I didn’t want to do it. Nor did I have any intention on following through. But I guess that kind of defeats the whole purpose of trying. I was the only one who didn’t volunteer, but rather was told to do it, without conformity. The only one that is, besides Julian, who just as grudgingly as me, agreed. Julian was the type of kid who sat in the back and when called upon, mumbled a few words. In sixth grade I remember I couldn’t tell his gender, and thought his name was Julie. He had always had long course-looking hair that reached his shoulders, but it was always clean. It was a mystery to me whether or not he even could speak a full sentence, until we were both put into the same drama class. Of course he was still shy, but he had talent. His one-decibel voice, as soft as it was, echoed throughout the room as we practiced scenes. His long, thin and graceful arms would move in a way that suggested he cared about this. He cared so much about acting. But he never showed it out of the classroom. Until Mr. Kane told us straight up that we would be in the new play, audition or not. I never thought I had any talent in this, but sometimes I would get carried away, and just like Julian, I was swept up in the glamour of acting. So when I was told I would play the part of Juliet I reluctantly agreed. As did Julian.

“ Romy, you’re going to do so well!” Alice exclaimed.

“ Wow, you’re lucky. Most people have to audition.” Said Charlotte. These girls whom I barely knew, either supported me, or envied me. Until they found out who the Romeo was. I almost laughed out loud when Mr. Kane told us that Julian would be Romeo.

“ Romy and Julian as Romeo and Juliet!” Alice shouted again. “ Maybe they should switch roles to fit their names.”

I wanted to stride over and punch her squarely in the face. Julian just slouched in his chair, waiting for the moment when the precious bell rang and released us from torment. High School had proven itself not worthy of my attendance, I thought as I gathered up my books for the anticipated bell. I glanced over at Julian once more, but his reaction to the news hasn’t changed. He still had his mouth in a firm line and his green eyes stared ahead. It was as if he didn’t care, or he really didn’t want to do it. But I knew he did. I knew he was probably bubbling inside from happiness that someone had recognized his talent.

And so that is why I decided to sit with him at lunch. Well the technicality of it was, he didn’t eat lunch. He sat outside, rain or shine, and picked blades of grass until there was a patch of grass that was shorter then the rest. He didn’t have much to do otherwise. No one spoke to him and he spoke to no one, it was a mutual thing that everyone agreed to unconsciously. I slowly opened the door, and ventured outside. It was a crisp autumn day, and the air was cold enough to stab the inside of your nose if you inhaled too sharply. The wind blew weakly in my face and the leaves danced around on the ground ahead of me. I tried to make it a game to step on them all before they blew away, but I found myself already near Julian. As I got closer I saw the tenderness that he used to pick each strand of grass. His cheeks were slightly flushed and he smiled to himself. A smile that was almost completely hidden from the world, apart from myself. The wind blew his light brown hair around, landing in times, in his beautiful green eyes. I sat down next to him and he stopped picking his grass. He didn’t turn to me, but expressed with his eyes and mouth that he knew I was there and that it was in fact me, not some other strange person. The wind caught my scarf and blew it into Julian’s lap where he instantly became rigid. His head tilted down and he stared at the pattern on my scarf intently, as if it were some code meant to be deciphered. I did not snatch it away from him, nor did he make any motions to remove the scarf from his lap. We stayed like this all through the hour and when the bell finally rung, I got up, leaving the scarf discarded on his lap. He didn’t flinch; he made no movement, but I saw the smile.