"Can we try it again? But this time, please, follow the script."
"O' Romeo, o' Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
"Probably sucking dick, aye?"
"Really, Jonathan?" The teacher sighed.
Oh, good. Five minutes in and it's already gone to shit, Louis thought.
He was sitting at the back of the rather large classroom and was hoping to go unnoticed, but he almost scoffed and drew attention to himself as he rolled his eyes at the comment.
He stared at the front of the room at the two students who stood in front of the class—a group of seventeen and eighteen-year-olds with scripts in their hands—as their voices echoed around every corner of the room and spilled out into the hallway beyond the door.
One of the students, a girl, was looking at her acting partner with a disgruntled look. The boy she stared at returned the gaze. His eyes filled with the determination to see how far he could push his luck with the teacher. With an evil smile spreading across his face, he straightened up a bit more and pushed his chest out, causing his already tight shirt to tighten even more.
"Jonathan, can you act seriously?" the girl whined. 'Just for once?'
"Stacy, I'm just stating a fact," Jonathan replied, imitating Stacy's tone.
That wasn't a fact, you twat. You ended it as though asking a question, Louis rolled his eyes again, giving everything to remain silent and invisible.
"Just 'cause it isn't in the script doesn't mean it's not true."
"Can we please stop?" the teacher pleaded.
She looked exhausted. Her hair was held up in a tight bun that seemed to slowly become undone, spiralling loose hairs all over the place. Louis assumed there were dark circles under her eyes as well, hidden under the make-up. But he could have been wrong. Maybe she wasn't tired from lack of sleep, but, rather, having to put up with students like Jonathan every day.
"This is your final year," she continued to speak as she got up from her seat, moving towards Jonathan and Stacy, but kept shifting her gaze over the other students. "As per tradition, you will be performing a play for the school and the public. The play happens to be 'Romeo and Juliet'. If you are unhappy with that, Jonathan, then, I, quite frankly, do not care. You auditioned for the role, and you got it. I don't see what your problem is all of a sudden. Now, please, listen to Stacy and take this seriously."
"Thank you, Mrs Carter." Stacy sighed, turning to Jonathan and raising her eyebrows.
"Ugh, fine." Jonathan almost growled. "But I have a question." Jonathan turned his attention to the rest of the class, scanning the room until his eyes rested on Louis.
Crap, Louis thought.
He had known this would happen, and he was disappointed that his position at the back of the classroom, away from everybody else, wasn't a good enough hiding spot.
"Ask away." Mrs Carter sounded exasperated as if she would rather not hear Jonathan's question.
"Why doesn't that loser have to do the play?" Jonathan's eyes were still trained on Louis as a smirk played on his lips.
"Jonathan!" Mrs Carter's voice was sharp, and it seemed that the exhaustion she had felt before completely disappeared.
"I'm serious! It's unfair to the rest of us," Jonathan started, brushing off the harsh tone of Mrs Carter. "And, if anyone should be playing the gay-acting character, then it should be the gay kid."
"I will not tolerate that attitude in my class!" Mrs Carter kept her eyes trained on Jonathan as she tried to take back control of the situation. "Not another word. I'm already going to write you up, Jonathan. Don't make it any worse."
"It's alright," Louis said.
It was sudden, and Louis didn't expect to get the reaction he did. As his voice floated effortlessly to the front of the classroom, everyone turned to look at him. Some of the students had clear looks of excitement on their faces while others just looked at Louis with disgust. He didn't pay them much mind, though, and focused solely on Jonathan, holding his gaze.
"Louis—" Mrs Carter started, but Louis cut her off.
"If Jonathan is struggling with his sexuality, and is in so much denial that he can't play a character that 'acts gay'"—Louis raised his hands to form air quotes, pausing for effect before continuing—"and if Jonathan also feels the need to lash out because he's frightened to be... gay, then we should all be patient with him and try to accept him for who he is."
Louis watched Jonathan's face contort while the rest of the class turned away from Louis to see Jonathan's response.
"Wh-what? I-I—"
"I mean, you've practically just come out to us as gay, anyway," Louis continued before Jonathan could finish stuttering his reply. "Romeo is gay, and likes to suck dick? Jonathan, you are Romeo. You wanted to be Romeo. I'm actually kind of proud of you."
The class began to snicker; even those who were looking at Louis with hatred before had trouble holding their laughter, all while Louis continued to smirk at Jonathan.
"S-screw you, L-Louis!" Jonathan mumbled with a stutter. "I'm not gay!"
"Jonathan!" Mrs Carter tried to intervene, but Louis continued.
"Really? You're not? 'Cause the way you're talking sounds like you've got a dick in your mouth."
"Louis!" The teacher tried again but to no avail.
"You're such a loser,Louis! Maybe you could get on your knees for some cash. By looking at the wayyou dress, it seems like you need it!" Jonathan had managed to recomposehimself, even if he was practically yelling.
Louis, however, continued to remain calm, speaking softly.
"Wow, I can almost smell the crap coming from your mouth. You know, if you didn't have your head so far up your ass, you'd probably talk less shit."
By this point, Mrs Carter had given up. It seemed she didn't stand a chance as by now most of the class were snickering wildly, turning their heads from side to side as if they were watching a tennis match.
"Do you ever shut the hell up?! Maybe that's the reason you don't have any friends! You're a colossal asshole!" Jonathan yelled.
He was getting angrier and angrier. His face had flushed red, and Louis could see sweat starting to form on his forehead. He could only imagine how hot and clammy Jonathan's hands had become. Louis, on the other hand, remained calm and collected. He was enjoying this. He always did. He'd had to endure this almost every day since he started school, so he had become quite good at keeping his cool. Every time someone decided to take him on in a 'verbal war', as Sam put it, he'd relish in the opportunity to take them down a peg. He hadn't lost one so far.
"Oh, nice one, Jonathan!" Louis gave a few sarcastic slow claps. "Where'd you get that comeback from? Your mum's chin? Or was it your dad's?"
"ENOUGH!" Mrs Carter's voice ripped through the air, causing silence to overtake the room. Louis still looked at Jonathan, not fazed by the teacher's apparent anger. "Jonathan Write. Louis Stan. Outside. Now. Everyone else, practise your lines."
"I'm the asshole? You started it," Louis mumbled, but catching the eye of Mrs Carter, he fell silent.
He always toed the boundaries, but he knew when enough was enough.
He slowly got up from the floor, grabbing his bag as he did so. It was wise to avoid leaving his bag laying around at school because, from time to time, the other students would try to tamper with it.
Louis stretched his back when he got to his feet and followed Mrs Carter towards the door. Jonathan shuffled after him, throwing his script down on the chair. Louis slipped out the door Mrs Carter held open and walked into the hall outside the classroom. Jonathan was right behind him. The door shut with a loud bang as the teacher took her place right in front of them. Her green eyes were fiery, and her hair had become even messier.
"This is your last year here. You are both almost adults. Turning eighteen in a few months. You're better than this." She looked at Louis and Jonathan, but neither of them said a word.
Louis knew he wasn't really getting in trouble, which was a change. Usually, the teachers at his school blamed him for everything, even though he was only fighting back. Mrs Carter, however, wasn't like the rest. She understood more, and Louis gave her a small smile she surely noticed as she continued talking directly to Jonathan.
"This play will be the last thing you do at this school, and I don't want it to be a spoiled memory. For you, your classmates, or the public," Mrs Carter finished and waited for a response.
"I'm sorry," Jonathan almost whispered as he stared at his feet, but Mrs Carter heard him and turned to Louis.
"Louis... I know we've discussed this and your role in the play—"
"I'm not doing it," Louis interjected before letting his teacher continue.
"I know, I know," Mrs Carter replied, sighing in defeat. "But you still need to do something. This play is worth fifty percent of your grade for this class. Have you decided how you're going to make that up?"
"Sorry, but I haven't really thought about it," Louis replied, quickly adding, "but you know I can't be in the play."
"I understand that." Mrs Carter and Louis ignored Jonathan's look of disbelief and his disgruntled mumbles. "But I still need to mark you on something. It can be anything," Mrs Carter continued. "As long as it's drama related. A monologue, maybe?"
Louis sighed. Knowing that it was his best option, he nodded at Mrs Carter's words. "Yeah, alright. A monologue it is."
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