When star athlete, DeAndre Parker clashes with a tough no-nonsense female classmate, he quickly learns that unlike basketball, there's no playin' hard in the game of love.
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They say it takes twenty-one days to break a habit. It had been forty days and I was still contemplating if you could fall out of love in that amount of time.
The verdict?
Well, only time would tell.
It was sixth period AP English and Mr. Ventura had us discussing the classic romance novel he'd assigned. We had to write a paper on it in a few weeks and I was debating on going rogue and just writing the truth. Love was nothing more than some redundant need cooked up by man that only led to heartache and pain. Although I was sure writing fuck love would get me a detention along with a parent/teacher talk with my father.
Sighing, I turned the page of my book and lazily read over its text, feeling nothing at all.
"Let's talk about Shakespeare," Mr. Ventura said as he leaned against his desk, crossing his ankles and his arms. "His interpretation of love is something that's lasted for centuries and is still relatable today. Wouldn't you agree?"
Castidad raised her hand and was called on. "At first I thought he was weird, but now that I'm older I kinda grew to like his style. Romeo & Juliet is such a beautiful story when you look at the idea of it. Those two people really loved each other, enough to die at the thought of living without the other. That's sweet."
I rolled my eyes and I could've sworn I was going to gag.
"Cree," Mr. Ventura called me out. "You don't seem to agree, care to explain?"
"I'm sorry but Romeo & Juliet was a stupid story about a couple of idiots who were impatient and just dumb. People died over their stupidity and I'm supposed to cry at their 'love.' No thank you."
"Then let's talk about your favorite love story. I seem to remember last year you were very elaborative on this topic, causing a debate."
"I don't have a favorite love story. Love isn't important, not like knowledge and survival."
Mr. Ventura's brows furrowed. He faced the class. "Anyone agree?"
Castidad raised her hand, looking back at me with concern. This poor, naïve girl. "I think love is an important component to being a human being. We need love to survive. I think people in our age group barely grasp the concept. They're too busy worrying over trivial matters."
Mr. Ventura got that look in his eye like was he excited about this discussion. It was sixth period, the end of the day for some of us, and he just had to pull this bullshit now.
Tremaine spoke up next. "I disagree. We're in the prime of our lives. Knowledge should be our main goal. People our age have a whole lot of life to live," he glanced at Castidad, "oats to sow, settling down now never works out. We should strive to achieve our dreams and to be successful for our careers and future endeavors."
