Recipe for Trouble (8 page)

Mr. Higgins gave Jack a long list of rules and regulations before they practiced the fight scene.

“Do not aim your sword at anyone's face, is that clear?” he said sternly.

“Yup.” Jack nodded. “Can we start now?”

“And every time I lunge forward, you step back. A duel is really a choreographed dance routine. Is that understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Can we fight now?” He was getting impatient. “I played a lot of Ninja Reflex on my Wii last night. I'm ready.”

“Your sword is a prop, not a weapon. The goal here is to make the scene authentic. Not wound your fellow actors…”

Before Mr. Higgins could finish his speech, Jack charged forward screaming, “Hiyah!”

The boys in the class cheered, “Get him, Jack! Get him!”

“The correct term is
en
garde
not
hiyah
,” Mr. Higgins replied, crossing swords with him. With one lightning-quick move, he sent Jack's sword flying from his hand and into the air. It landed with a clank on the floor of the classroom.

“Bravo!” Juliette cheered. Mr. Higgins bowed.

“Awww, you took my sword!” Jack whined. “No fair!”

“All's fair in love and war,” Mr. Higgins corrected him. “Next time, you wait till I show you how to use your sword before you try and spear me.”

Jack moped but handed his sword back to his teacher.

“Now, speaking of love and war, it's time for the love scene. Jeremy and Lexi, please take your places,” said Juliette.

Oh
no!
Lexi thought. She had prayed the sword fight would take up all of the third period rehearsal and she wouldn't have to practice her scene with Jeremy. No such luck. There were fifteen minutes left.

“Up you go,” Juliette said, motioning for her to take her place on the makeshift balcony. Reluctantly, Lexi climbed the step ladder to the top rung and gazed down on Jeremy. He looked as pale and queasy as she felt.

“Okay, Lexi, from the top,” Mr. Higgins commanded.

Lexi cleared her throat. She knew the lines, but for some reason her mouth and her brain were not working together. “Um, Romeo, Romeo, art for where—
oh
no!
”

Meredith snickered. “I should have been Juliet! She's a disaster!”

“The line is, ‘Wherefore art thou?'” Mr. Higgins corrected. “Once again, please.”

Lexi took a deep breath and began: “Be but sworn my love…” She looked down at Jeremy who was staring up at her. She imagined him as Romeo, dressed in a blue velvet jacket with gold braiding and buttons. He was so handsome! Suddenly, the room felt like it was spinning, just like the carousel Aunt Dee had taken her on in Central Park. Lexi's knees were wobbling, and the next thing she knew, she lost her balance and toppled off the top step.

“Help!” she squeaked as she fell backward. Jeremy reached up and grabbed her around the waist, gently guiding her down to the floor.

“You okay?” he asked. Juliette and Mr. Higgins had already grabbed her and helped her to a chair. The entire class was gathered around, and Lexi saw that Kylie was right beside her, looking very worried.

“Lexi, you okay?” Jeremy repeated. Lexi nodded. She was so embarrassed, she couldn't answer. She noticed that Jeremy looked worried too—which made her feel a tiny bit better.

“The swoon doesn't come till much later in the play,” Mr. Higgins teased. “When she takes the poison. But well done.”

“It must have been the ladder,” Juliette reassured her. “Makes me dizzy too.” She squeezed Lexi's hand. “You'll be okay. The real balcony is a lot less wobbly.”

Lexi wasn't sure if it was the ladder, her nerves, or Jeremy's blue eyes that had made her lose her balance.

“What am I going to do?” she whispered to Kylie.

“Like Juliette said, you'll be okay!” her friend attempted to cheer her. But it wasn't helping. She still felt like everything in her life was spinning out of control.

She knew what Aunt Dee would say: “Lexi, honey, you have to face your fears—stare them right in the eye and say, ‘Bug off! You don't bother me!'” That's what Dee would do. She wouldn't let a boy or a play or self-doubt hold her back. She'd climb right back up that ladder!

So that's what Lexi did. She got to her feet, turned to Mr. Higgins, and said, “Can I try it again?”

The teachers looked at each other, concerned. “Are you sure?” Juliette asked. “You sure you feel up to it?”

She got to her feet and made her way up to the top rung once more. This time, Kylie stood behind her, spotting her, just in case…

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?” she began.

Jeremy blurted out, “I'm right here! I mean,
she
speaks!
”

Lexi grinned back. He looked even cuter when he messed up his lines and blushed.

When they were done with the scene, the entire class applauded. “Brava!” Mr. Higgins said. “You do Shakespeare proud.”

Shakespeare
and
Aunt Dee would be proud, Lexi thought to herself.

At the next drama class, Mr. Higgins handed out permission slips for the class to go on a field trip. “I think you'll all enjoy this very much,” he said. “Next week, we're going to New York City for the day to attend a matinee of
Romeo
and
Juliet
at the New York City Ballet.”

Meredith jumped up and down. “Yay! I love ballet! I'm so good at it!”

“This is great!” Kylie told Lexi.

“Really? I thought you liked monster movies, not ballets.”

“I do! I mean it's great that we can get a whole day to observe Jeremy in action.”

Given her dizzy spell in drama class, Lexi had almost forgotten about Kylie's plan to snoop on Jeremy. But Kylie hadn't forgotten! She reminded Lexi of her dog, Poochie, when he got his teeth wrapped around a chew toy. There was no way he would let it go, no matter how hard Lexi tried to pry it out of his mouth. Kylie was not going to let the whole Jeremy thing go either.

“This is an interpretation of
Romeo
and
Juliet
without any of Shakespeare's words,” Mr. Higgins explained. “The story is told solely through dance. It's quite dramatic.”

Juliette nodded. “Can you imagine trying to tell a story as complicated as this without any words?”

“I've seen silent monster movies, like
Phantom
of
the
Opera
with Lon Chaney,” Kylie volunteered. “There's no talking in that.”

“You're right,” said Juliette. “You experience the drama through the actors' facial expressions. In ballet, you experience it through the way they move their bodies in dance.”

• • •

On the day of the trip, the entire fifth grade piled into two school buses. Jenna's mom Betty was one of the chaperones. “She's never seen a ballet before and me either!” Jenna said. “I'm so psyched!”

As the bus got off the highway and drove down the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Lexi recognized some of the places her Aunt Dee had taken her over the summer. “Look!” she said, pointing out the window. “That's Zabar's. They have the yummiest bagels and lox.”

“What's lox?” asked Sadie. She was sitting with Kylie, a row behind Lexi and Jenna.

“It's smoked salmon,” explained Lexi. “Salty, fishy, and delicious.”

Sadie wrinkled her nose. “I don't like anything fishy.”

Kylie leaned over their seat and motioned toward Jeremy. “Doesn't
that
look fishy to you?”

Jeremy was digging into a small fanny pack around his waist, popping something into his mouth.

“What's he eating?” Jenna wondered out loud.

Sadie shrugged. “I thought Mr. Higgins said no snacks on the bus?”

“Go find out, Lex,” said Kylie. “Pretend you have to ask Juliette something about the play. She's sitting right across from him.”

“Why me?” sighed Lexi.

“Because you're up already!” said Jenna, inching her off the seat with her butt. “Out ya go!” Lexi wasn't thrilled, but she made her way down the aisle.

“Uh, Juliette?” she began.

Her teacher looked up. “Lexi, why are you out of your seat? That's very dangerous! What if we hit a bump or make a short stop?”

Just as she said the words, the bus driver slammed on the brakes to stop for a red light. Lexi went sprawling forward and landed right in Jeremy's lap.

“Hey!” he said, startled.

Juliette helped Lexi to her feet. “This is what I was talking about!” she said. “You could have been seriously hurt!”

“Sorry,” Lexi said, embarrassed. She made her way carefully to the back of the bus and her friends.

“Well, that didn't go exactly according to plan,” said Kylie.

“I told you I didn't want to do this,” Lexi sighed.

“But you did a great job, Lex,” said Jenna, picking a few flakes off her shoulders.

“What's that?” asked Sadie.

“Almonds,” Jenna replied. “Jeremy must have spilled them on you when you fell on him. Good work!”

“So we know he's not allergic to nuts,” Kylie deduced. “Hmmmm…”

“Maybe he didn't have breakfast? Maybe he's starving?” sighed Lexi. “This is ridiculous!”

• • •

The bus pulled in at Lincoln Center and the fifth graders lined up around the enormous fountain in the plaza.

“
Qué
bonita!
” exclaimed Mrs. Medina. “What a beautiful place this is!”

They walked inside the David Koch Theater and everyone gasped. There were five balconies of red velvet seats and a massive orchestra section. A twinkly globe hung from the ceiling. The stage was wrapped in a gold curtain, and a live orchestra was warming up in the pit.

“We're in the first ring,” Mr. Higgins explained. “So we'll have an excellent view of the stage.”

“I wish I brought my sketchbook so I could draw this,” Lexi said.

“Wait till you see the ballet,” Juliette assured her. “It's even more beautiful.”

The lights dimmed and a hush fell over the audience. The music by Sergei Prokofiev filled the theater, and the curtain drew back, revealing the vibrant streets of Verona, Italy. Romeo wore pale blue tights and boots and a billowing white shirt. Jack Yu laughed, “You won't catch me wearing tights,” but Mr. Higgins shot him a look. When Juliet appeared, she looked as delicate as a dove, flitting around the stage in a flowing white dress and pointe shoes.

“Lexi, you are so lucky to be playing that part!” Jenna whispered.

Lexi agreed—the ballerina was breathtaking, but she couldn't imagine herself ever looking that angelic or graceful. She'd probably fall flat on her face or land in someone's lap—just like she'd done on the bus.

When she appeared on the balcony, Juliet smiled and twirled around on her toes. Then Romeo ran across the stage, a cape flying behind him. Their eyes met and locked on each other. As the music swelled, Romeo drew closer and closer. Juliet descended the stairs, and they began a romantic
pas
de
deux
. Romeo got down on one knee and lifted Juliet over his head in a graceful arabesque. The dance ended with the lovers' arms wrapped around each other.

When the lights came up for intermission, Mrs. Medina was sobbing. “
Es
tan
romántico!
” she cried.

“What do you think, Lexi?” Juliette asked.

“I think I'm in big trouble,” she said. “I can't do that!”

“You don't have to,” Juliette replied. “No pointe shoes, I promise. I wanted you guys to experience this so you could bring more emotion to our version of
Romeo and Juliet
.”

Lexi did feel swept up in the story, especially the second half of the ballet. In the death scene, Romeo took Juliet in his arms and tried everything he could think of to awaken her. When she wouldn't open her eyes, he thought she was dead and drank poison to end his life as well. Just then, Juliet woke up…too late to save her Romeo.

Lexi poked Jenna. “Do you have a tissue?”

Jenna passed her the box her mom had brought. It was almost empty. “This is heartbreaking!” Jenna cried, blowing her nose.

“
Tan
triste! Tan triste!
” Ms. Medina sobbed. “So sad! So sad!”

“Shhhh!” Jeremy hushed them. He was wrapped up in the scene as well.

After the ballet, the fifth grade made its way outside. Everyone took out their lunches and crowded around the fountain.

“We brought Oreos to share,” Jenna offered, passing them around with her mom.

All the kids dove in—all except Jeremy, who passed the packages along.

“That's weird. He doesn't like Oreos either?” Kylie remarked.

“Maybe he's a healthy eater?” Sadie suggested. “When I'm training for a track meet or a big game, I eat lots of fruits and veggies.”

“Yeah, but you've never met a cupcake you didn't like,” Jenna pointed out.

“And you're on the basketball team and the track team,” Kylie added. “Jeremy's on the chess team.”

“Maybe he only eats brain food,” Sadie said. She was eating a pita stuffed with veggies, humus, and sprouts.

“Chocolate
is
brain food,” Jenna pointed out, popping an Oreo in her mouth. “Well, cocoa powder to be specific from the cacao bean. Did you know the ancient Aztecs used to make a breakfast drink out of it to fuel their minds and bodies for the day?”

Kylie laughed. “Jenna, you are like an encyclopedia of chocolate!”

“Maybe you could have given Jeremy a report on how healthy chocolate is before he tossed my cupcake in the garbage,” Lexi muttered.

Jenna's mom couldn't help but overhear. “Some people just don't like chocolate,” she said. “Jenna's older sister, Gabriella,
no
le
gusta
.”

“That's true,” Jenna added. “She likes vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate. I don't get it.”

“So Jeremy doesn't like brownie cupcakes but sneaks almonds in his fanny pack. So what?” Lexi complained.

“We're just trying to get some answers, Lex,” Kylie said.

“You're just trying to make me feel better that my crush hates my guts.”

“That too,” Jenna said. “We're your friends. We hate to see you hurting.”

“I refuse to believe that Jeremy dumping the cupcake had anything to do with
you
,” Kylie insisted.

Lexi closed her lunch bag—she'd lost her appetite. “Well, it's true. Face it, he doesn't like me.” She walked away discouraged and climbed back on the bus.

“This is going to take a lot more detective work than I thought,” said Kylie, taking a bite of her PB&J sandwich. “That Jeremy is a tough nut to crack!”