Shakespeare got it wrong chapter 14 Juliet
I stare at my polished white desk at a maths book that apparently holds the answer to all my problems but I can’t seem to translate this language into anything useful. Seriously I hate to say it but come on, Algebra really needs to stop asking me to find his X, she broke up with him for a reason and don’t ask me Y. I giggle at myself. Math’s homework always starts the same. I come home from school, determined, after having a lesson, all throughout which I struggled with the easiest concept. So I come home wanting to master the art of numbers and only getting about five minutes into it when Theo sends me some cute text and totally disrupts my pattern. Usually, but that isn’t what is distracting me this time, it’s the fact that Theo hasn’t texted me that is sending my mind reeling.
I huff as I rub the back of my neck and slam my textbook shut with a floppy bang. DAMN! I am so going to fail high school. Looking around my desk, I fumble to rearrange my stationary that has somehow wondered from my pink coloured pencil cups. Mum would kill me if she knew I wasn’t doing my homework.
Footsteps resound down the hallway. I hear the soft click clack of my mother’s high heels smacking the floor as she struts into Grace’s room. My heart sinks, they are probably having some mother daughter time where they get manicures and tell each other about their day. I feel like screaming “ hey mum, remember seventeen years ago when you gave birth to a little girl? , well guess what she is still alive and has never had mother daughter time!”. Then I would add a chorus of swear words on the end and deadbolt my door so she can’t come and bash the crap out of me.
“WHHAATTTT!” my sister screams. I jump in my seat, knocking the swivel chair over as it crashes to the floor, thank god the carpet it super squishy and stops noise from travelling. I pick myself up and creep towards my bathroom, careful of my footfall on the shiny white tiles. I press my ear to the far wall, the wall that conjoins my sister’s room to mine. I strain my ears, what could my mother have possibly said that would upset Grace so much?
“Honey, it’s only for a month, life will go on, and your sister seems to be doing fine” my mother slurs. I check my watch. Yep, 7:30, she is totally drunk right now and about to be starting up on the pot anytime soon. I can’t believe she is such an idiot as to think it improves her looks.
“Mum, cutting my credit card! You have not right! Dad couldn’t have agreed to that, where is he!” my sister shrieks. I cover my mouth as a giggle tickles my insides like a snake wrestling a baboon in my stomach. So this is what it is all about, my dumbass sister has blown her allowance again. I have no idea how that is possible she gets like five hundred dollars a week. Me, if I am lucky get twenty.
“Darling I know this is tough but we will get through this, some changes have to be made temporarily to complement my….condition” my mother pauses.
“What condition, don’t tell me you need my money to pay for that stupid beauty remedy you smoke every night.” My sister hisses. I smile, beauty remedy my chubby ass.
“Sweetie, in order for me to obtain my current position in the beauty magazines and social rank I need to look young, and this, this is doing the trick.” My mother slurs as I hear her walk towards the door.
“You look even uglier you old hag, its pot are you stupid? Its pot!” My sister shrieks. WOW, she is not as dumb as I thought. Seems I am not the only smart one in this household.
“How dare you, no manicure for you, you little b**ch!” my mother screams as she trots down the hall way, he stench of overly expensive perfume drifts after her. I collapse on the floor of my bathroom. My body racks with laughter as I take in what I just heard. For one, my sister is no longer BFFS with my mother, my sister has had her money cut and Grace also told mum she looked ugly. Oh the pleasures of living in the Capulet household.
My bedroom door slams open and a wave of shakes vibrates through the wall. I jump to my feet and run to my connected bedroom. In the doorway, dressed in the new Victoria’s secret nighty collection, stands my sister. Her perfect slender tanned arms resting on her hips as she scans my room. My heart pounds in my chest as I lock eyes with her. Panic sets in. What is she going to do now? I haven’t even done anything to tick her off yet. Memories arise of a few days ago when I was completely humiliated by having Theo coming to save me because Grace decided she would stick my bag up into a tree and see if she could compromise the swapping of my boyfriend for her new Gucci bag. Why is she so desperate to have Theo, why does she want to ruin everything I have? Why does she threaten to tell on me for seeing Theo when I shouldn’t be? I have never dobbed her in when she has confessed her love life to me in the rare glimpses that she acts like my sibling.
Looking at my face Grace smirks.
“Chill out dweeb, I just need your help” she says as she struts over to my bed and flops herself onto it. Arranging the pillows to suit her.
“Um… Okay” I say as I carefully peel myself from the bathroom door and go to shut my bedroom door. I sit in my desk chair and spin it around to face her. I squeeze my legs tightly together, sit up straight and suck in my stomach, to avoid all criticism I put my best foot forward and even lift my head high to avoid being bullied by Grace about my body.
“So I have this like, hunch, that tells me that mums so called beauty remedy is actually pot, because I have had pot before and the other day I smoked some in secret because if this really is a beauty remedy then I want in on it; you know what I mean?” She pauses mid rant and hooks an upraised eyebrow at me giving me permission to contribute.
And because I never have these hearts to hearts with my older sister, and would give anything to be closer with her I nod my head enthusiastically, prompting that I know exactly what she means.
“Anyways, I smoked some of her “beauty remedy” and it tasted exactly like pot!” she throws her hands up in frustration; she kicks back and knocking all my pillows off my bed which scatter the floor in a messy pile.
“It is pot any idiot can tell that” I snort, praying to god that this is exactly the answer she wants to hear. A small chuckle escapes her lips as she smiles at me.
“Hey, you’ve lost heaps of weight” she exclaims all of a sudden, her greedy eyes looking over my body for something to criticise. I look down at my clothes, my T-shirt hangs off my boobs like a tent and my skinny jeans are no longer ‘skinny’ jeans. I frown; I didn’t want to lose weight. But I guess mums “no eating anything more than muesli bars and fruit” diet has worked.
“UH… thanks?” I say sitting up a little straighter in my chair. Inside my heart is hammering in my chest and my brain pulses with hope. I hope this continues, I hope I get my big sister back, the sister that, used to be the centre of attention but craved to be left alone, the sister that used to help me do my hair and paint my nails, the sister that treated me like a sister.
She stands and stretches out her long tanned legs.
“Tell you what, I am looking for ways to piss mum off at the moment as she is cutting my credit card and I am going shopping tomorrow to blow off all the money on it so there’s none left for her…… do you wanna come, I could get you some new clothes?” she says as she picks at her cuticles and starts strutting towards the door.
“Sure, I’d like that” I smile as she leaves the same way she came.. with a bang.
*** The next day******
Colours, patterns, textures swirl around me like I am in an ecstasy overdrive. All little pots of magical glitter and pearls and jewels that hang off long thin gold chains. My heart flutters at the feel of soft satin under my freshly manicured hands, I love the way it slides under your fingertips like small ocean waves rolling over the shoreline. My senses peak, I can smell a cocktail of fruity fragrances drifting in the soft breeze produced by a slowly rotating ceiling fan. This, my friends is a girl’s paradise. This is a department store.
I stand by my sister, completely frozen in awe as assistants in black pencils skirts and pink blouses buzz from customer to customer asking if they need help. I can see girls excitedly picking out clothes and strutting in front of a rectangular mirror that runs the length of the change rooms. Racks upon racks of brightly coloured clothing and accessories litter the polished marble floor; it’s a sea of colours.
I take in a sharp breath. This is where my sister and mum shop? Holy shit! Normally I just buy my clothes online or in the normal shops in the shopping mall, not the extreme overpriced department store that takes up half of the shopping mall we are currently in. My sister struts in, knowing exactly where she wants to go, he slinky body moving in perfect unison with her swaying hips she walks over to a stand of clothes and starts looking through. Her stunning tanned body fitted in a short black mini dress immediately catches the attention of a nearby boy trying on some male cologne.
I sigh. So far the day has been alright, I mean, I haven’t bought anything yet, just only had my nails done and gotten some hot chips which my sister scoffed at me for eating. Grace on the other hand is successfully sticking to her plan of blowing off her credit card. She has about twenty bags at the moment and guess who is carrying them all? ME! I was stupid to think it would be a day of equality; Grace never does anything that wouldn’t benefit her in some way.
I should probably buy something; it would please my mother at least. I make my way over to a rack that has some jeans; I should probably buy a new pair since these are hanging off me. But what do I buy? There are so many brands, cuts, styles, sizes! How the heck am I supposed to know what to want!
I look around the store and try to find an assistant; finally I spot one stacking shelves near my sister and walk over.
“Um.. Hi” I say politely clearing my throat.
The woman ignores me and keeps folding cashmere jumpers. Maybe she didn’t hear me?
“Uh, excuse me I was wondering if………” again, the women pretends like I am not here.
Seriously! IS this women deaf and blind or is she actively ignoring me?
Fed up I walk over to where Grace is picking out some dresses.
“Oh here you are, where did you go?” she chirps in her happy voice that she only has when she is shopping or just had sex.
“I was looking at some jeans, I need a new pair, but, um I don’t know which ones to get…………” I babble.
“mmmmmm, Oh here look this will suit you fine” she thrusts a light blue dress into my arms. A heart shaped bodice with a nice flowing skirt. I smile; this is a really nice dress.
“Oh great, Ill just go try it on” I say slightly cautious as to why she would pick such a nice dress for me considering this is the same girl that beats me up at school. Maybe there is something wrong with it maybe it will look horrible! Maybe she has poisoned it and wants to secretly kill me by burning off my skin! I shrug the horrible thoughts from my mind.
She gives me a dead pan look. She looks at me like I am the dumbest idiot on earth.
“What?” I ask, slightly scared.
“You don’t ever try on clothes, you buy it and if you don’t like it you bring it back and demand a refund! That is how real people shop” she says spelling it out like she is talking to a baby while waving a sparkly pink fingernail in my face.
But how are you meant to know how it fits? Is it just me or are society’s expectations beyond stupid.
I sigh as a shop assistant rushes over to my sister with a tray of perfumes, all packed in tiny little testing bottles covered in glass jewels. The women’s hair perfectly in place as well as her plastic smile.
“Would you like to test the newest of this season’s fragrances ma’am?” she asks already pulling off a little pink bottle and handing it to my sister.
“Ooh yes please, oh and could you be a darling and bag all of this for me” Grace says taking the tray off the women and piling her hands up with 6 dresses and two pairs of jeans for me as well as the dress.
“No problem” the women smiles and she turns almost bumping into me. “Excuse me can you like, get out of my way” she snarls pushing me aside.
It truly is amazing how shop assistants treat me; it must be a world record for sure. Every time I enter a fashionable girly store I am ignored or pushed away. But if you get a girl like my sister in a department store there seems to be a symbol attached to her head which draws everyone in a 10 meter radius to her.
I stare as my sister happily pumps away at the tiny bottles mixing fragrances. A putrid sickly sweet smell drifts through the air around her. I gag, way too many scents mixed together for me!
“I’m going to go to the music section” I say to my sister as I quickly walk away from her and that testing tray!
As I move away from the fashion department I see more boys filling the aisles. Male assistants in dress shirts and ties walk around giving men tips on a nice outfit for a date or which electronical device best suit their family’s needs. This is essentially gaming/ music/ film central, also known as my type of heaven. I smile as I can no longer see the bright pulsating colours everywhere and I can breathe in clean sanitised air instead of the toxic sweet air that covers every corner of the fashion department.
I slow my pace a stroll the aisles, occasionally bumping into someone who looks at me like I am in the wrong section, oh if only they knew. I slide into an aisle full of movies. Classics, horrors romances, Sci-Fi’s all line the walls in perfect alphabetical order. My eyes flick to the action films, oh what to choose, deciding on the fate of my entertainment for tonight is almost too much to bear. I want a movie to watch while I’m at home alone while my family go to some posh charity event, It can’t be a sad movie because then my face will look fat after crying and my mother will yell at me and it can’t be a horror movie because I will probably hide under my bed the whole night.
“What to choose…..” I whisper under my breath rubbing my chin.
“Excuse me” A voice booms near my ear. I jump away to see the smiling face of …James? He chuckles under his breath, his brown eyes dancing with laughter. His blonde hair is swept out of his face and styled with gel, making his hair appear slightly darker.
“Sorry to scare you” He smiles” but can I be of any assistance madam?” he asks a cheeky teasing smirk covering his face.
I smile “nobodies asked me if I need help before” I smile.
“Oh I can do more than help you” he smiles winking his eye. My cheeks burn red; this is Theo’s best friend!
“Calm down, just playing with ya, follows me” he smiles; he swiftly turns his leather polished shoes slapping against the polished floor. I follow him curious as to where he would be taking me in a department store. He walks up to a tall boy with chocolate brown hair slicked back. My heart takes a leap, it’s Theo! Since when has he worked here.
James slaps Theo on the back and swings him around almost making him drop the CD’s he was stacking. He points towards me and I smile. Theo’s electric blue eyes get excited as he walks towards me shoving the stack of CD’s in James face. James smirks as he takes over Theo’s job.
“Hey” I say as I walk towards him. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze his body into me. “I haven’t heard from you, what’s been going on?” I say his scent instantly making me melt into him. His arms wrap around me his hand coming up to stroke my hair, careful of my sore spot.
I unwrap myself from him and smile at him, my heart beats so fast that if it was a motor it would win a formula 1 race. My blood runs hot in my veins and I feel alive, Theo makes me feel alive.
He grabs my hand in his large one and pulls me into a nearby aisle. My heart swoons as I take in his strong form all wrapped up in a tie and dressy pants with a light blue button down shirt. He leads me down to the back of the aisle at a quick pace , pulling me to a Holt at a room labelled storeroom.
“Since when have you worked here” I pant.
“I got a job here through James, he hooked Ben and I up. I’ve been working here since last year”. He types in a pin and pushes me inside, closing the door after him; he turns on the light and locks the door. HE comes towards me as my heart flutters, his strong body pushes me up against the wall as he places two hands either side of my head and brings his lips closer to mine. Slowly he leans in to kiss my neck. My skin tingles as my body pulsates with the need to consume him, to let him take me all the way.
His lips make their way to my lips, tenderly kissing the edge of them. I wrap my hands around his neck and lean on my tippy toes as I pull myself up to him, my lips crushing into his with a fire so strong I am afraid I will burn. I kiss him till my lips are sore, then I slowly pull away leaning my forehead against his, I look into his eyes. He stares back at me.
“I’ve missed you so much” he whispers slowly pulling me into a hug, our fire dwelling into a small calmer warm flame. “I’m sorry I haven’t called it’s just…………..” he pauses looking into my face.
His hair is all dishevelled and falling into his blue eyes that stare at me with so much compassion I think I might combust.
“It’s been like two or three days” I whisper. Okay that sounded petty and made me sound like I am obsessed with him, which I am, in a way. Three days? Maybe it was more, I haven’t heard from him since he told me he loved me! Really Juliet the guy has a life!
He pulls away from me, cold air embracing me instead of the Theo warmth I love. HE pushes himself up against the opposite wall pushing over some cardboard boxes; they tumble to the concrete floor with a cluttering bang. I can see him now, with eyes that are not clouded over with excitement. His eyes are slightly bloodshot, like he hasn’t slept in a while and he has a slight hunch to his shoulders. He stares at me with such longing I can see his mind turning a hundred miles an hour.
“Hey..” I push off my wall and slowly walk towards him, going to lean against the wall next to him. “Are you okay? What’s wrong Theo?” I ask. He turns to face me, his chocolate brown hair falling into his sparkling eye.
“I don’t know… “he starts but trails off, his mouth moving but no words coming out.
“What, you can tell me anything, you know that” I whisper, sliding my hand into his palm and giving it a tight reassuring squeeze.
“I’m bad for you, can’t you see” he takes his hand from mine and shoves it into his pocket. I step back and look at him. My heart cracks I can feel every fibre in my body shattering with his words.
“What are you talking about” I ask, my voice cracking. I can feel the tears slowly ebbing at the edges of my eyes, I fight them back, I will not cry in front of Theo. Not now.
He sucks in a breath and his eyes glaze over. “I’m saying that this shouldn’t exist, I was an idiot for thinking nobody would know, that I could have you!” He rubs a hand over his face and turns his back to me and heads for the door.
My mind whirs. Why the sudden change, why is he doing this. Why all of a sudden does he not want to see me anymore? We have been going fine, I thought he loved me?
“But the other night you said you will make it work, you said you loved me!” my voice climbs as a tear races down my cheek, more spill over and my face is a slimy salty mess.
“I’m so sorry Juliet, I thought I could. But I’m not the knight in shining armour and things don’t always turn out my way. If you stay with me, you will get hurt; I am no good for you.” He looks over his shoulder one last time as a tear slips down his cheek.
I am numb, all I can hear is my heartbeat, and the slamming of the storeroom door as Theo walks away. Away from me, the girl he said he loved.
I sink to the floor and burry my head in my hands. I sob, so hard my throat starts burning and feels like it is clogging up with snot; as bad as that sounds, I pull on my hair and curl myself into a ball. Why? Why the change? I feel as if a piece of my soul is broken and I will never be able to repair it.
My phone starts ringing but I don’t answer. It goes to voicemail.
“Hey, look I got you the jeans and a few cute tops and some nice shoes but I can’t like, find you anywhere so I’m going home and yeah I’ll leave your shiz on your bed, um yeah, okay, bye” My sister pants into the phone and hangs up.
Great, there goes my ride home. I Stand up and rub a hand over my face. I use my screen of my iPhone to do a check-up of my makeup and I unlock the storeroom door. The fluorescents of the building blind me for a second and the air is so clean. I sniffle and pull out my phone pressing it to my ear I dial Remy’s number. She will understand, she will listen to me rant and cry and she will not shriek at the amount of snot I produce when I cry.
“Hey ya” Remy answers.
I walk down the aisles towards the exit.
“Something’s happened.” I huff out my voice trembling.
“What?” she replies clearly confused.
“Yeah, um, I was wondering IF I could stay at your house for a couple of days, only till school ends next Wednesday. “ I ask. James walks past me and gives me a sad smile. Great he knows. I look past him to see Theo walking towards me. His hands in his pockets. He spots me and quickens his pace.
I turn into the next aisle, speeding towards the exit. I don’t want to talk to him; he doesn’t want me, why should I go through the pain twice.
Remy’s voice comes clear through the phone. “Sure, my parents are on a business trip until school starts next term, stay as long as you want, what are you going to tell your parents?” she asks.
“They won’t care, as long as I don’t bother them. I’m just going to grab some clothes and then I’ll be there, I have to talk to you” I whisper as I hear footsteps advancing. I hang up the phone and press the button to the elevator.
The doors open and I step inside.
“Juliet!” Theo calls. I turn to see a tears stained face running towards me. And then the doors shut.
____________________ A/N_____________
HEyguys sorry I haven't updated in ages. I thought I'd add some drama. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to figure out how I want thisa story to end or if I like the way it is going. Hopefully I will update this story soon, I'm trying to update all off my books. Including Jimmy Jane which is on my other account REalmegirls.
Happy reading and happy new year :)
LUV zozo101