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On that note, Mr. Green leaves the room, abandoning us.
Melina laughs, turning to face me. “Bet you anything he has a hangover and didn’t feel like teaching an actual class.”
I’m too stunned she’s speaking to me to form an immediate answer.
“Lovethe shoes. And it’s clever, getting them a year later, so no one else can get their hands on them.”
I glance at my feet and shrug. “My mom bought them for me. I think there was a sale at Saks.”
Melina nods sagely. “They tend to bring out old stock when they have big sales. I dig. And you’re going to have to tell me how you do that braid.”
I run my hand over the French braid crowning half my head. “It looks like a style, but it’s mostly loose because I’m not very good at braiding.”
"Stop with the humble nonsense, it makes me want to vomit. Cute shoes? On sale. Nice hair? Oh, I suck at braiding.” She rolls her eyes. “Take a compliment, Reyes.”
I smile at her, a little sadly because, well, that was what Sophia should have said in Italian. What any friend ought to say, even if it wasn’t true.
Melina twists in her seat, glaring behind me. “And don’t get on my case about talking to her. Girl’s fire today. Someone ought to tell her.”
I don’t turn, but I hear Cain chuckle. “The lady has a point.”
‘“Did anyone hear me say anything?” Jason wonders out loud.
Taking that as permission to keep chatting with me, Melina asks, “Right, who’s the easiest character. Juliet, right? She’s such a wet blanket.”
I wrinkle my nose. “No way, there are too many layers to unpack. The treatment of women, Juliet’s relationship with her mother, father, nurse, then also Paris and the Friar… If you want easy, go for Benvolio or Mercutio. Benvolio’s one dimensional, which could be its own issue—not much to say about him. Mercutio, though…he’s interesting enough.”
“Mercutio it is,” Melina announces cheerfully, running through her notes. She glanced back at me, “Unless you wanted him, too?”
“Oh, no, pass. He’s all yours.”
“Something against Mercutio?” Jason asks.
My spine stiffens because he’s speaking to me. Long seconds stretch in silence. I can feel the heat of his stare.
“Don’t forget what happens when you ignore me,” he remarks casually.
I do my best not to flinch and force a smile. "No," I reply, my tone flat. “Nothing against Mercutio.”
Jason sighs. “'Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.'”
“How many quotes have you memorized?” I can’t help asking.
“I have a good memory,” he replies.
Cain snorts. “Yeah right. Like that’s cutting it. This guy? He never forgets a thing. Ever.”
That must come in handy for school. No wonder he always ends up toward the top of the class. I’d wondered if it had been his daddy’s money buying his grades. And it could still be.
“Not always,” Jason corrects. “I forgot Nadia for a while.”
Now I turn back to him, eyes widening.
He can’t mean…
No, he can’t possibly remember me from back then. He must mean he forgot my existence in the last three weeks, hence why he didn’t bother harassing me directly. And to think I was stressing out every time I walked into this class, expecting him to do…I don’t know what, exactly.
“So, who do you relate to, Nadia? Not loyal Mercutio or boring, loving Benvolio. Who?”
