Chapter 7

27 more days to go....

"Let's talk about forbidden love, guys" Mr Henderson said "What is so appealing about the forbidden?"

"Uh...... great forbidden sex?" A guy joked

The whole class burst into a fit of giggles. Some of his jock friends high fived him.

"Haha very funny Jomar" Mr Henderson said "Out of my class"

"Come on Mr H"

"Out now".

"Please. Pretty please with a rosary on top"

Everyone laughed again. Mr Henderson chuckled.

"Fine. This is your last chance"

"Thanks sir"

"Alright. Let's go back to the book. What are your thoughts on Romeo and Juliet?"

I raised my hand up. I actually liked the book. Rainer loved Shakespeare. He used to read it to me all the time.

"Yes Miss Adams"

"The book is a tragedy" I started "Romantic but tragic. It's about two star-crossed lovers who couldn't be together. The characters will do anything for each other which was a bad thing because it resulted in their death"

"Very good. I have a question. Do you really think Romeo loves Juliet?"

"Yes" everyone chorused

Isn’t it obvious?

"I would die for a man like Romeo" a girl swooned

"I bet he was hot too" another added "in an old fashioned sort of way"

"How so?" Mr Henderson asked

"He died for her" a girl at the back answered "What's more romantic than that?"

"Or so you think?"

I sat in the front row in the middle of class today. Mr Henderson walked to my table

"May I?" He referred to the table

"Yes sir"

"Thank you"

He sat on my desk and faced the class. I shifted my chair backwards to create space for his legs. I stared up at him as he spoke.

"Romeo had a girlfriend; Rosaline. Am I correct?"

"Yes" we chorused

"The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, and, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? For swear it, sight. For I never saw true beauty till this night"

I was stunned for words and I'm sure every other person in this classroom felt the same way. He can quote Shakespeare from his head? His voice was so soothing and he took it slowly. For some odd reason I feel like falling asleep to the sound of his voice.

"Interesting, isn't it? Romeo forgot about his love for Rosaline immediately he saw Juliet"

"Meaning he never truly loved Rosaline" a girl said

"That may be true but have you ever thought of the possibility that Romeo's desire for Juliet is nothing more than a meaningless physical attraction? Or worse- infatuation?"

Silence. Nobody ever thought of it that way. I don't even think Rainer did

"For example, you have clothes on a normal day but when you get a new bunch of clothes; you suddenly forget the old ones, don't you?"

This is true

"Yes" we nodded

"Exactly where I'm driving out"

A boy in front raised up his hand

"Yes Lucas?"

"What if he found something in Juliet that he never saw in Rosaline?"

"That might be true but you see, if an author writes a book, most times they write a book for readers to decode it in a way that doesn't seem too obvious. No. That would be way too easy. Most authors try to confuse readers to think something else when they mean another and that my dear learners, is why a large majority of you fail English. You need to read the book and understand it from all angles. Try and feel the writer’s emotion"

I suddenly remembered Rainer's words

I'm trying to get the author's feelings. What were her emotions when writing this book?

"In my opinion" Mr Henderson continued " I feel Romeo and Juliet weren't really in love. I think they were both entranced by the idea of the forbidden. They were excited to be going against their parents will. I think they were both seeking escape. The thought of forbidden love is more exotic and adventurous, don't you think?"

And that was when our eyes connected