Letters to Romeo

Entering her dorm, Julie went near her window to take a careful peek to see if Roman and Mr. Evans were still standing outside. Roman was saying something to the counsellor, his face was serious, and she noticed the atmosphere around them was tense. Her mind pondered over what Roman said earlier to Mr. Evans, wondering if, like her, he had heard someone scream in the forest tonight.

After a minute, both of them walked away from there, and Julie slowly closed the window and locked it.

Taking a seat on her bed, she looked at the letter that had turned dirty because she had cleaned the window. Dusting it with her hand, she opened the letter—

'A few years ago, Veteris was not just a family name which this place was named after. It used to be a secret society, which is why no one will be able to get their hands on the past history of this place. Take my advice and don't look for it, Troublemaker. There is a reason why a secret is called a secret. You are here to study, so it is better to stick your nose between the pages of the books than in unnecessary things.'

Julie stared at the letter, wondering why it was so.

Maybe he was right, thought Julie. It wasn't like she was on any mission, and if there was any, it was to graduate from here. With the number of students who walked on the campus like delinquents, she wondered if Veteris were connected with a gang. Mafia? she questioned in her mind.

She wondered if they produced drugs and sold them outside. With this place being isolated, it was possible. It could even explain the scream and quick disappearance of Stacy Hopkins. Rich students whose parents were part of some gangs.

A yawn escaped her mouth, and she was about to place the letter on the table when she stopped midway. With the way Mr. Evans was eyeing the letter, it was possible he would question it. She tore the page into tiny pieces so that even if someone tried to join them together, it would take time to do it, and no one had such patience. Once she was done with it, Julie climbed into her bed and pulled her blanket to get some sleep.

The next day, in the evening, Julie was doleful as she made her way towards the detention room. Since the last few days, she had been so good. How did this happen? She wasn't sad because she was going to attend detention, but because she would have to go and revisit her uncle and aunt. After all, her detention would slip into her progress report.

When she entered the detention room, Julie noticed Ms Piper was already present in the room. The woman sat with her legs crossed and on top of the table.

Definitely mafia, Julie said in her mind.

Knowing Roman also would be spending his time in detention, her brown eyes searched for him. But he wasn't in the room. Looking at the empty seats, she decided to take a seat where there were three empty seats. Students entered the room, and the empty seats next to her filled, and she was surrounded by people she had never seen or met before.

Roman was the last person to enter the room, and without sparing a look at anyone, he made his way to the backside of the room, towards the last empty seat to sit down. Julie's eyes followed him, and once he sat down, she looked in front of her because the person who sat behind her stared at her.

Ms. Piper Martin said, "It looks like we have some new ones. This is very good," she clapped her hands as if she were excited. She walked behind her desk, bending down to pull out a stack from the drawer that looked like a booklet of something. "You know what this is?"

"Papers you need to grade?" commented the person who sat behind Julie, and some of the students snickered over his comment.

Ms. Piper placed her hand on top of the stack, and she smiled, "Very funny. That will be something I will make you do, boy. Looks like you are a recent addition to the detention room. Excellent. You all will be taking part in this theme play."

The students in the room were quick to break into a protest of refusal.

"That's not the best part," said Ms. Piper. She had a smile on her lips, and she said, "I spoke to the headmistress and she has decided to allow and give me responsibility in turning you all into being better individuals. Every Thursday and Friday at five in the evening. Students who are unwilling will be demoted one year. Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's bullshit! For just one play we are going to repeat the year?" asked one of the students.

"I don't have time to spend on such useless playst! I have football practice to attend to," said another student.

"I have a project to complete, Ms. Piper," said the girl who sat in the front, who seemed like she had ended up in the detention room because of her pure bad luck. Julie could relate to the girl.

Ms. Piper split the stack into three sets, giving each of the rows one set before waving her hand at the students at the front as if telling them to circulate it to the other students.

"If you don't know how to act, this is a good opportunity to practice it," Ms. Piper seemed like she was enjoying this way too much than she was supposed to by hearing the students whine and groan.

The woman said, "You can inform your friends about it. Just so they know that I am recruiting students to take part in the other plays that I have on my mind."

When Julie received the script, she read the name on it 'Wind of little towns'. She turned around to hand over the two extra's she had received to the person behind her. But when she went to pass it, the boy intentionally touched her hand. She quickly pulled back her hand and turned back in her seat.

"How do we know what role we are playing?" asked one of the students in arrogance.

"I will decide that. Now get to reading the script so that you know the character when you get to play," said Ms. Piper, walking back to her seat and sat down behind her desk. "I am sure once we start practicing, you will appreciate following the rules and don't think I won't add you in the other plays. Go on now." Letting her back lean, the woman placed a book on her face as if she was going to sleep.

Julie pulled her chair forward and closer to her desk so that there was a good distance between her and the boy who sat behind her.

Turning the page of the script that had more than fifty pages in it, she wondered if she would be able to memorize even half a page in it. In the past, she had stuck to low profile activities. Even if she was near the stage, which was rare, it was only to help others. There had always been better students to play the parts of the characters and she had never tried for it. The play was about forbidden love, where a man was in love with a married woman. At the end of the book, the writer's name was Ms. Piper Martin.

Somewhere in the middle of her reading, Julie turned to look in Roman's direction. He had crossed his long legs that were stretched forward, and one of his hands supported the side of his head as he read the manuscript to kill his boredom.

Suddenly she felt her chair jerk forward, and her eyebrows furrowed. She heard the person behind her whisper,

"What's your name?" Julie decided not to answer and looked at the pages in her hands. "You kept turning behind, are you interested in me? I am Caleb."

I wasn't looking at you, said Julie in her mind.

The boy pushed her chair forward again to gain her attention. He whispered, "Are you playing hard to get?"

Julie turned, annoyed. She turned around and said, "I get your legs are long, now stop kicking my chair else I will report it to Ms. Piper, who will turn you into a tree."

Caleb had arrogance written all over his face. Though he didn't have any piercings or tattoos, Julie identified the boy as self-entitled, who came from a wealthy family. "Haven't you ever heard that it isn't good to speak back? Especially to people who come to the detention room. Nothing good ever comes from it."

Before Julie could reply to it, one of the students came to stand next to her. Looking up at the person, she noticed the person carrying his bag with him. The boy standing spoke to her in a quiet voice,

"I would like to switch seats with you. Please," he looked slightly distressed as if his life depended on sitting in the chair which she was sitting in.

Looking behind him, Julie noticed the empty seat that was right in front of Roman. His eyes were fixed on the manuscript.

Taking the opportunity, Julie picked up her bag and walked to sit down in the empty chair. This felt much better, she thought in her mind. She turned back to look at Roman, who hadn't bothered to look up, she whispered,

"Thank you."

"What for?" questioned Roman in a nonchalant tone.

"For switching my seats," replied Julie, her eyes catching sight of him turning the page.

"You don't have to thank me for that," responded Roman, and he finally looked up to meet her brown eyes.

Turning back to the front, Julie placed the booklet of the play on top of the desk. Her eyes moved to the corner where she had been sitting earlier and saw the boy named Caleb was now annoying another person.

After two minutes, Julie turned back and said, "I wanted to ask you something about last night." Hearing the word 'last night', Roman's ears perked up, and he raised his eyebrows as if to ask what. She whispered, "Did you hear something in the forest? You said to Mr. Evans about it."

He stared at her.

"I thought I heard something. But it was just the wind," said Roman before asking her, "Why?"

Julie pursed her lips and asked, "Can you keep a secret?" She had noticed the hostile air between him and the counsellor, and she felt maybe she could ask him.

"No," deadpanned Roman and Julie's shoulder slouched. He rolled his eyes and said, "Tell me outside the detention room."

After all the students had left the room, Julie stepped out and waited for Roman outside the building. He stepped out, wearing black gloves on his hands as he walked. Previously, she had noticed him on a bike, and she wondered how he was allowed to leave the grounds of Veteris.

The breeze gently ruffled his inky black hair.

"What did you want to ask?" questioned Roman, looking around them before his eyes fell on her.

With no one around, Julie said, "A few days ago when I was in the forest… I heard someone's scream and then the things of a girl staying in my Dormitorium were cleared out. I was wondering if something similar to it happened yesterday."

Roman remembered Borrell had mentioned to Dante that the female students had been compelled by Evans to forget what they had heard in the forest. Did Evans not compel Julie? Unless he had compelled her, but it didn't work…

Roman's eyes subtly narrowed with a look of curiosity in them. He said, "As I said, it was just the wind."