Irresistible Love

Chapter Eight// Teacher &Student

Elle Summerall

The air in the class room became moist and humid, and the early dose of spring temperatures sizzled in Mrs. Fletcher's classroom. Everybody who surrounded me had their heads faced down, furiously inscribing on their essay papers with pencils, while my Romeo and Juliet thoughts drew a blank like a heart monitor losing its patient. The question Write one or two paragraphs describing how Romeo and Juliet has impacted your view on life taunted me.

I quickly glimpsed up from my unwritten paper and watched as Mrs. Fletcher paraded by each row with her hands behind her back. Once she reached my desk and saw the work that I failed to do, she crouched beside me. "Did Mr. Suave's tutoring not help you better understand this topic?" she whispered with a curious look on her face.

Instantly, the light bulb flickered in my brain, and it was clearly visible in my facial expression as well. Ethan's tutoring... As a response to Mrs. Fletcher's question, I nodded my head, and she continued to roam the rows and columns. Bringing my eyes back to my bare sheet of paper, with pencil in hand, I began to compose my essay. However, instead of recalling what Ethan had educated me about Romeo and Juliet, I simply reminisced about Ethan himself:

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tragic playwright that rises antagonistic and clashing conflicts, while still containing all of the elements that shape a well-developed story--adventure, suspense, beauty, and, most importantly, romance. Centered around the fifteenth century, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are each the incoming generation of rival noble families. Because of their ancestors' past, both are automatically born to have hatred in their hearts for one another. Regardless, it is love at first sight when Romeo bestows his eyes upon the fair maiden Juliet. Likewise, Juliet's feelings towards Romeo are mutual. Disobeying their family's strict rules, the rebellious teens struggle to keep the fire between them burning. As cliché as it all appears to be, the play is heart-warming and moving, along with poetic phrases that effortlessly flow with elegance, delicacy, and meaning.

I will denounce and publicly admit that Romeo and Juliet was not on my list of favorite manuscripts to read. The cheesy, sappy love scenes that I had always heard about were not my personal preference, simply because I found it quite difficult to believe and comprehend that two people could fall in love so easily and quickly. However, I later realized that I was only envious of the love shared between Romeo and Juliet and the fact that their bond was able to change their entire kingdom's--especially their family's--perspective. A special somebody once recited Romeo's words to me himself: "If I profane with my unworthiness hand. This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand. To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." At first, this line increased my spitefulness of their infatuation. Then, the finalization hit me like a rush of lightning springing through my body. 

The two star-crossed lovers set a precedent for everybody: We all have our own Romeo or Juliet in ourselves and have the power to impact other people's lives similar to how Romeo and Juliet affected their family's view on their rivalry, eventually putting an end to it. From there, we continue to pass on the legacy set by the lovers Romeo and Juliet, only hoping that we can someday make as much of an impact as they did.

I reread my essay a few times, making a few edit marks here and there. Then, I was the first to finish, stand up, and hand in my paper to Mrs. Fletcher who was seated promptly at her desk, waiting for the first brave soul to hand in their work. I stood at the front of her desk, anticipating for her to notice my presence. 

Once she saw me, Mrs. Fletcher showed me a small smile--the kind that [nice] strangers give you when you walk pass them in the hallway or on the street. Taking the paper in her own hands, she followed by asking, "Finished early, huh?" I looked at the ticking clock. Ten minutes early. I had no idea how I was the last to start my essay and the first to finish. All of the words somehow poured from my mind with ease.