It Could Never Be(Geraldine Vesper) "It could never be," Isyn sighed as he stared transfixed at the spectacle before him. True, most sixteen year-old teenage boys would ignore Olivia Wilson. She wore thick glasses that optometrists used as paperweights. Freckles were sprayed across her pointy nose. And her tawny waves sometimes poufed out of her scalp like lightning bolts. But Isyn Count saw past all that. He could see past the frazzled geek exterior. He saw a super model ready to make a starring appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show. And that wasn't the half of it.

Isyn leaned on his scrawny hand. Two rows up, Olivia was listening intently to Mrs. Carelton's lecture on how an object exerts its gravitational force on another object. Isyn liked that about Olivia; she was an excellent student. He had to pull some very taut strings to get into honors class with her. "Oh my dear, Oliva," he whispered softly, "two rows are too far to bear." He heard a few stifled giggles behind him. Soon the whole class burst into laughter. Isyn was about to start chuckling along with them when he saw what the commotion was about. Mrs. Carelton was glaring directly at him. "Do you have something to share with the class, Isyn?" she asked, annoyed. "I, er....No, ma'm." Mrs. Carelton raised her brows. "Pay attention, Isyn Count." Isyn sank into his seat. "Yes, ma'm." He glanced longingly back at Olivia. "Till fourth period, m'lady."

Isyn peered into the slits in his locker. He could just barely see a bolt of Olivia's lovely tawny hair. Isyn fingered the frayed notebook paper note he had fashioned six months ago when he had first arrived at Longman High. He'd just never had the nerve to slip the note into Olivia's locker. But today would be different. He could do this. How hard could slipping a note into somebody's locker be? He boldly reached for the note. He marched, note in hand, to Olivia's locker. She was still rummaging for her literature book. Isyn leaned on the locker next to hers. His heart pounded fiercely. He eyed the distance between here and English. If he sprinted, Olivia would never notice him being here..."Hi, Isyn," Olivia said, interrupting his plans of escape. "O-Olivia, it is s-so nice to-to see you here," he stuttered. She cracked a smile. Isyn could see the twinkle of the lights against her braces. She pulled out her literature book. "Ah, King Lear," he commented," amazing literature I must say." Olivia grinned. "I like the book, too. The vocabulary is exceptional." Isyn nodded his head in agreement. "It's an excellent book to read before the finals come," he commented. "You're right," Oliva said, tucking the book firmly in her bookbag, "I need all the study I can get. It was nice chatting with you, Isyn. I'll see you in class." Isyn nodded a good-bye. He put on a dashing grin as he watched her scurry off to class. Once she was out of sight, he slumped onto the lockers. His heart was pounding ninety miles a second. 'Olivia, Olivia, Olivia,' it seemed to say.


"Do you understand how much this literary work can affect your personal life?" Mr. Craven droned on. "Yes, Mr. Craven," groaned the bored tenth graders. "Good," he said in his monotone voice. "Now, as I've said at the beginning of the semester, we will be split into pairs for the next assignment. You and a partner will act out a scene in one of Shakespeare's plays." A symphony of tortured groans echoed in APLit. Isyn perked his ears up. "Pairs," he thought to himself. He glanced to his right where Olivia sat. "Please, Mr. Craven, allow Olivia and I to be partners," he silently plead. Olivia leaned in close to him. Their shoulders almost touched. "Don't you think this assignment is going to be great," she sighed. "Shakespeare is my favorite author." Her eyes twinkled in excitement. Isyn liked her ambition. "Me too," he whispered. Mr. Craven shuffled through a stack of papers. "I will announce the pairs and the plays to be preformed." He squinted into his wire-rimmed spectacles. "The duos are as follows: Henry Stanton and Miranda Berring will be preforming Macbeth. Isabelle Euro and Gary Whitt will be preforming A Mid Summer Night's Dream. Isyn Romanov and Olivia Wilson will be preforming Romeo and Juliet..." Isyn grinned from ear to ear. "Romeo and Juliet, one of the most breath-taking love stories of Shakespeare," he thought excitedly. Olivia glanced at him. "This will be great," she whispered. Isyn smiled. "I know it will be."

Isyn and Olivia sat in the midst of a trove of papers. Olivia was clicking away at her laptop while Isyn read yet another abridged script of Romeo and Juliet. "Too abridged," he sighed, "Romeo ends up coming back to life and killing himself with the dagger Juliet just stabbed herself with." Olivia snorted. "You're right. I think I've found the right one." With a few deft keystrokes, she printed the new found script. Isyn read it over. "Well?" Olivia asked, biting her bottom lip. "You are a genius when it comes to finding just the right abridged version of a literary masterpiece." She blushed. "Thanks." Isyn shared the same rosy cheeks. "Well, let's, um, get started," she muttered as she stumbled off the couch. Isyn watched her tripping along her living room, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. It was obvious a boy had never complimented her before. She returned with another copy of the script. "Which scene are we doing?" Isyn asked as he skimmed the script. "We're doing the," Olivia paused, "...balcony scene." Isyn's heart jumped. "You mean where the kiss is?" Olivia's cheeks turned an even deeper scarlet. "We could just, you know, skip that part if you wanted. It's your personal space." Isyn thumbed the edge of the paper. "I wouldn't mind. It might get us a better grade..." Olivia nodded. "It would give us a likely chance of a better grade," she agreed. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence. "We better practice," Isyn mumbled. Olivia reached for her script and positioned herself to the far right of the room. Isyn situated himself in the dining room to the left. Olivia sauntered into the living room. She struck a dramatic pose. "Romeo, Romeo. Where for art thou, Romeo!" she called. Isyn entered on his cue. "I am here, my dearest Juliet." Olivia grinned. She spouted out her next few lines with the emotion of a professional actress. As they turned to part, Isyn grasped Olivia's hands. "Juliet, I engage my love to you." Olivia's hazel eyes twinkled. "And so do I, my beloved Is-, I mean, Romeo." Isyn's heart hammered as he stared deeply into Olivia's eyes. He pulled her close to him so that their chests touched. Heart to heart. Isyn could feel the wild thrum of Olivia's heartbeat against his. He inched his face closer to hers. Just centimeters away from their lips touching, Olivia blurted out, "I love you!" Isyn drew back just a little. "You do?" he asked softly. Olivia shifted uncomfortably. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me..." She wrenched out of Isyn's arms. Isyn pulled her back. "I love you, too," he whispered. He pressed his lips against Olivia's. She didn't pull back. They released from their embrace, eyes glistening with tears of love.

So, you see, Reader, it could never be if you never do anything to make it reality.

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