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“As for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible.”
The show unfolding before his eyes was the most heartbreaking he ever saw. He scribbled yet another mark on his notebook and rested his head on his hand, waiting for the teacher to give the answer to an assembly of brain-dead students. It was his senior year, and he knew he should have been able to accept the fact that nobody was quite as interested in literature as him, but classes felt like an eternity, and he didn’t have his cousin’s talent for expressing his emotions. He slowly raised his hand, feeling the teacher’s distress, but someone took the wind out of his sails.
“It’s an oxymoron. Also completely stupid. But it’s funny so I’ll let it slide. Anyway, when do we get to the part where the gay happens?”
Startled, the teacher tried to formulate an answer. “Yes, excellent. As for the…” he lowered his voice, “homosexual subtext of the novel, we won’t focus on it.”
“Are you serious? I didn’t ditch this lesson only because we’re studying a queer novel, written by a gay man, and I thought I was going to have some fun. Also, Dorian is bisexual and it’s not an insult.” the boy rolled his eyes and began to pack his belongings. “Don’t even try to talk to me anymore!”
“Mr. Escalus! Show me some respect and stop what you are doing! And address me as your teacher when we’re at school! You’re getting detention for this”, scowled the teacher, reaching for the computer.
The teenagers began to laugh in unison, nobody really knowing which one of the two they were mocking. The classroom was extremely loud, so much that it was hard to bear for someone hypersensitive, and beyond that, he felt like this new kid deserved to be listened to.
“Mr. Valentine?” he hesitated, “It’s true that… the new student was disrespectful, but please consider what he said. We cannot study The Picture of Dorian Grey without assessing the main character’s sexual ambiguity that is more than a mere subtext.”
The class, including Mr. Valentine went silent for a while. It was rare to hear the young man’s voice, and the teacher knew to appreciate his interventions.
“You make a valid point, Montague.” He cleared his throat, regaining a bit of dignity. “Mr. Escalus won’t be punished at one condition.”
A faint sarcastic ‘oh, great!’ was heard.
“You will pair up with him and make an oral presentation to examine this problematic and explain it to the class. I think it’s more than fair,” he taunted, eyeing the rebellious student.
Then, the bell rang, and like lifelong prisoners, the students rushed out of class, probably because it was already 1pm, and that none of them had their lunch break. He chuckled and left with no haste, accidentally overhearing the turbulent boy talking to their literature teacher.
“I guess I’ll see you tonight. Brother.” Without further ado, he exited the room grumpily, and bumped into the one who stood up for him. “Shoot! I’m sorry!”
“That’s okay, it’s my fault too, I was kind of eavesdropping to be honest.”
“That’s fine, I don’t hide the fact we’re family, it’s just frustrating to have class with your mildly homophobic bro. Anyway thanks for playing the peacekeeper and getting us one hell of a work to do, it’s going to be so great!”
“No need to thank me! It’s just… Nobody really ever pays attention to the literature class so I was glad you did and, I must say I admire your straight talk, even if it was risky.”
“Straight talk? More like gay talk!” he laughed at his own pun, “You’re such a diplomat, just say I’m blunt. Oh by the way, may I learn the name of my knight in shining armor?” he asked as he kneeled for dramatic effect.
“I’m Benvolio, Benvolio Montague. But please don’t associate me with the rest of my family! They’re all studying here and they thought that starting a gang would be a fun idea.”
“Wait. You’re Romeo’s cousin’s?” he beamed.
“Yeah,” Benvolio sighed, “I’m not even surprised you know him, he’s so loud, you must get along just fine.”
“Exactly! He’s a fun guy and I know all of his love life even though we met yesterday, so that only means more fun to come! Plus, my bro thinks it’s my duty or something to ‘remain neutral if there are any conflicts’, so I’ll totally side with you.”
“You’re… really something, you know that?”
“Yep! And the name’s Mercutio! If you wanna hang out, just follow the smell of trouble, and I’ll be there!”
He scratched something on a piece of paper and gave it to Benvolio before running away, probably to get in line before the school restaurant runs out of edible food.
###
Benvolio took a small piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at it with melancholy. The handwriting was terrible, and it made him smile a little. He crouched next to the tombstones, delicately putting a bouquets on both of them. They were roses, because he never asked their favorite flowers, and now his only way to know was to guess. And Benvolio guessed that red roses would fit a romantic, while white ones could deliver a message he didn’t had the time to convey.
He looked down at the paper again, reading it with Mercutio’s voice. ‘You’re too good for trouble, peacekeeper. I’m a cool dude so here’s my number, use it wisely…’ followed by a winking emoji. Benvolio wondered what real peacekeeper could have left his two favorite persons die in a ridiculous gang fight, and what that meant about him. He witnessed his lover’s last breath, and found the corpse of his cousin before the police in the course of two weeks. The poor boy was not even 18 years old, and Mercutio… Mercutio was going to become the greatest literature teacher. He could have inspired young spirits, make them love books and plays, and so much more.
“I miss you so much. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, so sorry. Both of you... “ he began tearing up on the grave, “I’m only living to honor your memories so please… Wait for me. I promise I won’t be long, that’s the only thing I’m certain of.”