Before Alex could voice out any protest, Ms. Smith turned her attention back to Logan.
“Alright, Logan. You go sit next to Alex. I expect an excellent performance from the two of you next week.”
“Uh, yes, Ms. Smith.” Logan answered, walking towards the back row.
Alex sank in her seat as she felt the students stare at her and Logan. She could hear them whisper new rumours to share later on. When Logan sat next to her, she glanced over to the window, bluntly ignoring him. It wasn’t like she had grudges against the guy, she simply wasn’t fond of projects or anything that called for more than one individual to do.
Ms. Smith called the rest of class’ attention and pulled out two baskets full of rolled paper. Each basket had numbers written in pieces of paper. One basket was meant for the boys and one for the girls. The two students who had picked similar numbers will be one pair.
Some students had enough luck to be partnered with their friends. A few had only met for the first time since they came to school as freshmen. Others had grumbled but eventually had made it work. Each pair proceeded to take a spot within the four walls of the room.
Once the initial complaints died down, the class became a working machine. It had bumps but it ran smoothly. Each side made progress…
… all but one.
At the back of the class sat, Logan and Alex had the worst first impressions. Alex’s height placed her at a disadvantage but it didn’t affect the intensity of her glare. 30 minutes had passed since Logan sat on his seat and in those 30 mins nothing good had happened.
“I—DON’T—want—to be—Juliet” Alex sneered then, she blew on her troublesome fringes, “How many times am I supposed to say it before you get that in your head?!”
Logan groaned and leaned forward, “And—I—don’t want to be Juliet—either. How many times am I supposed to say it for you to get that in your head?!”
“Because, genius, we can’t be both Romeo!”
“So give it up!”
“Why the hell would I do that, moron?”
“Stop being such a wimp and just do it”
Alex scoffed, “That’s funny coming from you. I don’t see you fessing up to be Juliet, coward”
Logan scoffed back, arms crossed, “No one will believe I’m a coward. I play hard when we have a game. You?” He pointed a finger at Alex and squinted, “You, on the other hand? I don’t see you do extra curricular activities at all. Not even for the mathletes, Mr. Valedictorian. We don’t see you do anything other than study, study, study. You sit by yourself at lunch with a textbook for crying out loud!”
Alex mimicked his position, snickering quietly, “Wow, dude, didn’t think you’d be into guys”
“That’s because I am not”
She gave a snort, “Could’ve fooled me, stalker”
“I only know that because somehow you still manage to beat me to the top spot when you’re not even in a club!”
“That’s because I don’t need to be in one to get there unlike some of us”
Logan bit on his bottom lip hard. If lasers could shoot out of his eyes, the room would be on fire. Unfortunately for him, it wouldn’t be enough to melt Alex’s stony face.
The clocked ticked at the wall next to them. Alex still made no move to back down. On the other end, Logan raised his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay. We’re getting off topic.”
“I will not play Juliet”
“Oh, dear lord” He exclaimed, ruffling his already messy blonde hair and wiping his face. Desperation replaced the hard expression he wore, “Please, dude—Alex. Just do it, alright? Between you and me, you have the more… the more…”
Alex’s eyes crystallized like black diamonds, daring him to finish, “The more what?”
“The more…delicate features suited for a feminine role. It makes more sense for you to be Juliet!”
“I don’t care!” Alex’s nostrils flared, “I will not play the part just because you’re a spoiled rich boy who demands to get what he wants!”
“Oh” the spoiled rich boy sneered, “You think I always get what I want?”
“I didn’t say that” Alex slammed a hand on the table and leaned forward, whispering, “I said you ‘demand’ and that means just because you say so, you think your words are law. Well, not with me. So unless we come up with a reasonable explanation with the roles we get—and not just based on ‘looks’ alone—I’m not backing down. I’m equally as manly as you are, Logan Parker”
Logan’s jaw clenched and his eyebrows creased. Green eyes against gray ones, the chatter around the room faded away.
Not only did Alex have to put up with a partner on the project but also she had to put up with a stupid stuck-up jock who only thought about his equally stupid reputation. She could see it in his face. His school rep was the only reason he refused to take on the role.
As for her? According to the rules, as a female, she had the right to play Romeo and she had the confidence that Ms. Smith would take her side since all the teachers in the school knew her true gender.
She could care less about Logan’s rep. Alex had her future on the line.
Ms. Smith’s voice echoed throughout the walls, “So we have five minutes left in class. I hope you made good with the time I gave you and by now, have decided which part to perform next Monday. See you all tomorrow! Class dismissed!”
Alex left the room first and didn’t look back.
The rest of the day passed by normally. Mainly because Alex avoided places Logan could be found. Her temper simmered like a hot pot and seeing Logan would fuel its fire.
Lunch was spent in the library, taking only light snacks. In other classes they shared together, Alex chose the front row since Logan preferred the back like she did.
During the last class of the day, Chemistry, Logan kept his distance. He had been watching his partner every time they were in the same place. Not once did the brat look towards his direction—which wasn’t entirely unusual for Alex but when he didn’t see him at his usual table taking his lunch, Logan figured it was on purpose. It was ticking him off. He viewed it as somewhat immature for someone intelligent. They needed to start on the project. With their school work plus his daily basketball practice, there was barely any time for it.
With that in mind, Logan planned to talk and ask for his number—whether the other party liked it or not.
