Crushing on a Capulet by Tony Abbott

Author:Tony Abbott
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781480486928
Publisher: Open Road Media

Chapter 10

We rushed through the gates and right away heard loud shouting coming from the main square where the play had started.

Mercutio, still looking like he had eaten too much lunch, was stumbling across the cobblestones away from Benvolio.

“Stay, Mercutio,” said his friend. “Let’s go home. The Capulets—”

“I don’t care if it’s Capulets!” snarled Mercutio.

“You should care,” said Frankie. “Here comes Tybalt. And the look on his face is not at all about being friends.”

“Too late,” I said.

The Capulets were with us in an instant, led by black-suited Tybalt himself. He gripped the handle of his sword, his eyes flashing. “Gentleman, a word with you!”

“Why not a word and a fight?” said Mercutio.

“Whoa, simmer down, Merc,” I said. “We’re all just walking here. Chill out, why don’t you—”

Tybalt glared at Mercutio as if he couldn’t hear me. “A fight? I’ll give you one if you want one. You are a friend of Romeo, are you not?”

Benvolio stepped forward. “Let us go to some private place, or reason calmly, or else depart.”

Mercutio stood his ground. “I will not budge.”

“Wrong answer!” said Frankie. “Budging is, like, the perfect thing to be doing right about now.…”

“Besides,” I added, “you’ve got lots of nice spots in this city. Why not go sight-seeing? I hear they make the best jumbo meatball grinders two streets over.”

“Meatball?” said Tybalt. “Are you calling me a name, young sir?”

“Uh-oh,” I whispered. “This isn’t going well.”

Tybalt sneered. “And so! Here comes Romeo.”

We all turned.

Romeo came skipping into the square, looked at himself in the fountain, and smiled at his reflection.

I nudged Frankie. “Oh, man! Nobody knows it, but he just married Juliet.”

Frankie nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on Romeo. “Which makes him … Tybalt’s cousin.”

Romeo kept grinning into the water. Finally, lifting his head up and seeing us all watching him, he came bounding over as if he were a puppy just called for his supper. “Tybalt!” he said.

“Romeo!” Tybalt snarled. “Thou art a villain!”

Romeo stopped, but held on to his smile. “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee excuses my rage at such a greeting. Therefore, farewell—”

Tybalt stepped in his way. “Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me. Therefore, turn and draw your sword.”

Romeo froze. “I never injured thee, Tybalt. I love thee better than thou canst understand. And so, good Capulet, whose name I hold as dearly as my own, I go.…”

Romeo turned once more to walk away.

“What, Romeo?” snapped Mercutio. “Will you let your enemy go by? Tybalt, will you just walk away?”

Tybalt turned to Mercutio, his hand on his sword.

The sliding of Mercutio’s sword from its sheath happened so fast that Frankie and I barely had a chance to step back. Tybalt’s sword was out even faster.

Romeo shouted. “Put down your swords. Stop this!”

“Or use plastic ones!” I said. “They bend really easy!”

But Mercutio and Tybalt were already at it, clashing their very real, very metal blades together.

Clank! Cling! The air was silver with swords.

Romeo rushed into the mess to try to part the two.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.