’m hearing some lines go off, speaking an old English language that I barely understand. I know I’ve uttered some of this gibberish too, but I’m not even aware of it.

Suddenly, without an ounce of warning, I’m standing on a prop balcony, looking down on Shane. It’s not even a kiss and by now I’m ready to proclaim my love, which isn’t as pretend as it should be.

            The audience is quiet, and I’m standing here waiting to utter words I can’t even remember. Did someone just cough? Or was there a sneeze? Or is there something big and lumpy on my face, like a huge zit bursting and ready to pop?

            I start to think to myself, that this is the start of the rest of my life. There are three more days to do this play, and if I screw up now I’ll be screwing up until I’m an old lady living in and old mansion surrounded by hundreds of cats.

            I take a deep breath and look down to Shane, and I smile bravely. It’s not a kiss, but I feel myself blushing with excitement, and I know that this is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life. So here goes nothing.

            “Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, wherefore art thou, oh Romeo?”