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Jen placed her head in her hands. “Ugh. I don’t know,” she moaned.
“Well, think about it. It’ll help when you’re reading. Everybody knows the basic story ofRomeo and Juliet, right? So what theme do you think you’d like to explore? It’ll be a whole lot easier if you decide now because then you can take notes and pull excerpts to develop your paper as you go.”
“Um . . .” Jen bit her lip. “I suck at this.”
“You do not,” I said firmly. “What do you know thus far about their story?”
“The basics. They came from two different backgrounds. Their families were sorta enemies, but they fell in love anyway and ended up tragically killing themselves, all in the name of love. So maybe I could write about how love makes you do desperate things?”
“You could,” I said, though I hated the idea, “but how about something slightly different?”
“Like . . .?”
“You could write about how people always want what they can’t have,” a deep voice interrupted.
My head jerked up at the sound. Topher Elliot hovered in the open doorway, eyes bright, the curve of a grin touching the corners of his shapely mouth, and I hated the blush that rose to my cheeks as I looked at him.
“Interesting, coming from the boy who has everything.”
He arched a brow. “You’d be surprised.” His eyes held mine as he continued, “Remember, they were teenagers. It’s not uncommon for kids our age to be rebellious. Maybe the appeal was centered solely around the fact they were prohibited from being together? Maybe it’s a show in how love has no boundaries.”
I shook my head. “Unlikely, considering the time frame and the hostility between the Montagues and the Capulets. They were sworn enemies, and in the fourteenth century, you didn’t so easily cross your parents. Women were subservient, considered property half of the time with the sole purpose of marrying.”
Topher shrugged and further entered the room, his stride easy as he pulled a chair out and settled into a seat across from me. Jen, for all intents and purposes, stared at him with fangirl eyes, and I couldn’t blame her. He looked particularly good in a cerulean blue polo and shorts, both of which I could tell without looking at the labels, were high-end designer brands.
And the fact I even noticed how he looked irritated me.
“Or, you could write about howRomeo and Julietwasn’t even a love story at all,” I said, holding his gaze in challenge.
It took every ounce of my energy not to let the shy girl inside of me glance away.
Topher snorted like the mere suggestion was ridiculous. “Everyone knowsRomeo and Julietis a romance.”
I arched a brow. “Do they? Because the way I see it, it’s not a romance at all. A trademark of the romance genre is to have a happily ever after where the couple ends up together and rides off into the proverbial sunset. But in R & J, they freaking die at the end, and it’s not some noble death either, but rather a show of selfishness and foolishness. At the mere sight of the other one being dead, they each kill themselves.”
“That proves nothing,” Topher argues. “They killed themselves because the thought of living without the other was too much to bear.That’sromance.”
“Oh, please. We’re talking about two horny teenagers that have the hots for each other at a party. I’d hardly call that love.”
Topher’s brows rose to his hairline. “Horny, huh? And how exactly do you know so much about horny teenagers, hmm?” He mock-rubbed his jaw over a shadow of golden stubble.
My hand twitched to touch it.
But I knew what he was doing, trying to embarrass me and distract me from my point. Well, I refused to be cowed. This was literature we were talking about. This wasmyexpertise.
From the corner of my eye, I noted the way Jen glanced back and forth between us.
“Romeo was still getting over another girl that he had just left when he saw Juliet at the ball. My observations as a reader are that he falls for girls hard. And Juliet isn’t much better.”
“I take it you don’t believe in love at first sight?”
“And you do?”
He shrugged, all casual-like, which further spiked my irritation. “I think it has credence.”
Credence? I blinked like I had no idea who I was talking to.
“They’re together for an inordinately short amount of time when they decided to die for each other,” I said, ignoring him. “It was maybe the span of a week. This wasn’t some relationship that developed over time where you felt for the characters and watched their relationship flourish. It was two silly teens who allowed their emotions and hormones to rule. Sure, as a reader, I pitied and even sympathized with them, but they didn’t exactly make wise choices.”
